Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

It's not often I ask clients to be here shortly after sunrise (7:29 a.m.!) for their photo session, but since Maria just came home from college the night before and the family was heading out to Bigfork for the Thanksgiving Holiday the next afternoon, the morning (that ONE morning) was it...and what a beautiful morning it was! Warm (ok...30 degrees, but that's warm in Montana!) and not a stitch of wind!

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What better backdrop for a Holiday portrait than the snow-capped Bridgers...
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Rikka, Henry and Maria...home for the Holidays!

The Absaroka's don't make a bad backdrop either!...Heck, this family looks great in front of any mountain range!

And to think we were all done by 8:45 a.m.! Thanks Kate & Mark for making the trek up to the ranch and so early too! Hope you had a great Holiday!!!

Gift Certificates Available!

Give a gift that is treasured forever...

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Receiving a gift is a pleasure. Receiving a memory for a lifetime is a treasure...

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CUSTOM GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE FOR:

Photo Sessions in 2009

Boutique Items including Photo Jewelry and Handbags

Fine Art Canvas Prints

or

A la Carte Print Photo Credit in denominations from $50

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{credit cards accepted for your convenience}

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) once said:

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

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Well, everytime I look at this photograph of our twins, Larissa & Sam (taken a few years back), believe me, I am alive! This was a simple snapshot taken at Rocky Creek Farm in Bozeman when we went corn-pickin' one late summer day. The twins dressed themselves up in these matching outfits and Sam tossed on his "farmer" hat. What I love most is all the missing teeth. They looked like two scarecrows in the middle of the cornfield. What I also love is how much they obviously love each other.

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Together, they picked so much corn, we ended up having to give most of it away!

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Live.Love.Laugh.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tiny Prints BIG two-day Sale!

Starting today, Tiny Prints is having a big two-day sale, so if you haven't yet ordered your Holiday or Christmas Cards or Birth Announcements, NOW is the time. These coupon codes are valid through November 26th only:

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10FREE = $10 off + FREE shipping on orders of $99 or more

15FREE = $15 off + FREE shipping on orders of $149 or more

Just click on the Tiny Prints link right here on the blog and you're on your way!

Ain't Love Grand?

Family reunions are really a special occasion, but how about celebrating one big happy family that lives in the same town! Now, THAT's REALLY special! Susan and Peter have 3 gorgeous daughters who married 3 handsome men. So what would you expect, but a bunch of adorable grandkids!!!

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Here's the gang...of 15 and counting???

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Seven beautiful grandchildren!....

I remember when oldest daughter Lisa brought her kids, Grant & Averie, to be photographed with Santa at LillyLu in downtown Bozeman!...where does the time go?... Just look at them now...

Love this photo of Lisa and her beautiful daughter Averie...

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And don't middle daughter, Debby, her hubby Keith, and their 4 gorgeous kids look like they just popped right out of a Ralph Lauren ad??...

.Last but not least, there is youngest daughter, Sunny and her husband Aaron...new parents to daughter, Ave. Oh, how they love her...

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And to think all this beauty started with just the two of you...
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Ain't love grand?

Holiday Lollipops

It's CRUNCH time and I'm even shooting weekends to make sure you all have beautiful family and children's photos to grace your holiday cards. My "Baby it's Cold Outside ~ Holiday Mini Sessions" are going going gone...and I'm still getting calls. Deadlines, shmedlines...if I can work you in, I will. It's finally snowing up here at Sky Ranch, so some honest-to-goodness wintry portraits are in the immediate forecast!

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Here are a few faves from a mini-session this past weekend.

I bought these fabulous red lollipops last month on our family's long weekend trip to Fairmont Hot Springs that included a stop at the famous Sweet Palace in Philipsburg. Bronwen and Decker were more than happy to accept my little "gift"...plus I just love the added shot of red.

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Meg & Travis, thanks so much for making the trek up to the ranch! It was a pleasure meeting you all!

Grateful for clients like YOU!

I just love it when I receive cards from my clients featuring images I took of their children. Here's Ryan from Butte, Montana, who is gracing the family's Thanksgiving Cards this year. Isn't he just the cutest??...and aren't these cards by www.yourbeautifulcards.com just spectacular??

Thanks Maureen and John for sending me your beautiful greeting. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

~ Baby Ave ~

Sweet Baby Ave was the youngest today in a family of 15 I photographed this afternoon here at the ranch. I will soon be sharing images of the whole family...actually 4 families in one, but for the moment, I wanted to give Ave's parents, Sunny & Aaron, a sneak peek and beautiful baby Ave (as in Ave Maria) her own moment in the sun...

Love the baby drool in this photo (above). Although Ave was cutting her first tooth, she never stopped smiling and laughing. What an angel!! She even happily modeled her beautiful winter gown!

Given that her mother's name is Sunny, it's no wonder this little one sparkes & shines the way she does. Sunny & Aaron...congratulations on your new family and your absolutely darling baby girl. Ave!

Oh, and if you're wondering where these adorable baby outfits came from, head on over to Country Flowers on the corner of 8th & Main.

Award-winning DVD Slideshows!

I'm excited to introduce the award-winning dvd slideshows I am producing for my clients. These designer slideshows are absolutely stunning and a great way to share images from your session with Susann Saarel Fine Art Portraiture with all your friends and family.

Your custom designer slideshow can also be produced as a webshow hosted on ShareItVideo.com which is integrated with facebook and myspace!

Once I send you the link to your webshow, with a simple click you can send the show to your own personal page. High School Seniors especially will LOVE showing their friends their senior photo session images in an impressive slideshow put to music!

The DVD's come packaged in an elegant leather folio and gift box and make a wonderful gift for the holidays!...think grandparents!!! Of course, you will want one for your family as well...

I will soon be uploading several dvd samples onto my website. Until then, I invite you to view a sample webshow of a Children's Fantasy Session.

Click here to view the show!

Password: enchanted

Dog Day Afternoon

It may as well have been the dog days of summer the day my session with Larry & Dickey took place in late October! It was so warm, even their dogs had to cool themselves off in the creek! Larry was the highest bidder on my pet & family photo session in a rousing live auction a few years back at the Stafford Animal Shelter's annual Fur Ball fundraiser...and then he took off to the Bahamas to grow orchids!

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Now he and his wife, Dickey are back and breaking ground on a new home east of Livingston at this stunning location! They love it and so do "The Cabana Boys"...Boomer, Diesel (the goldens) and Otto (the Cardigan Corgi)...

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And there's nothing like concluding a session with a glass of wine served from the trunk of Larry's car, to celebrate the beauty that surrounded us, the love that Larry & Dickey share with one another and their Cabana Boys, and the joy their future holds on a perfect Dog Day Afternoon...

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Here's Dickey's response to their online gallery:

"You are a master! Genius! We love them...will place order tonight!"

...and they did!

At the Country Club

Shooting on location is so much fun!...you never know what you're going to get and you always discover the most beautiful places...

Zipping around in golf carts at the Riverside Country Club, I was thrilled to discover piles upon piles of fall leaves! Perfect. And how much fun!!!...

Tori and Lindsay are some of the sweetest sisters ever! And yep, that's Lindsay...this month's Montana Parent Magazine cover child! My, how she's grown...but she still has those EYES!

And isn't older sister, Tori as cute as pie?

Thanks Kevin and Heather for suggesting the Riverside for your family and child photo session! Loved it! And Heather, I think the leaf stuck in your hair is the absolute perfect touch!

Special Delivery

When you live on a mountain-top in the Bozeman Pass at 6,100 feet, NOTHING arrives at your doorstep unless you ordered it, invited it or it just happened to wander out of the woods and onto the deck or into the yard...

So naturally, I was stunned yesterday, when a red Hummer zipped up the drive and left a bouquet of roses and 3 gallons of ice cream in its wake before disappearing back into the wild blue yonder...

Every now and again, we all have a bad day. And when we do, it is a beautiful thing to receive a special gift of love and encouragement, selfless and unexpected.

Thank you dear friend...

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

So here we were in the middle of a really great photo session with plenty of late afternoon sunshine when suddenly it became dark. We'd been too busy to notice the huge black clouds that had gathered overhead. We scrambled into the car and then it came...the downpour! Session over!

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Now I knew we already had plenty of shots, but I like to give my clients a WHOLE bunch to choose from, so we "finished" the session a few weeks later where I got my new favorite family shot! Mom Kylee knew 18-month old Bodie needed to be kept busy so she brought the Tonka Truck along. I love it!

Getting Bodie to blow up balloons, kept him still long enough to focus and shoot!

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Sister Makinlee is not only a classic beauty, she was also an absolute peach!

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And if this isn't the world's sweetest kiss, I don't know what is...

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Who doesn't love a little sunshine on a rainy day?

Montana Parent Magazine...November Cover Child!

Beautiful baby Lindsay with those eye-popping blue eyes graces the cover of this month's Montana Parent Magazine...my 8th cover shot for this publication!

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November is the "Babies & Expectant Parents" issue and it's chock full of great articles including one of my favorites, "13 Cool Things a Montana Mom Knows". I admit, I can't throw a Frisbee to save my life, but I can do all the rest and more...including plowing our road in winter, baking bread when we've run out and are snowed in and building a playhouse for my kids...one of the things I am most proud of...(and yes, it's still standing after almost 8 years!...& I think it's gonna last!).

. Be sure to pick up a copy of this month's issue which also includes the first "Are We There Yet?" covering local family day trips! This month...Norris Hot Springs!

For more information, check out

Montana Parent

www.mtparent.com