by Debra Wallace My scale and I became enemies when my type A personality railroaded it into starving me. I didn’t weigh myself for 10 years. As long as I worked out and felt good, my weight was irrelevant, dangerous even. When I went to the doctor’s office I proudly stood backwards. Ditto for three
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The Story of My Christmas Card ~ Candid Family Portraits on the Westside, Rochester, NY
When I look at Christmas lights, snow and emails littering my screen with coupon codes and discount offers, I also want to see a fridge smothered in cards. Any kind is fine – preferably the type that lay flat with a great photo (ones I took are especially fun) and some sort of Holiday-ish greeting
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Great Wolf Vacations ~ Niagara Falls, Canada
by Debra WallaceThe kids collapsed in contented exhaustion after approximately 15 seconds in bunk beds filled with forest creatures. They were holding a squirrel, raccoon and chipmunk respectively – and also their wands topped with unicorns and dragons, sleeping on raccoon pillow cases and dreaming of pruned fingers and the aroma of chlorine. We’ve begun
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Baby Photography ~ Eli at 3 months
I couldn’t wait to be pregnant. 14 months, 2 miscarriages, and 1 baby with a heartbeat later I couldn’t wait to be not pregnant. I swore I would never take it for granted and then I did. I despised every minute of it. How awful to wait! But we survived and a few babies later…
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Martial Arts Photography ~ Kumdo
by Debra Wallace My husband Jason was becoming a bit of a bum. He switched from biking several miles to work every day rain or shine, to commuting an hour. He’s got a metabolism that would make a super model jealous, but his stay-awake strategy for driving included eating. I would have looked like a
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Candid portrait photography in Ithaca NY ~ Hiking Treman State Park
A wonderful friend of mine has six children with one on the way who takes her kids hiking. I thought she was crazy. But a walk and scooter ride along the Cayuga Lake inlet at Cass Park in Ithaca left me nostalgic about my high school hiking days in Ithaca. That’s was what we did.
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How to get children to smile while being photographed ~ Rochester Portrait Photography
The quintessential question of all time – how do you evoke that wonderful happy, toothy smile in children? It turns out that the answer has been in front of me all along. It’s not dad juggling in the background, nor mom giving the photographer bunny ears. It’s not even making farting noises. The answer is
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Team Stupid Cancer
“Your mom is going to be okay,” says the doctor after too many hours of surgery. I don’t like her – she is too detached and has apparently mistaken herself for God. I hate her for being positive. I would have hated her more for being negative. Maybe it was naive to hope the
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Rochester, NY Newborn Photography ~ Eli, 8 days old
I have to say the worst pictures I take are of my kids. I absolutely love my camera (and my lights!) but my standards for other people and my standards for my family… let’s just say they’re not the same. I think it’s usually because I’m too busy being their mom, or maybe just enjoying
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Rochester NY Newborn Photography ~ A Home Birth Story
When you’re super pregnant and people ask where you’re going to deliver, “home” is usually the last thing they expect you to say. You can almost see the wheels turning, “You mean, on purpose?” My husband Jason and I are pretty scientifically minded – I tease him that half his PhD is mine. We did
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Losing Matthew ~ Our experience with the death of a child
by Debra Wallace My intensity scared the social worker but my uterus was not cooperating and God help anyone who stood in my way. The training classes were not enlightening and the questions were invasive but I filled out forms, checked boxes and waited impatiently. I was weeding a flower bed when a water break
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Travelogue ~ Niagra Falls, Ontario Canada with three small children
For 20 years my mom has prepared gourmet Thanksgiving meals with my stepfather, Harvey. We spent many turkey eating holidays in Ithaca, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and my aunt’s ranch in Texas. Lung cancer took Harvey’s life in March, so this year called for something completely different. Rather than choke down turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes
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Travelogue ~ Biloxi, MS and the Gulf of Mexico
We had never taken our kids to the ocean, we hadn’t seen my Mississippi dwelling dad in a very long time, and my kids were dying for some cousin’s from Oklahoma time. So we all congregated in Biloxi, Mississippi for a week. We opted to fly in late instead of waking up early. This was
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Does what you’re doing with your life really matter?
Does what you’re doing with your life really matter? It can be a question that burns our souls and it’s the question that got Amy Kauffman started on CrowdCause – an incredible organization that funds local non-profits. “I realized that it wouldn’t matter if I stopped doing my job. No one’s life was being changed.”
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How to Have Children and Follow Your Dreams at the Same Time
Julia Reffner is a homeschooling friend of mine and recently she and I worked together to create a very unique business card for a writing conference she’s attending. She wrote the book A Lily Among Brambles in nine months whenever she had a free second and is hoping to publish next year. The excerpt was
Senior Portrait Photography Mt. Morris New York
Canandaigua, NY Extended Family Photography
Village Gate Family Photography Rochester NY
Pittsford NY Newborn Photography ~ Tessa
Tinker Nature Park Family Photography
Henrietta NY Newborn Photography ~ Finneas
Highland Park Professional Family Photography ~ Rochester, NY
Henpeck Park Family Photography ~ Roberta
Letchworth Engagement Photography ~ Jennifer and Mikey
Canandaigua NY Family Photography ~ Derrick and Kim