Teri Fode Photography / Blog

i am sam...sam i am.

a SENIOR PREVIEW for Samantha...

Samantha is VERY photogenic...very fun...very relaxed and very sure of herself...with a sweet heart and kind dispostion...

meet...Sam.

Soooooo many more from this session...I had a hard time just picking a few to preview! Thanks for being such an awesome model for your Senior Session, Sam! Can't wait for you to see your entire gallery!

Will share more after Sam sees her private gallery...soon!

artistic inspiration

texture, color, alleys, cobblestones, flowers...

If ever there was a place created for photographic inspiration on this earth, it would have to be...

Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey...

(monterey, california...)

(carmel-by-the-sea, california...)

(17 mile-drive / pebble beach, california...)

 

Our favorite family vacation spot is Carmel...so much to do! Climbing on the rocks and observing tide-pools, walking along the beautiful white-sand beaches, shopping along the streets of Carmel, visiting the art galleries, relaxing in the bed and breakfast, driving along the 17-mile drive...

But for me, the greatest part is the artistic inspiration that abounds...I'm not kidding when I say that I get this artisitc "rush" or "high" while there...EVERYTHING becomes art...stairways, alleys ladden with backlighting and flowers, iron gate entries, doorways along the cobblestone walks, ivy mixed with black iron, adobe and brick textured cottages...

How could I help but view the entire trip through the eye-piece of my camera?

For some fabulous artistic photographic inspiration, visit the "coastal" galleries of Robert Knight Gallery! I spent some time in his art gallery in Carmel and his images are so BEAUTIFUL...true art and talent he has!

more seniors

'tis the season!

Yes, seniors have taken center stage---here are 2 more...another image from a recent session and an image from a family session of a senior I hope to have coming up soon!

Meet Keri again...

And meet Joe...

More seniors to follow soon!

find your wings

dedicated to anyone that has a dream...

After much prayer and waiting...it happened. A fork in the road.  A change in the season. A wind that changed the direction of my life.

After 25 years of *safety* and *security* and *financial success*, I've been led (through my faith in God) to take a leap of...courage. A leap of...faith.

For a very long time now, I've been in a very secure position in a very good company in my line of work and last week, I stepped down as a manager and into a role that will eventually allow me more flexibility and very soon allow me to solely be...Teri Fode Photography.

And along with it, I just turned down a very large sum of money to do it. Money that was being offered to me by yet another company in the same field. Everyone around me thinks I'm crazy...until they allow me to share my vision. My dream. My goal. My life...

And then it just all makes sense.

The thing about it is that last Monday I had no idea this was all going to come about like this...I thought my life was going a certain direction that was planned by me...but God had another plan.

Would you do it? Would you turn down thousands (like, thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands....THOUSANDS) of dollars to pursue your dream? Your passion and a dream that is embedded in your heart?

Would you step down from a position of leader and manager and position to...simply a position of worker? Give up status and security? Trust God during a time that feels so scary and risky?

Well...I did. And I have to say...

I FEEL SO FREE.

Vulnerable...and dazed...

But FREE.

Free from the pressure to pursue what the world describes as "success" and "financial security".

Free from the picture that the world paints as "happiness".

It wasn't done on a whim though...let me emphasize that this fork in the road was created by the Hand of God...and in HIS timing.

Sometimes I get so impatient. I think "why, Lord? WHY can't I do (such and such) NOW? ".

And then...I remember this scripture: "To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose under the sun." Ecclesiastes 3:1

I'm not sure why it happened NOW or why it happened the way it did, but somehow I know that something very, very significant and faithful happened in my life this past week.

Something different than I planned and different than I thought was going to happen. I never imagined that things would work out and look quite like...this. But God did.

He seems to work that way, doesn't He? Testing us, preparing us, leading us. Sustaining us.

So...

To anyone that has a dream and feels locked into a direction in life that seems to be unending and bleak...

Remember...

It's only a season. And seasons change.

Be patient. Persevere. Pray for direction. Believe. Have faith and...follow your dreams.

And...as a side note, as I was writing this entry the following song was playing...amazing isn't it? Thought I would share the words with you...a song that was written by a parent for his child...but it spoke to my heart today.

FIND YOUR WINGS/by Mark Harris

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And If I never told you
I want you to know
As I watch you grow

Chorus:
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories

Chorus:

It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off

high-impact post process

Finished proofing another session---the recent family session. Sharing a few more images from that session using high-impact post processing!

Love the dramatic effect! Something I'm using on Senior Sessions and can't wait to start proofing all of the session I posted last time---lots of great images that will work with dramatic processing as well!

sharing a senior session...

This Senior actually graduated last year and is home on break from college visiting her family and friends...she was great to work with! The setting was natural, combined with some awesome shots by the pool...and yes, we fit in a cap and gown along the way!

A special preview for Keri, her brother Erick and best friend Melanie...(and of course, mom too!)...

I TOLD you two that you looked like models!!! See?

baby time

A preview for Mia's mommy and daddy...

A special photo with mommy and daddy in her beautiful Gown...Mia is getting so big and is making new noises these days! She was quite chatty with me during this session...

And how cute is this??? Amanda is not only talented in home decor, but she also makes these adorable "diaper trees"! This is for a shower she is going to...oh, and I was told that Jeff helped with this too! :)

Thanks to Amanda and Jeff for sharing there beautiful baby daughter with me...I love photographing little Mia! More photos coming soon in your private gallery, guys!

sharing a few more...

from this fun session...

Finished proofing this session the other night...shared the DVD Slideshow and Private Gallery with her and she was thrilled. I just LOVE it when they love their session photos! :)

(click to enlarge)

 

Couple more session coming up Sunday...will be back to share from those in a few days! Have a great weekend.

it's a family affair...

a sneak preview for this fun family...

Of all the images I captured, I'll bet they aren't expecting this to be the "family shot" I chose to feature of them as a family today...yes, it's a photographer's "artisitic impression"...

(click all images to enlarge)

These kids were asked to sit here on these steps, and I just told them to "talk, chat, be themselves"...and they laughed at me...until they actually lost themselves in *real-life* laughter and chatter that I captured in a single moment in time, saved forever...

And...looking at these girls, you'd never EVER know they were all a bit hesitant, asking me what to do, how to stand, whether they should smile or not...I said "relax, be yourselves, tell me what you like at school..."

and it was...pure magic. Their natural beauty shines through their eyes...the eyes are the windows to the soul...

Oh...and the boys. Boys will be boys, right? Yes, I got some great shots of Spencer laughing and smiling...but who wants a "say cheese" photo, looking at the camera...This is Spencer, just being himself, relaxed, no worries...

And then the real-life moment of a boy caught during a brief moment of sheer...boredom? thoughtfullness? Unsuspected by all of us but recorded as "art" forever...

Don't worry, Jess...yes, I have fun ones of you on the trampoline and collapsing in the chair before mom caught you...

Ahhh. Yes. Then of course, the love that brought this group together in the first place. Caught on film...forever.

So...just a family, hanging out and recording some memories of how they interact together, how they laugh, how they love. Artistically captured. Forever.

(Lots more guys...coming soon in a DVD slideshow.)

baby tears

to all new moms---and moms of old.

Just the other day, my daughter was a baby. Just the other day, I was changing her diapers. Just the other day, I was longing for more sleep while nursing her in the middle of the night.

Just the other day, I was taking her to kindergarten, crying as I left the schoolroom. Just the other day, I was watching her sing in her first choir program. Just the other day, I was putting a band aid on her boo-boo.

Just the other day,

she became a teenager.

Where have the years gone? Where did my baby go? How did she grow up so fast? Wasn't it just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant, sharing my happiness with Don?

Time.

It truly doesn't stand still.

And our babies grow up. Faster than we know.

I've been in a state of shock, seriously, for over 3 years now. My kids are growing up. We've entered a new phase of parenthood, and I'm not adjusting entirely well to the fact that I'll never buy another toddler dress or tiny pair of overalls for my own kids, ever, again.

They were right. All of those people that told me how fast it goes. I didn't really hear them at the time. It seemed like an eternity of baby diapers, baby bottles and no sleep.

But then, one day, it happened.

They grew up into little people that will one day grow up into big people. And then one day...

give me little babies again.

Praise God.

Savior the time. It passes by...quickly.

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I'm creating a sample Storybook (the fine-art, coffee-table-book style) this weekend and while searching for poems, I ran across the one below---it brought tears to my eyes because it really hit my heart with truth. Made me stop dead in my tracks and stop to write a few words from my heart here, in my blog this morning:

Baby Tears
by Molly Newman

My friends all said, "He'll grow so fast,
You'll hardly count the years."
But still I couldn't wait until
You grew out of baby tears.
I wanted you to take a step,
I wanted you to talk,
And learn to run and jump before
The others on the block.

And when you cried and ran to me,
I kissed you better, though
Part of my mind wished for the day
When I could call you grown.
"I'll finally get some housework done,
I'll have some time for me --
I'll have a long talk on the phone
And sip a cup of tea."

And sometimes I was cross with you,
And I said, "Act your age!"
But now those years have come and gone,
Marked only on this page.
I wish now I could turn back time
To your first smiles and tears,
And savor every moment
Of those precious baby years.

(above pages from a maternity/newborn coffee-table Storybook, created in a 10x10 format.)