Leah's Princess Photo Story Book & Birthday Invitation

After Fifteen hours of post session work, we have a finished product and I am thoroughly pleased as are Jessi & Leah!

Here are the photos of the Book & the Birthday Invitation that I put together. I have to thank Jessi for letting me have creative control of this project. She put her complete faith and trust in me that I would approach every detail with great love & care.

So happy to have been a part of it!

This image holds very special meaning for Jessi & Leah. Jessi's uncle passed several months ago and Jessi & her aunt had an encounter with a Butterfly the day he passed.

The day her uncle passed away the nurse came to check on him and the family. As she was leaving, Jessi & her Aunt Shawn walked her out and a butterfly was flying around and brushed up against them as they walked up the stairs The nurse told her aunt Shawn about an email she had just read about a guy wanting proof that God existed. The guy would yell out to the Lord and God would give him discrete signs; for example the man said "if you really exist then reach out and touch me" and a butterfly brushed his cheek but the man ignored it. Later on when Jessi's cousins, Nick and Emily, got home from school Uncle Larry started to decline fast and they were all gathered around his bed. They looked out his bedroom window and there were about 50 butterflies outside by the pond next to the pool. Shortly after they saw the butterflies, Larry took his last breath only to look out the window and find all the butterflies had disappeared. Larry passed away November 4 and maybe some foreshadowing is that Leah was a butterfly for Halloween. Jessi had originally bought her another costume and then took it back for the butterfly!

R.I.P Uncle Larry

You are loved dearly and missed immensely!

How to Contact Me

Well, I'm pretty much a cyborg. You're more likely thank not able to find me somewhere in Cyber Space:

Myspace

Facebook

Email

Or Via the Contact form on my Portfolio Site

I always reply to messages so please feel free to drop me a line.

Looking forward to hear from you!

My Princess - Sophia Star

My baby doll! My Goodness, words are insufficient to describe the joy this girl has brought into my life. My boys (Matthew & Jared) they are my Rock & Anchor; they keep me grounded. All that is strong & responsible of me is due in large part to my journey as a single parent with those 2 Wonderful Beings. They taught me about unconditional love and fighting for what is yours and protecting it. My warriors. Honor Roll students, talented, Gorgeous young men!

But my Princess Baby Doll!!!! I swear...it's almost as if I ordered her through God's Special Custom Mail Order Baby Catalog. She's Posh, Sweet & Sassy and always has a smile on her face. Just like her muddah! I always wanted a little girl. My boys are 13 & 10 and I thought I was pretty much done. I had given up on the idea that I would one day have another child. I was at a point in my life where I was jaded, with work and other aspects of my personal and professional life. Just as I had given up and given my struggle to God to start fresh, start anew and wipe the slate clean for myself and my boys, on Labor Day 2007 (check out the irony & God's sense of humor) I find out that I am pregnant. I knew something was off with me because I was true carnivore and all of a sudden I found the smell of salads & dressing Intoxicating! All I wanted was SALAD and Cherry Italian Water Ice. My cravings with my boys were Chicken Fingers , Fries, Pizza Hut, Bread Sticks & Mozzarella Sticks.

You make plans and God Laughs, I tell you....but this sweet surprise, so much more than I could have ever hoped for. She's made me a better everything!

Here are some shots from her First Birthday! The Cake was magnificent - Piña Colada flavor. If you need a cake for an event I highly recommend Julie from Cut the Cake Inc. in Longwood, FL. She literally figured out what I wanted based on a plethora of images that had no cohesive direction. That's why she's an Award Winning Cake Artist!

Princess Leah & the Enchanted Garden

Miss Leah is the daughter of a very good friend of mine. Jessi, much like me, obsesses over girly things. To no avail, we planned a day out of Mommy & Leah time at Washington Oaks State Garden in Palm Coast. If you've never been there, GO! Like as soon as you can! It's truly an experience.

The original intention was for me to shoot her princess shots in an attempt to put together Leah's Birthday invitation in the likeness of my Daughter's 1st Birthday Invitation.




But I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity of capturing Jessi & Leah together...Oh no no no....Not Cru! Carpe Diem Baby! It was an overcast day which was perfect. And me...being me...I wanted to put together something special.

What started out as a princess birthday session for an Invitation layout actually ended in Leah's very own Custom Hard Cover Princess Story Book.

I wrote the story and included the images from the session. Here's a sneak peek at the cover! More to come!

When life gives you Lemons...

This blog was a long time coming, but at the suggestion of one my favorite photographer's (Scarlett Lillian) I'm biting the bullet with the hopes that it doesn't explode between my teeth.

My photography journey began when my 13 year old son, Matthew was only 18 months old. At 19 (yes I was a teen mom) I took a job at a department store photo studio for minimum wage. I actually liked it although everything was pretty much set up where there was no room for creative control. It was a wall mounted camera in a room the size of a walk in closet and you had to pose, play and push the button in the hopes that you had a shot worthy of selling. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. I ended up losing my job due to a car accident I had on my way home from work with the flu because even though I was sick & medicated, my boss needed a full staff that day. I totaled the car and never went back to that place since I had no transportation.

Over the years at all our family functions, I was always with somebody's camera in hand since I didn't have one of my own. I moved back home to Jersey for a stint of 6 years where I made a "career" (ha!) as an administrative professional. Needless to say...just because you're good at something, doesn't mean you're cut out for that profession. I tried going back to college a few times but I get bored easily. So I worked my butt off. For what other than my children - I'm not sure. This is where I tell you how to make Lemonade out of the Lemons life gives you.

During all those years I was in an imploding relationship with my Boys' father. My son was a twin but his brother died at birth. They were identical. Having to go through Life & Death in the same instance is not easy for an 18 year old fresh out of high school. I went through a couple of bouts of Post Partum that went untreated except for my own defenses of overworking myself to keep busy so that I didn't have to think about the Lemons. I knew that I was working towards something fruitful. But dammit...those freakin lemons kept coming out of the woodwork. I wanted something sweet with a nicer color. Give me Berries...Give me Watermelons.

One day, my sister Maggie, (The one I call my 2nd mom) while looking at our family's collection of photos, looks at me and tells me...."Cruz, you should be a photographer. You are a creative person and you are great with kids and people and you're young enough to make a career out of it. If you really want to go to school see what's photography programs are available that fit your work schedule."

How she pegged me as a photographer, I'm not sure. But of all the words uttered at me in my 21 years of existence (at that time), those few words have resonated into a Waterpark of Lemonade. I took her advice. Why? Well, I had hit rock bottom in my relationship. I lost alot of things (including myself) in my separation from my ex as well as my credit. Yeah...he's was going out with a bang. I stopped being a Punching Bag. I had nothing left to lose. There was no where to go but up. What I did have that he couldn't take from me was my Fervor & Conviction as a Mother that I had an example to set, a bar to raise, a life to live and provide for my children that entailed Love, Hard Work and Commitment.

The Lemon - Single Motherhood
The Lemonade - Earned Income Credit & Hefty Tax Return

I started buying photography books and enrolled in a correspondence course to learn the basics of professional photography. I didn't quite have enough to buy an SLR but I had used one before. Digital Photography was pretty new on the scene so I went and bought a P&S Sony Cybershot and here were my humble beginnings. I was onto to something.

I reinvented myself and vowed that nothing & noone was going to stop me. So every year with my income tax return, I invested in my photography equipment amidst dirty looks from my mother who used to think in the beginning that I was probably kidding myself and was just an impulsive shopper.

And here I am. Cru. The youngest of 4 siblings who became a mother before my sisters and my brother whom are 7, 10 and 15 years older than me. Domestic Violence survivor. Gypsy by nature (story for another day). My equipment list is longer and better. My body of work has significantly improved.
I have literally built my lil biz by myself. From logo, to website to equipment. Many a sleepless and crying night trying to figure stuff out.

I shoot Canon although I have nothing against Nikon. I work off of a Mac (never had a problem).

Still got alot to go though. Photography is like tattooing I've heard....It gets addictive.

If you come across my ranting of a blog, drop me a line...let me know you were here. I love a good laugh & a good story. And if you have pictures to go with it....even better!

Here are some of the shots from that little camera. I hope you enjoy!