her name was Belva Charlene.

She was tall, strong, brave, and kind.  She was a wife, a sister, an aunt, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and even a great-great-grandmother.  She was a Christian, and she loved her family with all her heart.  She was one of the most giving, selfless, gentle women I've ever known.  She made the most delicious pecan pies and cream candy, and I looked forward to her treats every holiday.  She always laughed at the antics of my sisters when we were little.  "That Trish," she'd say, shaking her head.  She celebrated her 94th birthday in June.  I hope she remembered it ~ Alzheimer's had taken so many of her memories by then.  But she always knew my dad when he went to visit her.  "Why, hello, Pat!" she'd say with a smile and a twinkle of her clear blue eyes.  Such a sweet woman.  Her name was Belva Charlene Holbrook.  She was my Nanny, my great-grandmother.  And with a heavy heart, I am glad to know that she suffers no more here on this earth. I miss you already, Nanny, but I'm so grateful for growing up under your influence of kindness and constant grace.  You were a treasure to know, and I'm so glad we got to borrow you here on this earth for awhile.  I hope you're dancing in Heaven right now.  You deserve the largest mansion with the biggest field of flowers to enjoy, and children to surround you there just as they did here.  We love you, and are comforted in knowing that we'll see you again one day.  Welcome Home, Nanny.  xox

This photograph was taken December 2008 of my great-grandmother, my dad, and my son.  She always folded her slim hands that graceful way, and I adore her smiling eyes here.

a patch of sweet light, and a sweet girl

Just had to share this quick one of my girlie... I edited this quickly between client sessions last night.  Looking at this image of her just makes my heart feel so peaceful.   :) Enjoy your Wednesday!

help-portrait: give the portrait, don't just take it.

"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this -- I was here. I existed.

I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world to take my picture."

~from the movie, One Hour Photo

During the holiday season, it's so easy to get busy with to-do lists, shopping lists, school plays and errands, work projects and hopefully those special traditions that you're working to pass down this time of year.  I'm guilty of it myself!  But today, I'd like for you to just stop a moment.  Stop, relax, let your mind settle.

I'd like for you to think about all the beautiful (and even the blurry!) photographs of your children.  In frames on your desk, in albums on your table and on your shelves.  Those priceless canvases on your walls, your children's smiling faces on holiday cards and birthday invitations.  School photos, Christmas party photos, vacation memories, the snapshots of when you brought her home from the hospital, of your son learning to ride his bike.  Your old film negatives, polaroids, jump drives, CDs.  We even have mobile phones full of photos!

How do they make you feel?  Loved, cared for?  A part of something special?  Absolutely.  Our history can be preserved on film, on paper, on disc, on canvas for future generations ~ and it's a privilege to be able to preserve that for future generations.  To tell your story, your family's story, their story.  I personally feel that I've been blessed with one of the most important jobs in the world.

Could you imagine your life without photographs of your loved ones?  I certainly couldn't!

Now.  Take another moment to think about something else.  About SOMEONE else.  Perhaps a family who has very few photographs to treasure, or none at all.  Someone who needs to pass down their history, their legacy, but who cannot afford custom photography, or the local department store or chain studio, or even a digital camera.  A single mother who is having enough trouble putting food on the table and finding enough time to help with the kids' homework, much less making that precious time stop on film.  Maybe even a family who has lost all of their family photos to a fire or hurricane, a flood or disaster of some sort.  A sick child, an ill family member, someone who may not get this chance again.  Someone who has had a rough go lately ~ wouldn't it do your heart good to have a hand in making them feel like the most amazing, most beautiful person in the world?

I am honored to join the thousands of photographers WORLDWIDE who are participating in an amazing movement called HELP-PORTRAIT.  Help-Portrait's mission is simple: Find Someone In Need.  Take Their Portrait.  Print Their Portrait.  And Deliver It To Them.   And it's all happening this Saturday, December 12, 2009.

I know that you know someone who deserves a little time, a kind word, a few minutes to feel special.  Please, please send them our way this weekend!  Tell them about the Help-Portrait event, drive them there if you must, but please spread the word about this fantastic cause!

I also know there are lots of other photographers who read my blog (thank you!!) who would love to help and join Help-Portrait by donating your time, talent, and expertise.  If you're local to Tampa Bay, you can join us this Saturday, December 12 at 9am at the St. Pete Pier.  We'll be shooting from 10am until 2pm, but any little bit of time you have to donate would be fantastic and appreciated so much.  I know there are more photographers needed for our local event, so if you want to give me a call (727.698.0344) or send me an email (stacey@staceywoodsphoto.com), I'll point you in the right direction to get you signed up!  I'd love to see you there!  Also, a local lab has agreed to print all of the portraits from the event at no cost ~ so all we need is YOU!  Let's give of ourselves this holiday.  Not just of our wallets.

MAKE SOMEONE FEEL THAT THEY MATTER TO SOMEONE ELSE IN THIS WORLD.  SHARE YOUR GIFT, AS A GIFT.

If you're from out of town, look up the local Help-Portrait Team in your area.  This is a widespread event and we're bound to make a difference in a lot of people's lives this year.  Spread a little cheer!

If you have a few minutes, please watch the HP video HERE and see if there is something you can do to help.  Thanks again.  xo

holiday schedule, and a few more images too!

Just wanted to give you a little update now that we're fully into December and the holidays are almost HERE!!!  :)  This is my absolute favorite time of year, but WOW at the busy-ness!  My labs are working overtime and crazy hours to get all the prints, canvases, albums and image boxes back in time for Christmas delivery, and I'm pulling lots of late nights getting everyone's orders in and put together, shipped out, blogged HA!, and delivered!  I even have a few new sessions to share before we close up for 2009 and await the New Year! That said, my holiday schedule will continue through December 17.  Stacey Woods Photography will be closed from Friday, December 18 until Monday, January 11.  (Excepting newborn and maternity clients, which must be photographed during all-important, fleeting, very specific timeframes to ensure the best images possible!).  If you're already on my books for the first week of January, have no fear.  You're still in!  :)  I am starting to book up January now so definitely place a call or send over an email if you'd like to get on the schedule for January or February.  And if you have an order outstanding, please wait just a little longer!  It's coming shortly, I promise!

Now, to share a few images from some recent sessions.  I've been almost afraid to post some of these for fear that I'm spoiling someone's Christmas card or present!  ;)  But I think I'm safe to share these, so here we go!

This is a lovely family that I met at the last Baby Loves Disco event in Tampa.  They looked me up again this year for a Christmas session, and I'm so glad they did!  Little A was so funny and so spirited the entire shoot!  He made me work for it!  :)

Preschoolers go their own way, that's for certain... right into Daddy's arms.  Ahhh, sweetness.

And how I love this sweet still moment with Mama.  He had the most gorgeous lashes, really.

And I know you can't see it in this black and white photo above, but Mom had on some KILLER red pumps.  :)  Loved them, and loved the energy of this family.  Can't wait until next time, sweet S family!  Hope you have a wonderful holiday.

just right

Sweet faces, sweet people, sweet light.  I could not have asked for more in a session!

M family, I'll have your gallery online for you soon!  Thank you so much for a perfect evening.  I'm so glad Tammy sent you my way!  xo

my blackberry has been stolen and my imac has been taken over...

...by a 17-month-old babygirl with blonde pigtails.  She was last seen wearing, um, no shirt... and a Huggies size 3.  My apologies to the random person she accidentally dialed today.  I have since put the keypad on LOCK.  ;)

She certainly was a feisty one today.  My little blond sweetheart ate 2 crayons, threw a brand new roll of toilet paper into the toilet (yes, while still on the little cardboard roll), dumped an entire container of Yoplait Light on the hardwoods in the living room and then proceeded to spread it around like it was finger paint.  (This is the last time I leave food on her highchair tray after she's down on the floor... she can reach the tray by herself now and is quite the sneaky little bandit!)  Little Miss here stood up twice in the Target shopping cart seat (while STILL BELTED IN, mind you).  She pulled the cat's tail and rubbed the leftovers of a biscuit into his fur.  She tried to flush four wooden counting beads (obsessed with the toilet, you see), scratched poor Parker's arm, and dumped numerous containers of EVERYTHING onto any surface she could find.  She did finally doze off for a whole five minutes, only to wake up as soon as I tried to put her down in her bed.  God forbid she actually miss creating another mini-disaster by napping the day away.

It's a good thing she's so darn cute.  And squeezable.  And funny.  And soft.  And smiley.  And chattery.  And incredibly affectionate.  And says "Mah-muh?" in the most darling little voice you've ever heard in your life.  Although Chris and I had quite the time out of her today, and neither one of us accomplished a whole heck of a lot workwise, aaaand besides the fact that we had many a mess to clean up this evening, you can certainly bet that I spent an extra few minutes snuggling her in the rocking chair before bedtime.  (Which she didn't fuss a peep over.  Imagine being so worn out from trouble-making discovering and exploring that you actually want to sleep?!)  I stopped and smiled and breathed in the smell of her wispy hair, and was so very grateful for my healthy, happy, rambunctious, sweet baby girl.  This tiny thing that I could never imagine life without.  Mess and all.

maybe my OFFICE is where the wild things are.

I found out yesterday that my email hasn't been working properly.  I'm not sure if it's the email from my website contact form or my blog contact form, or just email in general, since they seem to be coming from all over.  But I'm working on getting the issue corrected with my web folks.  In the meantime, if you have emailed me in the past couple of weeks and I have not responded yet (I make every effort to return calls and emails within 24 hours ~ 48 hours at the latest), please know that I have not received your email.  If you wouldn't mind, do call me instead at 727-698-0344 until I get the issue resolved!  I thank you in advance for your patience! Now then, it's been far too quiet here on the blog, don't you think?  Rest assured I've been busy behind the scenes shooting and preparing image galleries (which, ironically, is why I haven't had time to blog said sessions!).  New client galleries are going up every day, orders are being placed at my labs, and the boxes of prints are arriving daily.  I felt a little sorry for my Man In Brown who just delivered a box of prints to my door and then tiredly said to me, "Hang on, there are two more boxes!"  ;)  So, in the spirit of kicking things into high gear for the Christmas portrait rush, and to quote my little friend Max (well, Maurice Sendak at least) say it with me:  "LET THE WILD RUMPUS START!"

And start it has!  I only have one or two openings left in November, and about two open in December.  Thank you to ALL of my very patient and fantastic clients for enduring the madness that is Christmas Rush, right along with me!

I'll be right back with some sessions to share....  there are so many I need to catch you up on!

xo, Stacey

a little change of plans

...sometimes turns out to be a blessing.  I photographed the adorable T. family on a rainy Saturday evening at their beautiful home.  I just loved this session, and this family, weather and all!  And since I'm so behind on the sneak peeks over here, I'm going to do a big share on the blog, just for Alison.  Thanks for your patience!!  :)

Loved this moment with Daddy and his little girl.  I am realizing more and more each day how very much Daddies adore their baby girls.  Although I know it well with my own father (who is still so loving and affectionate, and would do anything for his three "little girls" to this very day), it's something else entirely when you actually have your own husband and your own daughter who share the same bond.  Makes me smile ~ and tear up a bit too ~ when I see it in my clients' eyes.  :)

Little man.  :)  He was so good to me and my camera, despite it being almost dinner and night-night time.  What a darling trooper he was!  Just look at that sweet smile.  (And that new tooth about to make its debut!!)

And his gorgeous Mama.  I was so drawn to the next image... little thing had gotten hurt and Mama was holding her, consoling her, and making it all better.  Hey, that's what we're known for, right?  "Disappearing" all the hurts away.  Her tears didn't last long, I assure you.  :)

Thank you for a wonderful evening with your family, Alison.  Thank you for opening up your home to me and allowing me to record these moments for you.  I hope to do it again soon!

oh the cuteness. i can't stand it.

This is undeniably my very favorite image at the moment.  This tiny, darling girl was so dainty and feminine, and such a pleasure to photograph.  I'll share more from her session in a bit... I just had to quickly share her gorgeous little face with you! Can you get over that little turned-in toe??  Oh my word.  Her adorable-ness is just too much.

a return

This sweet couple was married at Pebble Hill Plantation in Tallahassee a few years ago. How amazing to be able to go back to the very spot in which you once stood to say, "I do"...

What mommy wouldn't swoon with this sweet boy snuggled up beside you?  Darling, I tell you, just darling.

He was so good to me for the session, patient and kind and very tolerant, lol!  He even let me take a photograph of him thisclose to his little sister.  (Yuck!  Sisters!)  ;)

And this little sweetie was a treat to photograph (she wasn't icky after all, despite what her older brother may think).  ;)  Really, once she changed into her white dress... she just came alive!  She could have been the Princess of Pebble Hill that day and you couldn't have convinced us otherwise.

I love the fact that Mom wanted to incorporate her favorite loveys into the shoot!  This is such a precious stage, and I'm so happy when clients decide to embrace little things like this. :)

Thank you, F. family.  I truly enjoyed my afternoon with you!

Watch for another blog post tomorrow ~ with the Holiday rush, I'm so behind on the blog these days!  I'll eventually get caught up, I suppose!  With an insane number of sessions to shoot and edit, phone calls and emails to tackle, orders to place, packages to prepare and ship, Holiday cards to design and order...  it's such a crazy time of year for me!  Oh and the delightful swine flu that decided to plague our house for 10-12 days didn't help matters any either.  :(  Lila and I were both sick and down for the count for quite a while.  Thankfully, our house is nice and sanitized now and Parker and Chris stayed healthy the entire time!  But I'm behind now of course ~ thank you to my sweet patient clients who have called and emailed to check on me!  Your galleries will be up just as soon as my little fingers can get them edited and posted!  :)