Capturing the Moment (s): Soggy Dog Designs

It won't be a surprise to those who know me -- or followers of Maine-ly Home -- that I love photographs. I love to take them. I love to see them.

My passion for photography runs deep. Influenced by my two grandfathers and my dear aunt who were never without their cameras, I learned to appreciate the art of photography at a young age. While other kids were busy saving their money for electronics or baseball cards, I was stashing cash, penny by penny, to buy my first 35mm film camera with multiple lenses (to replace the snap and shoot that took 110 film cartridges!). For decades, that camera was with me. Capturing the moments of life in middle school, high school, college and my travels around the world. After the birth of our first child, the demand for instant photographs became too much to handle (read: grandparents and family from afar needed photos all the time and right away). With great hesitation, we put that camera aside and moved to the digital world. While I love our digital Nikon SLR beyond words, I still hold film nearest and dearest to my heart.

I am rarely ever without camera. Even my husband, who shares a love for photography (we actually each brought darkroom equipment into this marriage!), gets a bit annoyed. I'll admit, sometimes it's my social crutch. And, I love the my niece, for example, counts on me to photograph those special moments (I'm her paparazzi). But, mostly, it's that I think I see the world -- I remember the moments - as I see them behind the lens.

Well, just a few days ago, I went to the beach with a friend and our five girls. I purposely left my camera behind (I didn't think I could manage it with a toddler and the sand.) And, boy, I'm glad I did. For once, I was real-time, while my beach companion and friend (a professional photographer), captured those moments. I'm not a big fan of staged photos, unless of course you have the gift (as Wendy does) of making the staged look candid. But, on this overcast beach day, there was no staging. It was pure candid bliss. And, Wendy captured our girls in their beach day glory. Check out her work --  and think about booking a shoot with Soggy Dog Designs. May I suggest the beach as a backdrop?