Photos From My November Event at School Crossing

Take a look at the beautiful children I had the opportunity to photograph during my free mini-sessions at School Crossing in Colorado Springs this month. (If you click on the image you'll see a larger version with more detail.) It was so fun to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while and to meet some new people as well.

If you have never been to School Crossing, or haven't been there lately, it is a great place to pick up gifts for kids. The store includes teacher supplies, a large toy store, and even a Pikes Perk Coffee. I found lots of things suitable for my kids in the $10 - $15 range while I was there.

http://www.ashleyphotography.com/

Images from Raven's Nest Portrait Party

Heather's portrait party at the Raven's Nest coffee house brought out lots of gorgeous babies and kiddos. We had two afternoons of mini sessions after they had closed for the day on a recent Saturday and Sunday. Lots of cute and fun photos -- here are a handful of my favorites.

How about this first one? As hard as I tried, she was so totally NOT impressed. "Just try to get me to smile, lady."

The Raven's Nest is located in Colorado Springs at the corner of Boulder and Institute.

http://www.ashleyphotography.com/

Then & Now

Niko is a warm and gentle almost five year old who is smart as a whip, has an amazing memory and a wonderful sense of humor. He loves to draw, write stories, "read" books, and play with his fire truck and boat. That's just inside. Let this child outside and he loves to throw a ball, ride his bike, ride his four wheeler and generally explore his world.

What a wonderful little boy he has become from a calm and relaxed baby. Even as a small baby Niko always had a smile and he loved to be cuddled. As an infant he was on the move reaching and exploring. In each milestone, Niko cautiously waited until he had the skill just right, then took off with it.

His parents have had a wonderful adventure with Niko, learning along with him year by year, and they can't wait to see how he is at six!

Then & Now

Sweet Mahlia Simone turned 5 on Valentine's Day. This once 5lb. preemie baby has had no trouble catching up to her peers. This big girl has an even bigger personality with lots of emotion and girly drama. Her mommy and daddy have lovingly labeled her "high maintenance," which they say she definitely gets from their own passion for having things be "just right."

Mahlia has recently become an adoring little mommy to her 20-month-old sister, Lily. Since the day Lily was born, Mahlia has been completely hands-on in her care taking. She loves to help dress her, comb her hair, feed her, bathe her--and not to mention the occasional unsupervised diaper changing (and make-up application.) She loves playing with her own babies as well.

Mahlia is a smart little girl who is into reading, writing her name (along with many other letters) and she knows her phone number and address by heart. She's all "girl" and very passionate about Chapstick, lotion, glitter, jewelry, bags and shoes.

Cheap Eats With Your Kids!

As all moms know, sometimes you just gotta go out for dinner. Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list in the city, but it's a great list of kid-friendly restaurants in Colorado Springs that offer deeply discounted or downright free meals for children! Be sure to call to confirm the deal before you go, as restaurants can change their policies at any time.

Monday
Conway's Red Top--one kid eats free with purchase of special adult entree
Gunther Toody's--one kid eats free with paid adult
Texas Road House--one kid eats free with paid adult
Mission Inn--one kid eats free with paid adult

Tuesday
Fazoli's--kids eat for 99 cents
Denny's--2 kids eat free with paid adult
Mission Inn--one kid eats free with paid adult
Bennigans--kids eat free with paid adult
Lonestar--kids eat free with paid adultRed, Hot and Blue (BBQ) -- kids eat for 99 cents.

Wednesday
Applebees--kids eat for $1
La Casita--2 kids eat for free with any one combo meal purchase
Mission Inn--one kid eats free with paid adult
Gunther Toody's-- buy one hamburger, 2nd one is 5 cents.

Thursday
Captain D's--2 kids eat free with paid adult. In store only.

Saturday
Denny's--2 kids eat free with paid adult

Sunday
Captain D's--2 kids eat free with paid adult. In store only.
Lonestar--kids eat free with paid adult
Red, Hot and Blue (BBQ) -- kids eat for 99 cents.

Changes in the Neighborhood

When we moved into our new studio in downtown Colorado Springs, we were a little apprehensive about the run-down liquor store two doors down, but were thrilled to have a little coffee shop next door. Well, yesterday demolition crews came in and they both came down, as did the old red barn building (a former restaurant?). It was a just a matter of minutes until the whole street corner was nothing more than a pile of rubble!

Our studio is so much more visible now! But not for long. The plan is for a new 4-story building including a bank, office condos, and perhaps a new coffee shop? Stay tuned to watch the progress.

www.ashleyphotography.com

A Few Favorites from our New Studio

We've had such fun this year working out of our new studio, and here are just a few of my favorites. I photograph so many cute kids that it's pretty much impossible to pick my favorites, but here is a little sampling from the year. Enjoy!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

It's time for family photos!

Hard to believe, but our Christmas deadline is quickly approaching! If you're hoping to get family photos done in time for the holidays, give us a call today. We are getting extremely busy as the holidays draw near, so you'll want to get yourself on our schedule as soon as possible.

Family photos make great gifts, and are an easy way to get those holiday cards done as well.

www.ashleyphotography.com

September's "Artist's Choice" Sessions

It was so much fun this week getting to experiment with my new "Venice" background! Lots of amazingly cute kids showed up to help me get it right at our "Artist's Choice" sessions.

We did lots of jumping, dancing and spinning around to the tunes on my iPod. Thanks, everyone!

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Love those Itty Bitty Babies!

Meet Blake, possibly the tiniest little guy we've had in the studio, at two weeks still weighing in at less than 6 pounds! What an amazing little human, and so much more cooperative than most of my little subjects!



www.ashleyphotography.com

We're Baaaaack ....

... back at the mall, that is! Next time you're at Chapel Hills, stop by and take a look at our kiosk on the second level in the Sears wing. We've brought in some of our favorite images, old and new, and will have them on display through the end of July. We'll be swapping out the images in our display periodically, so be sure to take a look!

When the kids need a potty break, take them to the Family Restrooms on the main level of the mall, and sneak a peek at even more of our work in both the waiting area and the nursing room.

www.ashleyphotography.com

Vegas, Baby!

For years I've wanted to attend WPPI, one of the huge national portrait photography conventions held each year in Las Vegas. I finally decided to take the plunge, and found several friends who were sweet enough to keep my kids for a few days (on school nights, no less!) while Stephanie and I flew down to take a look. Vegas in and of itself is pretty overwhelming. Add to that 1000's of photographers, an intense series of speakers, and an incredible trade show and you get a very exhausting 3 days.

I came back really pumped up with great new creative ideas, a much lighter wallet ... and, I admit, a couple extra pounds courtesy of all the buffets.

I absolutely love this new "white on white" technique I learned (shown on Hannah below), and am looking forward to adding it to our offerings.



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Join Our Mailing List

Have you signed up for our mailing list yet? Just follow this link and enter your e-mail address. You'll receive our newsletter, as well as announcements of our occasional specials.

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We've moved! Here's where to find us....

After what has seemed like forever, but has really only been about six weeks, we're up and running in our new space!

You'll find us in downtown Colorado Springs at 15 S. Wahsatch, between Pikes Peak and Colorado. We're on the east side of the street, and are the only building in that block that is set back from the road, making it a little trickier to spot our building. We have plenty of onsite parking.

If you're not familiar with downtown, I recommend using Mapquest to find us until we write up detailed directions from various spots around town.

http://www.ashleyphotography.com

Painting, painting, painting ....

So, you can guess what we've been doing lately!

We are working like crazy to keep up with our clients at the studio (Stephanie calls this our "day job,") while working like crazy the rest of the time to get ready for our big move in a couple weeks. This means many, many trips to Home Depot to pick up the latest can of paint, and late nights and weekends ridding the new studio of its many white walls. Our awesome friends Kara and Jeff even donated their Friday night to the cause. Kara is the driving force behind the colorful checkerboard wall for the kids' playroom. "Check" it out! And check back later as we get closer to finishing this masterpiece.

www.ashleyphotography.com

Just for Fun

Sometimes I get to do a session just for me, and that was the case recently with my cute little neighbor, Mia.

I had the pleasure of photographing her when she was just a few weeks old, and again last week ... not too long after her first birthday.

A photo of Mia will soon be on display at The Raven's Nest coffee shop, where they are kind enough to let me show some of my favorite black and white images.



www.ashleyphotography.com

Dream Dinners -- yum!

Our client Tracey Christiansen recently opened a Dream Dinners store in the Northeast corner of town near Powers and Research. I finally visited them a couple weeks ago and gave them a try. What a neat concept!

I went online and viewed their monthly menu items and selected the ones I wanted, picked a day and time to assemble the food, and paid. Then I showed up at my designated time, put on an apron, and got to work. Keri, the very nice store manager, showed me how to assemble each menu item. Say you're making Shrimp Creole. You go to the Shrimp Creole station, get your ziplocs, and read the recipe, adding each ingredient to your bag in the quantity that they specify. When you're done, put the cooking instructions label on the bag and pop it onto your designated refrigerator shelf. Then you just move on to the next dish. When you're done, you have 12 meals that are ready to freeze and then defrost as you need them (or if you have a small family and are splitting them in half, you have 24!).

Best thing is that they taste great. Even my 5 and 9-year-olds have been happy with the meals. Kaya actually got up from her chair and danced around the dining room because she thought the rice tasted so good.

Who ARE all those people?

After sending out our studio's New Year's card, a friend asked me "I got your card, but who are those people? Are you sure you got the right picture on there?" Well, we thought it would be obvious, but those are all OUR kids. Between me and Stephanie, we have 8 of 'em! And they're the reason we do what we do, so it only seemed appropriate for our studio greetings to have a photo of our own kiddos.

With all those blondies, good luck figuring out which belong to her and which belong to me. I can hardly tell the difference myself!

Handbags & Jewelry

Ashley Photography has added some fun new products to our offerings, including handbags, pillows and jewelry. I'm especially in love with the handbags, and the quality of this product has to be seen to be believed.

We have some gorgeous samples at the studio, and I can hardly wait for my own personal bag to arrive. I would never have considered myself a photo purse kind of person, but I love these things!

New Year, New Building!

Whew! January is supposed to be the slow month for photographers, when we have a chance to take a breath and catch up on all the little things that we let slide during the crazy holiday months. No such luck this year, as we are moving the studio again. I signed the papers yesterday, and we will be open in our new space on March 1st!

Watch this space, as I will share the transformation here. The new building is located at 15 S Wahsatch. By the way, if you have a business and need new space, the guys at Hoff & Leigh were great to work with.