Welcome!

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you're a client looking for your sneak peeks, note that I normally have them up within a few days of the session, but at times it may take me up to a week. Remember to click on the picture to see it bigger, and feel free to nab these for use on Myspace, Facebook, or emailing to friends and family (but note- these are web-sized images, and not suitable for printing. Also, please do not remove my watermark. I'm proud of these images and want everyone to know I took them :) I make it small and discreet- and I'd rather not have to put a big, obnoxious watermark across them instead... So please help a girl (& the rest if my clients) out and respect my copyright! Thanks).
If you're a prospective client, make certain to visit my website for more images and info. There's a link in the sidebar. Please contact me with any questions or to schedule a session: gypsyisledesigns@yahoo.com. Thanks again for visiting and enjoy your stay!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Taking a break from people...

so I can play with some fine art shots! I have finally caught up on all of my client sessions!! This doesn't seem to happen that often so I am celebrating by playing with some landscape/art prints. As much as I love working with people, sometimes it is nice to just do something creative and beautiful for me. I don't have to worry about pleasing anyone else but myself- very freeing!

So, here are the fruits of my fun labors:

This first one was taken b/c I loved the way the light was filtering through the clouds... and the birds added just the right amount of context to make it especially interesting to me.







This one I am actually thinking of turning into a postcard to give to my clients. What native Pensaoclian doesn't have fond memories of this sign? I'm just happy it found a nice, LOCAL, home at Flounder's on Pensacola Beach. I think I would have been heartbroken if the casino (in Biloxi??) had won the bid instead!

Friday, May 25, 2007

some pics of my kids to prove they exist!

I swear some people think I really just want to take pics of their kids b/c I am bored or something lol... but the truth is, in that case I have all the subjects I need at home! Here is my little pixie, Adele. She is a fireball- very bossy, determined, mischievous and funny... definitely a character! These pictures are from last Thursday at Music in the park (Seville). She had a blast playing in the dirt (and eating a bit too... which is evidenced by her VERY dirty mouth/face! She isn't usually *quite* this filthy!). And yep, this is about what I capture when trying to get a good one of her smiling lol... just goes to show you that being a photographer does NOT mean you know how to magically pull smiles from every kid- Especially your own (who has heard all your bad jokes 10 million times and really isn't interested in showing off for you anymore *sigh*)

























And here are some pics of Cameron from last week as well... and yes, he *is* always this goofy :) Man I love this kid!

























And finally... a quick sneak peek of the incredibly cool Graduation party I was at last week! I hope to get these pictures proofed and online very soon! Thanks for your patience Ms Kelly and Katie!


























(I am thinking this next one must have been the work of my son.... since it wasn't a spidey themed party ;))

Thursday, May 24, 2007

I have finally finished session #1 of Kristin's family...

Hopefully I can knock out session #2 tomorrow... but until then here is the link to her 2nd gallery of images (be warned if on dial-up- there are well over 100 images in the gallery and it will take awhile to load them all!)

Kristin 2

and a few of my faves from the 2nd gallery:



























and I think my fave from the entire session (heck- from *both* sessions)...

I've been tagged...

and I am supposed to list my 5 favorite things; which is incredibly hard for me to do! I have so many favorites in this world lol... heck, I can't even pick 5 faves in a single small category :) But here is my best try:

1) sleeping in! I get to do it so seldomly that when it happens- it is divine!

2) all the small "surprises" my son leaves in my car seat for me... usually a wildflower or a small rock, just whatever cool thing he happened to see. I know this little rite will eventually stop- so while it lasts I am going to cherish it! (even when I don't REALIZE he has left a nice pointy rock for me and my big bottom gets poked!! ;))

3) Watching TV with my hun... specifically Grey's Anatomy and House. We always make a point to watch these 2 shows together... and I am thrilled he likes them as much as I do!

4) Photography... ok... that was an "easy" answer lol... but photography has really allowed me to be creative in a whole new way. I am a bit of a control freak. I never much cared for the messes left behind after painting. And even though I loved scrapping- again, lots of little tidbits to clean up when finished. Jewelry is the same. But with photography- there is no mess when I am done... just a beautiful piece of art :) (and it doesn't hurt that the control freak in me has complete and absolute control of teh entire process down to the finished product!)

5) Hmm... tough one... how to figure out which of all the rest of my faves is deserving of making this list??? Well... I guess I will have to say the Beach. we have the most incredibly beautiful beaches here in Pensacola, and I truly feel blessed to live this close to so much beauty! For the past 2 years I haven't been at the beach much due to Cam's ears. I feel awful when I tell him he can't play in the water, so staying away is much easier. But no matter what, the beach is a part of me and I will always live near it!


OK I am going to fudge a bit lol:

5.5) my IPOD!!!!!!! love that little sucker! As a lover of music there just isn't anything better on this planet (well... maybe the Bose speakers to listen to the ipod with ;)). As the proud owner of over 500 cd's, an ipod has made listening and enjoying my music again so incredibly fun and easy! I remember I used to think that people who ranked their ipod as one of the greatest things ever were kind of fruitloopy... but since owning one I have definitely learned their worth!!!


Ok... enough about me :) back to the original purpose of this blog... to show off some pictures! (next post :))

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Phew... finally have one gallery ready...

Ok, for all of Kristin's family and friends who may be checking in, here is the first (of 3) web galleries:
http://gypsyisle.com/kris1
(yep- VERY original naming scheme I have come up with lol).

These are all the pictures from the first location we visited, the lovely and historic Fort Barrancas. It is one of my favorite places to visit as well as shoot. My kids just love to run up and down the long hallways (and from the looks of these pictures that is a universal joy that all kids can share)... and I love all the beautiful light spilling through all of the rifle slots! I love so many of these images... I hope you do as well!

And here are a few sneak peeks from our next location- the graffitti bridge and wall:






And this is just a silly picture :) I am not usually a feet person... and this shot wasn't technically a picture of feet (the real gallery will have the full image there ;)) But I just loved how everyone kind of lined up on an angle... it's funny the things that make me smile...

Friday, May 18, 2007

artistic edit...

For most of my client's images I do what I call a straight edit... correct skin tones and blemishes, and make sure the colors are nice and vibrant. I save my "artistic edits" for my own images or my landscapes. But I find these far more satisfying from a creative standpoint... and every now and then I just feel the need to play with a client's image to see if I can find something I like better than just a normal run of the mill portrait.

Today was one of those days when I needed a bit of a creative release! I had fun playing with one of Ms. Kristin's images... in the end I ended up with 6 different versions- all of which I liked for different reasons. I decided I would put the most "out there" version on my blog... it just makes me smile when I look at it- I think it is a beautiful image, green/blue streaky hair and all!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Vacations kind of stink sometimes...

As much as I love going on vacation... it always means more work when I get back lol. I haven't had much time to do any proofing over the past few days... and, with as many GREAT pics as I took of this family, it is taking me even longer than normal! But, to prove I *am* making a bit more progress, here are your sneak peeks for today! Kristin, I hope you love the one of yourself- I do!





Tuesday, May 15, 2007

a few more for mom!

Since I did 2 full sessions for Ms. Kristin and family (once with her whole family and once with just the boys), it is going to take me a bit to get all the proofs ready. So, to make sure mom knows I *am* working on them, here are a few more sneak peeks... I hope you enjoy!







Sunday, May 13, 2007

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


I had a blast shooting Kristin, Trafton and their 2 boys, Mr. M and Mr. L while they were visiting in Pensacola for a week. This is just a very small sample of all the fun shots I captured while they were visiting from California. I hope these images will always remind them of their fun family vacation!