Michaela's Photography

Finding My Center.... Michaela's Photography... Olympia Lifestyle Photographer

Goodness it's been a while... I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not much of a blogger or very social in the month of January.  For me January is the time to find my center, to reflect on the previous year, be present in the now and by February I'm able to move forward and get excited about the new year.

Last year was an exciting year for me, I had so many great sessions and met so many new clients that always turn into friendships.  Photography is a constant challenge for me and I love that... finding my style, what makes me unique... working on my skill and the technical aspects of photography... I feel fortunate to have found my passion and am able to do what I love for a living.  Being a business owner is an entirely different challenge for me, I have such a new found respect for anyone that embarks on being self employed and being a small business owner.      

Ed and I have been taking the boys on nature hikes all over Olympia... again... trying to find our center... needing some balance from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We start out the morning with a great breakfast. One of our morning favorites... ground sweet pork sausage from Johnson's Meats , 1/2 a dozen eggs, mix it up, scoop spoonfuls into pan and fry. Blueberry pancakes with a little homemade Jelly... I take frozen Spooner's Berry Farms strawberries from last summer and equal amounts sugar (I try to use less)... bring to a boil and pour into jam jar. Some of our favorite places to explore; Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail , McLane Creek Nature Trail  and Mima Mounds Prairie.  There are so many more in our area... if you have a favorite... please share and leave a comment!        ~Michaela

    

Happy Birthday Dad.......

Today would have been my Dad's 62nd Birthday.  My Dad grew up very poor, he was one of 5 children.  I always remembered him telling the story of them being too poor to afford anything so for birthdays there was one hostess cupcake for the birthday child and the other cupcake was divided by 4 for each of the other children.  He told many stories of his childhood and he taught me to have compassion for those that have less, to not judge and do something to  help those in need.   Happy Birthday Dad.... we miss you!   ~Michaela  

Remembering my Dad.....

In June of 2009 it had been 7 months since my Dad passed away... my family was still in a fog of denial and shock.  The first year is very difficult,  the first Christmas without him, his Birthday without him, first summer bbq without him, first time at the beach without him.... etc..... But it's the little things too.... I went to my parents house and saw my Dad's rusty old riding lawn mower parked with weeds growing all around it.  It was the mower that the kids loved riding with him on.... and there it sat parked where he had left it... it was a sad moment and a clear reminder that he is gone.... he's really gone....

I found this old photo of my Dad riding the mower.... Photographs are so important you just never know how much they mean to you when someone has passed.  (On the right is the little play house he built for my sister Priscilla.)   ~Michaela  

 

My Mommy and Me......

My love of photography began with my own baby photographs.... I loved looking at them as a little girl.  I was my parents first child and looking at these images made me feel so special.  I loved how beautiful my mom always had me dressed... most of those little dresses I'm wearing I still have now.  And my mom..... how did she do it?... she was always dressed so beautifuly... don't you just loves those mini skirts?  ~Michaela

Missing My Dad..

I still can't believe he's gone... I don't know if I ever will... this is our first Father's Day without him. ~Michaela

BettyAnn & Pennies from JaJa....

This is my sister Betty's little girl.... BettyAnn... how cute is that?  BettyAnn is appropriately named after my sister, she has her same sassy attitude. 

My dad always had a bubble gum machine full of candy and whenever the kids came over he would give them pennies for the machine.... the kids also called him JaJa... JaJa means Grandpa in Polish.  Since my dad has passed away... the kids believe whenever they find a penny on the ground it's from JaJa!!!  What a sweet way to remember my dad, I've been thinking about him so much, I just can't believe he's gone.   ~Michaela

My logo design and my Dad.....

I was so excited when I came up with the idea for my logo design.  A bird nest represents so many things about me.  I want my images to be natural, I've always loved spring, birth, babies and the 3 little blue eggs represent my 3 baby boys.  I wanted the bird nest image to be my "watermark" (my signature) for all of my baby images.  Sometime last year I asked my dad to draw a nest for me, I also wanted to have a little apple blossom and this is what he drew for me.  I wasn't sure if this was what I wanted it to look like so I set the sketch aside.  I recently stumbled upon the sketch and now that my dad has passed away it means everything to me!  This sweet little sketch my dad drew for me.    ~Michaela

 

About my Dad....

This blog is for my photography business; a place for me to show my portfolio, share recent images and stories from sessions, and to let my current and future clients get to know me.  The passing of my Dad has been life changing, I still can't fully comprehend that he is gone.... I'm compelled to share with you my personal images and story.  This is about how our family coped with the shock and sadness of the passing of my Dad....

My Dad was raised in Buffalo, NY, he enlisted in the Army at a very young age, was stationed in Germany and that is where he met my Mom.  Growing up in the military you really only have each other, we were constantly moving and our family was always far away.  So we never really had to deal with death firsthand, my Dad's passing is our first experience.  My Dad retired from the military at the age of 38 and my youngest sister was just a baby.  My Dad then started a business as a cabinet maker, remodeling kitchens and baths, he worked side by side with Mom for 22 years.  He was a master craftsman, making anything and everything out of wood.  My sister Betty and I had babies three months apart and my Dad made us the most beautiful cradles for Christmas.  The next Christmas my Dad made my son a train set and Zoe my niece received a doll house.  He wanted to start a tradition of working on these two gifts each year and adding to them so that by the time the kids were old enough to play with them, they would be complete.  He loved a reason to celebrate and Christmas was his favorite time of year.  My Dad had a difficult childhood and wanted to create for us what he never had.  My Dad would spend weeks putting up Christmas lights and setting up two different train sets for the kids.  He also owned several vintage cars and enjoyed restoring them to perfection.  Last year we planned an Oktober Fest for my husbands 40th birthday.  My Dad really enjoyed planning the party, he loved to do everything to perfection.  He always said... "if you're going to do something, do it right."  The whole family had such a fun time working on the party together; Ed's brother Ken brewed the perfect beer, (he started a year in advance!), my sisters showed up dressed like German beer maids, and my Mom and Dad were in charge of all the food. 

My Dad suffered a massive stroke in his brain stem, when we went to the hospital to see him the doctors told us that he would not recover.  When we went to see him in his room he looked so peaceful and just sleeping, we were in such shock and did not want to let him go.  The nurses were incredible... I will NEVER forget them.  They listened to us, cried with us and took such great respect and care for my Dad.  One nurse in particular told of stories in her 28 years experience in critical care.  She told us that my Dad was at peace and waiting for us to let him go, her stories gave me such comfort.  I am so grateful for the time we had with him and the patience and time the nurses gave us.  We had our past with him and a future without him so it was so hard to let him go.  When we he passed away we were all in the room with him. 

When I went home the first thing I did was to go through all my pictures, month by month, year by year, and every time I found one I sobbed with happiness that I found another one and was so sad because I would never see him again.  Any image of him that was not digital I took to Kits camera and had them scanned.  We have so many wonderful pictures showing his true spirit and who he was... I am so grateful!!!!!!

The first image is of me with my sibling....

Preperations for my Dad's Funeral Service....

Three words that describe my Dad well are.....

Artistic ..... Passionate .... and ..... Perfectionist .....

And those are the three traits my Dad passed on to us kids. 

Planning his funeral service would be done with all of those traits and this was all a new experience for us as well.  A very dear friend of mine had to deal with the passing of her own mother, her mother was dying of cancer and I will never forget the care they put into her passing.  I was asked to photograph her mother with her sisters.  It was a beautiful day and we were at the home the kids were raised in.  I cried during the session because I was so honored to be taking these beautiful images of a mother with her girls and their last images together.  Their family made her a quilt and casket all by hand in preparation for her passing.  When my family began planning my Dad's service I mentioned this to my siblings, immediately I could see the look in my brothers eyes.... he was building the casket in his mind right then... I thought "Oh no... what have I done to my poor brother!"  He would only have two days to build it and I knew he would feel like he had to live up to my Dad's perfection and build it the way my dad would have.  My sister Betty and my brother Stan left the funeral home and immediately went to the hardware store to purchase the materials.  It was amazing to see how much my brother learned from my dad but also my sister Betty, the two of them built it to perfection.  We wanted everyone to have a hand in building this casket, even the little kids and even if it was just one nail.  We spent days in my dad's shop spending time together and learning lots about each other and our dad.  My youngest sister Priscilla, only 22 years old, wrote the eulogy to speak at his service, I gathered all his pictures and created beautiful service cards.  Family and friends brought prepared meals, that was so helpful because nobody had time to think about food let alone prepare it.  And so in honor of our dad we planned the perfect celebration for him, the way he would have done it.  There were several times when I grabbed the camera thinking.... "I need to take a picture so I can show dad what we are doing for him he would be so proud"....  My dad once told my brother "when I die meet me in my shop" and we all did just that. 

My Dad's Funeral Service

My Dad received full military honors, the day was very dark and cloudy but as soon as the service started the clouds parted and the sun popped out.  My sister Priscilla began the eulogy saying that my dad was telling us he made it to heaven.  As soon as the service ended... the dark clouds came back and there was a down pour of rain.  It was perfect. 

My friend Rachelle, also a photographer took these beautiful images of the service.  ~Michaela