Studio Life @ Johnston Photography

She's Here!!!

That's right Lyla Grace, my daughters baby has arrived! Now as most of you know I just LOVE photographing newborns, and this gave me such a perfect time to play. I spent 2 weeks in MN helping Katie adjust to her new life with a baby. I packed my car full of items for photographing a small child. Sort of Johnston Photography on location.

We did baby photos, sister photos, mom and baby photos, dad and baby photos, and even family photos. Personally, I was in heaven. Photographing and hanging out with my daughter and granddaughters! I actually spent 5 hours one day holding Lyla so Kate could get some rest. There were nursing breaks, but not for too long. It was wonderful. I am addicted! 

I think Johnston Photography needs to make an irresistable offer for moms to bring me their newborns so I can hold them and photograph them and get my baby fix. Hmmmmm we will have to work on this.

Anyway here are a few images from my time away from the studio.

OH SO GOOD!!!!

A client dropped by to thank me for the portraits I had done for them and brought me a small box of chocolates. They were from a little shop in the area I had not seen before. MORKES. Holy Cow! Those sweet little morsels did not last long around me, that's for sure. A few days later I had to go photograph at a clients home and went past Morkes store on Rt62 by Randall Rd. So I promised myself I would stop in and have a look around on my way back to the studio. Well I must say it is such a cute place, and the smells are totally intoxicating! I made a selection and went to the counter to purchase. I saw a business card on the counter and stopped. I looked at the sales clerk and questioned the name on the card. I said " Is this MY Claudia Kendzior?" She of course looked at me as if I were nuts, but lo and behold the owner happens to be a long time Johnston Photography client. I have had the honor of watching her 3 kids and 2 dogs grow and change thru the years. She purchased the shop a couple of years ago and is enjoying it very much. It shows. With such a cute place and wide variety of offerings, she must love it.
I would like to encourage everyone that comes into the area to make a stop at Morkes Chocolates 2755 W Algonquin Rd, Algonquin, IL.(just west of Randall Rd) Tell Claudia I sent you and be sure to try the Chocolates coverd with sea salt. They are amazing!!

An Interest in Pinterest!?!?!?!

So, how many of you have found this new addiction like me? PINTEREST! I have developed a real Love/Hate relationship with this site. It sucks up valuable time but I have gotten some great stuff from it! New recipes for food I should not eat, ideas for in the studio and decorating ideas for home. For high school seniors.... we are pinning outfit ideas. Please pin ideas for us if you would like.

As some of you may know, my daughter Katie is expecting a little girl in April. They are getting ready to move into a new home in MN too. I have found idea for both the babys room and Haileys ( our step grand daughter) room. Here is one of the projects I am working on for the baby. Simple, easy and best of all....Katie really likes it! I am planning the same thing for Hailey but I want her to come with me to pick out the patterns for each letter. 

Please don't curse me if I have just introduced you to this hot craze! Remember- you can walk away from the computer at any time! LOL

24 Weeks and Counting! {Maternity Portraits by Johnston Photography}

As many of you know my daughter is expecting her first child in April. Dave and I could not be more excited! Katie and her step daughter Hailey are visiting us this week so I took the opportunity to photograph Kate and her ever growing belly. I usually do not photograph a maternity client this early in their pregnancy, but Katie will not drive down when she is 8 months pregnant. I can't say I blame her! For those that do not know her, she is a pretty conservative woman, so there was no getting her naked for maternity portraits. Even tho she knows I keep things very descrete, it is just not her style. Here are few of our favorites from yesterdays Maternity Portrait Session at Johnston Photography in Crystal Lake. Oh by the way... She is having a little girl. Lyla Grace. Ok so I am just a little proud on my beautiful daughter and her wonderful husband Dan. Wish he could have come down too, but he had to work this week. I'll get him into the newborn portraits for sure!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your Thanksgiving be filled with food, fun and family! 

Thank You for Your Service! {portrait photographer in McHenry County}

I wanted to take a moment today and thank all of our Service Men and Women. I know not all agree with the war our country is involved in at this time, but in my opinion, that is no reason to not give our troops our FULL support. These men and women like all that have come before them are willing to do what it takes to protect and serve this country we call home. It may not be perfect, but it is still a lot better than a lot of other places out there. 

As the mom of a "troop"( which is just a term used to take the human factor out of it) I can not even begin to express the pride and gratitude I have for everyone, past, present and future, will to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. We ALL know someone who has served or is serving now, PLEASE take a moment to say Thank You! Not just today, but every chance you get. Let them know that we care and appreciate them and all they stand for.

Here are a couple of Americas Finest that I have shared before, but would like to share once again. Our son Mike and our friend Matt. Thanks for your service guys! You know we love you!!

 

Back from Happy Jack! {Crystal Lake Photographer}

I had this wonderful opportunity to attend a workshop on a working Cattle Ranch in Northern Arizona last weekend. Met a bunch of wonderful photographers from all over the country. Phyllis from Georgia and Dene from California seemed to be the official greeters when I got to the ranch. Bev Pettit was the instructor. She has a horse ranch in another area of Northern Arizona. We spent 2 days hanging around the V-V Ranch near Happy Jack, AZ. We had a real Chuckwagon Cook-out and went on a cattle drive. The nice cold mornings warmed up to mid 70 afternoons. Here are a quick 3 images from the workshop. I totaled out at 1500. I have not had time to really edit but wanted to share at least a little bit of the trip. Thanks Bev, Dave, and the staff at the ranch. It was such a wonderful time!!! Hope to see you my next trip out.

Ruff Start to the Day

Our town had a ruff start today! We had a storm roll through with 75 mile per hour winds and heavy rain. There are still businesses without power and no clue when they will be restored. Our studio was dark most of the day today. I did go in and do what I could without electricity. It is days like today that I realize just how dependent I am on the stuff! Can't photograph- no lights, can't edit sessions or work on orders- no computers, can't  pay the bills- no computer OR printer, couldn't even clean- no vacuum power. So I went home and cleaned up our yard from all of the tree debris. We got off VERY lucky compared to others in our area. A few small branches and a lot of leaves. Just down the street they lost several big beautiful old oak trees. The street I live on is known to be one of the prettiest streets in the old part of town. That is because of it's big beautiful trees and older homes. With every big storm lately we loose more of the trees. I know it is a part of the whole cycle of life thing, but it really breaks my heart to watch it happen and not be able to do a thing about it. No houses were badly damaged and the neighbors are all fine, so that is the most important thing. I hope other areas got off as lucky, but my cable tv is out so I don't know how everyone else is doing!

I hope all of you had a nicer start to your week! May you stay cool in the heat, warm in the cold, dry in the rain, and safe in your everyday!!

Katie Made a Wedding Video!

After hours of culling thru the hundreds of images from her wedding Katie finally picked a whole bunch to create a great video. So far it has made her dad, myself and Carol from the studio cry. Just a warning! LOL Enjoy!!  

Katie and Dan Tie the Knot!!!

It has been a little crazy around here the past few months! As many of you know my daughter got married over the Memorial Day weekend. What a wonderful time we all had! The weather was VERY cooperative. There was a cook-out and party at the house on Saturday and the wedding on Sunday all up in MN. The question I get the most is "Who did the wedding photographs?" I am proud to say some of my very best friends did. Cindy Romano, Thom and Joanne Rouse. They made the weekend much less stressful. Well at least for me it was. I knew they had it all covered! Now comes the hard part. Sorting thru the 1500+ images! LOL I will admit I did take a couple of picts but I was so busy with other things my camera sat in the case  most of the time! Here are a few images from the weekend.