renee oakenfull photography

Soulful Child

I haven't been feeling very cheery the last week. I thought I'd lost my mojo again but Julie told me to let the moodiness come through in my photos.

How's this?

Old photos | New processing

I've been taking some time off the forums. I am catching up on personal editing though which is great.

I've been working on getting a softer, dreamier, more romantic look.

I like it on these photos. She's such a soft, pretty little girl...

I promise, next week I'll take photos of ALL the kiddos... not that you could possibly be sick of seeing Piper, right?

Laureen, a fantastic photographer (and someone I'm lucky enough to call my friend) gave me some inspiration today. She sent me looking for a photographer by the name of Joey Lawrence. (I TOTALLY had the guy from that old tv show, Blossom on my mind).

I Google... as Steph would tell you, Google is my friend and I Google everything.

And I find him... wow! His work is absolutely amazing! I mean... everything about it is so fantastic. The thing that pulls me in from all of his personal work is the human element. I suggest you go check out Joey Lawrence without delay... but be warned, you'll lose track of time for sure.

Lego fun

Pacey found a packet of biscuits at the supermarket today that came with a small pack of lego. Naturally, how could daddy refuse?

You can click to see this one bigger...

And the finished product.

Still thinking of my friends in California. Wishing you another safe day/night, calm winds and brave firefighters...

pssst... contest on the vibe blog :)

Thinking of you...

I've heard the fires in California are freakishly scary at the moment. My thoughts are with you all at this time. May you, your families, your friends and your neighbours be safe...

Guess who?

Yep - Piper!

Totally got this idea from someone on flickr...

Love this one. She was reading and suddenly bursts out with "ooooh mum look!"

Here's proof that Piper isn't an only child... Pacey at the park...

And a shot of Jadzia's new school shoes. Shoes wouldn't normally be a bloggable item for me but these are just too cool. She's outgrown her old ones but since it's almost the end of the school year it's hard to find good school shoes in stock. So... we had a little fun instead...

Piper in the Great Tramampoline Adventure

She can fly...

Leap tall buildings...

and make giant bounds for justice.

She can mix it with the best...

but at the end of it all...

she still gets a little pooped :)

I love how the sunshine makes her hair so golden in these.

Oh, and yes... I do know that we need to replace the trampoline safety mats. This is what happens after a long, cold, wet winter (okay, and kids playing a little too rough AND a cat that thinks it's a scratch pad).

Soooo... Danny has started blogging. I didn't force him, I swear. He says he doesn't 'get it' but he's doing it anyway. I'm sure that if you all popped on over there and left him a comment he'd be stoked and admit that, as always, I was right and blogging is super cool!
Danny's blog: 'cause I said so...

giggles

She really is just. so. damn. beautiful...

Danny has started a blog. I sooo want to share with you but I keep forgetting to get the address from him. Stupid thing is that I set it up for him. Ugh... will do soon.

Also wanted to let you know that the vibe Lightroom presets were released with an introductory price for the month of October. Don't miss out. AND... keep checking for an interview. The first one is with a photographer that just knocks my socks off... I'm in awe when I look at her work.

Pink Parasol & Pretty Piper

Think I crammed enough Ps in that title? ;)

She started out a little unsure...

warmed up slowly

but she ended up having a blast!

danced a little...

gave me some attitude...

and then I got these two...

So I think this can be officially declared 'the week of Piper'. I still have more photos to post from our session the other day. Tomorrow? Tramampoline!

For fun: who knows where tramampoline comes from???

My Cowgirl

If you're an artistic person then you'll know how it feels when you lose that creativity. Writers call it writer's block... I like to call it my mojo. I hate it when I lose my mojo. I feel quiet... I feel down... I feel broken. Usually it happens over winter, when the light is low and we're all stuck inside. This time it happened at the craziest time - the beginning of Spring.

We went to the park... no photos. I got a couple of snaps for the family archives but that's it. I kept trying to make a great photo and it just wasn't happening.

And then...

 

I decided to go all out on a full session with Piper.

We had fun!

I felt my mojo return and it was sooo good!

My favourites have to be the two I posted yesterday...

...but I'm slightly partial to this set too.

And to prove that I can turn the camera around:

do you think she looks into it?

and if you're still with me and I haven't bored you too much yet... here's the first one again, with texture...

Waiting Angel

I'm not sure what she's waiting for...

I'm not sure what she's dreaming of...

But I'm sure it's something magnificent...