new year.....new haiku!!!

You are probably wondering what in the world is going on here! The bliss website has disappeared!  Well, let me explain.  Over the past few months I kept coming across more and more photography businesses that have a similar name to bliss.  Wanting to stand out and be more unique, I started to rethink the business name and logo. I am also branching out to the Rapid City area in the spring and felt that it was a good time to make the change.  One day, as I was writing poetry :) yes, I do write poetry :) I was considering all the different genres and forms, and haiku popped into my head.  A haiku is originally Japanese, and is a short poem meant to evoke an image of the natural world (a condensed definition).  It was one of those proverbial light bulb moments folks!  That would be the new business name, since my goal with my photography is to capture natural images of people!  I tried to keep it somewhat similar to the old brand and logo, and wanting a modern look with a vintage edge, I created the new logo; a camera photographing a heart (love!).  I hope you enjoy the new name and look as much as I do!  And I hope this new year finds you happy too!

I will keep this blog up for a little while so that my old friends may find their way to the new site and blog:

www.haikuhappyphotography.com
www.haikuhappyphotography.blogspot.com

henry

my own sweet son.  time for his first year photos already!--and guess what, taking photos of a busy one-year-old isn't easy! for these shots, you can picture his daddy over my shoulder making goofy faces and noises so that we could get him to smile in my direction.  we really got our exercise--by the time we were finished with these we were both out of breath! he really put mommy to work :)

lucky for us it was in the 40s in rapid city so we took advantage of the warm weather as much as we could.  it did get a little chilly in some spots, so instead of shooting in an open meadow, which was the original plan, we decided to take shelter by a closed swimming pool!

oh this is the look  :)

i had to include this next photo, we fondly refer to this as the sumo squat :)  he will hold this little position for long periods of time--it all depends on how interesting the object is, in this case, wood chips were pretty darn interesting i guess

a few from the art alley downtown, we didn't have much to work with  since the rest of the place was like a skating rink! but henry did have fun running up and down a little cement path by the graffitied walls

 oh how i l-o-v-e this child more than words can say :)

peace, love, and happy photography!

AND happy first birthday to my baby boy, mommy loves you!

:)saralynn

jack & mae

this next photograph was incredibly special for me to shoot.  the aunt of two infants who recently passed away, asked if I could create a photographic memorial for her sister (their mother and her family).  we met at a flower shop where she wrote their names by hand onto the petals of a white orchid. what a beautiful and touching way to remember those dear little ones.  I am simply proud to have been a part of it, and to know such amazing and warm-hearted people.

 

conor

i took the majority of conor's graduate photos this past summer (he was the one with the really cool restored car--visit the website's gallery to check it our if you missed it), but we really needed some in the snow for my snowboarding brother-in-law, so we patiently waited for some powder and here are a few of the results!

 i am pretty surprised that he was able to pull off some of these relaxed, "serious" faces, especially when the person behind the camera was awkwardly squating above the snow drifts to get a great angle while simultaneously keeping their bottom warm and dry......which didn't work out the entire time.....

 okay girlios, get ready to swoon because you are now entering.....dimple city!!! love it--definitely my favorite--and i think mom's too :)

only in the winter can you get shots like these

thanks conor, for enduring the awkward snow drift hovering and for not laughing when i slipped and fell on the ice....too hard :)

peace, love, and happy photography!

:) saralynn

bryson and kaydyn

i have been soooo busy celebrating thanksgiving, early christmases, a baptism, birthdays, and rehearsing for holiday concerts that i haven't had the time to do the upkeep i should with the little blog here! but, well, family comes first :)  just so you know i didn't disappear, however, i thought that i should add just a few photos of my nephew and niece that i quickly snapped while they were visiting.  they are both absolutely adorable..i may be somewhat partial :)  i miss them so so much!  hmmm...traveling to north carolina for a visit would also create some great photographic opportunities too i'm sure...  :)

miss new big sis kaydyn lynn

 and mr. bryson james

  

peace, love, and happy photography!

:) saralynn

zoe

zoe will be graduating this year, and what do we do to celebrate? take photos.  lots and lots and lots of photos.  i asked zoe to do some "modeling" for me this summer so that i could play around with some of my crazy ideas.  i must have done something right because she came back for more last week!--she needed some photos with Tucker (the cute dog you see below), her trombone, and pointe shoes :) 

 this next group of photos is from our session earlier this summer and i couldn't resist reposting them (they were on the old blog).  it was very hard to narrow down because i have so many favorites from this session. soooo in case you didn't get a chance to see these the first time you get to now!! zoe was such a good sport, following me all over the countryside and through some old cowpie-filled abandoned farmsteads...  :)

i already said this once before, and i'm going to again......what a natural beauty.  seriously. seriously.  (i don't think this girl wears any makeup)

AND this last photo is probably one of my top favorites i've ever taken.  and i have a lot of favorites, as you can probably guess by now :)  l.o.v.e. it.   large canvas print?  yes please.

sometimes it's nice to have a photograph of someone.  but sometimes its nicer to have a photograph of who someone is.

peace, love, and happy photography!

:)saralynn 

madelyn

meet miss madelyn! we had the perfect sunday to go for a little frolic in the mcrory gardens in brookings!

i looooove this next photo---this is the face. you know. the one she's going to make so daddy will give her whatever she wants :)  and i wouldn't blame him for falling for it.

 i don't know. maybe it's just me. but there is something stinkin' cute about a weee little baby on a big bench.

mommy, daddy, and winston (awesome name for a dog by the way) joined in the fun! how did i get a dog and a baby to look at me at the same time?  a little something i like to call the peek-a-bark :) haha

another fav---they don't sit still for long do they?   :)

ahhhhhh      what a sweetie :)       

peace, love, and happy photography!

:)saralynn