I have been working with Decade Construction from Walnut Creek on getting their projects photographed for their website. These are a few after shots of one of the houses that they have worked on. As you can see, it is beautiful work and I loved getting the images for them.
Kitchen, photography by Sara Atkins Photography.
I used a technique called High Dynamic Range (HDR) to capture these images. Basically what I do is take several images of varying exposure. Back in my digital darkroom I stitch them on top of each other and I can get a larger range of luminance than you would normally be able to capture with a camera. It is essentially several images stacked on top of one another.
Dining Room, photography by Sara Atkins Photography.
Master Bedroom, photography by Sara Atkins Photography.
Master Bath, photography by Sara Atkins Photography.
Office, photography by Sara Atkins Photography.
This is the office. Poor baby right? Who doesn't want an office with a slide coming out the front of it? Isn't this what we all dream of as kids? If the yard looks familiar it is because I recently put up a post of the little girls that can frequently be found playing in it. Remember?
So, what do you think? Do you like the HDR images or do you think it is too much?
Wayne, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
This is Wayne. He works with Charlie and occasionally plays tennis with him as well. A while back I begged Charlie to ask Wayne to come out to our place to play tennis (they usually play in the city). I was dying to finally see Charlie play. Can you believe I have been married to this fella for two years, and I have never seen him play tennis?? Well, finally I asked Wayne myself and sure enough, the next day he was in our backyard playing tennis. It was a great opportunity to work on my sports photography, and great to see Charlie really work up a sweat.
Charlie, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
Shasta, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
As luck would have it, they guys decided to play the same day that mom and dad had stopped by with my favorite four legged critter (next to linus and frankie of course). We all sat in the court and watched them play.
And for those of you that have been asking, Shasta is doing great. She has grown her coat back for the most part and is all puppy. I regularly get reports on the latest thing she has chewed up. She has a special place in her heart for remote controllers. When I go down to my parents place to visit she never leaves my side. She is amazingly well behaved when I take her trail running and thinks she is a lap puppy. I miss her like crazy when I am up here without her.
Tennis triptych, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
OK, back to tennis. So, I was able to shoot to my hearts content as the boys fought it out on the court. I have to say, tennis is among the hardest of the sports I have yet to shoot. That ball blazes across the court, it is a challenge to get a photograph that is interesting and not completely blurry.
Audience, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
It was fun watching Mom and Dad and Shasta sit together watching the match. they would all three in unison follow the ball. I am sure I missed at least a couple of great shots of the guys because I was laughing at the three amigos across the court.
Wayne Tryptich, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
The light was pretty nice because it was in that beautiful hour before sunset. So, I bumped the ISO way up allowing me to have a super quick shutter speed so I could stop the motion (no blurry shots!). I shot with my long lens (70-200mm) to allow me to get close to the action with out risk of death by one of those speeding balls.
Together, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
After the boys were done, I decided that it would be a perfect time to get a few shots of my parents together. They so often have their hands full taking care of everyone else (cooking, cleaning, taking care of grand babies) that getting them alone with each other is a special treat. I am pretty sure that these few shots are among the favorite I have of my mom and dad together.
Mom and Dad, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
Sometimes when I am out on an assignment I get surprised with opportunities to photograph moments that I hadn't anticipated. I took these images after photographing interior images for a construction company called Decade Construction (blog to come). I was pretty much finished when I met four little girls. They gave me the honor of seeing their tree house (girls only!) and it brought back many memories of my own childhood.
Play time, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
As the girls showed me around I couldn't help but notice the littlest one. I was myself the littlest one in the group, it was fun to see her run after the older girls.
No boys aloud, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
This is their 'tree house'. I guess it pays to have a dad in construction. Technically it is a tree house, there is a tree growing right in the middle of it. But really, it is a proper house and it is all girl. It is two stories of pink and purple fabulous-ness.
Sleepy days, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
That is correct, this tree house is complete with beaded curtains. What more can a girl ask for?
Climb up, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
I remember feeling exactly what she was feeling. Being the littlest means you get all of the attention you want. There are lots of great perks that come along with being the youngest. But, I also remember being frustrated at having to try so much harder to do most things. A ladder is pretty difficult to navigate when you are such a tiny munchkin and you have a death grip on your favorite stuffed animal. With the help of the older girls she managed it, but it was easy to see that she wasn't thrilled with requiring a helping hand.
Sleepy days, photography by Sara Atkins Photography
Girls, thank you for giving me a peak into your secret tree house!
This summer my family met with our longtime friends the McGinty family in San Diego. We had an amazing time and I took far too many photographs. It is just not possible to blog about them all, though I would really love to.
Summer Days, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
The old guys, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Sleepy days, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Time Out, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Boy with umbrella, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Sand Castle Time, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Beach Baby, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Mom and Dad, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Kite Flying, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
The Beach, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
New Hair Cut, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Raspberry, originally uploaded by 
Family, originally uploaded by
Several months ago I received an email from an organization called the Littlest Heros Project. Littlest Heros is an organization that provides photo sessions (via volunteer photographers) for families with children who have or have had a serious illness. This is a great opportunity to provide a family with some beautiful images that may have otherwise missed. My family has a munchkin with trisomy 21. I had waited so long to meet them, when the day finally arrived I could hardly stand it.
The Beach, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
This is Malea. She is a cute little bundle. She is two years old and walking walking walking! We decided to head to the beach for the first half of our session. You can see Malea's reaction here as we made our way to the waves.
Malea and Dad, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
The relationship between Malea and her parents is full of love. They are an amazing family.
Resting, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Smiles, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Malea is so full of smiles, it is contagious.
Swings, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
After playing at the beach we decided to head over to Dennis the Menace Park. Malea L.O.V.E.S the swings. She had so much fun with mom and dad pushing her.
Happiness, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Slide, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Thinking, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Sweet Grin, originally uploaded by Sara Atkins.
Thank you to the Smith Family for a wonderful day in Monterey! Malea, you are a joy and a treasure. You can read more about the Smith Family journey at their blog, One More, More Than One.