Dear friends,

The time has come for me to make a big big BIG announcement…it is one that makes me very happy and very sad at the same time…the happy part is that I’m starting a project that makes me just deliciously giddy to think about, and the sad part is that my need to give energy to that project necessitates that I step back from this business for the indefinite future (I know!).

Here’s the dealio: my bff, Liz, and I are starting an artisan local food biz we’re calling Little Bee Pops. You can get the whole story on our Kickstarter page (and fund us! you know you want to fund us!! :-), but the elevator pitch is that we’re going to be making some awesome ice pops (aka popsicles) from all local fruits and raw honey, and selling them from a cart at local parks and outside the Mountain View farmers market and any other groovy locations we are inspired to descend upon.

The project combines our passions for localization, sustainable food, and creating joy, in one super-fun, affordable (and compostable) package! :-)  We’ve got 800 commercial pop molds, a sweet little ice cream cart, and superhero capes with pops on them (because, really, who doesn’t love a pop-girl in a superhero cape?!), and a lead on a fully-equipped ice cream kitchen with a blast freezer that will let us freeze our pops in 15 minutes instead of 24 hours,  which is why we’re doing Kickstarter (we need to buy that puppy!).

I’m dreaming of seeing hundreds of kids (and grownups) with sticky faces and big smiles, eating our pops on long summer afternoons….and amazing sustainable farmers and beekeepers being supported by our giant CSA orders for their yummy fruit (and veggies) and honey.

I may return to photography at some point, but I know myself well enough to know that I can’t split my energies and do justice to the needs of both endeavors…and so baybmoon photography is going to take a break.

If you are here because you need an amazing photographer in Silicon Valley or the greater SF bay area, here are (in no particular order) some that I can recommend with my whole heart – they do beautiful, amazing work, and I would have them do *my* family pictures in a heartbeat :

Alpana Aras at Storybox Art

Nancy Nguyen-Wong at Bug and Bean

Calvina Nguyen at Calvina Photography (no relation to Nancy ;-)

and one photographer who is not local (she’s in Portland), but travels to the Bay Area periodically to do sessions and is completely amazing:

Jen Downer at She Saw Things

I am beyond grateful for the gifts and amazing people this business has brought into my life, and will miss witnessing your love and connections through my lens, but this change just feels right.

Blessings and love to you!

xoxo,
Lilia

p.s. Please do check out our Kickstarter page and give us a push if you can – we’ve got some *seriously* funny videos for you to watch.

p.p.s. Did I mention there’s swag?  You know you want a lunchbox with “I Want To Believe,”  felt Mulder and Scully pops, and a tinfoil UFO.  All the cool kids will have one. ;-)

Hello dear friends who read my much neglected blog! It has been a busy holiday season, and I’m going to have some major catch-up posting to do in the new year (also, I’m getting ready to make some awesome changes in 2011…I’m pretty sure you’re going to love them…I know I’m excited! ;-)

Thank you so much, all of my amazing clients who have made it possible for me to create art this year!

I wish you and your sweeties all the best, and  hope you have a wonderful new year.

xoxo,
Lilia

Disclaimer: there are no cute kids in this post. I promise, we’ll get back to the cuteness shortly. :-)

So, I don’t write about myself very much on this blog. I mean, I write a lot about the joy that my work brings, about the inspiration of the love that I get to witness while I create this art, and about some of the causes that I believe in and support through my work…but I’m actually a pretty private person, for all of the publicness of it all. Before I was called to become a photographer, you couldn’t even find me on the public internet. Not as *me*. And I still keep my personal work pretty separate from this site…it just feels a bit more professional, and also, ok, I will cop to the fact that I just feel safer that way.

At the same time, there are some amazingly gifted artists and just generally phenomenal and wonderful goddess - spirits on this great interweb that I really really admire…women who spill their hearts into their blogs, who have created a community of sharing and support and creative inspiration, and I feel SO connected to them…I read their words every day, and have such a yearning to be a part of their circle. But I am not. Because I don’t share that way, not here.

Yesterday, I went to hear one of those women speak….her name is Brené Brown and she is *amazing*. She talked for about two hours about parenting from a place of imperfection, and I have to tell you, I laughed, I cried, and it was oodles better than Cats. But the most amazing part? On her way up to the podium, she recognized me. From the interweb!!! And she gave me a huge hug and sat down next to me and we just babbled for a couple of minutes. And I had this realization…”maybe, just maybe, I *am* a part of that circle of amazing women. Already.” and then I thought…”naaahhhh…”

But that thought kept coming back to me…the thought that, maybe the only thing keeping me from joining in was my thought that I couldn’t join in. And that maybe, just maybe, it might be time to get out of my own way on this one. Because, while Brené had a million billion amazing things to say about parenting and courage and love and wholeheartedness and knowing your truths, I think that maybe the hardest thing for me, personally, to hear was that you can’t love your children more than you are able to love yourself. And that was REALLY flipping hard to hear. Because, while I don’t have a child of my own yet, I do have a daughter of the heart that I help to parent almost every day, and I love her to pieces….and I want her to love herself and believe in herself and be brave…and what Brené said was I can’t give that to her if I can’t do it for myself. And I want her to have that. I really do. So if I don’t have the courage to step into my circle, and share my own truths the way that I feel called to share, if I stifle part of what I have to share with the universe because I don’t think it will fit in with what’s called for in this particular arena, or I worry what clients will think…or I’m just to darn scared…well, what lesson am I giving her?

And so I decided to participate in Brené’s Perfect Protest project…and I made my picture, and I got it all uploaded, and then I wrote this post…and then I sat and stared at my screen for 15 minutes, trying to get myself to click the dang publish button. Because this feels scary. It feels personal. It feels…exposed. But this is where I write, on the web. And this is where I feel called to share Brené’s work, and the connection that I feel to it, and the hope that it has brought to me. Because I know that mamas read this blog…mamas that I know and love, and mamas that I’ve never met. And papas and grandparents and aunties too. And I want you to hear this message, and go forward finding a bit more love in your heart, for YOURSELF. Hard as that is sometimes. And if it feels too hard to do it for yourself…maybe you can do it for your kids. Because I know you love them so much, it makes your heart go pop. And you would do ANYTHING for them. You would lose a limb. Or two. Or even (heavens forbid) never eat chocolate again. If you had to. So loving yourself? Being brave?  That’s on the table now too. Because if you want it for them, you have to do it for you.

So, that’s what I’m sharing. Here. On my blog. My very own thoughts. And a picture of me. Because I am too damn creative to waste any more time trying to be perfect.

That is all.

xoxo,
Lilia

p.s. I managed to get through this post without revealing that I am a perfectionist. Paralytically so. Have been since I was a kid. And I need to be DONE with that.  It’s stopped me from doing so much, and has been a tool for self-sabotage for so much of my life. It’s time to, in the worlds of the immortal Tim Gunn: “Make it work.”

I am so blessed to have this creature in my life. I have no words for how much I adore her!!

I’m going to be doing a rockin’ awesome giveaway this weekend…so check back for a chance to win a super amazing treat for your family (hint: it involves spending time with me…free! ;-)

xoxo,
Lilia

p.s. the above image would be my muse, and one of our first strawberries from the garden. Summer is almost here!! :-)

…they rock the asparagus!

We did a quick shoot this morning. It was awesome, and I will share a bunch more, and the whys and wherefores as soon as they are edited…but for now, my “best guess” shot and back to editing (Loretta, I love you! ;-).

xoxo,
Lilia

My muse…and her mama…rockin’ it holiday style ;-)

That is all.

xoxo,
Lilia

Hi gang,

I know it’s been awfully quiet around here, but I promise, I have lots and lots of pictures to share! :-) In the past two weeks, I have:

:: shot two maternity sessions and…

:: one family session, and…

:: photographed a major event at full circle farm, AND…

:: had my FIRST NATIONAL PUBLICATION (in all caps, because, well, NATIONAL!!) …I’m planning to blog it tomorrow, but pick up a copy of this month’s Kiwi magazine and flip to page 25 if you’re curious. :-), AAAND…

:: PACKED AND MOVED!!!!  (that’s in all caps with four exclamation points because, well, it’s MOVING!! (for the curious, we moved from the Sunnyvale side of the Mountain View/Sunnyvale border back to Mountain View).

I have learned that:

:: I have the best family and friends in the whole wide world

:: I have too much stuff, but that I *am* capable of getting rid of it!

:: seeing my work published never ever gets old

:: sunset at the farm is glorious (oh, wait, I already knew that ;-)

If you’re still curious about what I’m doing, here’s what’s coming up: I have 4 sessions to proof, and two to peek (one already peeked, and one I won’t be for privacy reasons) and a bunch of images from the farm to share, plus my own personal “ack! I need my camera now!!!” stuff ;-)…so lots of eye candy coming your way this week, I promise!

To my dear, patient clients – thank you so much for being so understanding as I get my life back out of boxes and ticking along again. Please do email or call me if you have any questions, as always!

I hope you enjoyed the above shots of my muse in her boxes…now, I am off to get a few more things ordered before it is time to head home!

xoxo
Lilia

p.s. I know it seems like it’s nuts to think of it, but my holiday deadline is coming up – sessions must take place by November 5th to have guaranteed holiday turnaround!  September is mostly filled up, with just a couple of slots left, and October going as well, so if you want holiday pictures, please fill out the contact form on my main site so’s I can get you scheduled! I will be announcing some limited edition holiday mini sessions to take place in October, and slots will likely go fast, so if you’re interested, please include a note  in the comments field so that I can add you to the interest list for those!

My new favorite thing about being Full Circle Farm’s official volunteer photographer in residence? …my all-access backstage pass to the chicken coop!!! Those of you who are fans of my facebook page will know that I was at the FCF/CAFF kids’ night at the farmstand last night, and that the theme was CHICKENS (a Very Exciting Topic, judging by the enthusiasm of the gaggle of families who showed up :-).

For the sake of the chickens, who are still pretty young (about 6 weeks), the farm’s Garden Manager and Mother Hen, Melissa, asked kids and parents to stay in the chicken yard and doorway, so the hens had someplace to retreat to when they needed a quiet moment to themselves, but I was able to flash my pass, make my way into the henhouse, and settle on the floor to get some really awesome shots of visiting kids interacting with chickens, face on (and, yes, I’m that dedicated to my art – I will get chicken poop on my pants if that’s what I have to do to get the shot. :-)!!

The coop itself is amazing and beautiful – it was designed by the farm’s master electrician/super-volunteer Steve Molcsan, using gorgeously weathered reclaimed wood, and I have to give him a big hug the next time I see him, because I know he was thinking of me when he made the little light-window that runs along the bottom of the coop (ok, not really – it’s probably to create ventilating air currents, but it sure is a glorious light source! :-), and the late afternoon light was just glowing everywhere.

My visit started out with some very exited toddlers, and then we had a lull and then some older kids came along, and they really got the “if you’re very still and quiet and hold your hand out with food on it, the chickens will come to you” message. One little man was definitely a chicken-whisperer…they *loved* him!!

You can see a few of my faves in the collage above, and you’re welcome to view the rest of the images in this set on the farm’s flickr stream (maintained by yours truly).

So, enjoy, and see you down on the farm!

xoxo,
Lilia

More and more of late, I have found myself seeking out the inspiration and joy that I find in the company of my sisters in the child photography business…last Monday, I had the joy of spending the morning with the gorgeous, sweet, and amazing Jen, and then on Thursday, I had a picnic lunch with the lovely, joyful, and talented Annie and her sweet little man Jack (with whom I am In. Love.)…I find such wonderful energy from the peeps in my life….and just wanted to say thanks. :-)

xoxo,
Lilia

p.s. If you’re here from my guest post on Shutter Sisters, welcome!! and if you’re a reader here who hasn’t seen it yet, mosey on over and give it a read – I’d love to know what you think! :-)

p.p.s. stay tuned for a very sweet sneak peek tomorrow!! :-)