This image is titled “No Fear” and is an expression of how I want to approach my portrait business, and my life for that matter, each and every day.

I try to enter photo contests as often as I can muster the courage, which doesn’t happen as often as it should. This year I entered the Glamour Photowalk 2014 which was sponsored by Lori and Photo Communiqué, and I was one of the winners!

You are good enough to be in a family portrait.You are good enough to be photographed with your kids. You are good enough to exist in photographs.

In the south of France is a hamlet called Plum Village where a group of Buddhist monks and nuns live and practice the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. My twin sister and I made a pilgrimage to Plum Village, which shaped the rest of my life and marked the beginning of my mindfulness practice.

I had two beautiful sisters in my studio last month. To stretch myself creatively, I decided to try for three unique shots of each girl, each wearing the same outfit – a lacy vintage dress.

Here is one of my photos in print! It was great fun to work with a talented local dressmaker, and help bring forth her vision.

Winter wishes of joy and wonder!

They were part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year! Being an icon of popular culture got you a spot on one of the floats, and from what I saw it was a great way to spend the morning, waving at masses of people like me.

Today, exactly 48 minutes ago as I type this, the sale of our house in Prairie Village closed, and it now belongs to new owners. It’s a bittersweet moment, as we loved our house, filled with light, space and soaring ceilings, it felt like I was on vacation in my own home. How great is that?

I just did! “Steal like an Artist” is a book by Austin Kleon, in which he states that nothing is completely original; all creative work builds on what came before. Even Picasso was a creative kleptomaniac!

You are only this age one time in your life. You’re gorgeous, you’re courageous, you’re going through one of the biggest transitions of your life. This is the perfect time to capture this moment on camera, so you can look back on yourself in later years and be reminded of who you were.

I have my older sister Elaine to thank for having scanned these photos of my parents. Probably forgotten in a musty photo album or buried in a shoebox, they would have gone unnoticed, had she not made that effort.

We lost our lovely mother in 2009, and six years before that we lost our father.

Being in the presence of Sue was everything I had hoped and thought it would be. She is magnetic, wise, funny, sensual, free-spirited, and one of the most genuine people I have ever met.