Halloween Charity Event

I try to do a charity event at least once a year. I am a huge believer that we must all give back to our community. So, at least once a year I have a charity event where 100% from the day goes to a specific charity. Yesterday was busy!! We raised about $500 for the American Cancer Society, and we had lots of great costumes and beautiful little kids.

I will be posting information about the Silent Auction later on tonight. (That will close next Sunday.)

Here are some of my favorites from yesterday...

Enjoy!

Beth

(This one just makes me laugh...!)

"Lil' Stinker" is written on the heart.... ;)

The McGuire Family

On Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of photographing the McGuire Family at a location I had never been to before. It had been a year since taking pictures of their family. Now, one year later, the little boy that I had never seen even stand up was running around chasing ducks. I could barely catch him!

The ladies were gorgeous (don't you wish you had hair like these guys??? I do!) and Dad was cool, calm, and collected despite being mosquito food for a little while!?! (Aren't those awful bugs supposed to be long gone by now???)

Here are my favorites from the session.... hope everyone is enjoying this weather!

Beth

The Adams Triplets

On Saturday, I met up with the Adams Family. Dad was able to pull some strings and got permission to shoot at Cranbrook. I have shot at Cranbrook many times (as many of my clients are Cranbrook alumni) – and every time I got there I am amazed at how gorgeous the grounds are. Mix in beautiful grounds with three of the cutest triplets on the face of this earth, and you have a photo shoot sent from up above.

These little kids were six months old at our first photo session. I think it was my third (?) ever photo session. I was learning the tricks of the trade, and I actually took a sheet for a backdrop along with the bare Speedlights: a definite no-no! I always laugh when I think about it. My light then was about 6 inches x 6 inches… now my light is 4ft x 6ft. ;) Live and learn…

Every time I meet the kids I am blown away by them. They have turned into such wonderful young boys and girls. “What do we call a man?”… “Sir!”…”What do we call ladies?” …”Ma’am!” (This is the discussion that is going on while I am shooting.) “Show Mrs. Merritt how we say our prayers at night”. (They pose.) Soooooo cute!

Anyway, I am sure you guys will recognize these guys from past shoots. Here are my favorites from this shoot...

Enjoy!

Beth

The Elliott Family

The Elliott Family visited me last weekend. These guys were a riot. We were flying kids through the air, tossing leaves in the air (and at each other!), running around, and just having a great time. It’s one of those shoots that's just plain fun.

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot!

Enjoy!

Beth

Tristan and Laura's Favorite Shoot...

My employees cannot stop talking about this shoot. Both Tristan and Laura are convinced that this might be the cutest little boy on this earth! (You should have head their reactions when they opened the Lightroom gallery... it was hilarious. Both started yelling out loud. I just laughed.) The thing is, not only is he super cute, but he is extremely well-mannered, kind and gentle. He is just a happy boy – and a real pleasure to be around.

His sister is a photographer’s dream. She loves to pose for the camera. I was able to actually have her reposition her head in a certain manner – something I rarely get to do!

Here are my favorites from the shoot…

Enjoy!

Beth

The Robinson Family

Last Saturday I met up with a family I have been photographing for a long time. The little boy always cracks me up. He is full of energy – and chasing him down always makes me laugh. Now he has a little sister, and I can’t wait until she can run around. Chasing those two is going to be fun!

Well, this time we happened to see horses in the area. The owners were very nice and let us take pictures with them. The horse was HUGE. But we found a local bench and hopped on up so he could pet them on the nose.

Here are my favorites from the shoot… Enjoy!

Beth

Catch-up

I am admittedly still playing catch up from being gone those two weeks in New York. I think should finally be caught up by the end of this week.... (whew!)

I am quite late on couple of posts... so, here goes!

Enjoy!

Beth

Halloween TREATS!

As many of you know, we are having a special Halloween session to raise money for the American Cancer Society on October 18th. All proceeds - every single dime - goes to charity. And to spice things up a bit, we have partnered with some local buinesses to give away some great gifts to those who help us fight cancer. The sessions will be exclusively for children and families sporting their Halloween costumes. Scary, funny, or cute.... all are welcome!

We have been working with some different shops in the downtown Birmingham area and they have been generous enough to donate some gifts for this event. Gifts from Olivers Trendz Boutique and Simply Wine will be provided to each guest. In addition, we will be having a silent auction with designer jewelry from Premier Designs, a free 2009 session, including $500 in free photographs, and a free "how to take better pictures" lesson from Beth, and other fun things. (Laura is still working with various local businesses to try and "spice up" the gift bags even more...!)

If you have already scheduled a shoot during this event we want to thank you for your
participation, you are helping to make it a very fun and special day. For those of you who have not yet scheduled a session, there is still time to be a part of the Halloween Charity Event on Saturday October 18th. Photo shoots will be in fifteen minute increments all day. Please call us soon at 248.250.6085 or email laura@bethmerritt.com to set up a time for your kids and your family.

Have a great day!

Beth

Sideways Truck Trailers

I am writing this as we are heading back from New York from the funeral for Lee’s Dad. (I will probably post this tomorrow morning/afternoon.)

Lee and I left arrived in Syracuse at 3am Thursday morning, in time for the afternoon calling hours. The funeral was Friday. Overall, I don’t think it was really that tough of a funeral. We had already been through the hardest part: saying goodbye last Sunday, three hours before he would pass.

But the funeral none the less was emotionally draining. I was in no way shape or form ready for what was ready to come my way...

As I was driving with Pam, my sister-in-law, from the cemetery to the wake, a semi-truck coming toward us lost control of the rear of the truck. We were going down a two-lane country road, and the truck was going WAY too fast. The massive steel trailer started to slide toward us at 60 mph sideways, covering both lanes.

There was a small gravel shoulder on the country road. I somehow got the wits about me to gun it, and swerve on to the shoulder to avoid the mass of steel screaming toward us. To stay on the road would have been fatal. I braced as the rear end of the trailer came near us. I knew that if I could speed up, the trailer might miss the front door, but I fully expected the trailer to hit the rear of the car and send us spinning. I was able to regain control of my car after going off the road, and avoided the accident completely. I don’t know how we lived. Really I don’t. There is no way Pam and I should be alive right now.

The woman behind me would be the first thing the truck would hit. When we finally turned around the car, we saw a mangled mess of steel and our hearts sank. About one third of the car had been smashed in, and I remember my sister-in-law, Pam, saying what I was thinking… “oh please God, no more dead bodies today.”

This is what we saw. The driver's side of the car is gone.

We arrived to the car to find a miracle. The woman, although covered in blood, would live. I stayed with her and calmed her down while Pam called 911. Here I am, in my funeral clothing, standing in the rain, with my hands covered in blood after we just buried Lee’s dad. I remember thinking. “Wake up, Beth, wake up. This cannot be happening...”

We waited until the paramedics got there, and then I just stepped away while they prepared to cut her out of the vehicle and take her to the hospital. I fell to the ground and I just sobbed. It was just too much.

Here is the video of what we saw from the local news. The overall story is a good one: everyone survived the accident.

Laura managed the schedule to allow me to have the weekend off. Lee and I have decided that we are going to nothing tomorrow. And it will be wonderful. After all, it is football day! ;)

Drive safe everyone...!

Beth

A Picture of a Picture - (Update)

So, my scanner is very much broken. (Grrrrrr...) So, what does a photographer do in a time like this? Take a picture of a picture.

I wanted to show you all Jake (Lee's Dad). The picture came out terrible, but given the circumstances, maybe it is a little bit fitting....?

First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support. I have been baffled by the number of letters and calls I have received. Moreover, my clients have been so incredibly accomodating given the major interruption in schedules. I appreciate that more than you will ever know. (Linda McGuire, you are the best.... thank you so much for your support.)

I am back from Syracuse for a bit. It is really good to be back... as expected, it was a tough week. Lee and I did the midnight shift to try and relieve the family who lives in Syrcause and have been staying with him for the two days before we got there. We literally lived at the hospital from Tuesday through Sunday. I personally got to spend a lot of time alone with him. On Tuesday night he could still talk, but by Sunday, communication avenues had changed. He would communicate with his eyebrows and his toes. Believe it or not, he could still crack jokes on Saturday - just not with words. He would lift his eyebrows in response to conversations in the room. He knew exactly what was going on. It was funny.

As a family, we met our goals: There was never a minute where Lee's dad was alone and someone was not there to comfort him. He was able to see his entire family - from four states. And most importantly, he went peacefully. ...Yesterday afternoon, at 4:34pm, Jake Merritt stopped breathing.

The family is doing well. Lee is doing well. Jake was in a lot of pain in the end, and I think everyone was content to see it end.

Now I should let my readers know that I am a Christian. Not everyone is - and I totally respect that - but that's what I choose to believe. And in my pursuit of increasing my faith, I stumbled upon a favorite passage by Max Lucado...

"We don't like to say goodbye to those whom we love. Whether it be at a school or a cemetery, separation is tough. It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. They have no pain there. They struggled here. They have no struggles there. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don't... They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God."

For those of you dealing with similar situations, I hope you find peace in this passage. I know I do. Thanks again for all of your support and understanding. You guys are the best....

Sincerely,

Beth