Nope, not me. I'm the busy bee you hear buzzing in the background. My schedule has been jam packed with families and tots. Most of which I have photographed in the past. I'm having a blast getting to see how each little one has grown.

I first photographed this family when the youngest of this charming sister set was only three months old. She's a big grown up three years old now! Oh how the time flies!

Too fast. Too fast!

These two were the sweetest little girls. I'd say more but honestly after a short shoot this morning that left me with too many mosquito bites to count and a day of nap protests courtesy of Kendall I've got little left to give you my dear Internet.

No fireworks. Instead I give you the next best thing — a coneflower about to bloom.

San Francisco didn't happen. With Kendall on the verge of crawling I was already deeply regretting my decision to leave. Then my husband got sick (lay in bed for two days sick) and that was all I needed to cancel my flight. So, another time.

With no appointments scheduled I spent the long weekend hanging out with my favorite girl who was going through another round of heavy duty teething. Poor thing is not happy. Even the pup felt the pain. I think it concerns annoys her when K cries.

Last time I was in SF, I shot a ton of film using my Lomo LC-A. For this trip I thought I had it all figured out by selecting which digital camera and lenses to bring. Then I saw these buttons on etsy by the fabulous Ms Supercacity. Immediately I was inspired to bring along my dusty yet trusty Lomo and a few rolls of film. That small bag I envisioned taking with is getting bigger as my departure date gets closer.

Here's an image my husband took of me loading film into the Lomo at Fisherman's Wharf in 2003.

Over the last few months some of my dear readers keenly noticed that I've added San Francisco and London to my ever expanding service area. The plan is to travel to San Francisco twice a year and London once a year. They are my two favorite cities (other than Chicago, of course!) so why not put some effort in making them a bigger part of my life? Look for the addition of other cities in the future!

I'll be traveling to San Francisco during the first week of July. Currently, there is room for one more appointment. If you are in the Bay Area and are looking for an enthusiastic portrait photographer, I'm your girl.

An apple plus Annie's Whole Wheat Bunnies, in my favorite new flips, outside on the patio with K in tow. Oh and a camera! All inspired by today's unbelievably gorgeous weather.

At a mere three months old little baby Jack had this photographer daydreaming about his big baby blues the whole way home.

On the day of his portrait session Jack slept a little less than usual and needed some extra lovin' from mama inbetween takes. Such a little sweetie!

Please someone (anyone!) tell me it gets easier each time.

There's not enough time for a recent session post. Instead you get an image of our pup Bernie taking a snooze and a few links to help push forward to the weekend!

First up, since we are in a doggie mood, enjoy some gorgeous dog photography from photographers Erin Vey in Seattle and Anna Kuperberg in San Francisco. Both have an incredible talent in capturing a dog's liveliness and personality.

I came across the next link via swissmiss, which is a great way to spend a Friday all by itself especially so if you love design and a bit of geekery. Blank is Like Blank is self described as "analogies to live by" and if you're not living by them your missing out on all the fun! Here's a little selection from the site:

"Apologies are like monsters: They’re only real if you believe in them."

"Facebook is like a gossipy friend with no interesting information."

"Babies are like drunk men in bars: They only crave what’s in their immediate vicinity."
-Justin Feinstein

Finally saved from an issue of Real Simple, a few unique sites for summer travels:

roadfood.com "The most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America"
momsminivan.com "101 Car Travel Games & Road Trip Ideas for Kids"
thebathroomdiaries.com "Few would visit a country without some advanced information, yet our tender bits are exposed to uncharted territories with no help or assistance. At our most vulnerable, we are blind. Well, no more. "

Happy Friday!

The mom of these lovely little ladies recently scheduled an appointment to update their portraits. The images shown here were taken last year. I pulled these images from a folder I keep on my Mac with my favorite images from each portrait session. It helps to keep faces and names fresh in my head and to get me even more exited to see each DMP kid "all grown up".

I remember this session like it was yesterday. These girls were a blast. I can't wait to work with them again this summer.

The best part of the "shares" I've been doing recently is the inspiration from seeing what other photographers create with them. When Ann Arbor portrait photographer Myra Klarman gave my template a new spin by using two consecutive squares for one image I couldn't resist sharing it with you.

On her weblog, Relish, Myra posted this combination of images from a recent children's portrait session. I love how she captured this young lady's lively spirit. You can feel the fun!

I've always admired Myra's photography. She creates beautiful portraits of babies and children, but her amazing talent is best highlighted in her portraits of high school seniors. The connection she makes with her senior subjects is clearly visible through the vivid personalities that radiate from each timeless photograph. That's what I enjoy most about Myra's high school senior images. The "kids" look like real people. Real people that you want to get to know. Because of this, whenever I look at a new HS senior portrait from Myra I have to resist the urge to ask to see more.

If you are in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan don't miss the opportunity to have Myra Klarman Photography create a series of portraits for you. I was lucky enough to meet Myra and her equally brilliant and adorable family during their visit to Chicago last year. She was as lovely as you can imagine. Would you believe neither of us had a camera in tow? Ridiculous, I say!

Last night after the sun started to set I went outside to photograph the lilac bushes that just started to bloom. For some reason our bushes bloom a good two to three weeks after every other lilac bush has lost their flowers. I took some pictures, but nothing felt right. I couldn't get the angle I wanted. The light wasn't there. The color didn't work. The shot I had in mind wasn't forming. I was about to give up entirely and go back inside when I took a look around and found these lovely things.

Moo! I love Moo MiniCards. I created these cards to send to out as a fun little thank yous or gifts. I'm feeling extra generous so I'm sharing the template for the name card and a few other cute minicard templates with you. Use them liberally, but cautiously. I've heard around that creating them can be a bit addictive.

The templates use clipping masks and there is no accompanying action (I find it easier and more customizable without one). There's a brief explanation on how to use clipping masks in the template but if you still don't get it try a google search.

Download Moo Minicard Templates

A link back to dawnm.com, specifically this page, is appreciated and encouraged if you find this complimentary template useful. I'd love it if you show me what you do with these templates. Inspire me. Either email me or add a link to your image in the comments.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Maybe. I really loved shooting an older "kid". Em, I know you're not a kid anymore. You are actually quite the gorgeous young lady. We had a lot of fun at her shoot and it was a nice change of pace to have a collaboration going on opposed to the chase I'm usually part of with a toddler shoot. Here are a few of my favorites from her session:

It was so windy on the day of our session that we contemplated changing the date, but ultimately decided we had to make the best of it to fit her schedule. The wind was a challenge, but we were able to use it to our advantage in most scenarios, see above left.

I could post so many more, but I've got to stop somewhere!