Avery

something gets us up each morning. something gets us going during the workaday week and probably something much greater gets us up on the weekends. if i had to pick a reason that my vantage point of the world is behind varied lenses of a reliable camera, I suppose the answer would be avery. she was my muse and continues to be on a regular basis. from the moment she entered this world she was a happy face to the camera. capturing her life as she lives it makes my life worthwhile. my love of putting her in picture was the natural progression toward putting others in picture as well. i feel that i can connect to you and your life because i understand- based upon my own little family- how much it means to capture life in action- or childhood in action- or love in action. i suppose that's why i take the pictures i take...
don't get me wrong-i love seeing pictures of avery dressed up for picture-taking. sitting pretty on the stool of photographic mastery. it has its place amidst of all of us. there is a certain timeless quality of a posed portrait that is a staple of every home. ..but those are not the pictures i create. just as with words, or stories, or even a blog, i like to find the story to it all. whether it's bubbles at dusk or barefeet at noon. my job is to capture it.
avery gave me that ability.
she is fluid motion and boundless energy. the cross-examination of every new experience and the angst of every studio photographer. so instead i focused my photography on her, as she is- and usually, sometimes effortlessly, she gives me raw happiness. captured. unadorned. unplanned. unexpected.... and it's beautiful. and now i have been fortunate and blessed enough to pass my love of capturing the beauty of living on to anyone who wants to have it.
what it all adds up to is a menagerie of life. these pictures- your pictures- are a novel spun in photo, a wordless story that tells a thousand tales.
and though my story is titled Avery... yours is whatever you imagine.

jg.

Thursday--we didn't forget

Hello all. I know that it's really Friday but I'm writing for Thursday. We haven't forgotten about the blog--just got a little busy. More to come soon.

jg.

hadley rose jones

the combination of a perfect spring afternoon, blooming flowers at the arboretum and a bright pink tutu makes for happy happy pictures. besides the fact that she is my bff, I think she's infectiously adorable and fantastically photogenic.

enjoy the pictures and be on the lookout for a brand spanking new price-sheet, with some upcoming events!

more tomorrow-

jg.

going to the dogs...

every good home and each wonderful family should be in possession of an ill-behaved dog... or maybe two. our home inhabits two such animals. daphne and isabella. the cautious observer and the unsuspecting thief, respectively. never a dull moment on our street... as if it were not enough to be outnumbered by females to the point that i find myself posting things about lacy socks and smocked dresses... even our dogs are the feminine variety.

we have daphne and isabella- or perhaps they have us. two italian greyhounds full of vim and vigor... endlessly scolded, perpetually lazy, admitted cowards, and common thieves.. loved and coddled as though they walked on two legs instead of four. couple them with avery and melanie and our happy bow-clad family unites a concerted front against me. despite it all, i accept it happily and figure that as the odd man out, i am at least something to spectate and be amused by.

dogs make great companions and i find that they make great pictures too. at the very least they are great for helping the guy with the camera go unnoticed amidst laughter and chase. children tend to smile when dogs are around- unless of course they aren't around usually, at which point, mass chaos ensues. nonetheless, my point is only that i like dogs... and so far, most dogs like me. they are unpredictable (much like children) and they do their own thing (again, much like children).. and they are usually happy (well, it goes without saying.)

having the travel-size version of a greyhound, i am often tested in the capture of fluid motion and quiet solitude. and yet, almost without fail, their pictures turn out as portrait-worthy candids.

we are working on scheduling a photo shoot during the dog days of summer. hopefully we can incorporate some great pound puppies into the mix and make it a fun day for children and canine alike. who knows, maybe a toddler who didn't have a puppy can take one home and have a friend for life- and the picture to prove it.

keep watching for details!

-jg.

commenced...

since it is the month of may- the season of commencement, might i pass along a few ideas that apply here- to this blog- to this small little business- and to you as you live your life in our little neighborhood of the world. choices are made, and changed, and often made again. in the true spirit of pomp and circumstance around us, i offer three for you.

three choices that have made all the difference in my life. first, believe in something larger than yourself. look beyond your own piece of humanity and have faith that there is something out there greater than any of us can fathom on our own. second, find joy. find the sticky sweet satisfaction of too much ice cream- the contagious nature of giggling children- the overwhelming loyalty of an aged couple- and the unmatched taste of ice water at the end of a hard day outside. there is joy all around. no sense in not bringing it with you wherever you go. finally, cherish your family. cherish what brings you home at night. the comfort of a loving spouse- the unconditional hope of a parent- the warmth of an obedient pet- the innocence of a child. these are what matter as we briefly inhabit the earth. we get caught up in forward motion. we make choices of advancement. capture your own expectations. find your own contentment... and surround yourself with that which makes you most happy.

-j.

let's start at the beginning....

hi there! welcome to jesse gabbard photography. we specialize in portrait photography that is your life, on location. there is no studio here. no brown or blue watercolor backgrounds, lighting umbrellas and other equipment you probably associate with portrait photography. just me.. well, and a camera... and sometimes my wife, who would probably prefer not to drag around my lenses and bag, but does it anyway.
i work evenings and weekends, for now. my partner is mother nature and though I would prefer you not tell her, she is sometimes high maintenance. she wants dark, when we need light and she offers rain when we need dry. so sometimes, to accommodate her, we have to rearrange and do creative things. no doubt, however, there is nothing much cuter than a toddler in the rain... so why not capture it. perhaps though you might prefer that she not be wearing a smocked bishop and lacy socks as she plunges into a muddy puddle. i digress to point out that we will work around her schedule, and more importantly-yours!
what we do is make every attempt to provide you with an album of pictures that will provide a memory down the road. we want you to look back in ten years and say "there's jane on the playground by our house." "there's henry in his crib that grandmother bought him." "remember how much molly loved dragging that blanket around everywhere she went?"
we want to capture those memories and preserve them. i suppose to put it simply... we want to capture life as you live it.
so call us. let us know what you want. think of some fabulous places in town that you would like to call the background of your picture. pick a couple of dates. we will be there.
oh, and because i know you will stress about it- pick some clothes you love to wear. don't put everyone in khaki and white because you think that's what you are supposed to do. wear what makes you happy.
that's all for now. there's plenty more to say... but it stopped raining and the grass needs mowing.
- jesse