Jennifer Stocks Photography – The Blog

Oh yes, I love this time of year. I love seeing Christmas lights, and excited kids, and thinking of the most perfect gifts to buy for our children. I love wrapping presents, and watching the fairy lights sparkle on the Christmas tree at night. I anticipate Christmas morning – there is something so special about the reactions and delightful squeals from kids when they open their presents, or venture outside to see their latest newly assembled backyard play stuff.  I can’t wait to read books about Santa to our boys on Christmas night, and leave out beer and bikkies for him, and for them to come racing into our bed in the morning for cuddles and toy-showing.

But …. while I wait for my Christmas thrills, it is high-time I updated my blog visitors and clients with some news. It has been an amazing year for me – personally and professionally. I have seen my business grow tremendously, and have received amazing feedback from my clients, and visitors to my blog. I have been booked out until the end of January for quite some time now. My Christmas sessions are all wrapped up, client prints have been packaged and delivered (minus a few bigger items which will arrive shortly).

Now, the most important part …… I won’t be taking bookings for at least 3-4 months after this time as we are expecting our third child at the end of January. I think this is the first time I have announced it on here! There have been times over the last few months when I have been too busy to even remember there is a little life growing inside my belly! I cannot wait to meet our newest little one, but first I think I need some serious nesting time.

I anticipate at this stage I will be accepting bookings from mid-late Autumn onwards. If you are interested in a session in 2010, please contact me and I will add you to my waiting list. There is a possibility I will be offering some mini-sessions before this time, but they will likely be for babies aged under 12 months (ie. ones that don’t walk yet!) If you have a youngster you would like photographed, contact me and I will inform you of details if/when they arise.

Between now and the New Year, I will be taking a bit of a break to spend some time with my family – please forgive me if I am a little slower to respond to phone calls and emails.

And during my baby ’spell’ time, I am also looking forward to updating my website, and taking some photos of my own kids – who have been seriously neglected by my camera of late! But… because no post is complete without images I am posting some of my beautiful boys and their cousins (including adorable newborn Eli, who just makes me smile and smile and smile!). What a mammoth effort getting the 5 boys together for a photo – holy cow – it is so much harder to photograph your own kids (they just don’t listen for some reason…..). We are so lucky to have been fortunate to get away to visit them on the Central Qld Coast this December. It is a toasty place alright – HUMID as all buggery. Mind you, I think Bathurst feels hotter at the moment (not to mention the fact we have millions more flies to deal with).

So, keep your eyes peeled over the next few months for more client previews and possible baby news! I also plan on going wild with newborn baby shots when our little one arrives… Regardless of the above, I will be doing my utmost to ensure I accommodate everyone as much as possible. So, if you have any queries at any time please feel free to contact me. Although I will not be doing many sessions from the end of January until the end of April, I am still very much contactable during this time.

Wishing everyone the very best and merriest Christmas, and a fabulous 2010! xoxo

I have been given many wonderful gifts in this lifetime, but not a lot comes close to the gift I received when I photographed this extraordinary family.

This is no ordinary family. It is a young family filled with love, affection, closeness and beauty. But it is a family that is changed. Changed by the death of their husband and father in a work related accident, just this year.

When I was contacted by beautiful mother, Ansia, she told me that having family portraits done without her husband was going to be a very difficult and sad thing to do. She was certain however, that she didn’t want any more time to slip by without capturing her family – it was something they had meant to do for years and hadn’t got around to it…  I can’t even explain how it made me feel that she wanted me to photograph them. To say I was truly honoured would be an understatement.

Ansia, Tiaan Anya and Alani – spending the morning and photographing your family has been the highlight of my photography life to date. The special bond you share is evident – there is something so close ….. so incredibly beautiful about the love you share. I’m feel so privileged I was able to witness it and capture it. But it’s not just stored as physical images – it’s stored in my mind.

Ansia – you are an extraordinary mother. Your smile, your nature, your compassion and your love for your children makes me want to be a better mother. You are brave and beautiful and I am so glad to have met you, and your amazing children.

As you are about to see, the kids in this family are absolutely stunning. I must also give a special mention to Anya (the oldest girl in the family) who managed to knock out her front tooth about a week before the photo session! I think it looks so darn cute though!

I really hope you enjoy your preview and I will be in touch with your full gallery very very soon.

Anyone who lives in Bathurst knows that the weather is so damn ordinary at the moment. Dreary, gross, ew. I just am not a fan of winter at all. I must admit I do like a snuggle on the lounge under a blanket, and have always been a bit of a heater-hog, but overall I’m a singlet and flip-flops type of person. I love pottering around outside while the kids wet each other (and the dog) with the hose and run around in shorts with no shirt on. Yes, Summer is the month for me, followed closely by Spring and Autumn.

However, as miserable as it is, sometimes you just HAVE to get out amongst it, so that is what we have been trying to do (until the kids got sick of course!). I have posted so little of our own kids over the past few months, I thought it was time for a little catch up. The extra child is my cousins son, Gil. These guys are such great mates, and we love having Gil come to play at our place.

I am flat chat with proofing sessions, but I just had to add this cute little shot of my little boys. And yes, if I am adding up right (which I have never been known to) it is only 10 sleep until Santa comes.

Holy crap I need to hurry up and get out some Christmas cards! Arrgghh! Maybe I can make the boys write on them (well, draw circles and creatures that look like big ants – which I think are actually humans). That would be a real time saver!

I SO can’t wait to give the boys their pressies. Christmas this year is going to be so fun. Christmas is fun when you don’t have kids, but it is the ultimate day when you do have kids, even if they are still wee little babies.

We had a blast putting the tree up (late of course) but at least it is up and standing proudly in our living room. Dusty did the majority of the tree decorating and I swear it looks WAY better than all the previous years when I have actually tried to make it look beautiful. Mind you, Beau has a blast of a time pulling them all off. The tree is slowly starting to become decorated on the top, with nothing down the bottom, as I re-put the decorations back on the tree higher and higher.

Actually, I might come up with a new HOW MANY SLEEPS post everyday until Christmas! Featuring my boys of course! Yes, I am inspired. Let’s see if it actually happens!

Happy 10 sleeps till Santa comes everybody!