WizBlog

OpLove, sweet love

NOTE: With Woggy's (Col. Paul) unexpected open-heart surgery and triple bypass surgery, then emergency hospital re-admission with arrhythmia, this sweet Navy family of three has waited so patiently for us to post their sneak peeks. Thank you!

This bright little guy is quite the live-wire. Your first clue could probably be the cast on his left arm (notice mommy's note - LOL!). As I recall, he got that from an unauthorized couch-bounce just a week or so before daddy returned from his deployment. Oh those boys ... they really know how to make we parents worry, don't they?

 But mom Chris is such a sweetie. So serene. She adores her boy ... and ya think the feeling is mutual?

Don't let the little over-the-arm peek fool you into thinking he's shy - just look at the mischief in that boy's twinkling eye. And this is one daddy so proud of his son. We're so thankful he's home from the his tour safely so we could capture these special hugs and smiles.

Marine family makes our hearts smile

The H family just made us smile. Four year old Miss L and Mr. M, two, were just too cute. A special portrait for their soon-to-be-deployed daddy.

 

Is there anything more heartwarming than a mommy and daughter hugging moment?

 

Well, maybe there is - a daddy and son moment.

 

A delicious family loving on each other. <3

 

 

Beautiful in classic black and white, too.

 

Time for a little dad and mom sweetness.

 

A light-hearted time for family bonding.

 

Travel safely, Marine. And Godspeed.

Tribute to our Defenders

Note to our email subscribers: Click Independence Day Tribute to see the video on the WizBlog

In memorium, in celebration - this is our Independence Day tribute to Our Great Defenders: the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and their families, with gratitude for your service and sacrifice protecting our freedom and independence. God bless the USA!

Sweet Marine Family

Note to email subscribers - click HERE to view video in WizBlog. 

The F family is so very special. Wanted to get their vid posted before the holiday. More stills soon!
(be sure to click HQ to watch in hi-def)

Behind the Scenes

Authenticity. It's what we value most, especially authentic connections. When we experience families who not only authentically connect with one another, but also with us as well ... well, it just warms our hearts.

Little apology to the P family. We've had a catastrophic failure of our primary drive this week. The good news is that everything was backed up, tho accessing that and getting it copied onto another disk is time-consuming and tedious. The naughty disk is at the recovery shop as I type this. We had already edited about a half dozen of your session images and would prefer not to have to re-edit - but we could, as our session originals are always kept on a separate drive.

So ... until we get word about the fate of the failed disk, we thought you and our readers would be entertained by a few outtakes. Colonel Woggy is so very good about capturing sweet pieces of our session experience. I'm smiling as I post these. For us, THIS is why we adore our business.

Group chimping ...

 

Before we shoot, Wizzy usually gathers the kids and does a little location scouting. Altho she usually knows Camp Pendleton's Ranch House well, the scouting adventure helps to engage the kids in the process, as does chimping.

Seven-year-old Mr. W proudly accepted the assignment as the advance scout to placehold our next location. Check out his cute face. <3 And be sure to look carefully at the space under dad Joe's elbow and above his right shoulder. Hint: Can you spot Miss J's red boots?

 

Our readers know that we usually ask one of our session kids to take the Official WizWog portrait. Darlin' Miss G graciously obliged, while brother W manned the reflector masterfully. Great teamwork!

First, a portrait of our photographer -

 

And her work, with our gratitude -

Loving famly of 5.5 | OpLove

We just seem to get the very BEST families! And the H family was one of our extra-special experiences while we captured their pre-deployment family portraits.

First there was delightful Mr. Kole. Soft-spoken and blue-eyed, he took just a few minutes to warm up with us, and it soon became obvious he is one of those rare true gentle souls. He was so helpful being our lighting test subject. Doesn't his sweet face just make you want to smile right back?

 

Then Miss Kadi with the delightful personality and ready smile. She was so helpful, making creative suggestions for family shots. This pose was all her idea. She scrambled up and just charmed the camera. Look at the sparkle in those eyes ... and doncha love the missing teeth?

 

And NOT to be outdone, when Kadi climbed down, little Miss Kali scrambled up to mimic big sister's pose. Check her out 'working' the camera - right down to her winsome head tilt - LOL. Look out mom, if you don't already know it, she's gonna be a force *wink* ...

 

And we couldn't leave out baby Kash, due mid-summer.

 

A special one of the two, to keep Miss Jackie's heart warm while Clint is deployed soon. Awwww ...

 

And the H family, all 5-1/2 of them -

 

As we traditionally do, we handed over our cameras to the kids. Kole got some great shots which will go in his family's OpLove album. Wizzy shot this one of Kole while he was shooting Col. Wogg over Wizzy's head, while Kadi was lining up the big ol' 5D to shoot the two of us. (did you follow that round-robin of photography? LOL!)

 

And here we are, courtesy of young Miss Kadi (and only the teensiest bit out of focus - maybe a good thing, heehee ...)

 

Travel safely Lt. Clint, and come home soon. Semper Fi and Godspeed!

Toddlers rule

Remember this family's Miramar airport homecoming?

We had a great time at their follow-up family session. We started out with the traditional stuff. Aren't those dress blues gorgeous! (keep an eye on Sgt. Bob's new cover. You'll see it again in a minute)

 

Our readers know our goal is to create family portraits that capture The Authentic Family. It's not uncommon for the under-5 kids to set the mood. Big sis A is turning out a lovely young lady - what a sweetheart. And little brother G is ... well, he's all busy boy (with his new big boy haircut). But with a little distraction, he really does very well for about 15 minutes. We love this image because he set himself where he wanted to be. The mood of this sweet family portrait captures the interaction of the B family.

  

Photo courtesy of toddler G who is quite fascinated with the sound of the shutter.

We set daddy's dress cover ("hat," for our civilian readers) safely on a backpack while we're shooting. It isn't but a moment when G is bored of being in the family group when he scoots over, and lickety-split, he pops it on his head ... then heartily chortles at his own cleverness, reinforced, of course, by the rest of us when we laugh too.

 

Sweet li'l A's own jauntry angle, and a salute to the Corps.

 

Finally, a common conclusion to sessions with a toddler. Big sis A was the picture of patience as G romped, completely oblivious of his Sunday best. Maybe toddlers and dogs have the right idea - sometimes a roll on the ground is just what is needed to let off a little steam - LOL.

Loving family

"The mark of a good parent is to have fun while being one." ~ Marcelene Cox

 

Meet the M-H family. They have recently welcomed baby A and want to capture a portrait with their new li'l family of four.

Miss E is immediately comfortable with us, flashing us one of her silly faces.

   

L'il dude A holds up quite well while we are shooting the family. But he is glad to spend some quiet out-of-the-spotlight time with his gentle mommy while we are photo-ing daddy and E.

 

Is there anything more dear than a daddy in uniform playing with his daughter?

  

Well of course there is - and that's a daddy in uniform cuddling with both his babies. Could they look any more secure?  We *heart* this image. For a moment big sister E shares one of her red, white & blue bracelets with little brother ... then decides all three are the perfect complement with her outfit, assuring us, "I'll hold it for him."- LOL.

 

 

We're thrilled we will be able to send Captain Mike off with a portrait album of his loving family to keep him company on his deployment. Travel safely, Marine, and godspeed. 

Never Let Go | an OpLove homecoming

To our email subscribers - click here - WizBlog - to see this blog entry and video. 

"We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, 'cuz you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to show that you're the kinda man who
Will never look back, never look down,
And never let go."
- Bryan Adams

One thing we can never say too often - From our hearts, our thanks to members of the U.S. Armed Forces for their service and sacrifice to keep our great country safe and free!

Over 250 photographers nationwide volunteer thousands of hours each year donating their time, services and product in support of Operation: LoveReUnited, whose purpose is to provide patriotic portraits to military families who are involved in deployment. It's our way of giving back just a small piece of what these families selflessly give.

As is often the case with not-for-profit groups, there are also those who spend hours upon days upon weeks and months administering and choreographing the organization. Founder Tonee Lawrence, a dedicated military wife and photographer, stands at the top of the list for OpLove. Right next to Tonee stands Gina Geigley, Navy wife, mom to three, photographer and Vice President/San Diego Regional Coordinator for OpLove.

During deployments and even often when Justin is home, like so many other amazing military wives (and husbands, as well), Gina needs to be both parents - mom and dad. In addition to her OpLove commitments, she also organized the homecoming celebration for Justin's ship (a destroyer in the USS Ronald Regan carrier strike group), the USS Howard.

Last Thanksgiving weekend Justin, Gina's husband, returned home from deployment. And we were beyond delighted to be there to capture it all.

The ship has docked. But there are many things to be completed on board before anyone is allowed to disembark. From time to time they can see daddy at the rail on the deck - after the better part of this year, so near, yet so far. So they wave, hold up lovingly hand-lettered signs, ring cow bells ... and wait.

 

 

And finally they spot him coming down the gangplank - and the girls run as fast as their little legs can carry them into their daddy's arms.

 

A little side note here. The way most folks see Gina is the same way most see Wizzy - strong, courageous in the face of challenges, and pretty independent. And so she is. Once the kids let daddy go, it is Gina's turn to welcome her hero home -

 

Now the truth must be told (sorry Gina, don't hate us - LOL). Wizzy does this too, so we affirm there's no shame *wink* : Safe in the arms of her darlin' man, Gina just falls apart like a cheap suit ...

 

And understanding the feelings, Wizzy kinda loses it too.
Let us just tell ya, it's no easy task to shoot while crying.

Everyone had dried tears and blown noses. The jubilant family - love reunited.
It doesn't get any better than this - from either side of the camera!

   

The USS Howard, glorious in bright afternoon San Diego sunshine.

 

Family goin' home ... together ...

 

A patriotic tip of the Wizzy and Friends hat to our Navy brothers and sisters.
Welcome home, sailors!

 

We've posted just a few images here, but the video below really tells the story of these magic moments, forever in our hearts and memories.

Welcome home, Marine Tim!

Remember when we captured the pre-deployment portraits of THIS sweet family?

Well here it is seven months later, and we are excited and delighted to celebrate the reuniting of this USMC family!

Carefully coordinating with darlin' Marine wife, Miss Celeste, we were privileged to be a part of this family's exciting (tho last-minute) homecoming. With some uncertainty about how long before Chief Warrant Officer W's next deployment, his family wanted him home asap from this one!

Most of our homecomings have been on base - so we were delighted when this one was just family, and at our local airport. Oo-rah!

Color, color, and COLOR! Our readers know how much we love our color. But there are times when we want to focus on the emotion of the moment, rather than risk the emotion being overpowered by the color. So as a rarity, most of these images are in our signature warm black and white. Enjoy!

Despite having been on a plane all night, when we chatted about on-site meeting logistics, he was joyfully upbeat about his homecoming. Check out the sweet, expectant face on this guy as he comes down the escalator to reunite with his family -

 

Once kids M and R sighted their daddy, there was no holding them back -

 

 

Family reunited. Awwww ....

 

 

Heart-to-heart, walking together into the future -

 

Well, we just can't resist - a joyful family reunited, in full color -