This year is the year of two photo sessions! Josh and I usually do an anniversary photo shoot once a year around our wedding anniversary. But, this year, we are expecting our first babe and thought a 9 month maternity shoot was in order! Mandy Henry has photographed so much of the important moments in our life, we were so excited to share this one with her as well!
Hey friends! It’s time for my June newsletter. Keeping you in the loop is just what I do!
Update #1: Newsletters will probably never make it out on the first of the month. I’ve realized I don’t want to interrupt my blogging routine (Saturday & Sunday off, Monday “a Photo a Day,” Tuesday photography, Wednesday Words, Thursday photography, Friday free for all) so that means my newsletters will be featured on the blog the Friday after the first of every month.
Last month I was selected to be on TV with Talk of the Town. First time being on TV and it wasn’t too terrifying! Hopefully I’ll have a link to the interview soon!
Sometimes I do freelance photography for publications. I’ve been freelancing for BRAVA Magazine since October and am featured on their cover for the second time this month.
This is it! I will now be seeing weddings in my every waking moment and even in my dreams! Starting June 22 I become a sort of wedding hopper. Every Saturday I have the privilege of photographing beautiful couples on their big, big days… and then I get to eat their food and cake and maybe even dance a little 🙂 It’s a good life. Tiring, but very good! To book me, shoot me an email at asunshinemoment@gmail.com – subject line “wedding photography” please.
Calling all high school seniors! There is still time to book your session with me! Better hurry though because time flies and I get packed quickly. I absolutely love senior portrait photography. I love that I get to work with young adults in such a cool time in their life when the world is at their finger tips and they are reaching out to seize it! I am a unique photographer in that it is my sole goal to photograph the uniqueness in you! I work throughout the session to choose poses and spots that better showcase what you love and who you are. I even welcome family and friends into the shots if you like. Contact me at asunshinemoment@gmail.com (subject line “senior portrait photography” please) to get more info about booking me for your session. A note of warning, only contact me if you want to have fun during your portrait session!
Every tour my husband finds himself on it is my goal to make it to at least one show. This tour, the closest they got to me was Brunswick, OH… 7.5 hours away. So, at 36 weeks pregnant I hopped in a car with my mom and we road-tripped it out there! What a great show! CLICK HERE to read about it and see the photos I took at the concert.
Still haven’t closed on our house but we’ve been dreaming up the place like crazy! Our apartment is sufficiently packed up and we’re ready to go! now we’re just waiting for our June 16 closing date! To read more about the specifics of how huge of a blessing this is check out my blurb about it from my May Newsletter.
I am 39 weeks pregnant and this little buddy is hanging on! With a move on (or before) June 16, a due date of June 11, and wedding photography season hitting full force starting June 22 I am in for one crazy month!
Tata for now!
Kaia Calhoun
Hey friends!
A new blog thing I am starting is a newsletter! Ideally these will publish on the 1st of ever month but obviously that just didn’t happen this time! I’m sure by reading the updates below you can figure out why I’ve been slacking on the blogging!
Ever since Josh and I got married I have fostered a passion for owning a home. I am so happy to announce that our home ownership days are finally upon us! We just purchased the most adorable cape cod home in Janesville, WI and close on June 2. Why did I want a house so bad? Not for your usual reasons. My passion for wanting a home is really a passion for wanting a yard. I’m also so excited about the tax benefits since we’re self employed and so excited to transform the space into something that’s all my own and blanketed by my design but it is the yard I was really after. I wanted a fenced in and spacious yard so I can left dogs and kids run free and safe and so I can fully pursue homesteading. What is homesteading? Homesteading is fostering your own food sources. For me, this is a garden. Some day I would love to add chickens to the mix, but one step at a time! My dreams for my garden is to feed my family with homegrown, organic fruits and veggies through most of the year.
I am a full time photographer. But working out of my in-home studio can get pretty depressing. When my husband is on tour I sometimes don’t see another person for days at a time. A person starts getting weird when they don’t see another person after a few days. Well there’s this coffee shop in town that is our favorite thing ever. One day it occurred to me that I would love to work there a day or two a week as a means to get me out of the house and around people. As timing would have it, mine was perfect! I started work there a few days later and I am in love! It is so fantastic to step away from editing and into the cozy environment of a coffee shop. Not only does it get me face time with folks but it fuels my productivity back at home.
I am 35 weeks pregnant and getting so excited to meet this little one kicking around in my tummy! With a move on June 2 and a due date of June 11 with wedding photography season hitting full force right after my due date I am in for a crazy summer’s beginning! It’s a good thing I’m comfortable flying by the seat of my pants 😉
Sometimes I do freelance photography for publications. I’ve been freelancing for BRAVA Magazine since October and recently started pursing other publications that can call on me to photograph more fun in the Madison area!
As mentioned briefly above, wedding season is knocking at my doorstep! In the good ‘ol midwest, my work life is bonkers from May to December. Come January the photographing and editing slows down enough so I finally get to address the list of To Do list pertaining to the business side of things. After a brutally cold and wedding free 2014 so far I am excited to get back at it! Starting June 22 my wedding photography madness begins! Look out brides and grooms, this photographer is excited and energetic about serving you with buckets of creativity and passion!
I am looking to expand my volume of high school senior portrait photography. I am cheaper than the portrait studios I’m familiar with and I like to think I’m more fun! Contact me at asunshinemoment@gmail.com (subject line “senior portrait photography” please) to get more info about booking me for your session. I mean, only if you want to have fun during your portrait session though because that’s what I do!
And now, my friends, it is essential that I get my booty out the door to go sign some more papers for the house in order to also get to my home inspection on time!
Have a blessed day!
Kaia Calhoun
Amy Hammond-Hagberg is an author-speaker from Minnesota. She’s authored and coauthored several books. My personal favorite is 100 Answers to 100 Questions Before You Say I Do but Facing the Dragon seems to be her most popular. Not only was I super blessed to grow up under the care of this spunky and hardworking woman, but I have had the privilege of proofreading for her, taking her head shots, and now designing her website!
Working with my mom on this big project was both very fun and challenging. Suddenly proofreading and taking head shots looked like child’s play! Not that designing the site itself was particularly hard, although each graphic design experience I’ve had certainly is enough to puzzle through on its own, I just found the dynamic between playing designer and daughter at the same time to be much more challenging. In proofreading and head shots I get to send my mom a finished product, with design there is proofing along the way and a whole manner of preferences to sift through together. We had to play a lot of back and forth on deciding what the look would be and why – occasionally I had squish one of her ideas and occasionally she had to dump one of mine. Because of all of this I learned a lot about myself and I think it grew our relationship in a cool, unique way! I’m also very grateful that I got to work on the design with her because I think it is worlds better because of her input and evaluation along the way! Two minds are better than one right!
Thanks Mom for your patience with me on this project and for asking me to work with you on it! Love you!
CLICK HERE or on the screenshot below to see the new site!
Some ins and outs…
I designed this website primarily in Photoshop. I based the design off of a number of resources but the most influential was the template we chose to work off of. Working with templates like this is great because it is easier to customize and change the content. If you would like a web design that is easily accessible and changed I recommend going with a ProPhoto template, rigging it to your WordPress account, and don’t forget your hosting and domain (I use GoDaddy and they are great!)
I have exciting news! I have written a picture book and sent it out for agent support!
I long debated when to share the news that I am, in fact, a much more serious writer than blogging stories on this here site. Make no mistake, blogging is serious business and takes a lot of time, commitment and energy but now I am getting super serious: I am trying to get a book published!
I want to share my book with you but to share the actual book text with you, or even a summary, would be cheating myself. That is a surprise left for the moment my book is published. However, what I can tell you is that The Antler Elf is a whimsical rhyme steeped in myth and education. With a brand-new angle on a Christmas story, a charming main character, and laugh-out-loud scenarios it is the perfect tale to huddle around the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa after putting up the Christmas tree.
My story was inspired out of nowhere about two years ago. I honestly can’t even remember now how the idea came about, but to give you a taste of how I inspired myself here are a few tid bits…
I educated myself about reindeer, particularly through a National Geographic article that featured this photo. (Unfortunately you can’t read the article without a subscription but you can see the full photo gallery HERE.)
I wrote several of my drafts in a Caribou Coffee. I figured the north woods, cozy atmosphere and Caribou logo would be inspiring. I was right.
And I referenced some of my favorite picture books to decide on writing style and character development. Mr. Murry and Thumbkin, my all-time favorite picture book, became a main source of inspiration. Read it.
Now that you are totally excited to read my book (because you are right?) cheer me on, pray, and cross your fingers that an agent gets so excited too!
P.S. If you cheer me on by leaving a comment on this blog post I bet one of the agents I gave my info too will take notice! Hey, it’s worth a shot right? 🙂
Musings of a Musician's Wife 