Happy New Year!

Lagniappe* wishes you a happy new year!  

Thank you to all the families that brought us incredible joy throughout 2012.

My Christmas Lagniappe

My friend Krista is an artist.  Krista sees people, I mean really sees people, even those far away.  For the holidays, she designed a truly awesome holiday card.  And she gave me a vintage postcard!  Somehow Krista knew this postcard would bring me incredible pleasure.

I believe the card is postmarked April 7, 1908.  M. Roty’s semeuse or sower stamp design spanned 1906 to 1937; the reddish-brown ten-centime stamp appears most frequently from 1906 to 1920.  Sent by Carine and Edmee (sisters?), the card sends a thousand good kisses from your two little cousins (females) to Mr. and Mrs. Breard, Bracquetuit farmers, near St. Victor l’Abbaye, a French commune dating back to the 13^th century (in the district of Haute-Normandie, in the county of Seine-Maritime, in district of Arrondissement de Dieppe).  The French department of Seine-Maritime was previously known as Seine-Inférieure, noted at the end of the address.

And here is a St. Victor l’Abbaye chateau postcard with the same stamp postmarked 1908.

But the pièce de résistance  is the hand-tinted photo 

on the postcard’s face with the greeting “Happy Easter."

A photo of two babies in the style of today’s newborn photography, 

complete with adorable props!

I believe this hand-tinted postcard may have been custom made by B.C.L. (lower right corner).  Perhaps the babies are the two little cousins sending good kisses.  But hand-tinted postcards were also "mass produced."  The process of hand-tinting cards was labor intensive and unhealthy.  Mostly women artists sat in rows while the postcards were passed down “assembly line” style.  Each woman was responsible for a particular color.  The cards were small, the artwork detailed.  The artists would wet the tip of their brush, usually cotton covered, with their lips as they worked.  Soon the lead in the paint took its toll as women became sick.  Hand-tinted postcards declined throughout Europe in the early 1900s, but lingered somewhat in France and Belgium.  

So, of course, by now you must know that I am looking to photograph 

a similar scene for next Easter.  But I plan to digitize the color!  Anyone interested?

I can only dream . . .

Many folks who visited Lagniappe* at the Madison Street Festival commented on a similarity between my portraits and those of Anne Geddes.  

Well, they were very, very kind, and I was beyond flattered.  

I can only dream . . .  

So, next it came time to order banking checks, something I never would splurge on.  

But, there I went and ordered Anne Geddes designer checks!

Then I was working on a single photo for days.  I knew I wanted to do something fun and special.  But nothing seemed even close.  Finally, it struck me!  

Let me know if you like the color or black and white portrait!

Some Babies Love to Stretch!

Even asleep, sweet Amielia wanted to extend her legs!

Just two weeks old, Amielia would cuddle, but only if wrapped.

2012 Madison Street Festival

Thanks to everyone who braved the wet and cold 

to attend the Madison Street Festival last Saturday!  

And special thanks to everyone of all species

who found our exhibit (tarps and all) 

to warm our hearts and lift our spirit!

Congratulations to the winner of our Facebook Portrait Give-Away -- 

beautiful Emery Grace!

Amielia and Alpacas!

What does sweet newborn Amielia have in common with alpacas?

You might say sheer/shear natural beauty!

Amielia Cate - 14 Days Old

You see, Amielia's super-soft hat came from the fibers of Bear and Jukie, 

Huacaya Alpacas from Alpaca Atlantic of Tennessee, located just south of Nashville.

Bear

 Jukie and One-Day Old Honey Bun

Almost as big as mother, Honey Bun loves to nurse!

Lisa Olsen and Bill Fletcher breed these exquisite animals and manage every aspect of their ranch.  They vaccinate, shear, train, breed and process fiber into finished goods. 

Lisa, who has become the area's midwife for difficult alpaca deliveries, 

knits and felts luxurious hats and scarves.  

I recently had the amazing experience of getting up close and personal with a few members of the ranch's absolutely gorgeous herd of alpacas!

Here, beautiful Amielia wears a hat made of fiber from Sugar,

whose rose-grey coat provides a perfect blend!

Visit Alpaca Atlantic on the web:  http://www.alpacaatlantic.com/

Lagniappe* at Madison Street Festival!

The 32^nd Annual Madison Street Festival will take place Saturday, 

 October 6^th, in downtown Madison from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. 

Lagniappe* Newborn Portraits is competing in the Festival's Artist Alley, the juried art section of the event.  Please come by and visit.  Many sweet portraits will be on display!

New Portrait at Madison Hospital!

Now, in the Labor and Delivery Area of Madison Hospital, you will find a portrait of the first baby born there at 8:12 a.m. on June 6, 2012, by Lagniappe* Newborn Portraits!

This is a photo of the image-blocks portrait against the hospital's green wall.  

This was a fun project, and Lagniappe* was thrilled to contribute to the new hospital.

This beautiful little man comes home, and I'm so happy to photograph him!

As you view these expectant parents, please note 

they welcomed their first child, a beautiful boy, only three days later!

On June 6th Madison Hospital celebrated the birth of their first baby, 

and ten days later I had the privilege of photographing this gorgeous girl!

 

It's official!  Lagniappe* has been designated a PPA Charities Studio 2012!

Lagniappe* thanks all the local merchants who supported our event, 

A Nurturing Moment, Southerland's Photo, Design World, just to name a few.  

And many, many thanks to all the families who gave me 

the opportunity to capture their smiles to save a previous smile.

If only we could reach through a monitor screen and cuddle sweet Judson!

Two weeks until summer!  Medi-Gras, the celebration for our new Madison Hospital, gave me the opportunity to meet and photograph pure sweetness:  Emery Grace, born on Valentine's Day.  I've been asked how I got Emery's look of surprise in her feathered cap. It was not easy . . . I held my camera in one hand, flailed my other arm, and sang out her name loudly.  I think I surprised everyone in her home, myself included!

My entry for a Flower Portrait to Rock the Shot!

www.rocktheshotforum.com

Celebration of Smiles

DON’T MISS OUR SPECIAL “CELEBRATION OF SMILES DAY” PROMOTION!

On April 21 Lagniappe* will participate with "A Nurturing Moment," Southerland's Photo, Inc., and a group of photographers around the country in a very special portrait promotion. On that day we will be providing a wonderful opportunity for you to update portraits of yourself, family members, and friends. In doing so, you will help to support Operation Smile, which provides free surgeries for children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

Along with other members of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), we are offering the gift of an individual portrait session and a desk-size portrait in exchange for a $24 donation to PPA Charities, which has chosen Operation Smile as its charitable partner. For every 10 individuals we photograph, another child will receive the gift of surgery! It costs as little as $240 for Operation Smile's medical volunteers to provide a life-saving surgery that can take as little as 45 minutes. One hundred percent of each donation will go to Operation Smile.

We also believe that our Celebration of Smiles Day is a wonderful way to teach children the value of reaching out to others. Even small children can understand the importance of Operation Smile’s work, and they are eager to help these needy children. We hope you will join with us in helping to make this vital work possible, and we promise to create a portrait that you will treasure.

To schedule your session appointment, please email me at dtkorab@knology.net.

Celebration of Smiles will take place on Saturday, April 21 at A Nurturing Moment, 7540 Memorial Parkway SW, Suite B, Huntsville, AL  35802, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Southerland's Photo is donating printing services.

Please, please try to participate in a Celebration of Smiles, and encourage your family members and friends to participate.  I am really hoping to earn enough for at least one surgery (two would be fantastic!).

Thank you!   Darlene

p.s. Maybe you'd like a new Facebook photo or photos for a FB Timeline Banner!

Ava and Lily

I knew that some day I would have the wonderful opportunity to photograph newborn twins.  But I could have never imagined that my first twins would be so utterly beautiful. 

Mom says this mimics their arrangement during pregnancy:  Lily pushing Ava to the side!

Ava is ready for spring, basket and bonnet!

And so too is Lily!

Along with loving brother, Jaxson