Overland Park | BFF | Sarah

Ok…I can, without question, say I am 100% proud of this masterpiece.  I can see why people had so much fun in the 80’s.

Back story….Sarah, aka: BFF, called me up and asked if I would be interested in a little project.  She is pretty much a pro at online dating and she was wanting to narrow down the field a bit.  Weed out the men who have no sense of humor.  So she described her vision of how she wanted her new profile picture to look.  CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!!  I think it added a little extra awesome sauce that we conducted our little photo session after a few cocktails.

Here is the Masterpiece

Sarah has three cats.  Yes, three.  She is pretty much on her way to being a crazy cat lady.  With this new profile pic, she is either:

A) Going to be single for ever and ever and ever…or

B) Going to meet and marry a man with the best sense of humor in the whole wide world.  HAHAHA

A little behind the scenes action.  Those poor kitties. And this is my delightful instruction on how I wanted her to pose her cats.  Did I mention we had a few cocktails?Side note, how about that hair?  Is that not the coolest?  Love the color!!!!!

Smithville | NRAD | A-Shift

It’s no secret that by weekend, I am a photographer.  I photograph love, happiness, and sweet memories.

A lesser known fact…by weekday (or night), I am a Paramedic.  I protect patients, treat illness & injury, and comfort pain and sadness.

It’s a strange existence…sort of Yin Yang.  Dark and light forces that are interconnected and create a unique balance in my life.  One day I might be wearing a uniform, splattered with blood/vomit/urine/feces…caring for patients who sometimes are critically ill or experience cardiac arrest.  The next day I might be wearing my typical all-black attire, splattered with champagne and wedding cake…capturing beautifully dressed people who are consumed with laughing and dancing as they celebrate love.  It’s a wild ride…but no regrets.  I became a medic out of sheer curiosity.  Having never needed to call 911 or be hospitalized myself…I never had exposure to EMS prior to Matt (my hubby) going through the medic program a couple years before me.  It fascinated me.  And I desperately try to live life without regret…so I jumped into it.  I did something they refer to as “Zero to Hero”.  With Zero EMS or healthcare experience, I went into school and completed my EMT training, and then went straight into the Paramedic Program without working in the field first.  I can’t say I recommend that path…experience is key.  Learning from a book is not the same thing as learning from real life.  But…I completed the training and threw myself right onto an ambulance.  I worked for NRAD (Northland Regional Ambulance District) for just short of 2 years.  In 2017, three of my female coworkers and I bid positions on the Smithville ambulance station and we had an awesome year.  They were my work family for a year.  It was the first all-female Smithville crew in NRAD history and we got teased in the beginning about how there would be too many hens in the den and drama was bound to ensue.  It’s nice to prove people wrong sometimes.  We were an incredible team.  We encouraged each other, supported each other, learned from each other, helped each other….we even ate dinner together and shared horoscopes at the table (apparently I’m more of a Gemini than a Cancer).  2017 was a good year.  But sadly…I broke up the band.  I decided my curiosity itch hasn’t quite been scratched.  I want to know what happens to patients after they get dropped off at the ER.  I want to know about their healing process…and more about the preventative process.  Therefore…school awaits.  I’m not quite excited about that part, but I’m eager to learn.  Not sure where my quest for information will take me…Critical Care Medic, RN, NP, PA…haven’t figured that out yet.  It will be another adventure.  My happy place will always be with my camera and fun people.  I seem to blend the two worlds occasionally.

Here is one such example.

This is what happens when I bring camera gear to work one night when the people of Smithville are healthy and safe.

I call this session:  Medics at Play

A little Medic humor….What does one Medic say to another Medic on a dual-Medic ambulance?

Q:  Where are we going?

A:  I don’t know.  I’m a Medic.

(Most services have one Medic and one EMT.  The EMT is in charge of driving.) Picture below is Medic 46…Paramedic Kump & Paramedic May.

Picture is Medic 47.  Paramedic Gibbs & Paramedic Flavin.And this is what happens when you hand someone a camera with back-focus settings in place.  Pretty much every picture of me….ever. I miss these girls so much.  It was a gooooooood year.

Lee’s Summit | Lifestyle | Fahle

Welcome to the world little Miss Nadine.

I COULD NOT help myself…needed to include the many facial expressions of this child.  Hilarious!

Vanessa…you have never looked more beautiful!  Motherhood looks good on your girl!

Blue Steel.  Magnum.

One more for ya.  HAHAHA!

And here’s a tribute photo to their engagement session.

Sunflower Fields | Family | Grosdidier

Ok folk.  This is one of my favorite families of all time.  It’s been a hot minute since the last time I’ve photographed them, so it’s with great awe to see how much they’ve grown.  These kids, who most of them I’ve known since they were born, are HUGE now!  Oh…and let me not forget the wonderful woman who worked hard to lay a thick guilt trip and get the family all together for this session.  Karla!  This was a special birthday treat for her.  Happy Birthday!

Right here…this is #lifegoals.  I love how they love each other.  So sweet!I sort of went crazy with the funny GIFS on this session.  Couldn’t help myself.  I love them all so much and they crack me up!This right here…this is pretty much exactly me/my daughter/ my son.  Yup.Ladies…I think we can all relate to this visual analogy of dealing with husbands.Once upon a time, these ladies made me work a little harder to capture their cute faces.  Now…with a little help from Grandpa acting like a barnyard animal behind me…SUCCESS!  Thanks Grandpa!RAWRRRR!!!  Good lookin’ family alert!And…this family.  This is where it all started.  This loud-mouthed, super awesome girl I worked with in the Dean’s office in college was engaged for like a decade (slightly exaggerated, but not much, haha) and she saw something in my photography…enough to invite me and my camera to her wedding.  Thus a long friendship was born.  <3These kids pretty much explode with personality.  Just sayin’.
Oh…and…this.  I’m going to keep this image forever on the internet.  This superstar swimmer will hopefully remember me when he’s famous and maybe let me photograph his photo for the Wheaties box.

Kansas City | Family | Lackeys

Round 4

That’s right.  4th Pregnancy.  Kyle and Ashley are insane!

But their insanity looks adorable!  I cannot even accurately count how many times I’ve photographed them and their growing family…but this was one for the records.  They went from struggling to start a family to having 4 babies!  Craziness.  So happy for this gang.

#4!!!!!!!
Well ladies and gentleman…what you have seen thus far was about 10 minutes of shooting.  My camera was just getting warmed up…everyone was looking lovely…we were about to soak ourselves in some beautiful natural light for even more sweet family pictures…but Victor decided he was done.  To make sure he got the point across…well…he let mom know.OMG!  EW!  …though the session was done, Ashley’s humor was not.  And, if you have had kids or are currently raising kids…you are nodding your head in solidarity.  Life happens.  You just have to go with it.Congrats to the Lackey family on the newest member of the family!