This is a story about a Moose. The moose is dead, but the story lives on.
The man in the picture above is my husband and you see, he has a problem with having an addiction to online auction sites. Things could be worse.

So as I sit in my home in Maine typing this, I can see 8 things in this room alone, that have been purchased on auction sites. Most of these things I love, so I benefit from his addiction.

However, recently he came to me and said, "I just want to tell you that I bought a moose head."
To which I replied, "What the hell? Why do we need a moose head?"
His casual reply was, "It was really cheap, you don't see them that cheap. I always see them for way more money!"
Wait, my mind was in disbelief, he actually knows what moose heads sell for? Who knows that? I thought that only people who hunt moose have them as trophies on their walls. And.... people actually sell moose heads? Really? Isn't that just not right if you didn't shoot it, you just bought it?
I then ask, "What are you going to do with this moose head?"
To which he again casually replied, "It's for my barn in Maine, and I bought a bear head, too!
WHAT???

This is what the barn looks like and will look like for a long time. Construction had to go on hold because my daughter is getting married and we need to pay for a wedding.  Apparently, you can't wait to buy the decor for the barn because you will never see it at such a bargain price again.

The story gets better, the moose head is too large to ship, so we are off to a little overnight vacation to Pennsylvania to pick up , "Rudolph",  the moose. (now named).
Here we are picking him up in Pennsylvania. Note, the moose has a ripped nose and a hole in the fur on his head.  Perhaps that is why he was such a bargain.

Of course, Rudolph does not fit in the back of the vehicle fully, and we have to travel all the way back home with back of the Explorer roped down with a part of a moose sticking out..............

...and this guy in the back seat.

So now Rudolph stays in our basement, for the time being.

 John and Johnny can spend time admiring him there. 
As it turns out, our son-in-law's German Shepard's fur was just the right color match. John was able to use little bit of it to repair Rudolph's issues. This is the first time Jager's   excess fur has been viewed in a positive light.

As for the other purchased decoration, I think we can bear with him for a little while longer.

I know I say I love everything, but I really do love so many things. So here is another thing I love, going to new parent's homes and having a photo session with them and their newborn .

Meet beautiful little Kaelyn and her mom, Jackie.

Newborn feet are so cute. Jackie's mom made this blanket for Kaelyn.

She peacefully slept through most of the session, except.........

........when she was disturbed for an outfit change.

It didn't take long before she was back to sleep.

One of the advantages of in home newborn sessions, is being able to photograph their surroundings. This is a gorgeous nursery Kaelyn's parents have put together for her.

It was great spending a morning in the sun drenched home of these beautiful ladies.

It was such a pleasure to photograph this young lady. When I was her third grade teacher 4 years ago, I knew she was special. I remember the day she got her first guitar and brought it in to show the class. She demonstrated how to play one chord, that was all she knew at the time, but she was determined to play. I also heard her singing as she walked out to recess one day, and her voice stopped me in my tracks. It was beautiful!

This was Ashley back then.

Fast forward to this year. I left teaching to pursue a career in photography and Ashley has been developing into quite a musician and actress. She is an 8th grader at Sharon Middle school and will be playing Sandy in the Middle School Musical. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph her, recording this very special time in her life.

I had been wanting  to have a client who wanted portraits with some type of instrument or object that was important to them.   Ashley fit the bill.

She was so easy to work with, just like when she was in 3rd grade.  She was totally comfortable with me and I really enjoyed our time together. I should mention that I also taught her older brother, who is also very talented and is in the High School's theater productions. I would love to get him in someday to take his portraits.

This is a behind the scenes picture Ashley's mom took of us.

Here are a few more from our session.

Perhaps you are  a past student of mine with a talent. I started teaching in 1983, so there are a lot of you I would love to see again. Maybe you have a son or daughter that  does something very special that could be frozen in time by coming in for a portrait session. I would love to do this for you. You don't need to wait until senior portrait time. Ashley is not even in high school, but she and her family will have these images to preserve  this important time in her life.

Feel free to contact me. I love the challenge of planning out a session just for you.
Regards,
​Ann-Marie Ford
[email protected]