cindy cieluch photography . blog

“Hello.  My name is Griff and my parents are the coolest.”

OK, I’ve been working all day and night and I’m starting to act a little crazy.  This will be my last post for the night, so I can rest my poor computer fried eyes.

If Griff could talk though, that’s what he would say.  Kort + Jason are the coolest and I’m lucky to call them my friends.  Jason is the brain behind my my logo — mad props Jason!  And his lovely wife Kortnee has probably left a comment on every single blog posting I’ve ever done!  Here’s their last session…and here’s the latest.  Miss you guys!  Duncan + Boerne miss Griffen.

They’re not big into bowling, but we thought this wall was pretty rad.

I’m going on another posting frenzy!  The only thing is that I’ve got to keep these next several posts pretty short because I’ve got A LOT of catching up to do.  The senior yearbook deadline is creeping up, so I’ll get these bad boys up as soon as I can!

I *heart* Bethany!  She always greets me at The Peak with the biggest smile, which is nice when you’re about to start a workout.  :-D  Bethany has this vibe about her that’s so positive and genuine…you can’t help being happy around her!  Although she’s very smiley, I had to make her bust out a serious pose in front of this sweeeeeet Dumpster.

I was smitten from the moment I met Bella.  This ball of energy walked right over to me and when I asked for a hug, she squeezed my neck with all of her might!  I think we can all learn something from a 3-year-old like Bella.  She laughs so hard, her whole face scrunches up.  She sings and dances like nobody is watching.  She tells you what she’s thinking, feeling and if she forgets your name, she simply asks, “What’s your name again?”  Oh…to be such a young, free spirit!

Needless to say, Bella had us laughing the whole time with her facial expressions, hysterical one liners and poses that put America’s Next Top Model to shame.  And soon, this energy will be focused on being a Big Sister!

P.S. I went a little crazy with this posting…but can you blame me!??!

When I asked Bella what she’s going to do when she meets her new baby brother, she did this…

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

This is my favorite shot of the day.  Makes me laugh out loud every time.

Hello twinkly eyes…

Oh my!  Dad: You better watch out!

Yummy hair.  Yummy eyelashes.  Yummy hugs.  I just love this little girl!

When I see a pregnant woman, I tend to stare!  I think a pregnant belly is just absolutely amazing.  DeeAnna was a sport and let me do some bare belly shots!  Once again, are you kidding me?  GOR-GEOUS!

After mommy time, it was Princess Bella time!

Bella: You’re going to be the best big sister ever!

The day started off raining and it wasn’t just a drizzle.  There were rain drops so heavy, most brides would cry or stay inside to protect their hair.  But not Jessica.  She put her heels back in the shoebox, threw on her boots and made the most of it.  After all, what’s there to complain about when you’re marrying your best friend and all of your family and best friends are with you?  Plus, the moody clouds and wet grass made for some pretty amazing scenes.  I’ll take the rain and clouds over the bright sun any day!  I’ll take Jessica + Adam any day too. 

After the soggy field, we headed to the soggy park to meet up with family and friends.  It was cloudy, but the ring bearer was still rockin’ the sunglasses!

Jessica + Adam: a huge, huge THANK YOU for trudging through the mud and rain to make your wedding day so much fun to shoot!  I think that says a lot about how you handle any situation given to you.  :)  Congratulations on your new life together!

Late Friday afternoon, I was feeling moved to finally do an official session with my children.  AKA: my dogs Duncan + Boerne (pronounced Bernie).  My goal was to get clean, simple portraits that concentrate on their facial expressions and show their opposite personalities.

Duncan is our first baby.  If I were to submit a newspaper classified for him, it would say something like this: a 3-year-old Golden Retriever who’s trusting, gentle and fun-loving.  He has the softest hair, deep brown eyes, loves to swim in the Missouri River and will do anything for your attention and a pat on the head.  Boerne is our wild child.  I first saw him when he was barely 6 weeks old at a wedding venue in Boerne, Texas, where he was running around with roosters.  He’s 2 years old now and the cutest mix of Jack Russell Terrier, Chihuahua and Corgi.  This dog has the strangest personality of any dog I’ve ever met.  He’s peculiar to say the least, hates the cold but loves to snowshoe, bites Duncan’s ankles when they play fetch, sits on top of Duncan (no joke) and prefers to eat his food at midnight (we hear him crunching away while we’re trying to fall asleep).

The reason why I’m describing them instead of simply showing photos?  Friday’s shoot almost ended in tragedy!  While we were downtown (my dumb idea), Duncan came within .05 seconds of getting hit by a car.  So we left downtown and I took them to an open field, where they were so excited that Boerne ran right through Duncan’s stream of pee.  It has since been named the “Golden Streak.”

That’s when the shoot ended.  I didn’t get any pictures of Boerne and was only able to get some close ups of Duncan that didn’t turn out the way I imagined.

Here’s one that sums up the entire situation.

My second wedding shooter Matt Austin (who you also might know from his reporting & anchoring on KRTV) just called to give me a news flash: we’ve been nominated for the Great Falls Tribune’s Greatest of Great Falls contest!!!  It’s an annual survey asking residents to vote for their local favorites, which includes everything from politicians to brews.  My blog is in the *The People* category, alongside some other wonderful blogs that I follow.  Please take a few minutes to cast your vote by clicking this link.  And don’t forget to vote for your favorite TV Personality!  Matt Austin is one of the nominees!  The poll closes Oct. 7th and the winners will be in the paper on Sunday, Nov. 2nd.  Have a fun weekend everyone!  Austin and I are off to shoot a reception tonight - complete with karaoke and the photo booth.  Good times!!!

Another day.  Another *knock my socks off* senior.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start randomly posting photos from my summer adventures.  So, here’s another fun lil’ trip we made!  Matt + I decided that it would be a sin to not drive to Glacier while we were up in Bigfork shooting Jaymee + Jeff’s wedding.  My brain and body were exhausted after the wedding weekend, but Matt insisted that I hold my camera the whole time we were driving just in case we saw something cool.  I mean, seriously Matt?  We’ve been to Glacier at least 10 times and he never gets sick of it.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love Glacier, but he was getting very annoyed that I didn’t want to take a million pictures.  That boy is crazy!  I finally ponied up and busted out the camera to get a few shots here and there.  Only for you, Matt…

Getting down n’ dirty for the shot…

I decided to mess up his scenic shot.  He he.

Matt took this one too.

I love you my psycho camera-lovin’ sidekick.