cindy cieluch photography . blog

Another beautiful little girl.

Here’s sweet 3-month-old Juliet taking a nap this morning…

It seems like it was just yesterday when we did Michelle’s maternity session…

Introducing Grace at 9 days old…

After a really good nap, Grace had one-on-one time with everyone in the family…

It wasn’t all peaceful.  Big brother Gavin loves her so much, he kissed her with all of his might.  MUAH!

Back to nap time…

Congratulations!!!

Speaking of the new studio, here is the mastermind behind our design plans!  Evan has an amazing creative mind, which he used to incorporate tons of cool ideas into our space….even a little history.    He also has an amazing future wife…

For their shoot, we hopped over to the quaint town of Belt — a place where I’ve never shot before.  Super cool buildings everywhere…but my favorite place ended up being a random parking lot that was frozen over.

I love this first image because they were freezing cold…yet still comfy and snuggly.  Plus, Michelle looks beautiful…

That was the headline in the Great Falls Tribune today.  Yep yep.  It’s true!  We’re opening up a studio!  The old Montana Bar sign is down…and we’re moving in.

After months of meetings, talks, prayers, plans and designs, we’re ready to move forward.  I’ve struggled with the whole idea of having a “studio” because my approach to photography is to get people outside and away from the traditional studio setting.  I love bringing my camera out and about, meeting with people at their homes, discovering new places, and capturing personalities and stories in natural settings.  That’s why I will continue to do that.

The studio will mostly serve as a gallery, office, viewing area for photo ordering sessions, a cozy place to hang out…and yes, every once in a while…I will use the studio for certain types of sessions.

Remodeling is underway on the old Montana Bar, which is on the 6th block of Central Avenue next door to The Living Room salon.  There’s still a lot of cleanup and remodeling to be done, but I’ve already fallen in love with the space.  The location felt right as soon as Matt and I walked through the door.

We’re still not quite sure exactly when we’ll be opening our doors.  This has been a longtime secret dream of mine, so we want to make sure everything is *just* right.     I’ll be sharing photos of the progress with you…and will let you know when the grand opening party is.  Thank you a million times for all of your support!

Sweet, sweet session today.  I’ve hit the ground running since my inspirational trip to Portland.  I’ll have more from Oregon….and of course…more of these twins soon…

Doesn’t this make you want to cuddle up and take a nap?

Did you see the photos we took of one another in Oregon?  If not, scroll down to check them out!  Well, they weren’t all pretty…

We thought it would be funny/interesting to see what we’d look like if we were perfectly symmetrical.  We put the left side of our face together, then put the right side of our face together in another photo.  Here’s what we would look like if we were “perfect.”

And I’m proud to say that I won for the scariest!

What a weekend.

6 extraordinary women shared more than photography tips with me.  They shared their passion, love, fears, hopes and dreams.

We talked about how we got into photography, why we’re still doing it and what we hope to accomplish.  Our journeys are all very different, yet most of our goals are the same…..

Capturing memories for families.  Making people feel special.  Helping clients let go of their insecurities.  Letting go of our insecurities.  Seeing the beauty in everyone.  Remembering that photography is not about proving, it’s about preserving.  Not waiting until the perfect time to let someone take your picture.  The best time is now.  The person you are today is always beautiful.

That realization led to this photo shoot exercise.  We had hoped to hit the beach to take pictures of each other, but the weather was less than ideal.  Rain was pouring and the wind was howling, so we decided to stay on the balcony.  And when you think about it, who cares about the location when you have 7 passionate photographers squished together?

We forced ourselves to think out of the box.  We experimented with settings, ideas and compositions.  We let the raindrops drench our hair and our lenses.  It can be intimidating taking portraits of a bunch of amazing photographers at the same time, but I wasn’t nervous. I felt an amazing sense of calmness and happiness around these inspiring women.  Plus, I wasn’t going for technical perfection.  I just wanted to remember all of the emotions I felt at that moment.

I will never, ever forget this weekend with the Lincoln City Posse.  Want to see more?  Click here to see what Mel + Sara of Whitebox Weddings captured.

Thank you Kathy…

Thank you Darcie.

Thank you Heather.

Thank you Kelly.

Thank you Sara.

Thank you Mel.

The Whitebox Weddings workshop is not a workshop at all.  And I couldn’t be more happy about it.

Mel + Sara of Whitebox are some of the most down to earth chicas I’ve ever met.  Click on their website link above to see for yourself.  All of their images are fresh, vibrant, fun, colorful and real…..a true reflection of their personalities.  It’s also the way they approached this workshop.  They wanted to make it more than surface photography talk and lessons.  Yeah, we’re doing some photography…but it’s as Kathy would say, “beneath the surface.”

The 7 of us women have spent all weekend doing this:  Talking until the wee hours of the morning.  Shooting each other in the rain.  Crying a little bit.  Sharing little photography “secrets” here and there.  Laughing until we just about peed our pants.

All the photographers I’ve met here in Oregon are inspiring, encouraging and…..well, I’m still searching for the words to describe what this weekend means to me.

In short, I’ve got a new view on photography.  I’ll tell you what I mean soon….but I’ve got to get back to the girl talk.  We’ve got one more night of nonsense!  Until then, here’s the view from our cozy beach house on Glenenden Beach.