i heart kelly

As I was searching for a banner for my blog theme, I came across an adorable, whimsical photo of a child on the sand.  All I could see were legs, feet, hands and…a sock monkey!  I swooned.  It was perfect.

Is this not too cute!!!???

 

The professional photographer is Kelly West Mars.  I contacted her about using the photo and she graciously said yes.  Unfortunately, try as I may, I still can’t figure out how to size it correctly to use in my header.

The photo intrigued me so much that I went to Kelly’s flickr page and looked through ALL of her photos.  She is an incredible photographer.  I go back and look at her photos again and again.

I discovered, through her pictures and comments, those cute legs belong to her daughter Maggie.  I have never met Kelly or Maggie, but I feel as if I know them both.

Kelly puts her photos and herself out there for the world to see.  It’s amazing how connected I feel with her.  After email correspondence, I have come to know she is one of the nicest people!

In the small world category, she is from the Richmond area, where I live AND her brother-in-law is my massage therapist.  Seeing the photos of him on her page kind of flipped me out.  “Hey, I know that guy!”

I hope one day to meet Kelly and do a session with her.  I think she would capture our little four-legged family perfectly.  That may have to wait for a long while.  Her husband is in the military, a defender of our freedom.  They are currently stationed in Korea.  I’m sure if she comes back to Richmond anytime soon, it will be a family visit and no one wants to work then!  Family time, especially when it’s limited, is too precious.

Check out Kelly’s work through her flickr page or her Facebook page (link on the right).  I think you’ll like what you see.

And thank you Kelly, for enriching my life with your photos.  You have a lifetime fan!