Why can't it be summer all year-round?

The longer we've lived in Central Eastern Europe, the more our family has come to appreciate sunshine and vacation time with cousins in Utah. This has been such a wonderful summer full of friends, cousins, grandparents, boating, motorcycling, swimming, movies, late nights, junk food and fireworks. I wish it would never end...

Pure Sweetness...

I had the opportunity over the Holidays to photograph my niece's little girl, Baby Mika. She is truly a living doll. And she has the best mama in the world :)

Growing up

Here's just 1 for now of my oldest son, Jonah. He's such a great kid. I feel honored to be his mom.

Prayers for Paul...

Please pray for my brother and his family. Doctors have told him he has only days to live...

Love you, bro!

The man behind the wheel...

The legendary Paul Berg, behind the wheel of his own creation.

The cobra...

Many of you know that my brother, Paul, is terminally ill. In 2007, he and my dad started a project together to build a replica 1965 427 Cobra. Soon after that, my bro was diagnosed with more cancer. His car was nearly complete, but the effects of chemo, radiation, and numerous surgeries tapped his strength, and the car sat unfinished for some time. A few weeks ago, a team of friends and car building enthusiasts surprised Paul by finishing his Cobra for him. It was an amazing event and experience for our family and for Paul. I had the honor of photographing the finished car, and my brother. Here are just a couple for now. I'll post a few more this weekend. It's a beauty, isn't it?

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a great day today celebrating with loved ones. I love this time of year. All the new life, and colors of Spring...they inspire me. My good friend (and former Elle model), Marta, and I got together last week to break in our new studio gear. It was so much fun, yet kinda scary to be in FRONT of the camera for a change. My family is just thrilled to finally have a decent picture of me. What do you think?

Here is Marta first:






And here I am:

More Calendar Pages...

I've had a few requests to post more pages from the family calendar that I made this year. I won't post all of them (it will take me half of the night), but here are a few of my favorites for you to enjoy.













I put together a new calendar every year and I've already got lots of fun, new ideas for 2010!

In loving memory...

It was 7 years ago today that my brother, Art, left us. Life, for the rest of us, has somehow continued on...but we will always keep him in our hearts.



Art was in a serious car accident when he was 21 that left him a quadriplegic. But that didn't stop him from living his dreams. He traveled all over the world, he wrote books, he raced in marathons, broke world records, and had just been elected as President of the National Speaker's Association. You may be wondering about the Super Bowl ring he's wearing in the picture here. It was a gift to him from the Baltimore Ravens. They credit Art with leading them to their Super Bowl victory.

He died before his time from a toxic reaction to a prescription medication. He was an amazing person, mentor, motivator, example, brother, and friend. We miss you, Art. Invictus!

"It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul."

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My cute mom (on the right) and her identical twin sister (on the left) turn 71 today! Happy Birthday, ladies. Love you, Mom. You're the best!

Almost Famous...

Some exciting news...for those of you who speak Polish, go to your nearest supermarket and pick up the latest issue of Twoje 9 Miesiecy. This is something like Pregnancy Magazine in the US. I had the honor of being interviewed by a good friend, Izabela Gornika-Zdziech, who asked me to please share some tips on taking better maternity and baby pictures, and why I feel that they are important times to document with photographs. Part 1 (maternity) ran in January, and Part 2 (babies) is hot off the press! Despite my inability to read Polish, it's so exciting to see something I've worked hard to create being featured in a magazine. Thank you, Izabela!

Gone swimming...

...with the camera!!!

These were some of the first pictures I took with my new Olympus 1030SW that I got for Christmas. This little point-and-shoot is waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof, and dustproof...I can actually let the kids shoot with this one and just sit back and relax, cause it's not going to break! :) These were taken in an indoor pool...my kids and a few of the cousins just goofing around. It felt so weird just jumping into the pool with a camera in my hands! A first for me...I am loving this new toy!

"I'm leaving on a jet plane..."

Wasn't John Denver the BEST??? Wade and I spent one our very first dates at a John Denver outdoor concert back in 1992. That was one of my favorite nights ever! Today is our 15th wedding anniversary... can you believe it? Have we really been married for that long? Are we really getting that old?

Anyhow, we're off to the the US tomorrow for a 2 1/2 week holiday with our loved ones. The taxi arrives at 5am to deliver us to the airport (heaven help me...). I'm so excited to be in Utah for Christmas this year! We'll be able to see ALL of our families, and it's been snowing there this week, so the skiing should be primo! The kids are completely wired and have been bouncing off the walls all night. We may have to duct tape them to their beds soon.

I created photo calendars as gifts for our families this year. I'd love to post all of the pages here, but I'm afraid I'd spoil the surprise for a few people. Here's one page, just a teaser...



Happy Holidays, everyone!

Not a closet Twilight fan...

I just got back from seeing "Twilight" at the Zloty Teraszy cinema tonight. Aaaaaaaahhhh! It was infuriating and intoxicating at the same time. But, I am so relieved to finally see this movie. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting. My husband was about ready to have me institutionalized, I'm sure! And yet, he took off work early today to buy tickets to see Twilight just because he knew it would make me happy. I love that man.


If you haven't read the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, go out and buy yourself these books NOW! You will thank me later, I promise. Or, better yet, just tell me "Bev, I haven't read these books," and I will make sure they are wrapped and under your Christmas tree in no time. Great stories, great author. Go read!

Jazz Man...

I know I've been away from the blog for a while...sorry about that! This has been SUCH a busy month for me. I seriously cannot believe that November is already ending. How did that happen?

This Wednesday, I will be presenting Part 2 of "Photography & Your Kids: the basics." The class will begin at 7:00. If you missed Part 1, or would like to go over it again, come at 6:00 for a review session. I am not charging any fee for the class; however, I am asking for a minimum 50PLN donation per class to go towards my favorite charity: One Heart, Bulgaria. Send me an email if you are interested in attending.

I don't like to post without a picture, so here's another favorite of my oldest son (11) from our family session recently. He is a stellar musician, specializing in piano, baritone and voice. He auditioned a couple of weeks ago for the Middle School competitive band that travels to Russia in February. He didn't feel very confident that he would make the team as a 6th grader. Nevertheless, he surprised us this morning with the news that he made the cut! Woo-hoo! He is so excited!

Meet the Robisons...

It's a miracle...our family will have a picture to put in the Christmas card this year!!! Do you have any idea how long it's been? I guess that is the fate of photographer moms like myself. I spend so much time photographing other families that I don't have time to take pictures of my own! We made a very last-minute decision on Tuesday to throw ourselves together for a picture. I think we did ok. What do you think?


This one was taken with a tripod and a timer :)








All my boys.




My eleven-year old took this one. Not bad, eh?