My new monitor is here and I’m back in action!  Time to catch up on a few posts. First come the seniors–Congratulations 2012 Grads!

Senior Portrait deadlines are fast approaching so remember to book your sessions at least 4 weeks before your deadline!

A special thanks to a wonderful and beautifully photogenic 2012 Senior Model, Carly Campbell! Here are a few of her latest photos!

Here is another shoot from before the snow started flying!  Kody and I headed out into Kincaid for a while and then were joined by his adorable little brother for a few quick shots in the beautiful fall foliage!  Another gorgeous day but with a kick from the non-stop winds! I was, of course, too focused on finding trees with leaves still on them that I completely forgot that Kody was running around without a jacket and probably freezing to death.  He did a great job of looking completely relaxed and non-chalant about the artic gusts and having to traipse all over Kincaid!

Here are a few of my favorites.

Mackenzie and Ray are brother and sister and they are both graduating this year.  I met Mackenzie first, during a session when the fall colors were at full force.  By herself she was was fairly quiet, sweet and calm and quite striking.  Then I met Mackenzie again when her brother was back in town!  Total extravert!  These two together are crazy, wild, funny, hysterical!

Ray had been on a moose hunt during the first session with Mackenzie.  When we met for the second shoot,  right off the bat, Ray starts calling in moose.  Mackenzie started screaming and laughing from down the trail as a bull plowed his way through the bushes toward her and then two bulls started fighting below us on the bike trail.  We were safe and sound on the bridge at Kincaid and then moose number four came strolling by behind us. Mooses (aka meese) numbers five and six then plodded along right in front of us. At one point it felt like we were surrounded on all sides!

Amazingly, after we left the bridge, we didn’t run into any more gangly creatures!  We traipsed around through the trails and then hit the dunes just in time for sunset!  Way too many favorites for me to choose from, but here’s a go at it!

Does anyone remember that strange weather we had back in September where everything was totally “socked in” in some sort of white fog? Well, it turns out I had several photoshoots during that spell of strange weather and the lighting during those days is some of my most favorite ever! It was like everything was surrounded by a giant softbox of smooth, soft light!

Kelsey had her senior session on one of those days and I think we were both driving down to the inlet not knowing what to expect. We ended up with beautiful leaves, great temperatures, and Kelsey, of course, made for a stunning subject! Here are a few of my favorites.

After our first rained out session, Hope and I headed out again on a beautifully sunny day.  Another day, another gorgeous sunset.  We practically ran down to the beach to beat the light and had fun with all the sunbeams.

The rocks with “2011″ were all Hope’s idea!  Very cute!

So many fun pictures and another great day to work with such a beautiful high school senior!

Congratulations, Hope!  The first quarter is almost over.

Leandra was the winner of this year’s Senior Portrait Drawing.  We did a dual studio sesssion with a quick trip to the beach right before the sun went down.  It turned out to be a gorgeous night and Leandra was just perfect in front of the camera!  There were so many fun shots to choose from and a ton of great outfits!

Congratulations on your final year of high school, Leandra! Have a beautiful year!

Hope and I headed out for her Senior Portrait Session on a day forcasted for rain.  I really didn’t think we were going to get poured on, though, so we started hiking all over the place. Right when we made it to the spot where Hope really wanted to get some photos, we started getting pelted with tiny little raindrops so thick it was like a fog moved in.  We were covered!  We called the photo session short and slid back down the rain soaked trails in the mud!

Hope was an unbelievably amazing sport about getting plastered with water!  We hope to add some sunny shots to the mix in a few days.  Regardless, of the rain, we still captured some beautiful photos right before the storm clouds opened up!

Kelsey had a two part session and she rocked it! Part I, the outdoor session can be found here. Part II took place in the studio and I’m loving all the fun shots that came out of it.

Kelsey you’re a rock star!

If you are a 2011 senior or know someone who is, pass them the link to my blog for a chance to win a $200 print credit with the purchase of any package. More details to follow soon! The drawing will take place on July 15th. To enter, become a Facebook Fan through this link. Send me a message to let me know you are a senior and interested in a chance to win a senior photography print credit!

Kelsey will be graduating next year with the class of 2011 and she’s helping me kick off my Senior Model program. This is the first post from our two part session. Her studio session will be posted next week along with a chance to win a print credit with any senior package purchased for a couple of 2011 seniors! Details will be posted on the Melissa Shelby Photography Fan Page in Facebook the first week of July. Click here to become a fan and learn of the details.

Do you know a 2011 Anchorage senior who is looking for a photographer? Send them to the Fan Page for a chance to win!

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