Ringing in the New Year ~ Dennis, MA Newborn Photographer

Instead of staying home and having a relaxing Christmas as a family of three, this little one's mama spent Christmas welcoming her newest joy into her life!

At only 6 days old, Joyce gave her mom and I a run for our money today!  I wondered if she would sleep at all!  So we wrapped her up good and tight like a little baby burrito!

How lucky was I to capture those beautiful blue eyes?!  And that hair!!!

Then Joyce decided it was time to take a little snooze!  And she was ever so cooperative!!

We finished up the session with some photos in a Christmas basket to celebrate her very special birthday!

What a special way for me to celebrate New Year's Eve.  Thank you Joyce ❤ ❤ ❤

New Website!!!

I have been working on my web page for a week and it is now online!  It is almost finished!  I just wanted to share the link so you could check it out :)

http://kristymutchler15.wix.com/capturing-grace

Best of 2012!

Not every photograph, and not every moment, will take your breath away.  But it's those that do that keep us moving forward, always wanting more!

My passion for photography began as a desire to take a moment and keep it forever, before it slipped through my fingers with the passing of time.

In the last six months I have created many images that I deem "breathtaking."  Sometimes it is the eyes that draw me in, or sometimes the look I have captured between two people that show how much love is shared.  Sometimes it is the symbolism, the way one image stands for so much that is right with the world.  Sometimes it is simply the colors, shapes and composition that makes me unable to look away.  Whatever it is those photos, those moments, are what keep me yearning for more.  

So what follows are my favorite images from 2012.  It was not easy to narrow them down, and I have a whole separate folder on my desktop of pictures I wanted to include.  But I forced myself to narrow it down to twenty-one photos.  So here they are!

These twenty-one photos will be loaded into an album on my Facebook page tomorrow (Monday) and people can vote for their favorite simply by clicking like on the photo.  You can like more than one photo, but you can't vote for a picture more than once.  Feel free to comment on the photos if you'd like to.  You can get to the page using this link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Capturing-Grace-Photography/398908706811028

OR, if you are not on Facebook you can vote on your favorite image here on the blog but you must leave your name for your vote to count (to ensure fairness.)  The winner is the image with the most votes and that person or family will win a free session with me to use in 2013.

I hope you enjoy! (pictures in random order)

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#21

Cake Smash?

A one-year-old child has no idea what to do with a birthday cake.  No idea.

We spend 365 days trying to tell them NOT to make a mess, then we stick a sugary tower in front of them and tell them to SMASH!!!  Why?  Because it is so stinkin' cute!

 This particular little girl was a delicate cake smasher.  She circled around it, looking at it carefully, taking the occasional nibble of frosting here and there.









But then, like any good mom would do, this wee little one's mom decided to help her out by showing her just how a smash was done!

Her help received mixed reviews :)

Thank you to Cape Cakes for the beautiful cake.  I am sorry we destroyed it.  But it WAS tasty!

Still Hurting...But Hopeful

I am a spunky, goofy smart-a** Jersey girl who loves to laugh.  I am also extremely sensitive and feel things so deeply that it hurts sometimes.  When I look at my baby girl from across the room I am often brought to tears by how much I love her.  I used to stand in front of my classroom when I was a teacher and get choked up with pride when I realized how my students were growing up right before my eyes.  I will stand in the kitchen dancing to imaginary music with my husband and have to crack a joke to keep from crying sometimes.

And that is why, ever since I heard the news on Friday afternoon, I have been living life just a little bit out of focus.  I am there, but not really.     

Saturday we were scheduled to take Grace to a Teddy Bear Breakfast.  We promised her she could bring "Heavy Bear," a 3 foot tall photography prop that she likes to carry around the house. And of course we went.  And I faked it.  I brought my camera, snapped pictures, bit the arm off of a gingerbread man to make her laugh, took her to see Santa...  But the whole time I was thinking how scared I was to be a part of this world.

 This crazy, goofy fall of fluff that I call my daughter loves life.  And right now she has no idea of the evils that lurk in the shadowy places of this world.  And why should she?  She is perfect in every way and deserves to keep her innocence. 

But, so does every child.  

And it pains me to no end to know that I cannot protect her from everything.  That some day someone will hurt her.  That some day she will have to see the horrors that happen in this world.


And what scares me the most is that someday, those terrible things and awful people that could hurt my baby and take away her innocence, will also steal the sparkle from her eyes.  
The spunk that makes her who she is.  And leave her living her life just a little bit out of focus.

These are the wandering thoughts of a girl still morning the loss of innocent children.  Yes I am living my life in a daze right now.  But it won't last.  It never does.  I will never forget the way I feel right now.  But I will also not forget that it is my duty to carry on and to give my daughter so much love and happiness today so that she may use it as a shield to protect herself from the hate and sadness she encounters in the future.  In life there are no guarantees, there is only this moment.  And since we don't ever know how many moments we have left, we better fill the ones we have with as much joy and love as we can.

Grace...Captured / Yarmouth MA Newborn Photographer

I was welcomed into the home of a wonderful family that I have met only once before.  As I walked around their cheerful home setting up for our newborn session, I was so happy to see what a loving home had been built for these children that she obviously loves so much!

As I photographed her precious new addition we talked about how much we love our kiddos, and how much she loves to cover her walls with photos and her little one's artwork.  

The newest member of the family was due to arrive today, but decided to come 12 days early :)  I am so blessed that I got to spend a long morning with this little angel!

This beauty decided to go easy on me and slept for most of the session!

I congratulate this sweet family of three on becoming four, and I know this little princess will bring you so much joy!

In this Together...

Disclaimer:  This post has less to do with photography and more to do with the photographer behind the camera.  These are the thoughts that I have running through my head and I want to share with anyone who wants to read them.


You know what is wrong with the world today?  We have become so conditioned to "Just keep swimming" along in our own little private bubbles, day in and day out, just surviving our lives, thinking about the laundry and the bills and the kids and the job and how can I afford Christmas presents and who won the game and what did so-and-so post on Facebook and what will I make for dinner and WHY is the traffic so bad . . . . . .  We are so busy and so stressed and so overwhelmed with STUFF and surely our STUFF is so much harder than anyone else's STUFF!  All the while we are completely unaware of those around us dealing with their own issues and problems right under our nose.  Our neighbors, our friends, our family, spouses, even our children!  

I have been guilty of this on many occasions.  Hubby comes home from work, he had a bad day and he is BURSTING to tell me about it.  I tell him "Shhh, I'm on the computer working, I can't listen right now."  Daughter is hungry and pulling on my leg and I say "Hold on, mommy's on the phone."  The lady at the checkout in Christmas Tree Shop is a little slow one day, maybe her kid was up all night teething, and I am tapping my foot impatiently thinking about how this is going to affect ME.  That guy who pulled out in front of me on 130 and made me slam on my brakes (maybe he was rushing to get his sick kid from school) and I yell mean words at him.

Yes, we all have our own crap we are dealing with on a daily basis, and yes it is hard.  But maybe it is time we reach a hand out to someone else.  Invite them into our world.  Break down those boundaries.  Stop thinking about how everything that goes wrong is messing up what we had planned for the day, and instead think about how it may be just as hard for the other guy and just maybe a smile will make you both feel a bit better.

Maybe I sound like I am oversimplifying a bit.  But I just feel like people are so focused on themselves these days and forget that we are all fighting our own battles.  And that we are all human and we should be in this together not working against each other.

That is why I love what I do.  It is my job to spend time with new people, chat with them, get to know them, make friends with them, catch a glimpse into their world.  Not every client I have met has become my friend.  But every time I strike up a conversation with a family I get a chance to see a different perspective and broaden my view of the world.  And in the meantime I'd like to think that I am spreading kindness and smiles to the people I meet.  Because couldn't the world use some more smiles?!  But by far the most important thing I do is record some of a family's most precious and priceless memories.

And that is why I feel like "Capturing Grace" is the perfect name for my business and what I aim to do.  This world we live in is not perfect, by any means!  Sometimes it is dark and you have to search really hard to find the beauty.  But I find it very time I focus  on the smile a child gives to his mom.  Every time I hold a tiny newborn in my arms and imagine her potential.  Every time I see a daddy put his baby girl on his shoulders or a family walking hand-in-hand.  Those are the moments when I know I have found Grace, even in the darkest of days.  And so, that is what I have decided to call my photography business.  Because for me it is less a business and more a way to share smiles with my fellow humans :)