Thou Didst Mold Us...

Dear Old State.


When I chose Penn State four years ago it was for many reasons. I was able to stay close to my family when I needed to, it had a great Visual Communications program that I liked, in two years I was still only two hours from home and I had been in love with the old-timey campus and the passionate school spirit since I was eleven.

I didn't realize then what these four years would mean to me.

I live in the most beautiful place!
I'm just sad I discovered my appreciation for the library so late... I'm in love with the smell of the books.

There really is nothing like Beaver Stadium during a home game.

I have witnessed and been a part of history. 

I have had some pretty incredible opportunities.

I have the best life-long friends I could ever ask for. 

And I have some really weird cool friends who accept my weirdness coolness. 

One more week to soak in the goodness... 

For the glory of old State,

For her founders strong and great,
For the future that we wait,
Raise the song, raise the song. 

Sing our love and loyalty,
Sing our hopes that, bright and free,
Rest, O Mother dear, with thee,
All with thee, all with thee. 

When we stood at childhood's gate,
Shapeless in the hands of fate,
Thou didst mold us, dear old State,
Dear old State, dear old State. 

May no act of ours bring shame
To one heart that loves thy name,
May our lives but swell thy fame,
Dear old State, dear old State.

Mommy and Me Mini-Sessions - York, Pa Portrait Photography

As an ode to all the amazing mom's out there and to my own pretty darn awesome mom, I'm offering Mom and Me Mini-Sessions in just a few weeks!

These are in plenty of time for you to have your images in time for Mothers Day (they'd make great gifts for grandma)!

Even better, these sessions are open for multiple generations of women. Treat your own mom to a session and celebrate the multiple generations of strong and fabulous women in your family! 

"You know what never becomes obsolete? What never goes out of style? Photographs. And not just any photographs. Not photos printed at a drugstore. Professional photographs, printed by a professional lab. Those are the photos you find in an attic. It could be a 100-year-old photo, but it still looks good." - Kathleen Trenske 

Who: Moms, children and grandmothers (if interested) 
What: Mom and Me 25 Minute Mini-Sessions 
When: Sunday, April 21st from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m. on the half hour 
Where: Richard M. Nixon County Park 
What do I get?: A private online gallery for viewing your images and ordering prints and product; 8-10 artfully edited
and fully retouched images ready for digital download 

BONUS: 8x10 pearl print of your favorite session image

Price: $75, non-refundable and due upon booking 

Please email savannahsmithphotography@gmail.com to reserve your session today! 

For the Kids and For the Photos

I haven't blogged in forever and honestly I wish this thing would blog itself, but with my favorite weekend of the year happening in three days there is so much on my mind and I can't just let it all pass without saying something.  In all honesty I've been working on this post for days and I cannot keep putting it off! I suck at blogging.

I've been doing this for what seems like a lifetime. There have been a lot of changes throughout the years but the mission is still simple and the same. It's been engrained in my brain for a long time and it will be there for eternity.

The mission of the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon is to conquer pediatric cancer by providing outstanding emotional and financial support to the children, families, researchers and staff of the Four Diamonds Fund. For the Kids.

Sometimes in the midst of ordering gear, planning retreats, filling out doodle polls, doing weekly report after weekly report and sending so many emails you start to wonder how you are possibly fulfilling that mission. How, after eleven years of being so passionately dedicated to this cause, did I end up here? I love these people, I love these kids and I love what I do but what did I do today to make a difference in the life of a child? A dollar for this, ten dollars for that, don't forget you owe $39 for our next two shirts. And you wonder if all that money was given to the Four Diamonds Fund and you gave up your fancy Captain T-shirts and your warm and fuzzy quarter zips would you even miss them?

This week I have been so blessed to remember the incredible reasons why I am here in the first place. It's not all those shirts and the secret buddy (Darla... you're the best Secret Buddy ever though. Seriously)!

We ordered buttons of Jed's cute little face to give to our organization's dancers. We ordered 20 and I posted a picture on Facebook of them because I was so happy with how they turned out. Within ten minutes the photo had over 70 likes and tons of people requesting a button! If it hadn't been so close to THON I would have ordered 100 more. Everyone was reaching out saying how they wanted to wear Jed's button so proudly so he is never forgotten.

And then there's our committee members. Gosh. Paul and I could not have been more blessed. We have an amazingly beautiful and passionate photography family. These 16 dedicated individuals came each week to our long meetings and volunteered sometimes three times a week to go capture alternative fundraisers. And when we asked them mid-year what they wanted changed, one of them asked if we could move the Four Diamonds Family stories to the beginning of the meeting because they wanted to feel inspired when they started the meeting instead of when they left.

I'm leaving (right now) to go to our last photography committee meeting before THON weekend in 1 Day and 22 Hours and I don't even have words to express how these 17 people have changed my life since October. I can't thank Paul enough for being right there with me when we said WELCOME TO PHOTOGRAPHY!

19 weeks ago they told us:

"For the Kids really means selflessness and allowing the kids to have a better future" 

"What can I do to make the kid's lives better?" 

"THON is just... amazing." 

"I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child, that's why I'm here." 

"Kids shouldn't be dying. We really need to fix it." 

"No matter what, it's all For The Kids."

I will absolutely have the most inspirational and passionate group of volunteers surrounding me on the BJC floor this weekend. They all have fancy cameras! Look for them! They will truly change the future of THON in their endeavors next year. I know that they will always remember the mission and keep the families at the core of everything they do.

In the meantime, we will capture beautiful images of this weekend and I can't wait to share them all!

For the Kids and For the Photos!

Routines

I haven't taken many photos for myself lately and I was without my camera for a lot of winter break (sometimes I feel like it's too attached to me and I'm happy to leave it behind).

As I slip back into a routine this week (that involves having Tuesday's and Thursdays off with the exception of one night class) I was sitting here appreciating what I accomplished with my three weeks off. And trust me, it was not much.

We are all so busy and involved with our jobs, organizations and schedules that we don't take time to enjoy the people around us. So when I get the opportunity to tell people that I was extraordinarily lazy over my winter break, while I'm not entirely lying I am also letting out the part where I spent almost ever moment with someone who meant something very important to me.

I didn't work on anything for school, I didn't apply to any jobs, I took time off from all of my involvement with many organizations and... I loved it!

I think Kyle and I watched at least 20 movies and by the last week I couldn't even look at a TV screen without my eyes hurting.

Last night I applied for four jobs (woo) and I didn't hate it so much. I am not picky at all at this point so if I could end up with one (any one) that would be wonderful!

Having two days a week where I'm free all day is a bit odd though. I have three online classes so I'm sure work will pick up after this week but yesterday I went on a walk, vacuumed, read a book, took a nap and cooked. I feel like January is less hectic, stressful and much more balanced than December had been. Cheers to a much calmer 2013 and all the big things to come! Hopefully they involve more cooking and less vacuuming.

Spring Portraits

I have availability for Spring Portraits in the York/Lancaster, PA area for March 2-6th!

To sweeten up this spring portrait special I am offering $20 OFF the session fee to the next two sessions booked! Please contact me as soon as possible to schedule your spring session! This discount is first come first serve and will be updated as it becomes unavailable.

Families, couples, children - all are welcome and I am excited to see everyone!

{savannahsmithphotography@gmail.com}