For those interested in children's photography, you may want to check out a fabulous new resource, the National Association of Professional Child Photographers or NAPCP. This site was launched by one of our learnfest 08 alumni, Alice Park (and, wow, learnfest 09 starts less than one week from today!!). NAPCP has been a long time in the making, and I think that Alice and her husband really did a wonderful job putting this community together. It's a professional organization designed as both a directory of qualified professionals for parents seeking a child photographer and also a specialized resource for pros ("like-minded, passionate artists"), complete with discussions forums, an educational component, image competitions and vendor discounts to members. I am honored to be one of 8 featured children's photographers ("industry leaders" - woah - that sounds big) selected from this gorgeous international community, along with several good friends in the community, including Laura Novak and Lena Hyde, my co-learnfest peeps.

I got the chance to speak with Katherine at the end of last week... we were talking about albums and babies... and realized that her one year anniversary is today! One of my favorite things to hear when meeting with couples is how they met. :) Katherine and Stan grew up in Chapel Hill, attended the same High School, they both went to UNC-Chapel Hill, and lived one street over from one another growing up. Now, I realize that they are a few years apart in age, just long enough to miss each other in school. The thing that I find so magical about this story is that Katherine and Stan's fathers work together at UNC... both professors in the Economic department.... good friends too. The other part of this that I find so fascinating is that both Katherine and Stan moved to L.A. for work after graduating. It wasn't until a few years ago during Christmas Break... that the two families decided to have Christmas dinner together. That's when Stan and Katherine finally met... and the rest is history! :)

Katherine and Stan, I hope that you have a wonderful day together... and I look forward to meeting your baby girl the next time you're in town! :)

Take a look at this precious family! I'm really excited to see this album in print in just a few weeks...in the meantime, a little preview:

I had a chance to meet and photograph Brian for the cover of Endurance Magazine's March issue and learn more about why he cycles with such passion. Brian's older brother, Aaron, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor when they were both young boys. He was told that with is particular type of tumor, he would only have up to seven years of life left. Aaron lived another seven years after that diagnosis. He died in 2005. Soon afterwards, their mother, Karen, joined the board of 24 Hours of Booty, an extraordinary 24-hour cycling event in Charlotte, North Carolina whose mission is to increase public awareness, funds and support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and local cancer organizations. Brian has fond memories of riding training-wheeled bikes with his big brothers as kids and got inspired to ride in honor of Aaron in his first 24 Hours of Booty event back in 2005. He has continued the 24-hour ride every year since, and as grueling as the riding can be, Brian demurs, "You can't compare cycling to what my brother went through. Aaron never gave up. A few months before he died, his health was really deteriorating and he couldn't really hear anymore so we started writing messages to him, but even then, he never lost faith and was still making plans to go to college. Aaron never gave up believing he would make it through. He's tougher than I will ever be."

A couple of other photographs from the inside spread...

I'll be thinking of you out there on your ride this year, Brian. I'm sure you'll ride strong!