It was sunny out but the chilly windy weather put us back inside to warm up shortly after catching a few shots. Though the light coming into their home was incredible – it truly made her pregnancy glow absolutely radiant. You know, its amazing how you can set up the same shot as another session and end with a unique result…the space, the lighting, and of course each client is so different…it really just makes it their own. I had such a great time with this Mom and this family, I’m looking forward to meeting little brother any day now – can’t wait!

An unused can of Kodak film on the left, and a Compact Flash card on the right…the reality of the changing times.
I can only imagine where that can of 20-exposure film has been…for years it was hidden in my Grandfather’s garage storage until he passed away and it ended up in my hands. I have been its keeper for almost 10 years now and I will always keep it for all that it symbolizes. History. Art. Innovation. The compact flash card on the right is one of many that I use for my photography and it holds 400+ images in RAW format.

There is still art in digital.
I do remember processing my own film and developing my own photos in my High School’s darkroom…it really felt like you were making “ART”. I refused to buy a digital camera until I saw just how amazing the technology and the quality had progressed. I soon discovered that professional images are still edited…still skillfully retouched…still hand-processed. It just happens its done to a digital file instead of a negative.

Pursue your passion and embrace change.
I have five or so of my Grandfather’s film cameras (from a Falcon Miniature to a Kodak Tourist II), which I hope to display one day in a studio of my own. He loved photography, architecture, printing, and was so proud to finally own a digital camera and a computer when he was in his late 70′s. He built his own garage workshop and would tinker, build, repair and organize in there. When he passed, we discovered file cabinets full of old magazine clippings that were categorized…things he had saved and things that he had always planned “to get to” or that he thought were important. He was a very quiet man. I worked with him in a print shop for a couple years and really had an opportunity like no other in our family to get to know him. He was an average man with an amazing life story. From being captured by Nazi’s in WWII to owning his own newspaper business…I just wish I would have asked more questions. We had computers in school when I was a kid and I remember having one kind of computer or another since I was 5. Even games have changed, from Frogger to World of Warcraft…and what would my Grandfather think of my 2 year old playing puzzles on my iPhone? I think he would be amazed and would have been one of the first to own his own iPhone. He truly embraced technology…and embraced change. I just feel like he wasn’t able to pursue his passion and realize his full potential…but he seemed content. I know he wanted more from me, for me to take whatever I had to wherever it could go.

I considered doing the same…Laura Zander Photography…but to me, it was just a name. My last name is from my husband, but its not really “his” either…its actually his half-brothers dad’s name, and my husband has a different father..so it is kind of awkward and even a little confusing. Even though it is my legal name, I just wanted something with a little more personal meaning to me. I created a list of words..moments, capture, little, love, weddings, and so forth…but everything seemed taken, or overused, and I certainly didn’t want to confine myself to a specific genre of photography. Even though I want someone to hire me as a person for my creativity and style, I also want them to know that I am a business and a professional.

I had wracked my brain for weeks…and then I was shopping online… add to cart… add to cart… add to .. wait a sec… ADD TO HEART! In this internet-based society we shop online for just about everything, a quick click “Add to Cart” and its on the way to our door – so I thought for the moments of life, just a click of the camera and that memory is added to your heart. I was in love with the name, because it just had so much and so many meanings for me and to this day I still find new meanings in the name.