Mention "Annie Leibovitz" and "Miley Cyrus" and you'll get my attention.
Of course, the name of one the most famous photographers EVER would pique my interest.
And, since my kids love watching "Hannah Montana," I took notice of the news lately.

Annie Leibovitz did a photo session for Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter, Miley,
for an article in the June issue of Vanity Fair.


Miley is 15.
Included in the article is a photo of her with tossled hair,
holding a sheet to her chest, with no shirt on.
This is nothing new. Famous teenagers have been flirty and provocative since I was a kid.
(Brook Shields was 15 when she did her "nothing gets between me & my Calvins" ad.)
Most teenage girls are desperate to grow up, loving anything sexy.
A parent's struggle to keep kids as kids is constant.

But this article in Vanity Fair reawakens the debate I have with myself regularly:
Am I prude?
Am I way too conservative, letting things like this bug me so much?
Am I just getting old?
Is my aversion to the over-sexualisation of kids a losing battle?

Sometimes I'll see something, and my first impression is strong, but my opinion changes
after some thought and consideration. That was not the case with this issue.

When I first saw the Vanity Fair image of Miley Cyrus, my first reaction was negative.
She's 15, she's not wearing a shirt, she's had a squeaky-clean image up till now,
and I didn't like this image of her.

Some people think it's beautiful, artistic, and a wonderful image of a girl
on the verge of adulthood. I agree it's a nice, artistic image, but she's still a child.

She and her family have the right to do it, Vanity Fair has the right to publish it,
and I have the right not to like it.

Now that I've really thought about it, and read the Vanity Fair article,
my opinion hasn't changed. I still don't like it. In fact, I'm even more convinced
that society in general is letting our kids grow up too fast.
HERE's a link to the article. I'm not posting the shirtless photo here on my blog

The article begins with Miley talking about how "Sex and the City" is her favorite show.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!! She's FIFTEEN! Sometimes I catch a rerun of that show,
and some of the scenes make me blush!

Maybe I'm a prude.
Maybe I'm too conservative.
But I don't want my daughter watching a show like Sex and the City at 15.

This has to do with photography and being a parent.
All of this made me stop and wonder what others are thinking.

What do you think?
To vote, you're going to have to make up your mind:
Is this Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair issue overall GOOD, or overall BAD?
If you have something to add, feel free to post a comment on the blog.
I'd love to know what you think, and I'm a big girl with a backbone,
so if you disagree, type away!!



~Carey

Last week I posted a bunch of pictures from Windansea when the weather
was just plain miraculous.

Look what Will's mom sent me!

My photo sessions are usually a mix of me goofing around and me trying to be invisible.
Mom Lori took this picture of me during a "goof around" time:


Will wanted to take a picture of his mom, so I gave him a little lesson:


That's about the cutest little photographer I've ever seen!

Thanks Lori!

~Carey

When I go to the newsstand at the Barnes & Noble near my house,
it's always fun to see my pictures there in the photography magazines.
Popular Photography,
Outdoor Photographer,
Digital Photo Pro,
Professional Photographer,
Photoshop User,
Rangefinder,
AfterCapture,
Shutterbug,
all of those photography magazines that I love to look through,
my images have been printed in all of them -- how fun is that!??!!

Today something super cool arrived in the mail, and it gave me
bigger rush than images in a magazine!

I got a big huge pile of brochures from the David Beckham Academy,
with Mat's picture inside!!

We were up there in March, and of course I took pictures of Mat.
I put some of them on his soccer team's website,
and I emailed some of the pictures to the Academy people.
They said they wanted to use one in the new tri-fold academy brochure!
We worked out a deal, and now Mat's in the brochure & advertisements
for the David Beckham Academy! Woo hoo!
I snatched 2 of the brochures and took them outside to take pictures in the grass
before the sun went down:


Some days, being a mom & a photographer is a pain in the booty.
Some days, it's a blast.
Today it is a blast!

~Carey

This morning's session was moved to a warmer day, so I don't have any pictures
to share today, but I do have a fun video to share, and a game!

The kids and I have been really enjoying Discovery Channel HD lately.
So many of their shows are fun to watch together.

There's a new TV ad that plays on the HD channel pretty often, and
whenever it comes on, I sit there and watch the whole thing.
Sometimes I rewind the DVR so I can see it again.
The kids like it, too, so they don't mind me rewinding.
(unless they're waiting to play Wii)

I found the video on YouTube if you'd like to see:

(email subscribers, go to the blog to see the video)
If you have Discovery Channel HD, try to find this ad during a show-- it's AWESOME in HD!

So many of our favorite Discovery Channel guys are in there:

The crew of my favorite boat on Deadliest Catch:


Adam & Jamie from MythBusters:


Dirty Mike Rowe:


Jason's favorite, Mack, from Future Weapons (the REAL LIFE Jack Bauer):


Bear from Man vs Wild:


BUT, one of our Discovery HD favorites is MISSING IN ACTION!!!!
Post a comment on the blog, be the 1st to guess who it is, and you'll win a $10 iTunes card!
**UPDATE**Zak (Mr. Speedy!) has won!

There's a show on Discovery that Mat, Rory & I watch every day,
and the host isn't on the video commercial!! He should be!!
Who is it???
It's BEN BAILEY from Cash Cab!!!


Mat and I are really really hoping to get a ride in the CASH CAB when we're there in June!!!
(or at least see Ben driving around!)
And, for the record, we WILL RISK IT ALL on the video bonus question!

~Carey

My online calendar has been severely neglected.
I should just remove the link from my site...ugh, another thing for the to-do list!

I've been working on a better, easier-to-update one, in any spare moments I can find,
but it's still not ready.

Until I get that new online calendar ready for the world,
I thought I'd share my openings for the next few months:

(ALL OF THESE ARE MORNING SESSIONS)
MAY:
I have one opening in MAY: Wed May 28 or Thu May 29
(park only would be better than a beach,
because the beaches will be a mess after Memorial Day)

JUNE:
June 3rd, 4th, or 5th for ONE San Diego session
I'll be announcing reservations for VERY VERY FEW Father's Day Mini Sessions
in Central Park, NYC. Many of those Minis have already been filled, but I will
have a few openings to announce online. Email me if you know you want a
Father's Day Mini Session in Central Park.

JULY:
July 5 or 6 (again, park only because the beaches will be CRAZY this weekend)
Tues, July 8
Tues, July 15
July 19th or 20th

AUGUST:
Aug 2-3

There are openings for September - December for scheduling holiday family photos.

FYI: I always allow families wanting private sessions "first choice" at open dates,
then I consider filling openings with Mini Platinum sessions about 3-4 weeks ahead of time.
So the best way to guarantee a session is a full private session,
since Mini Platinum reservations are taken online as first-come-first-served
once the announcement is sent out.

If you are interested an any of these dates, email me.
A $100 deposit is required to confirm your reservation and hold a date,
then the balance ($575) will be due the day of your session.

~Carey