Blog | Althea Dotzour Photography | Madison, Wisconsin

Two sweet boys in the spring

althea — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:41:29 +0000

This winter, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a friend of a childhood friend. The two of us knew each other from a childhood of birthday parties. It was such a pleasure to visit again and to see her family.

On a nice morning in May, we got together to play to capture her younger son just after his first birthday.

Love the smiles and tentative first steps.

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Monona Grove Nursery School Portrait Fundraiser

althea — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:04:34 +0000

I just love working with preschoolers! And the kids at Monona Grove Nursery School are some of my favorites.
I had the pleasure of doing a portrait fundraiser with a great group of kids last Saturday.

If you’re in the Madison area and looking for a gentle, loving place for your kids to make friends and grow, check out MGNS.

Here’s a few sweet faces.

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Earth Day – New earth friendly packaging

althea — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:17:11 +0000

Happy almost-Earth Day, everyone! Next to St. Patrick’s Day, Earth Day is one of my favorite holidays. And what a beautiful time of year to celebrate our home planet.

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I hope that you’re finding some new ways to reduce your environmental footprint…here’s site that give some nice ideas. How many of these do you do?

Here at Althea Dotzour Photography, I’m always on the lookout for ways to operate more sustainably. I’m a proud premier level member of Greener Photography.

While my past client packages were eco-friendly, I’ve spent the last couple months pulling together an all-new set of packaging to complement my new logo. Clients can look forward to seeing their digital images come on reusable USB drives instead of hard-to-recycle DVDs. Prints will come in 100% recycled artisan portrait cases. I’ve been experimenting with organic woven boxes and aspen wood shreds for packaging. Looking forward to sharing my new finds!

For more information about my green initiatives (did you know that I plant a tree for each portrait session?), check out my website.

Florida beach and sun | Family photography

althea — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:15:49 +0000

Ahh, the ocean! I’ve spent the last week on St. George Island on the Florida panhandle. We drove down from Wisconsin…our first long family driving trip. We met up here with our friends Karin and Kaleb and their little boy Arvid.

My husband, Bryan, and Kaleb went to high school together. Karin is Swedish and grew up in Stockholm. Then through a series of remarkable, romantic events, Kaleb and Karin met on a beach in Zanzibar, he moved to Sweden, and the rest is history. We’ve been talking about getting together since we were in Sweden for their wedding back in 2009. So it came about that we rented a house in Florida and met here for the week. It’s been beyond wonderful.

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Last night, I took Kaleb and Karin and Arvid down to the beach to do a family photo session. Many of the photogs I admire live near the ocean, so I’m often online drooling over fantastic family beach photos. It was such a treat to get to try it out myself:)

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Arvid just turned three a couple weeks ago, and he is such a delight of a child.

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Being near the ocean and the dolphins and the salty water and the crashing surf was a life-affirming treat.

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Love this one…what a bundle of sunshine Arvid is! Makes me smile just to look at him.

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A little mama love on the beach.

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I’ve never been to Florida…and to only a couple other beach/ocean vacations, and I think now I might be hooked:) Love the reflection in the photo below.

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The title of the photo below could be “life with kids.”

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Now a few single-person portraits…

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Little boy in the surf.

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Laughing as Daddy tosses him in the air.

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Love this one so much. Beach grass, waves, and smiles.

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I’ll leave remembering sand in my notes, sun on my skin, and a smile in my heart.

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Bright eyed, beautiful family

althea — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:03:08 +0000

I had such a fun time photographing this happy family! This sweet three-year-old goes to the same daycare as my daughter, so I’ve known him since he was a tiny guy. His new little sister is such a completely charming and full-of-giggles babe…I would happily photograph her all day long:)

Here’s my favorite for their over-the-fireplace canvas…

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And my favorite of the little miss!

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Looking at this picture, I can almost feel that soft baby skin.

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Check out those soulful eyes. Girls, look out.

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Our little man is an on-the-go kinda kid. I loved watching him romping around with his dad.

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Oh my! Someone is getting tickled.

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It looks like he’s resting on his parent’s lap, but that’s a nano-second captured:)

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Thanks so much, you all for inviting me to capture this moment in time for your family. Those young ones of yours are such a delight to know:)

Love in the snow | Engagement photography

althea — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:56:41 +0000

I so love weddings. And I so enjoy getting to know the brides and grooms whose special day I’ll be photographing. On Friday, I had the great pleasure of meeting and photographing a couple who is getting married in May. Such a beautiful wedding they have planned.

I’ll admit that I was a little nervous about meeting them. But after saying hello, I knew without hesitation that we’re going to be a wonderful match. The smiles, the genuine expression they both bring… They are GREAT!

I love this image. The heart says, “Sup Babe”. Oh yeah. Sup.

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Wisconsin has had a spring-like January, but the day of our meeting (the day this couple flew up from North Carolina) the mercury dropped and the snow started.

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Love this next one. So much sweetness in that smile!

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I had rented a studio so we could do our session indoors, but these two fun and adventurous souls thought some snowy photos would be the way to go. All I can say is, “YES to that!”

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Oh, and then they totally won my heart by having a snowball fight (even without gloves). Nice throw!

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We’d frozen our fingers and booties, so we headed indoors for a little warm-up. I can’t remember what song was playing, but these two started to serenade each other. Ahh, makes me smile…they are so sweet!

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It might be cold outside, but these two don’t look like they feel it, so warm are their hearts for each other. Becky and John, you guys were simply a joy to photograph. I am so excited for your May wedding!

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Love to you both.

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Six-month-old sweetness

althea — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:57 +0000

Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of meeting a much-loved six baby and her terrific parents. Miss G had just discovered that she has a tongue and that she can stick it out, and during our time together, she demonstrated her new discovery. I love taking photos of babies because it’s such a joy to capture for posterity these fleeting moments of adorableness.

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I really like this next picture because a) Baby G’s eyes are such an amazing blue and b) Mom’s smile radiates such complete love. Looking at this photo reminds me of the sweet smell of my baby’s skin.

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Here’s our little munchkin with Dad. She’s such a little sweet potato!

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I really do have a thing for baby skin. There’s something about the softness and the plumpness…like a perfect peach. I so treasure moments when I’m able to capture a naked baby in all their fresh-skinned glory.

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My goodness! What fantastic, sparkly eyes you have, my dear!

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I love this next image. The look she’s giving is questioning and a bit pensive, and at the same time, so soulful and pretty.

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We started our photo session with a brainstorming session about photos that the family was hoping to capture. One of the ones they were looking for was a silhouette. I’ve got to say that I love when my clients share some inspiration for our sessions. It gets the creative juices flowing. And what a sweet family silhouette we got!

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Thanks so much for a wonderful morning, guys! I loved meeting you all, and I smile every time I see Miss G’s cute tongue:)

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Bubbles, facepaint, and dancing

althea — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:24:55 +0000

On a Saturday last March, my family headed over to the Hilldale Great Dane for one of their Kid Discos. It was great fun!

I saw that they are doing it again this winter, so for a little fun in Madison on a winter morning, head over to the Great Dane on February 4 & 18 and March 3. Maybe I’ll see you there!

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Here’s an excerpt from my personal blog that I wrote last year after going to the party.

~ ~ ~ ~

March 15, 2011 – Bryan had taken Sylvia once before, but this was my first time going, and it really was like a crazy disco party…for the 2-8 year old set. There was loud music, a bubble machine, a magician, and Tami, our favorite face painter from Funny Faces Family Entertainment. Between that and the much-beloved “dino nuggets” and mac & cheese, Andrew and Sylvie were in 7th heaven.

I have an album of pics from the event. Here’s a few favs.

Andrew was a dancing man. Off the wall! His hair was full of bubbles when he took a break:)

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Sylv had fun too:)

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Here’s lovely Tami hard at work painting kids.

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The disco dance floor.

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We waited in line to get Andrew and Sylvie’s faces painted. Here’s some of the pretty paint pallet.

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Sylvia asked for rainbow flowers.

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And Andrew requested a rainbow right across his forehead.

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Here’s Dad admiring his new artwork.

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A view from the balcony.

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I’ll leave you with the view from behind the bubble machine. What a great event! We’ll have to try to go again if they do it next winter!

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Playtime

althea — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:00:15 +0000

I had the opportunity to photograph a really wonderful family this morning.

They have such a cozy, loving home, and it was so much fun to spend some time together, documenting some moments in their lives.

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This guy is such a handsome man. I would have liked to snuggle him if I could have caught him.

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Just loving the sibling love.

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With those curls and those eyes, I think the world is going to be pretty defenseless when this little miss comes calling.

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After some time, we headed out to the yard for a little fresh air and play time.

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I don’t know what it is about fuzzy, sun-flared photos, but sometimes I just love them the best. Maybe it’s because it almost feels like I’m looking through a memory.

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Our little guy was full of energy, and when we got outside and let him run it out, he was so much fun!

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This little sweet girl just captured my heart. What a wonderful spirit she has about her!

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Thanks, guys, for inviting me to photograph your family! I really had fun!

xoxo

Althea

Newborn in December

althea — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:39:09 +0000

There’s nothing quite so wonderful as a newborn baby. When I looked at my calendar and saw that I was photographing a brand-new little one this week, I just couldn’t stop smiling. It’s a treat and an honor to get to meet families as they open their lives to grow their family tree.

Take a look at these sweet folks below, and I think you’ll agree that our tiny Mr. N is wrapped up with love.

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Those tiny heads fit so nicely in Dad’s hands. It must feel good to be so cradled and safe.

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So snuggled up! This little guy was born big – over 9 lbs and 21 inches long.

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Here’s my favorite. I just love those lips!

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Curled up sleeper.

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Here’s the sweet new family. Those first days witha new baby are exhausting…you two are doing great!

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Lots of love to you!

~Althea