Goal-Getter

I don't make resolutions.

I used to. I used to put all kinds of thought into how I would make this year so much better than last year. I used to make lists and get everything organized. I used to get my plan together and repeat it to myself over and over again. I used to.

I don't make resolutions.

I set goals.

I set goals for myself. Not to be reached by the end of the year. Not even necessarily with a time restraint attached. Just a goal. Something to reach for. And I won't go overboard. Going overboard can often lead to disappointment. Small goals. Small, attainable goals with the end results being immense. Once I complete a goal, I find a new one.

My last goal?

My website.

Oh, man. I could look at it all day.

My most recent goal?

Newborn artistry.

I will perfect it and I will specialize in it. It's where I belong.

She believed she could so she did.

I began working with Vashta several years ago at a restaurant here in town. She was all young and fresh out of high school, and I was all...well...younger than I am now :) For all of you restaurant/bar employees out there, those shifts get looooong. And sometimes boooooring. This girl made those kinds of shifts fun :) We laughed crazy hard A LOT and griped about customers and coworkers together **insert PSA: Servers and bartenders complain....sometimes. About customers and coworkers mostly.....sometimes. Take no offense. It's more of a pastime to make the shifts go quickly and seem more entertaining. As long as you're nice, courteous, and respectful, you need not worry! Oh, and please leave a nice tip. These are truly some of the hardest workers you will ever meet. Well, some of them!** After a few years, I left the restaurant industry to raise my babies and pursue my long term goals, Vashta had a baby of her own, and she moved back up to Pennsylvania to raise her daughter.


In March of this year, Vashta had a seizure. While in the hospital, the doctors discovered a large tumor in her brain. Ten days later, they were performing brain surgery, where they removed most of the tumor. Less than a month later, the pathology came back as being Anaplastic Astrocytoma Grade III brain cancer. She began localized radiation treatments to the brain, as well as oral chemotherapy Monday - Friday for six weeks. Once finished with that round, she was able to sneak in a visit to Louisville with her family. 

This is where I come in :)

A few years ago, before Vashta moved away and before I was doing photography full time, I did a very quick session with her and her daughter one afternoon. 

Circa 2011

When I heard she was coming back to Louisville for a week, I knew I needed to get both of them back in front of my camera. And better yet, her fiance' flew into town right before the session. So what I thought was just going to be mommy-daughter portraits turned into family portraits :) Perfect.

If there is anyone in the world who could fight this, it's this woman. Her spirit, her attitude, her drive, and her motivation will get her through this ailment. No doubt in my mind. Fight like a girl, Momma. Fight like a girl.

I've always joked that this could be my baby. But seriously, you guys. She could totally be my baby!!

Oh, her laugh!! I am laughing right now just thinking about it!!!

*I found out at the end of the session that these two have set their wedding date for this October! They haven't had any engagement pictures done yet, so we had to snap a few (despite his hatred for modeling!).

     

Update:

Vashta's tumor has not responded to the standard treatment and has now come back full force. She is in need of a new treatment that very few places offer. Please show Vashta and her sweet little family your support and donate to her treatment, if at all possible.

Trial Run?

While I have written briefly on my blog about my absolute FAVORITE Parent's Day Out program before, I am now dedicating an entire post to them. Bethel St. Paul's Baby Break Program has been a home away from home to my own children for five years now.

I was recently offered an amazing opportunity in working with the children of the PDO and Pre-K programs. It was sort of a trial run in the great race of photography. A trial run that became more than just a trial. It was AWESOME!! For starters, I hold all of these children in a special place in my heart, as I have watched many of them and their siblings grow over the years. I know all of them by name, and they know me as well. It's comfortable. So to them, I'm not just any crazy lady jumping up and down behind a camera. I'm that crazy lady, Miss Megan, jumping up and down behind the camera.

I had BIG plans for my first Boutique School Portraiture experience. Here were my main goals (and only goals, really):

1)  Create an atmosphere that was neither normal or standard for school pictures.

2)  Have fun and laugh a lot.

3)  Be able to give back to the Baby Break Program in a monetary donation from Megan Hile Photography based on the sales of the images.

4)  Laugh a lot and have fun.


Since I was able to meet ALL of my goals for my trial run, I will now be doing it again!! So I am officially announcing one more chapter to my quickly growing business: 

Megan Hile Photography: 

Boutique School Portraiture