My Inspiration

Twice the love

Wanting to share recent images of a set of newborn twins I photographed
recently. They are as sweet as can be. Hopefully they are giving mom
and dad some rest......what are the chances of that!!

Can you believe....

how beautiful this little ones eyes are. I have been photographing her since she was a newborn (along with her two adorable brothers) and every time I see her I can't get over how amazingly beautiful her eyes are.
Hoping this little sneak peek will reassure mom that we got a good one! We had a spunky 2 year old on our hands that day...

This is why....

I love my job!

Some serious cuteness going on here. I have quite a few baby plan babies turning 6 months and it's such a great age for portraits. Can't believe how fast they grow.....here she is as a newborn.

R & L thank you for choosing me to capture this special time in her life.....

Melanie

Shaking things up a bit..

Every so often I do something a little outside of my normal family/children/senior thing.  Gives me the chance to shake things up a little bit creativity wise...

My cousin Ryan has a band that recently one two awards at the Madison Area Music Awards in May of this year.  I'm so proud of all he's done.  I will try to post here when they will be in the area, but in the meantime you can check them out on their website Sharp and Harkins Band .  They have a great CD available and I have plenty of copies if you are interested in purchasing for $10. 

So here is a sneak peak of their images.

"My sister...my friend"

Having lost my sister about 6 years ago I truly enjoyed photographing these two beautiful young ladies this week and seeing the relationship between them. We had a perfect day...thank you girls!!

Boys

Gotta love em! Check out these two handsome gentleman. T. and K. [and boys] thank you for driving up from Illinois for your session...it was great fun!

Wow!!

Had a session with an amazingly beautiful and sweet senior down at the lake today and had to give one sneek peek. Thank you M and E for a super fun session. Can't wait to show you the rest.....

Melanie

Buggy!!!!

Despite the fact that we were almost carried away by a swarm of mosquitos I can't help but share this adorable shot. K this is for you!

A little tidbit of exciting news....

This is supposed to run in the paper at some point but they can't tell me when so I just had to share with everyone now...its soooo exciting!!!

Local Photographer’s Work on Display
at International Exhibition of Professional Photography

A print created by Melanie Sikma of Melanie Sikma Photography in Waukesha, Wisconsin has recently been accepted into the General Collection of the 116th International Exhibition of Professional Photography. Sikma’s work will be on display at the Tampa Convention Center January 6-8, 2008 in Tampa, Fla. This exhibition is held in conjunction with Imaging USA, an annual convention of over 8,000 professional photographers and several photographic associations.
Approximately 5,000 entries were submitted to Professional Photographers of America’s (PPA’s) International Print Competition, from which a panel of more than 40 eminent photographers from across the United States selected the images that would comprise the 2007 General and Loan Collections…the most prestigious awards. Titled “Eyes of Wonder”, Sikma’s entry will be shown in Tampa alongside approximately 4,000 other photographic works from not only PPA’s print competition, but also traveling and special invitational displays. These images will constitute the world’s largest annual exhibit of professional photography gathered simultaneously under one roof.
In recognition of the achievement, PPA members receive one merit certificate for each entry into the General Collection and two merits for each entry into the Loan Collection. These merits can be applied toward PPA degrees granted by the association.
The Professional Photographers of America (PPA), an international nonprofit association, exists to assist its more than 18,000 members in achieving their professional, artistic, and fraternal goals; to promote public awareness of the profession; and to advance the making of images in all of its disciplines as an art, a science, and a visual recorder of history.

Shopping

I don't know if it's genetic or all the brainwashing my husband did when my boys were babies but they sure do HATE shopping!!!! I had a gazillion little errands to run today to catch up on some things and needless to say there was a whole lot of whining, kids driving each other crazy, kids driving me crazy, kids thinking they need or want everything at Target, "I'm hungry", "I have to go potty"...........what the heck was I thinking. I need to rent some little girls to go shopping with!!!!!!!

Have a good one!

Melanie