I love my kids, but every once in awhile I feel overwhelmed raising them. There are times when I am impatient or tired or think life is challenging. But then I try to put it all in perspective and realize that these frustrating moments are fleeting, just growing pains for Keith and I as parents and Isabella and Gabby as kids.  This is stuff every parent goes through at one time or another. And some parents go through much more.

A recent email reminds me of how lucky we are. These tiny little blips in our family life are so inconsequential to what some family’s grapple with on a daily basis.

A few years ago, Keith arrived at a family portrait session – 3 children and their parents. The kids were just adorable. As he was having fun photographing them – the parents mentioned that their little one, Henry had a debilitating condition called mitochondrial disease. The little guy could not eat solid food – he was fed through a feeding tube. “In his first three years, Henry had 12 surgeries and procedures, dozens of diagnostic exams, over one hundred doctors’ appointments (with over a dozen specialists), hundreds of physical therapy sessions, taken several medicines, and the list goes on.  And, of course, he had (and has) gear.  He has a feeding pump, a nebulizer, feeding tubes and other stuff, an IV pole, bags that depressurize his stomach, a back pack to carry his pump, leg braces, and . . . .  You get the picture.”

That’s about the time Keith took the above photo of Henry.

Since that time, Henry’s older brother has also been diagnosed with the same disease. Yet somehow, the parents have found the strength to start a foundation called Henry’s Hope, adopt another child (2 of Henry’s siblings are adopted), write a book called Three Candles and help other family’s with children that  have life-threatening conditions.

The email was from Henry’s dad – just keeping us up to date on the family and sending us a link to the Three Candles website.

Talk about putting it all into perspective.

“Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it”. – Theodore Roosevelt

After a very busy wedding and portrait season, we decided to take a few days off and explore. A family trip to Utah was the answer.  We packed the kids in the car and off we went. The Polar Express near Flagstaff was our first stop. Second stop was Zion. A stay at Zion Mountain Ranch was the perfect location for exploring the area. As you drive towards the park entrance at Zion, the scenery just unfolds right in front of you. A meandering drive through the park, a stop here, a stop there, each view different yet equally impressive, a white tailed deer walking along side the car, a pack of rams climbing out of the scenery. Simply gorgeous.

Next stop was Bryce Canyon. Completely different scenery. A couple feet of snow eliminated the hiking option but we were still able to take in the majestic snow capped view and be in awe of nature. A must visit in warmer weather so that we can explore all the trails that I imagine lead to all sorts of great stuff.

I had always heard of the Vermillion Cliffs – but for some reason they have never made it on our sightseeing radar. On our drive back into Arizona, we chose a different route to return and all of a sudden as you drive down from the North Rim entrance of the Grand Canyon – the Vermillion Cliffs are right there. Just right out in front of you. The scenery changes from a forest to a scene out of a Hollywood western. Stunning.

The whirlwind National Park Tour of 2011 came to an end at The Grand Canyon. It’s hard to say what Park was the most beautiful but what is so remarkable is how different each park is. Only a couple hundred miles separate all four parks and the diversity was incredible.

Keith decided to bring only a rangefinder on this trip. No digital, no auto focus. The above pictures were taken with a manual camera, nothing auto.  The good old days of film, relying solely on your judgement to take each photograph. This is just a handful of some gorgeous photos taken of some really gorgeous scenery.

The ages have been at work a long, long time – the result is true perfection. (Just like film and a good camera!)

This is the thing digital cameras can never take away from film cameras… they can age well. The shot on this page was taken with a camera that is very special to me. My Zeiss Ikon Contina IIa. It was built in 1956 as an exceptionally well made point and shoot. It is all manual and has a selenium cell light meter (NO batteries required). It is not a range finder nor an SLR (looking through the lens). To focus it you have to judge the distance to your subject and turn the lens scale to match your guess. It helps to be able to convert to meters as it is a German camera. It has not had a roll of film in it in as long as I’ve owned it until last week (shame). Despite it’s lack of modern conveniences  it is capable of adding beauty to the world when given the chance. Imagine how well a 55 year old digital camera will hold up. This camera will be able to work alongside it then too.

The reason this camera is special to me is not because it is old or beautiful (even though it is both of those). It is because it was given to me by a beautiful German lady named Helga. Helga lived in the Bronx when I met her and she was in her mid 70′s then. That was around 2000 or 2001. She lived in a house behind my mother’s that had been built by her husband when that part of the Bronx was still farm land. I used to periodically talk to her over the adjoining fences and it was always a treat. One day she asked me to come around to the house. When I arrived she said she was selling the house and moving since it had become too much to handle after the passing of her husband John (John by the way was a wonderful painter, a kind man and the subject of one of my favorite photographs I have ever taken). Helga handed me this camera and said that it was a gift. She had purchased it when she was leaving Germany as a sort of insurance policy. If things did not work out in America then she could sell it and buy her way back. Things did work and she stayed.

I have looked at this camera for years. Last week I decided to run a roll through it on our swing out to California and I got this photo. I love it. It is old and new all at once. It is new beauty in a changing world and it was placed here by a camera that is as gorgeous and functional at fifty-five as when it was new. Thank you Helga for one of the best gifts that was ever given to me.

Pacific Beach, San Diego, California taken with Zeiss Ikon Contina IIa on Kodak Tri-X

Unfortunately, Keith and I do not escape as often as we should to photography galleries and exhibits. But when we do, we really enjoy ourselves. It usually takes an occasion to tear us away (during the day) from our work. What better occasion than Keith’s birthday to head on over to the Phoenix Art Museum and check out the Brett Weston (Edward Weston‘s son) and Sonya Noskowiak exhibition?

We tend to use most of our babysitting chits with the grandmoms for our working weekend schedules. As everyone knows, wedding (and portrait) photographers generally work on weekends – wedding photographers usually part of the day and part of the night. So needless to say, date nights are few and far between on weekends.

So dates sometimes have to happen during the day.

Lunch and a museum visit – can be oh so romantic!

If you happen to be headed to The Phoenix Art Museum, don’t miss this exhibit.

It seems like we do not post enough pictures of our own children. I guess we are so focused on editing other family’s sessions or making sure that a bride gets her album in a timely manner – that we overlook posting pictures of our girls and the other adorable children in our lives including cousin Ava and our nephews Gage and Connor.

We celebrated Keith’s stepdad’s 70th birthday in Greer. I guess the family gathering in Greer has become sort of an annual tradition – one that the 5 kids (and adults) really look forward to. The Greer Lodge is such a great spot. We are able to rent an amazing house in a beautiful setting and have the family gather for a couple of uninterrupted days of great cooking, board games, laughter and tons of fun for the adults and kids alike.

If you haven’t been to the White Mountains, do yourself a favor and take a ride – you will not be disappointed. It’s hard to believe that in one day you can be in the dry desert golfing and then be skiing in the afternoon – just a short 4 hour ride away.

Keith Pitts Photography from Serendipity Videography on Vimeo.

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Serendipity Videography is the most sought after wedding videographer in the Valley. Over the years, we have had the great pleasure of working professionally with Serendipity at weddings. Photographer and videographer, two necessary elements of almost every wedding.

In passing, Jeff happened to mention that a video might be a nice touch for our website. We could not agree more. In fact, a video (a well made video) was long overdue! When Jeff and Taryn agreed to help us we knew that we would end up with something really special – and special is an understatement. This video really captures who Keith is, what he does, and most importantly – why he is a photographer. {Oh, and our kids are ADORABLE!}

Keith Pitts Photography from Serendipity Videography on Vimeo.

It is really special to be on this side of things! Not only have we worked with Serendipity and know how professional and fabulous they are – we can now say first hand how pleased we are with OUR video!

Thank you Serendipity Videography for such a heartfelt, sincere piece of art!

Our kids had such a blast on Halloween – running from house to house, taking turns to ring doorbells, they trick or treated till their pumpkins were too heavy for them to carry! I think the tipping point in the kids being able to carry their overflowing candy loot was the can of coke one guy was giving out. That was probably one of the more interesting items I have seen someone handing out. Perhaps he forgot to buy candy and had a case or two of soda in the garage. Or maybe he suspected the kids might need a drink along their route. Regardless, I appreciate his creativity. At least he didn’t turn his lights out and slink away – as Keith and I had to do one year when we ran out of candy!

The bottom line is that our “Goddess of Greek” and our “Pink Flamingo” and their cousin the little Princess had a great evening and have tons of candy to show for their efforts. Success.

I love having a children’s portrait photographer as my children’s dad – it never fails, I have such great pictures of my kids (and family) for every holiday, every occasion! I treasure each and everyone of these pictures – even if most of them are trapped in the computer!

This past weekend, we ventured up to Date Creek Ranch just north of Wickenburg.  An improbable spot for an apple orchard, or maybe I just think so because I’m from New England or because it was 96 degrees and I am used to apple picking being done in fall weather!  Regardless, we headed northwest in search of apples.  And we found lots of them (and pears too)!  Keith was thinking about what a sweet spot an orchard would be for a family portrait session – I agree.  It was such a natural setting, the kids enjoying themselves, learning a bit about where their food comes from and how it makes its way from the tree to the grocery store to the house.  Fun was had by all. With one exception, Gabby really did not dig the combination of smells that were penetrating her tiny little nostrils – cow mixed with apples mixed with other outdoorsy smells!  At least she found comfort by clutching her plastic dinosaur! I had a security blanket, she has her dinosaurs!

If you get the chance, drop by Date Creek Ranch, it was well worth the trip!

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Hi All,

Here is a nice easy Sunday post that happens to be informative. I had nothing to do with it of course (other than to find it and think it a good idea), but it is worth posting none the less. Time interviews have been known to be good at times so why think otherwise now. The subject is the legendary Annie Leibovitz. Sit back, relax and get to know Ms. Leibovitz a bit better.

Sincerely,

Keith

P.S. I love her work

It’s hard to believe that the kids have been back to school for two weeks.  Even though its still topping 100 everyday, it is hard to believe the summer fun is behind us.  Here’s our review of our summer fun!

Now this review is only our family’s take on staying at these four resorts.   I’m not talking about pools where it’s romantic or great people watching or even super cool water slides. I’m strictly talking about resort pools in the greater Phoenix area that we have actually stayed at AND have a pool specifically for little ones. So in the sweltering Arizona summer, when the resort rates are pennies on the dollar compared to winter rates, it was easy to justify a night away at a gorgeous resort for our family.

When we are lucky enough to head to a resort, our goal is for there to be a pool that is fun for the whole family.  Six story water slides are cool, but our kids are just too young (wait till next year!!! Keith and I love water slides, water parks, etc. etc. can’t wait for the kids to be super swimmers!).  Isabella just turned 6, so she is swimming really well, but Miss Gabs is on her own schedule.  She has had a couple years of swimming lessons (and is currently enrolled), but it just hasn’t clicked with her yet. She still wants to wear her “seatbelt” (a life preserver).  And, she is definitely under the 42″ height requirement of most slides! That leaves us wanting a beach entry pool that Gabs can maneuver at her comfort level and the rest of us can still have fun!

Here were our four stops and our thoughts on each:

1. Fairmont Scottsdale By far, of these 4 resorts, the Fairmont had the nicest rooms.  Keith’s only requirement for a hotel is that the roof doesn’t leak.  I on the other hand, have a long list of what makes a hotel room nice – Keith likes to joke with me that I need 1,000 thread count sheets to be happy!  I’m not quite that bad, but I really like the details and comfort of the Fairmont’s rooms. Very nice.  While this hotel is pretty large, it doesn’t overwhelm you.The property is laid out nicely, it didn’t seem overly crowded.  The family pool is just great!  Lots of fun, 2 water slides and a zero entry pool deck perfect for little ones like Gabs. Overall, this resort is great.  The one drawback:  the family pool was a million miles away from our room!

2.  The Westin Kierland Resort We liked this resort, nice rooms, but it is really, really big!  And even in the dead of summer, with temps hovering around 108, the place was sold out!  I was shocked!  The pool was beautiful, but crowded.  The lazy river and water slide are fun, but Gabby is still too small for their slide.  The children’s play area with pop-jet water fountains and the shallow pool made us happy campers.

3.  Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort We decided to celebrate Isabella’s birthday here, we rented two adjacent rooms and had a big sleepover with Isabella, Gabs, cousin Ava and Isabella’s oldest friend Malia.  The rooms are very comfortable, suites give you that little bit of extra space, which is always welcome when staying in a hotel with small children.  The pool had all of our requirements, zero entry pool deck, water slide, etc.  but was just beyond over crowded.  It almost seemed like any one who lived within a 100 mile radius of the hotel stopped by for a quick dip!  Maybe I would have liked it more if we weren’t standing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of people who I’m not even sure were staying at the hotel.  It seemed like a big public pool – not a resort pool!  With that being said, everyone still had a great time!

4.  Sheraton Wild Horse Pass This place was just perfect for us!  The room was a little small, but pretty much brand new and very comfortable.  Overall, the resort had a very Southwestern flair, with lots of Native American history, a really nice touch.  The staff couldn’t have been any nicer.  We ended up staying by the pool for like 5 or 6 hours.  There were only a handful of families – divide that up between 4 pools and it was close to a one family to one pool ratio – what more could you ask for?  The best part for us was the one pool that was most perfect for Gabs, it had multiple zero entry pool decks all over this large pool, she had such a blast, running and swimming, being a bald eagle and flying around.  And what made it even better?  The pool was adjacent to the pool bar!  A paradise for the kids and for Keith & I!  We had so much fun.  By far, the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass was our perfect summer spot – the best resort pool for our little ones!

There are lots of stunningly gorgeous pools in the area, and lots of great pools that are family friendly, especially for non-swimmers – we would love input on other family’s favorites!