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HI! I'M CATHY BLACKSTONE.

I am a Columbus based photographer and welcome to my blog.

I love to photograph babies in the tummy, babies out of the tummy, kids being good, kids being bad, kids with special needs, kids with fur, couples in love, families being themselves and seniors in between text messages :)

I have a fun and carefree style that I think you will be very comfortable with. Of course I love to take the classic picture where everyone is looking at the camera with a perfect smile but what I really love to catch is the real "in between" moments. The candid moments that you will cherish forever.

This is my photo blog where I will share favorite images from recent sessions and blab about my interests and family.

Thanks for visiting my site and taking a look. I really appreciate it. 

NANNA | my little tribute to breast cancer awareness month

Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 9:37pm Posted in Personal

I think it’s only fitting with all the coverage on TV and all the races and walks for the cure going on right now that I share these images of someone that is so important to me. I took them on/for Susan’s (my bff) birthday about a month ago and love how they turned out.

I met Kay - Susan’s mom -  right after I met Susan. Just like Susan there was instant comfort. You can tell her anything. There is never any fluff - it is always real, raw, unfiltered, funny, loud, crass, emotional, straight to the point conversation. If she doesn’t like what you are wearing she tells you:)

As time went on Susan and I got married and started popping out babies and Kay became Nanna. I can barely remember what her real name is anymore. Nanna was a huge part of my life in those early (before I had too many kids) child rearing years. I would wake up, get dressed and go find Nanna and Susan. I feel like we had lunch together everyday for 3 years. Good times.

Because it runs rampant throughout their family Nanna was always very good about mammograms. She always said it wasn’t “if” she was going to get breast cancer - it was “when” . It always made me flinch when she said that but then the day came.

It was one of those 9/11 - where were you when - moments. A phone call I will never forget. She took immediate control. Super positive. Put us all at ease. Early detection, early cure …. and she beat it. She went with her sister into her cave and didn’t come out for months. Seriously. I remember feeling helpless. Got the daily updates from Susan. Couldn’t cook for her because she couldn’t keep anything down. Didn’t visit because she was sicker than a dog.

But then she came out on the other side a survivor. Changed, strong and bald, lol. That led to riveting questions and comments by the 3ish year olds:)

We don’t see each other enough anymore, but when our paths do cross I LOVE it. Love catching up and hanging out withe her. Always feel so filled after time with her and Susan. I predict in three years after I get all my kids in school all day ( hear the angel’s harps?) Nanna time will resume.

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Nanna taught me how to sew on her kitchen table:) Those of you that are my crafting friends out there know how important and cool that is.

These two love each other something fierce…..

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they ain’t right…..

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alcohol was involved …

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Love you Nanna!

More fun, crazy, fabulous, beautiful and downright hilarious shots from Susan’s bday coming soon.

by Cathy

4 comments

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May 31, 2010 - 6:26 pm Zoe - Such beautiful people! Such beautiful pictures!

May 20, 2010 - 9:46 am Cindytz@earthlink.ne - Beautiful!!! I'm crying! That was such a fun. Thanks for including me in such a special night. Great to have such good pics to remember it. Cathy you did a great Job!

May 19, 2010 - 2:01 pm susan reimer - Cath, these are so good, your photography never ceases to amaze me...i dont admit i am good at much...but I am a good mom because I had a GOOD MOM...glad you have a special bond with that crazy woman!! Cant WAIT to see the rest of the pics from that night. xoxo

May 18, 2010 - 9:15 pm Kim Whybrew - love love love these two, love these photos! It was a blast watching these two together that night. I love me some Nana! She is so cool, so fun, so loving and geez, where does Sus come from?! :) Such AWESOME ladies and you captured their zest for life and their love for each other. AWESOME!! Can't wait to see the rest and hear your commentary... especially about the two WILD ones! xo kimmy

WELCOME DYLAN | columbus, ohio birth photographer

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 10:44pm Posted in Birth Story

I went into this knowing it would be a very meaningful day - I had no idea. I still find myself thinking about it constantly one month later.

I went into this worried about my settings and worried about shots that I might miss, but it was so effortless. I never remember “thinking”. Not once.

I approached this as if it were my own birth. I was selfish:) I took the shots that I would have wanted. I knew the shots and angles that I wouldn’t have wanted. I wanted Leslie to look at these with pride. I wanted them to be sacred to her. Not a coffee table album but a “I know exactly where it is on my bookshelf if there was a fire album”. Kidding. I want her to look at these over the years and and feel powerful and beautiful because she was. She was amazing.

So please if you watch this I would LOVE it and be forever grateful if you would leave a comment. Bringing a child into the world is probably one of a woman’s most raw and emotional moments and Leslie was so brave to be my guinea pig so that I could show people how beautiful birth photography can be. I think it is the second most important event after getting married and the least documented. I want to change that.

I will post more information soon about birth stories. I’m still working out the details but my goal is to provide an album and a disc containing a mini maternity session, the birth and a mini newborn session. I will have everything figured out within the next couple of weeks. Call me if you need to know information before that.

by Cathy

38 comments

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June 21, 2010 - 2:35 pm Amy Hefner-Shepherd - Absolutely amazing. What a great idea!

June 15, 2010 - 12:51 pm Celeste - That was so moving and so beautiful! You did a phenomenal job!

June 9, 2010 - 10:42 pm Charity Sampson - What an absolute treasure. Increbible memories all captured and never to be forgotten.

May 22, 2010 - 10:05 am jodi beachy - i work at DMH. Those pictures are totally amazing and beautiful!

May 21, 2010 - 2:48 pm Janel - About 1/3 of the way through I realized tears were just rolling down my face. So moving, Cathy. Beautiful, moving, stunning work. I LOVE IT! Congratulations to this family, and to you for taking your work to a whole new level. ox

May 21, 2010 - 2:15 pm melissa deakin - I am sitting here balling my eyes out. This is perfection. Oh, how I wish I had this when I had a baby. (I am a photographer too...I remember you from your scrapbooking days...I've always been a huge fan. I hope you don't mind if I email you as this is something that I have really been wanting to do and I'd love to ask you some questions, etc.) Amazing work!

May 17, 2010 - 4:53 pm Lucinda - simply stunning - and so tastefully done. if I get tears in my eyes just watching, I can only imagine what a gift it must be to them when they re-watch it!!

May 13, 2010 - 7:14 pm Elizabeth - oh my.. I am always moved and totally inspired by your posts. this one left me with tears streaming down my face. Having just had (possibly) my last baby.. I so wish I would have done this. It really, *really* makes me want to add this to my business plan.. I want to be able to gift this to some one else. I would love to chat more about this w/ you.. if you're interested please email me at the above address.. thanks so much! what a treasure you captured!! amen =)

May 11, 2010 - 6:21 am amy wiff - ditto all the comments so far...i so appreciate my kiddos today, since I watched this...typing through my tears...your photos move me...can't wait for you to catch Adam and Annie through your lense.

May 10, 2010 - 6:47 pm Katy - a gift, this session was a gift not only to Leslie, but from Leslie to the rest of us. Thank you. Beautiful love.

May 9, 2010 - 6:20 pm christie - That was beautiful. Amazing job!

May 8, 2010 - 10:12 am sharee ann - I am so touched... I was due to have my baby boy May 3 and still am a pregnant lady in waiting... this picture story just brought me such peace and excitement. I so wish I could have you come to WI for my birth but feel inspired to make sure a friend is there to capture these God-given miracle moments... Cathy you are an awesome photographer... your package idea is priceless!

May 7, 2010 - 11:01 pm Shelley Laming - oh my gosh, Cathy! This was incredibly beautiful to see. It brought tears to my eyes. What a lucky mama to have these beautiful moments captured in such a special way by you. Awesome job!!

May 7, 2010 - 7:58 pm Caron - Simply Amazing! I don't know why, but I cry every time I see a newborn come into the world! Many blessings to the new Mom and Dad and Baby!

May 7, 2010 - 4:04 pm Jill - simply amazing...you did an amazing job of recording it for them!!!

May 7, 2010 - 3:20 pm Crystal - Omgoodness...watching this makes me want to have another baby, so I can hire you!! Absolutely Beautiful....you truly have a gift!!!:)

May 7, 2010 - 2:55 pm Meg - WOW!! Marc Cohn has an amazing voice and this song just went perfectly with these pictures. What an amazing treasure to have. So inspiring as well.

May 7, 2010 - 12:37 pm Carey Largent - Beautiful! What is the name of that song? Who sings it? Perfect!

May 7, 2010 - 10:07 am terri - Beautiful!

May 7, 2010 - 7:12 am Cassie - So precious, along with such great memories. Congratulation!!!

May 7, 2010 - 6:25 am Liesbeth - Gorgeous - every single one of them... What a treasure for them to have.

May 7, 2010 - 5:28 am Jennifer Ingram - Awesome Cathy. Mom you look great, and beautiful baby. What a great record of that important first day!

May 7, 2010 - 4:55 am Myla - Cathy- Your work is amazing. You simply capture the moments !

May 6, 2010 - 7:27 pm shelby - wow! simply amazing! So many pictures I wish I would have had of the births of my girls because there are so many things you forget. It is really great that you are offering this!

May 6, 2010 - 4:01 pm Grandma Ellis - The pictures really tell the story of the birth and love. The music was fitting too. How nice to have this for the future. Nice work Cathy. Love, Mom

May 6, 2010 - 3:37 pm Shannon Tidwell - Absolutely amazing, Cathy. I would give anything to rewind time and have you in the room with me...times 3.

May 6, 2010 - 2:24 pm Kate Jung - OMG... gorgeous! luv them! brought back memories of my 2. Could almost feel it. It was like we were there with you.

May 6, 2010 - 12:43 pm Tonya - I am speechless! These pictures are amazing! I know who the third person will be in the room with us when B and I have a baby :)

May 6, 2010 - 12:18 pm Robyn - Cathy - this is stunning! I was brought to tears! You showed all the emotions of giving birth so beautifully through photos...the anticipation, the waiting, the 'moments', the birth...and all that came from that. It's so beautiful! You truly have a gift! They will treasure this - I so wish I had something like this! Love it!

May 6, 2010 - 11:37 am Susanna - Absolutely stunning. The slide show brought tears to my eyes. You did an amazing job!!!

May 6, 2010 - 8:49 am Leslie - **WOW** What an AMAZING experience.....brought tears to my eyes. OH how, if every monther to be were to witness this slideshow, would LOVE to have this event captured. It was done in such a tactful way - A TRUE BLESSING!!!! :)

May 6, 2010 - 8:44 am Emily - OMG, Cathy, I started sobbing about 15 pictures in. Pat is laughing at me and says it's hormones. Those were AMAZING! What a treasure. LOVE the expressions you caught on everyone's faces. So tasteful and well done. You are incredible. Period.

May 6, 2010 - 8:02 am Lisa Scherer - Absolutely beautiful! I completely agree, as a mother of 3...I wish birth photography was more accessible back in "the day". It is a day that is forever in your memory but the small moments start to fade as time passes. I would love to have photos as beautiful as these to keep those special moments for ever available. Great job!

May 6, 2010 - 7:26 am Sam - Amazing. So mad at myself for not taking you up on your offer. She will cherish these photos!

May 6, 2010 - 7:09 am carrie purcell - beautiful and so sweet! if i decide to have another i would love to have you do this! absolutely amazing!

May 6, 2010 - 6:53 am Heather Crawford - Wow, that was awesome..what a priceless keepsake..love all of your angles, the details, and that it was tasteful! What a wonderful gift for someone!

May 6, 2010 - 4:22 am Caroline - WOW. Couldn't really see the second half of it b/c of the tears in my eyes. :) That was amazing!

May 6, 2010 - 4:01 am Melissa - Beautiful! Brought tears to my eyes!

SPRING BREAK

Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 8:20am Posted in Personal

I’m starting to love Spring Break with the kids. I finally don’t have a baby. Dane is getting more and more “doable”. We went to see our first movie as a family. HUGE milestone. HUGE. And it worked! We went to the theaters at the mall so that if Dane had to bail I could shop and not be bitter and resentful:)

We always stay local. I let each kid pick the day’s events.

Brynn chose bowling …

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Dane was scared at first. I was going to be the mom and walk and talk him through it but the big kids took over. That’s when I know having four kids is allll good. Makes me all proud and warm and fuzzy to see them naturally help Dane.

I forgot about lunch. So we ate potato chips and nachos instead. They were in heaven.

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And then Dane decided to set his ball down at the line. Back up. Take a running start and kick it as hard as he could with his sock covered foot. We all went from wondering, to “STOP DANE!” to cying laughing. It took about 3 seconds for the pain to set in and then he was DONE.

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We went to Old Man’s Cave the next day (didn’t bring my camera) and then on Wednesday we went to my favorite diner called Tom’s. It’s in Zanesville. It is seriously like stepping back in 1950. We all had lunch and a huge sundae for $35! Well Dane’s lunch was a plate of bananas but still. Jackson said, “it was the best hamburger I’ve ever had even though it smelled like rotting carpet”. I just wanted them to experience their dripping over the bowls onto a plate sundaes. It was so interesting to see the clientele. Couldn’t believe how many people came in just to buy nuts, lol. I really wanted to steal one of their metal bowls but resisted. Hard one to explain to Ellie and Jackson now, lol.

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Ellie chose Delaware (city). It holds a spot in her heart from when we would go to speech therapy every week. For the first three months it was hard trying to figure everything out. I would drop off Ellie at Miss Jenny’s and then have a baby and a rambunctious toddler to deal with for an hour. I hated it. Dreaded it. And then I started snooping around and found one of the most beautiful cemeteries. A few months later I found a really great playground. Delaware also has GREAT ice cream stands with “eyeballs’ for kids ice cream. So what started out as something we dreaded turned into something we looked forward to. We would stay hours longer because the kids LOVED eating at the cemetery and looking at the graves. I bet some of you can’t wrap your head around that:) I also taught them how to do grave rubbings and it’s one of those things they remember and beg to do.

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then off to Mingo Park.

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by Cathy

2 comments

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April 24, 2010 - 10:48 am Beth - My dad in law always brings me dark chocolate carmels and cashews from Toms when he comes to Ohio-YUM!

April 24, 2010 - 9:58 am libbe - We used to live in zanesville for a couple years. So over spring break my son wanted to go back drive by our old house and go to Donalds donuts and Toms. Both great places to step back in time. On wednesday, we went to old mans cave. On tues we went to the state house downtown for a self guided tour. We also had a day of kite flying, no bowling though. My youngest choses to bowl every year on his birthday at the Palace. We had a great staycation too! I took a pics at Toms too and my 17yr old was totally humiliated

ALMOST A FAMILY OF FIVE | columbus, ohio maternity photographer

Monday, April 19, 2010 at 12:57pm Posted in maternity

I met Leslie and Patrick about 7 months ago for a family session in which she told me she was expecting her 3rd. I loved their session and little family. There are some people on this Earth that you feel immediately connected and comfortable with. I feel that way with Leslie. I read some passage once about how tribes roaming the Earth were split up but you always know and feel when you meet someone from your former tribe. Deep, eh? Well, Leslie is from my tribe.

One of my dreams was to photograph a birth. I get birth. You don’t get the beauty and miracle of birth until you are on round two or three. At least I didn’t. Put it this way - there is no way in H*E* doublehockeysticks - that a photographer would be in the same room with me during my first delivery. But once I was pregnant with my 4th I realized that the swollen ankles, the double chin and the giant thighs were just the battle scars of the amazing journey. The journey that I only found amazing and humbling AFTER I had the baby. While I was pregnant I wanted to kill someone…

So long story short I asked Leslie and Patrick if I could be in the room while they had their 3rd baby. I felt comfortable asking because she’s from my tribe. And they said yes. It’s something I want to offer. I think it is as important as wedding photos. I want to offer a classy simple book filled with a few maternity, a lot of birth and a few newborn images. I’m still figuring out the details but I think it’s important. And meaningful. Totally something you would grab if your house was on fire.

So here is Part 1 of Leslie and Patrick’s journey …

Stay tuned over the next couple of days for the rest. Unless you have a heart of stone you will be moved and blubbering. I don’t cry much but everytime I go to work on these photos I get choked up a time or two.

Oh and for these maternity images - Leslie couldn’t move. Seriously. The baby was sitting on a nerve that left her totally incapacitated. Like 110 year old lady, lol. I felt so sorry for her. So her maternity shots consist of getting out of the car and facing one direction. Then turning around facing the other direction.

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Want a sneak peek of what’s to come?

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by Cathy

8 comments

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July 29, 2010 - 10:48 am Lea Craine - I definitely agree with you about the new attitude for the second birth. Love these pictures and feel so happy for the couple and their family. Love it!!!

April 26, 2010 - 5:15 pm Caroline - You know this pregnant woman was already choked up by the couple of delivery pictures you posted....post MORE!!!!!

April 20, 2010 - 11:04 am Leslie - Cathy-you are amazing! You captured the joy. We love you and are so grateful for the experience! Can't wait to see them all!

April 20, 2010 - 6:28 am Sharon Van Loon - Makes me smile. Thanks, Cathy!

April 19, 2010 - 11:13 pm Liesbeth - Wow... that is impressive to say the least. I love love love the shot where the tear is rolling down... it made me teary eyed myself.

April 19, 2010 - 7:52 pm Lisa Scherer - I can't wait to see the rest. And her belly shot taken in front of the window...GorGEOUS!! Oh, I totally get the whole tribe thing ;)

April 19, 2010 - 7:09 pm Katy - oooh.. can't wait, can't wait!

April 19, 2010 - 1:35 pm Libbe - cathy is that at dublin? trying to put little clues together.. thats where I work. I work in sp care nursery