Category Archives: personal

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being green…

January 8, 2008 – 8:53 am

I read yesterday in the Star Tribune about the huge waste we are creating by drinking bottled water. I stopped drinking bottled water several years ago, mostly because I’m notoriously cheap about weird things, but also after I read it was usually less “clean” than tap water. This Camelbak water bottle is the best water bottle I have ever found, and I’ve tried at least a half dozen over the years. This one has a straw that doesn’t leak or spill, nearly unbreakable, the plastic doesn’t leach into the water and it doesn’t get a bad smell.

 

You can get it here at REI.
Also, if you are interested in some small steps you can take to make a real difference in the environment, the climate, and your budget, this site has a tip a day for a month about living “green”.
Mary
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about me…

November 27, 2007 – 8:57 am


I don’t post images of my children on here very often. I posted this on a photographers board I frequent, and then thought, why not on the blog? So, here you go: a little about one of mine…

My first baby… my oldest dear son, is going to be 10 years old in December. I was taking some shots of my three kids, all of them yesterday, jumping on the bed. He sat down on the chair by the window and looked outside, and I shot one photo of him not jumping, not clowning, just talking to me, and when I looked at it, I just gasped at how grown up he is looking. I look at him everyday of course, but as we all know, there is something about a photo.
As I say on my “about me” section on my site: “There’s a moment that happens when you look at a photograph of your child. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry, but the memories always come rushing back. Those moments are what got me interested in photography in the first place. When I had my first child, I realized how quickly he flew through stages that I thought I’d remember forever, but would have been lost without the photographs.”
My gosh, is it true. I looked at him, and it was like one of those movie moments, where bam, you rush through all the memories, him in the bassinet at the hospital, him sitting up for the first time, laughing at me when he was nursing at six months with a milk dribble, him taking his first steps *finally* at 14 months old. Him holding his baby sister, then later his baby brother. Him really reading me a book at four years old, off to kindergarten, then FirstGradeSecondGradeThirdGradeFourthGrade…. all in one big fast running rush. I know any minute know I’m going to be fixing his tie at his wedding, thats truly how fast it goes. I’m so thankful for him (for all my children of course) but to just take a moment and look at him, the sweetest, kindest kid, and just realize how fast it goes, and how much I love him. *sigh*…
Honestly, in so many ways, truly seeing and then photographing my own children is sometimes a bigger challenge, than my clients kids. So, to my J. My first baby-who is growing up so fast. I love him.
thanks for reading.
Mary


click to enlarge
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Meet our new kitty..

October 8, 2007 – 1:18 pm



This is our new kitty, Kocaman! His name means “monster” in turkish (I found out our cats are Turkish Angoras from Ankara in Turkey, thanks to a friend who recently moved there, hi Debra!) As you can see, he is a very fierce monster, being just a bit bigger than a pack of trident gum. ;)
We call him Koco for short, which works also because it looks like he has a Cocoa mustache as if he just had a cup of cocoa. :) My 9 year old pointed it out first.

Big Sister Bumble Kitty wasn’t too sure at first about her new little brother (yes, they are from the same parents, so they really are siblings!) But, after a few days of hissing and meowing, now she spends most of her time grooming him and teaching him how to wrestle. Its hilarious to watch.


Bumble will be one year old on October 21st, and is a really beautiful cat now. Full grown (but small, at about 8 pounds,) her odd colored eyes have gotten even more noticeable. Click on the picture to see more closely above. :)
Kocaman is still really tiny, just over 1 pound, and he is not deaf (Bumble is deaf) so he is really good at sneaking up and attacking his big sister, its pretty funny.

And, to those who wondered, I’m still having zero problems with allergies to either of our two cats, which is a miracle to me! If you have a cat allergy, you might want to look into white cats with pink skin! :)
~Mary

 

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Had a bad past few days…

July 10, 2007 – 11:42 am

On friday morning, I was in the middle of typing an email, and my new beautiful 24 inch iMac froze. I restarted it and my hard-drive was wiped out. Completely gone. Apple customer support couldn’t help me over the phone, so after trying valiantly I brought it into the Apple store for the Genius Bar to help. No dice. Even with the “almost never fail” power of Disk Warrior (or something like that?) they couldn’t find anything. I tried using it in target disk mode with a firewire cable. Nothing. So, now I’m in the process of data recovery with another method which is both time consuming and expensive, and as a result, I’m going to be weeks behind in proofing and editing photos and orders. I appreciate all my clients patience and wanted to post this as a reminder to everyone to backup all your important data! I always burn discs of originals, but not so great with backing up work I’ve done on images, b&w conversions, etc, so I’m out dozens of hours of work, as well as a ton of personal photos of my children. :(
So, go burn discs of your photos and important data, transfer to an external drive, or better yet, set up a RAID system (google it if you don’t know how!) so you don’t ever have to be in my shoes.
Thanks,
Mary

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Wanted to share a fun new toy with my readers…

June 14, 2007 – 9:40 am

I wanted a small compact semi-inexpensive digital camera for bringing to the pool and beach this summer. I got the Olympus Stylus 770SW for just over $300 from Amazon. The coolest thing about it is that it can shoot underwater up to 33 feet down! Since I won’t be doing snorkeling here in Minneapolis, I took some test pool shots of two of my kids who love to swim underwater. Here they are:


If you are looking for a small tough & rugged little point & shoot for the summer, this one is so fun! Enjoy!
~Mary

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New website is ready!

March 14, 2007 – 9:24 am

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve started a new business with a great local graphic designer, Tod Foley. Our new business is Progressive Photography & Design, and our website is up and ready to view. Link is http://www.progressivephotographydesign.com I’m really excited about our partnership and working with some great progressive candidates, campaigns and non-profits in the metro area. Let me know what you think of our new site!
thanks!
~Mary

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Update on me…

January 28, 2007 – 4:55 pm

Things have been very busy around here in a different way lately. January is always a bit slower, which I welcome, as it has given me time to reorganize my office and to take some great new computer classes which will help with editing and creating card designs. Other exciting things are in the works too! I’m starting a new business with a great graphic designer I’ve worked with in the past, Tod Foley. We will be: Progressive Photography & Design, and will work with progressive campaigns, candidates and non-profits. I’ll post a link to our new company’s website as soon as it is ready. I’ll still continue to do plenty of portrait work for children and families in the area, but this will be a nice separation of my portrait and political work.
Also, I can’t post many details yet, but I’ve been hired to teach a course this spring locally on “Taking Better Photos of your Child” for parents and others who would like to learn some basic tips to dramatically improve your photos. Email me with the subject of “photography class” at mary@maryhansonphotography.com if you want me to send info as it becomes available. There will be limited spots available in the course, which will be two evenings long. I’m really excited to teach what I love so much!
And, lastly, since I’ve had a few emails wondering how Bumble Kitty is doing, a photo of her shortly after we got her and then one from today. She is growing wonderfully, biting a bit too much, and her eye color difference of one green/one blue has become even more striking.



Have a great day!
Mary

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My new muse

December 9, 2006 – 2:31 pm

Since my three children go through various stages of contempt towards being my photographic models, I’m quite happy to have a new muse to photograph. Yes, we have had our new kitty for a week now and she is quite the willing subject. :)
She now has an official name, Bumble Kitty, after The Bumble (the white fuzzy snow monster from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.) We also discovered soon after getting her that she is deaf. Apparently its very common for white blue eyed cats, and she has no idea what she is missing, but its odd to see a cat who not only is not afraid of the vacuum cleaner, but actually loves it and thinks chasing it and the cord is great fun. She sleeps more soundly than any cat in a house with three kids has the right too, and she is never startled by loud noises. So far, having a deaf kitty seems to have only pluses. ;)
Here are a few shots of her from today:

 

Sleeping Bumble Kitty


Awake Bumble Kitty
(remember, you can click to view images larger) 


And finally, Laughing Bumble Kitty
(after my great joke about the dog who was as smart as a cat…)

 

 

Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful un-seasonably warm day we are having today.
thanks
Mary

 

 

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Happy December!

December 3, 2006 – 10:11 am

Well, it seems our long and warm-ish fall has finally come to a close. We are now getting the December weather that I expect this time of year! For my kids sake, I’m also hoping for snow to go along with the cold, as they are so excited about sledding. :) My kids are also very excited about our newest arrival, our new kitty, as yet un-named, but certainly not lacking in hands to hold her, cuddles or love:


She is a little white six week old ball of fluff. Bright blue eyes, and the most adorable little pink nose. Name suggestions (other than snowball or the like, lol) are welcome!

Its been a busy last few weeks, finishing orders, sorting and packing them up, and delivering them. Only about 6 more orders to finish up this week, so if you are still waiting, your photos are on the way! Next to taking the photographs, delivering them is one of my favorite things. I love the wonderful reactions I get to see, from big smiles to shouts of joy, to tears over how much everyone loves their finished prints. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: I have the best job in the world.
In this busy season of shopping, cleaning, cooking, baking and preparation for families and upcoming holidays, I invite everyone to take a few minutes and view the holiday slideshow I’ve created of some of my favorite images from 2006. It does take a few minutes to download, so click this link to go to the page to download it: here Then go grab a cup of your favorite holiday beverage and once its downloaded, turn on your speakers, and enjoy seeing some of the faces of Mary Hanson Photography from this past year. Maybe you’ll see your child, or the child of your friend or neighbor or co-worker!
Its been such a wonderful year, so many amazing children and families I’ve met and photographed. Thanks to all of you!
Mary

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Congratulations to Keith Ellison & Patricia Torres Ray!

September 13, 2006 – 5:04 pm

I try not to mix business and politics too much, but most who know me know I’m a strong DFL’er. So, that said, I wanted to say how thrilled I was that both Keith Ellison and Patricia Torres Ray
won in the primary yesterday. Both of them are terrific people, strong progressives and both were photographed by yours truly this year. Coincidence? I wonder…. :0) (of course I’m kidding.)
Congratulations to both Keith and Patricia for your upbeat and positive campaigns, and can’t wait until the general election in November!

Keith Ellison 


Patricia Torres Ray

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