Moving on Up!
Big changes at KPO Photo! After 12 years of shooting in my beloved Chapel Hill garden and studio, I have moved. Not to worry, though, as the new KPO Photo location is just 3 miles away, right over the Hillsborough, North Carolina line.
And I got married! Here is a photo of my new family. From left to right we have Riley Mallett , Amira Oguntoyinbo , Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo, Pat Mallett, Collin Mallett, Roman Oguntoyinbo and Leo Oguntoyinbo. We invited our friends and family over for a housewarming party this past weekend and surprised them with a wedding. It was incredible. More photos to come later, I promise!
So please visit us for your family, wedding or business stories this year so we can show you the new space. The new studio is three times as large and the garden includes a pond, trails and even a creek. I cannot wait to explore our five acres with you all.
With Much Love,
Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo
The new address:
KPO Photo
2519 Pickard Mountain Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278
office 919.933.8403
kpo at kpohoto.com
Happy Holidays from KPO Photo!
KPO Photo will be closed from 12/14 until 1/5. I am so grateful for all the wonderful people I have been able to photograph this year! Pictured above is me, Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo, with my children. From left to right they are Roman, 9, Leo, 5 and Amira 11. See you in 2013!
KPO Photo Family Stories | An Exhibit
From March through August 2012 I have a photography show of some of my favorite Family Story images up at The Red Hen at University Mall in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This was such a challenge for me to choose favorites from the first ten years of KPO Photo! I am usually so busy shooting that I don’t have much time to look back. For this show I sat down and really looked over a decade of images I had taken of many, many families. It was so hard to choose but, here they are:
On the large wall I printed four vertical images. Janet Buehler is pregnant underneath the peach tree in my garden, Genevee Luck is pretty in purple in front of the asters that bloom in October.
On the left is Eleanor Bellamy getting a senior portrait at the studio and the Kennedy family goofing around during their family portrait at their family home.
Also on the big wall I printed my three favorites from the first year of Henry Black. His parents, Barbara Puccio and Chris Black are dear friends and I think they made one of the best babies ever.
Henry at one-week-old.
Henry at six-months-old.
The whole family when Henry was almost one.
Then, on the smaller wall I put 12 photos of the Sato Family, following their journey from their wedding day to now being parents to two wonderful children. Here are some of my favorites. You can see more at The Red Hen.
Finally at the front of the store I put four more favorites.
Jen Neitzel and her boys on the left and Aaron Ramesh and his dog on the right.
The Chandler girls.
Sasha and her giraffe!
We are offering a fun raffle, too. If you visit The Red Hen there is a vase by the cash register. Just fill out your name and email address to win a FREE KPO Photo Story! I am picking one name each month. The April winner is Kerri Williamson. Thanks for visiting the show if you already have. And a special thank you to all the families pictured above. I love watching you all grow and change throughout the years.
Circle of Life
By Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo
Recently I took a long bus ride for a two-day, whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. with my daughter’s 5th grade class. To keep the children entertained the teachers played all three Lion King movies so I have had “The Circle of Life” song in my head ever since then. It got me to thinking about my own circle of life. I am blessed to have healthy parents, three wonderful children, three siblings and many friends that feel as close as family. But I know we are all at the mercy of the circle of life and death.
Currently in my life I see this cycle most acutely in my pets. Unfortunately pets tend to live shorter lives than us. Last year my 15-year-old cat, Eve, passed away and I am now going through the same cycle of aging and death with my beloved Siberian Husky, Kika, who is almost 14. These pets are such amazing companions! To think that I had both Kika and Eve before I ever got married and had children. They have sat patiently by my side through three different screaming babies and all the chaos of daily life.
When my cat, Eve, was growing feeble last year I spent several months watching her decline. Up until that point she had always been a healthy and low maintenance pet. I hired a mobile veterinarian, Dr. Adriano Betton, so that I would not have to drive her to her frequent veterinary appointments. The whole process of putting her in the car carrier, getting on the highway and then waiting in a strange room stressed her out to no end. It took her days to recover from each appointment. So it was a great to have a competent, kind professional come to us. Dr. Betton diagnosed her with hyperthyroidism. The treatment would be $4500 and would require that she live at a clinic for several months to receive the treatment. I quickly decided that it would be cruel to put her through that so my attention focused on keeping her comfortable.
I asked myself three questions. Is she still eating? Is she still playing and purring? Is she relatively pain-free? I knew that if I started to answer no to any of those questions I would have to make a move to euthanize her. Eventually the negatives outweighed the positives and I was thankful that she died at home in my arms, with the help of Dr. Betton. That is the best we can all hope for, to meet our end after a long life in a peaceful place with loved ones at our side.
So now I spend my days working, taking care of my kids and keeping an eye on Kika. She is better some days than others. She has a particularly hard time when it rains and has taken to running away as soon as there is a shift in the barometric pressure. I always find her shaking on a neighbor’s doorstep, whining to be let in. It is as if she forgets which home is hers and she is not even sure who I am either, but she slowly walks home with me. But there are other days in which she is alert and playful and she always looks forward to mealtime.
So, overall I am very grateful to be taking part in this cycle of life and feel like for each heart-breaking ending there are many more bright beginnings.
Family Stories, a Photo Exhibit
I will be the featured artist at The Red Hen for the 2nd Friday Art Walk on Friday, March 9th. My show, called Family Stories, is a beautiful and engaging look at several families’ stories through the years and the seasonal beauty that surrounds us in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Come have h’ordeuvres and a glass of wine and enjoy a live photo booth. The Art Walk runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and I am quite sure we will end up at nearby Spice Street for drinks afterwards. The show is on view March 1 through August.
The Red Hen
- University Mall, 201 South Estes Drive , Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 942-4420.
Feel free to forward or share this email if you know some other folks who would be interested! Looking forward to it!
February is Love!
Celebrating the Love in your life is easy! Just sign up for your February is Love Family Story on-line and know that the love in your life will be recorded in a beautiful, timeless photograph.
How to Better Photograph Your Children | Spring Break
Looking for the next installment of How to Better Photograph Your Children? Tip 3 will have to wait until next Monday as it is SPRING BREAK here. The kids are out of school just in time for some rare, end of March, sleet. Here is the scene at Sunset Beach, NC late last week! Happy Spring Break!
Oh! I also wanted to let you know of two ways you can get a KPO Photo Family Story that is both a good deal and will also help a good cause. You can either attend:
- Wednesday, April 6th- The Dispute Settlement Center in Carrboro, NC is holding its 5TH ANNUAL DSC WINE TASTING on Wednesday, April 6th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Top of the Hill Great Room. Wines will be available for purchase with 15% benefiting DSC Silent Auction. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Reserve by emailing jpotts@disputesettlement.org or call 929-8800.
- Saturday, April 9th- The Emerson Waldorf School holds a fundraiser called Seeds of Spring! To purchase tickets email Kelley Willey at emersonian@emersonwaldorf.org. The event begins at 7 and lasts until 10 p.m. It will be held at the NC Botanical Gardens at 100 Old Mason Farm Road in Chapel Hill, NC. The cost is $40 per person, $75 per couple. The book, A Year in the Life of a Waldorf School and the IMAGES within are still available for purchase!
2011 Winter Newsletter | About KPO
Here is the Winter 2011 email newsletter. There are some fun announcements and interesting tidbits. Enjoy!
Happy Holidays!!! | About KPO
KPO Photo will be closed for the holidays until January 1st, when we will start out 2011 with a bang with a wedding at Fearrington!