*{Closed for the Holidays}*

All phone calls and emails will be returned "next year"!

If you have a CA session booked with me, I will be in touch this week!

Thank you for a wonderful year!
-m

*{Go Green}*

Just had to share my exciting purchase at the store today...I've gone green! I saw these reusable bags for only 70 cents!! And not only am I doing something good for the environment, but they are so sturdy and so much more durable than plastic! I now wish I did this a long time ago...there were no plastic bags spilling all over the back of the car on the way home, and I don't feel I need to worry about the plastic handles busting while carring in gallons of milk!

So I highly encourage the 70 cent per bag investment. If we all found just a tiny way to help the environment, it could make a world of a difference! So this is my start...

-m

*{Need a Good Laugh?!}*

Okay, so I know this is totally old...but I was talking to someone that did not see it! It is a must see for a good laugh!

God Bless America...and God Bless our beauty queens...

Watch this!

Have a great weekend~
m

*{My Last 2007 Newborn...}*

"K" gets the honor of being my last 2007 newborn! And I really lucked out photographing him. Here is the phone call to confirm the appointment...

me: "Hi there, is "A" available?"
Mr. F: "Ahhh...actually, she is busy with the baby. Can I have her call you back?"
me: "Actually, this is Michelle Ocampo and I was just calling to confirm A's appointment for her MATERNITY photo shoot, which now looks like is a newborn shoot!"
Mr. F: "HA! We were just talking about you!"

Needless to say, Little K just could not hold out 48 hours! He wanted to meet me that bad!! (okay, so let me flatter myself for a moment)

Actually, mom and dad were saying that when they knew she was in labor and that they would miss the maternity session, they went to my website and peeked at my maternity samples and did their own quick session!!! How much does that make me laugh...and it makes me feel good to know they thought that much of my work in a moment like that!!! And "A", I'm so sorry we missed out on the maternity session!

So, here is to you kiddo...

Notice dad's hospital band is still on!!! LOVE IT!
And can you see the heel prick?! Click on the images to enlarge if you'd like.
And just because I *love* this one!

Until next time...

m

*{My Addictions}*

I guess the first step is admitting your obsessions, and lately I have become a little too obsessed with some good 'ole TV shows. This writers strike is going to kill me! Seriously, give them a raise and give me my TV shows back!! Without the scripts, these shows are nothing!

My top three shows that I'm obsessed with...
3. The Hills...Okay, I know. Total teeny bopper show is what I first think. But it is addicting. Thanks "S" for making me hooked. However, Spencer just really gets on my nerves. I constantly have this going through my mind when I see him... (you gotta watch the link)!
Does that not have "issues" written all over it?! Sometimes I wonder if it's just for the cameras. And the whole show makes me so thankful I am not in the dating world anymore...let alone dating in L.A.

2. The Office...If you watch it, you know what I mean. I don't even know how the describe the humor, but it cracks me up! I sit there with a smile on my face watching it, just wondering what is going to come out of their mouths next. And Dwight just steals the show! Everyone needs a Dwight in the office!! Needless to say, a good laugh every Thursday night. However, I have a big problem with the whole Thursday night thing because of my favorite of all favorite shows...

1. Grey's Anatomy. My friend comes over every Thursday evening to watch this with me! Love it! And this season is better than last...last sort of disappointed me. But things are picking up. However, SERIOUSLY, MERIDETH GET OVER YOUR ISSUES AND HOLD ON TO YOUR MCDREAMY OR YOU'RE GOING TO BE MCHURTIN' WITHOUT HIM!

Ahhh, I feel much better now that I have spoken about my TV addictions. So there is a little piece of me!

And I have one other addiction, and that is photography. So here are a couple of pics from a recent newborn session! I love those little itsy bitsy newborns!

And on that note, I better run...Martha Stewart is playing on the TV in the background and she is making me feel really "not with it" as a woman. Seriously, how can one woman know so much about everything domestic?! I guess that means I should at least tackle the kitchen!!



Until next time...
m :)

*{Updates, Updates, Updates}*

Okay...I know I said a "November Special", but since I am such a nice person (and the fact that there are a few holiday orders left out there), I will honor the November Special in December.


So...drumroll please...


This means if you'd like to purchase an image to use for your personal Christmas cards (since the deadline has now passed for cards), you may purchase a single, full-quality JPEG image for $100. You may then take that image anywhere you want and print it on anything!


I just have a few more sessions to edit, and I will be up-to-speed again! PHEW! What a holiday season! Remember, sessions are now closed for 2007! But I am booking 2008! So don't delay...


And I know whenever I read the blogs that I stalk, I hate it when there is no picture...so here are a couple from a recent session!

Until next time...
m

*{Email Hocus Pocus}*

Unfortunately, it looks like I haven't been receiving all of my emails. So if you have tried emailing me and you have NOT gotten a response from me, please resend. I am very good about email and you will ALWAYS have a response within 24 hours. So I am sorry!! It makes me wonder where these have ended up???
m

*{Holiday Cards and Deadlines...}*

Yes, it is that time! Please have all orders placed by Dec 1st in order to ensure that it is delivered in time for Christmas. This includes your Couture Cards!

Here are the links from previous posts with my 2007 Couture Cards that are being offered this year...

Style 1

Styles 2 and 3

Styles 4 and 5

And there are only a few more days left for our November special...purchase one JPEG full quality image for $100 so you can print your own prints, cards, etc.!

And I think the photo above may just be a "Merry Christmas to Me" present...can't wait to order it as my new canvas!

m :)

*{Is it Spring Yet?}*

So most of you know, if I have a chance to shoot outdoors or indoors...I am *all* over shooting outdoors! So this morning it was not raining in the PNW (I know, shocking) so J.&.L and I took off into the great outdoors...and we were at the beach in whopping 33 degree weather! I know...we are nuts! But it was so worth it! Here is a peek for you and hope you both have defrosted by now! And for the record...I can't wait until we hit Spring. I don't function well under 40 degrees!

Welcome home J!

-m

*{The O(campo) List}*

Okay...I know I'm a far cry from Oprah, but if she can do it, why can't I! Now I won't be giving all these items away (reason I'm a far cry from Oprah) but if I had to pick some favorite items, here is a good start!

I'm lovin' the new Uggs, but you've gotta wear them crunched a bit! And this isn't for everyone, but for the little part of Hawaii in my heart, how unique are these Uggs! They have funky written all over them and I love that!

These camera straps are also fun and funky...are you seeing a trend with me!?!

And the must-have camera bag! LOVE IT! The Shootsac is so awesome to work with...and all the different covers...I'm in heaven!

And what woman doesn't want a Flawless Face?! This stuff is great! LOVE IT! And I'm dying to try this by Smashbox...they say it makes your skin like silk!

And who doesn't want to look *hot* while cooking?! I love these so much I couldn't pick one! However, I am *really* diggin' the Meyers, 3-D Toile, and the Winter Flora...and more! I could close my eyes and randomly point and love it! Seriously, anything from Anthropologie I could drool over!

And for all you military spouses out there...these bags are to die for (love the Stu bag)! LOVE THEM...and great quality. Worth every penny!

And I have been completely stalking Pottery Barn's website for these awesome plates to go on sale...wouldn't that look classic on china for Thanksgiving!?!

Okay...and the part of my heart that wants to live in Texas one day is *screaming* for these boots!!! Aren't they so classic and precious?! Thanks *S* for pointing them out to me!

For the weather freak in me! Love these weather stations!

And I've heard these work great on your jewelry!

Have fun shopping...I love black Friday...I seriously need to find someone to go out with me next year!! Ry, maybe we can get a babysitter and be geeks together out there at 3am!! :)

And this is your reminder...*now is NOT the time to delay on those photo orders!* Get them in pronto so they are ready in time for the holidays. Dec 1st is my last day to guarantee you will have them by Christmas (doesn't include canvases)!!

And don't forget the November special...purchase one JPEG image for $100 to print up all those Christmas card photos!!!

Until my next post...
m :)

*{Thankful...}*

Thank you for making me the happiest wife and mom...
I am so incredibly grateful for you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo
m

*{Little Charmer}*

Hey Mr. J...had fun with you! Here is your mommy's peek!!
And oh how I love the little piggies!!!

-m

*{How Sweet Love Is...}*

This was a fun session with B.&.A...

B is back here in WA for some well deserved time at home after serving in Iraq. B.&.A were so cute together...honestly, you could see the love just shining out of them!! You can tell they are on cloud nine to be together again! So here is a peek for you two of some sweet tender moments, and enjoy every day together!! This should be a reminder for all to grab your loved one and tell them how much you love them and how grateful you are to have them with you...many servicemen and women don't have that luxury right now.





Until Next Time...

-m

*{seriously...SERIOUSLY???}*

I just had to post this...as I'm flipping through my magazine tonight I saw an ad for this...

a *PRENATAL* Education System...ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Talk about pressure for that poor kid. "Hey kid...I know you are working on forming all your little parts in there, but in the meantime, you think you could learn a language or two?" Can you imagine the pressures placed on these poor kiddos that are apart of the Baby Plus program once they reach Kindergarten!! My mouth just literally dropped when I saw this...what is next?! Click the photo to enlarge and see the full ad! I'd love to know how many units they've actually sold!

I just had to share this with someone!!!

m

*{The Places You'll Go...}*

I just love this shot...(remember, you can always click on the photos to enlarge)...
And I know mom is in love with this!! What a big sister...

Enjoy your new little bundle of joy!

m

*{How Do You Pose A 3 Year Old and 1 Year Old Together For A Picture?}*

You don't...you just let them do their thing and you will come out with magic like this...


These two cuties reminded me why it is so fun to have two little girls!! I know there is something special about every combination of children...but having two little girls of my own, I saw something in Miss O.&.R that I see in my own girls. There was such a magical "best-friend" connection between the two! Thanks for a fun morning O.&.R...and you too mom!!

-m

*{One Little Turkey}*

Little Miss R was an absolute kick! And oh yeah, she loved hammin' it up for the camera! Enjoy the peek mom! And for all you photographers out there...absolutely no photoshop on those gorgeous blue eyes!! It's au natural baby!! Mr and Mrs G better get ready...those baby blues are gonna break some hearts!

Until next time...

m

*{Public Service Announcement}*

As the lights started flickering yesterday in the house while it was cold and windy out, it brought back many memories of a horrible accident that occured in our house last winter. You may follow the link here to see the article and click on the actual video to watch the newscast on our incident.

Please watch those gas fireplaces with your little ones and be very cautious when visitors come to your house and it is running. Hopefully if one person reading this didn't realize the danger from the heat of a gas fireplace and those little hands, it is worth the post.

Stay safe,
m

*{Golden Hour}*

This past week I had fun with little Miss M and Mr P...here are a couple peeks from our shoot during the "golden hour". The golden hour is that last hour before sunset when there are typically gorgeous golden rays.

And if you're wondering *why* I have a dumptruck in the background of Mr P's shot...well, let's put it this way, it is his little passion! Gotta love little boys! Your gallery will be up soon S.&.P!

Until next time...

m

*{November is "soled" out}*

Get it..."soled out" and the "soles" of your feet! It is my attempt to be creative (and yes, I am sometimes pretty corny)!

Anyways, just a note to let you know November is *completely* booked up. And December is *very* close to being booked. We are talking maybe just a couple sessions remain. And yes, I am already booking into January!

For those CA sessions...it looks like one time slot still remains! Let me know and I'll get you on the calendar!!

Until next time!
-m
***UPDATE: 2007 is sold out. I am currently booking for 2008 now!
Thanks for a wonderful year!!! :)

*{A Special Sneek Peek Just for you K.B.}*

Hope this brightens your day on the other side of the great big pond!!
-m

*{Have Your Cake and Eat it Too}*

Happy Belated Birthday "V"...ah, to be one year young! (By the way, this is why I love 1 year old birthday sessions...cake demolition!)

And just because these little toes of hers are just absolutely irresistable!!

Stay tuned...I am editing like a crazy woman so there will be more posts to come this week. It is officially holiday crunch time! LOVIN' IT!!!

Until next time...

m

*{Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus, Dashing Through the Snow...}*

AHHHHHHHH, what satisfaction it gave me to flip the calendar to November this morning...let me tell you! I just love this time of year! And someone has to train me as far as will-power goes with this stinking Halloween candy!!! Seriously, my kiddos are 4 and 2, how much candy do they need (the answer is somewhere close to zero)?! But somehow I ended up with a year supply of candy! And it is not that I herded them through the houses like cattle last night either!! We just did some homes around our street for maybe 30 minutes and called it a night. But it doesn't help when all of our kind neighbors saw the cute little Nemo's and dumped a huge handful of candy in their bags. I honestly think I will keep about 6 pieces per kid so they can have one a day for the next week and bag the rest up and send it to the troops! I have absolutely no will-power with that kind of stuff in the house, and I know my children don't need that much (I know I at least have our dentist on my side with this)!

Anyways, enough rambling about my lack of self-control (by the way, I can still taste the Snickers in my mouth from 30 minutes ago)! Lord help me!

Okay, so on to the Holiday announcement...I know a lot of clients are dying to get their hands on mulitple reprints of images from this past year. So for the month of November ONLY, you can purchase a single image for $100. I will email you the full quality JPEG file so you can print it as many times as your little heart desires. You can go anywhere you want with it and make t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, and prints for all those special people in your life! This is HUGE. And it is MUCH less expensive for you as the customer to purchase it this way, rather than ordering bulk 4x6's through me. This is so huge that I will only offer this during the month of November; during the rest of year, I never offer digital images for sale. So let me know and I can hook you up!

And so you can all get a peek of the fun we had last night, here is a photo of myself with the girls. The photo is compliments of our neighbor...thanks "m"! And don't knock my costume! I am an "Egyptian Goddess" (so the bag said)...it was seriously one of two things they had at WalMart for adults that was not scary or sluty! I did it for my kiddos...it made their night! And I think I get huge "mommy-points" for that because I sure didn't see many other parents dressed up!!

Until next time!
m

*{Love in the City}*

One word J.&.F...lookin' *haute*!! I am so excited because I got to run around downtown with my camera again today (have I mentioned I *love* urban sessions). And it is even more fun when you get to run around with people like J.&.F! Here is just a little tease for you...enjoy!!

And for a little announcement: I am now starting to offer 10x20 prints on select photos. For example, when I am proofing, I may see a photo that is just screaming "10x20" and in that case, I will put it in that format. And I have an example right below...check this one out...it adds such drama to make it a nice long print. I am very excited about this! It just has "art" written all over it!

Remember, you can always double click on the images below to make them larger for your viewing.

Thanks for the fun afternoon!

-m

*{Enjoying the Great Outdoors}*

The last couple of days I have tried to take advantage of the last bit of good weather up here in the PNW, and here is some proof of our fun! Thank goodness the weather has cooperated with us to get these fun sessions in. This is a sneek peek for a few of you all rolled into one! Once you're done reading my blog, get out there and enjoy this great weather! It was so gorgeous today that I loaded the kiddos up and took them to the park this afternoon after my sessions!

Let me give you the scoop on each...
My fun family of 5...and Mr. L, hope the Huskies won!


I asked who was the craziest kiddo in the family, and Miss M happily claimed the title!
Then onto the marina! How cool is this...shots on his sailboat...

Now this was from yesterday...and this was right before we got our great weather back. These kiddos did *terrific*! Did you know we did this session while it was 34 degrees outside and not one "peep" out of the kiddos! GOLD STARS FOR ALL OF YOU!!!!!! My fingers were numb afterwards!!

Until next time...

m :)

*{"Attention Shoppers"}*

Here are some cute little pumpkins that I got to chase around a farm yesterday! Can you say "cuties"?! Here is your sneek peek mom...and hope you're feeling better!

And as for the "Attention Shoppers" tagline...ALL YOU CALIFORNIANS ITCHING FOR A SESSION...keep paying attention to the blog. A special announcement is coming soon...regarding me, a camera, and taking photos of you and your little ones!

Heck, I am so bad at waiting for surprises...I'll just announce it now. On a first come-first serve basis, I will be offering limited sessions during the month of December. Contact me ASAP...space is limited! All sessions will take place in Old Town Temecula.

Until next time-

m

*{Please Pray}*

*For strength of the families going through such a loss.

*For physical and mental strength for all the firefighters, military personel, and other crews fighting these fires...when some have lost homes themselves.

*For the blessing of all the volunteers that have selflessly helped a stranger in a time of need.

Amen

*{And Some More Fun...}*

So first off, thank you to every single one of my clients! You all were so gracious and considerate while I took some good quality time with my family. I figured I'd throw up some photos of our fun out and about in great old Washington!

Yes, an umbrella for our little one. We can't have her getting rained on in the rainforest!!!

So we went out to the coast...now considering we are from CA, this has a whole new meaning to us. For all you Californians reading this...this is *not* like our version of the coast. It is *freezing* cold and we didn't see one person in the water! However, it is also stunning in it's own right. Just check it out!

Now this is spectacular. Ruby Beach...absolutely stunning. Thanks A&H for recommending this great beach! *gorgeous*
And a final sunset to finish our wonderful time together!
And we are back in the swing of things...so you will be hearing from me soon with all those pretty, pretty pictures packaged up and ready to be picked up!



Toodles,

-m

*{Just Because}*

Part 2 of our fun...

So this first one is of a tree that is the largest spruce tree in the world...in the rainforest near Lake Quinault. *HUGE*!

A precious father daughter moment...
Being a kid...what she loves best! Thank God for rainboots...they really got their use out of them.
Our little daredevil...

Enjoy!

M