 Great news! Distribution for Equus Rising has expanded, which means you can purchase it just about anywhere books are sold.
If you’d like to stay home, you can now support your local book shop by buying copies through these websites: Many indie stores are also offering curbside pick-up. Just call ahead and ask them to order the book for you. If you enjoy the Equus Rising, please consider leaving a brief, written and starred review on Goodreads and the website where you purchased the book. Reviews greatly help the book’s visibility for future readers. Thank you!
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 I'm pleased to announce the addition of two new photography collections in my shop: Wild Horses of the Outer Banks and Wild Horses of the Pryor Mountains. Click here to view both series and place orders for prints and canvases. Drop me a line if you'd like to order custom products with these images. I'll continue to add small, themed collections to the shop throughout 2020, so please check back or send requests for the type of work you'd like to see. P.S. Don't forget to check out my introductory photography curriculum, which is 15% off through 12/8/19. The price is already marked down for the paperback version on Amazon. To receive the discount on the digital version, enter CYBER2019 at checkout on my website. Happy snapping!           It's done! It's done! Earlier this year, my sister, Mari Melby, asked me to design a printable planner with her. It's been a labor of love...and of fancy pens drying out and printers gone awry, but The Intention-Based Planner officially launches today! You can find it here, just in time to treat yourself and your loved ones to a new year of more intentional living. Plus it's on sale through the end of December. Here are the details:
The idea for The Intention-Based Planner grew out of our desperate desire to simplify, focus, and live more intentionally. We were finding ourselves playing constant defense against a barrage of tasks and commitments—never ahead of the game, never feeling in control of our time. We were furiously scribbling post-it notes and sticking them to every surface as reminders, to-dos, and brainstorms, only to lose track of them and the information they contained. We were juggling life and work ineffectively, and our commitments were draining our energy instead of replenishing it. So we set out to design a planner that would help us stop needing to perform logistical miracles with our time and start living with more intention—start saying no, start reducing energy-draining elements, start making more room for the aspects of life that energize us. What we call a planner is actually part planner; part journal; and part log of events, projects, and travel. Despite technological advances, we still remember things best when we physically write them out and can flip back and forth between paper pages instead of scrolling down a screen. So we knew we wanted a printable planner and modeled it after the popular bullet journal (but for people who aren’t looking to design and draw every page on their own). The planner incorporates both hand-drawn and digital elements, leaving plenty of bulleted blank space for you to write or sketch ideas. We recommend printing the main planner double-sided. You may prefer to print the project planner, travel planner, and task list single-sided, as needed. Use a 3-ring binder with dividers to separate the sections. The Intention-Based Planner The intention-setting and reflection prompts occur annually and seasonally. You’ll find these pages interspersed with the monthly and weekly calendar pages. Take a few minutes at the beginning of each season to record your intentions, then try to organize the season around them. Be sure to take time at the end of each of season to reflect on what helped or hindered you from in living your intentions.
Project Planner Use this element to record ideas for any type of project: a room you want to renovate, an essay you plan to write, an event you’re throwing. Jot it down and keep all your ideas in one place. No more lost sticky notes! Travel Planner Keeping an organized record of travel goals, to-dos, itineraries, and packing lists not only makes trips run more smoothly but also simplifies future expeditions. Don’t throw out your packing lists! Just amend them for your next adventure. The travel planner includes:
Task List Instead of scribbling notes to yourself around the house, keep a running master task list in one place. We hope The Intention-Based Planner will help you live your best life—one with more intention, focus, and energy. Best wishes, Mari & Julia P.S. You can snag your planner here.  Friends, if you've stopped by the Calm Cradle Photo & Design website this summer, you may have noticed some changes. Big ones. New look, new logo, new content. I've been working on rebranding as a lifestyle photography business, and I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement as the new site officially launches today. Please take a look around!
Lifestyle photography Let's talk about lifestyle photography. What is it? Well it's what I've been offering clients all along, but I'm finally confident enough to declare it as my own. Lifestyle photography is about storytelling. It combines fine arts and documentary styles to capture authentic moments, relationships and sense of place. You can read more about my definition here. My goal is to offer clients a meaningful collection of high-quality images that reflects who they are—not just 15 minutes of awkward posing in an insignificant location. I want clients to look back at their photos years later and feel that the images still ring true, that they still have the power to bring back memories of the crazy anticipation of that first baby, their newborn curled up sleeping in his nursery or their daughter's determination to climb that wall 10 times per visit to the playground. These sessions don't have to be complicated to plan or intense to undertake. I'll help you select a location or activity that means something to your family and also works photographically. Bookings Sound like something you're interested in? Contact me to book your customized lifestyle session. I'll be scheduling a very limited number of sessions this fall, so grab a spot on my calendar as soon as possible. Book before Sept. 15, 2016, to receive 10% off your session fee. Since lifestyle photography doesn't lend well to mini sessions, I won't be offering them this year. They're often a portrait photographer's bread and butter, but I'm going to try to focus on high-quality, personalized sessions over quantity right now. We'll see where it takes me. What's new on the site I'd love to draw your attention to some of the updated pages, including: Expanded portfolios: Newborn & maternity, Baby & child, and Family & engagement What is lifestyle photography Session info Investment About Nature & landscape work When I started this business in 2012, I offered a mix of nature & landscape photography, as well as children's photography. While nature and landscape are my first loves, I've realized over the years that it's too time consuming to constantly post updated work. Most of my sales in this area actually come from people seeing my photography on this blog or my Instagram feed and emailing me to place custom orders. I'll continue to offer this type of photography for purchase, but I've removed the pages from the site to focus the Calm Cradle Photo & Design brand on lifestyle photography. Just shoot me an email any time you'd like to purchase my landscape & nature work. Blog This blog will remain largely the same. While it's not the most focused blog, it's a place for me to document my own story in a variety of ways. One change has already taken root, however. This summer I launched a new series: Pittsboro-Chapel Hill Outdoors. Now that we're settled into a home we hope to live in indefinitely, we feel invested in this town and would like to find more ways to connect and create community. My goal for this series is to offer something our community currently lacks: an online resource for family-friendly outdoor activities. I hope it's something you'll find useful as a neighbor or visitor to this wonderful place. If you've made it this far: THANK YOU! I'm thrilled to refresh and refocus Calm Cradle Photo & Design and appreciate your support and readership. Enjoy these last precious days of summer. (Just don't ask me about kindergarten. I can't even.) Hope to see you this fall!  It's been quite a while since I've added new designs to my little collection over on Spoonflower, but a few weeks ago, a client contacted me from New Zealand requesting a warm white version of the Mountain Play design to use as wallpaper. A swatch of the new color (above) just arrived, and I love it! You can find it here as fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap. The design is also available in robin's egg:  And custard:  Enjoy! I'd love to see a photo if you make something with one of my designs.
Click here for more fabric designs by Calm Cradle Photo & Design.  Spring at last! (For those of us in the South, anyway.) As I'm preparing my spring and summer calendar, I wanted to let you know that I'm now offering digital packages for portrait sessions, which include the session fee as well as a pre-selected number of professionally edited digital images. Because clients select the number of images they would like edited upfront, these packages save clients money by reducing the time I spend editing each session.
Package pricing ranges from $175 for a mini session on a designated “mini day” to $1,375 for a multi-session package (such as maternity, newborn and 1-year-old). Drop me a line to price the session you have in mind. You can find more details on session packages here. And speaking of mini sessions, I'm going to try to schedule a spring mini day or two in late April or May. If you might be interested, please let me know which weekend days could work for you before I commit to dates. BOOK YOUR SPRING OR SUMMER SESSION BEFORE APRIL 20 AND RECEIVE 10% OFF THE PACKAGE PRICE. Just mention this post. Can't wait to see you and your little ones! 
Oh, those eyes! I had a late summer session at the Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh a few weeks ago with this little guy and his family. We had so much fun capturing his brand-new sitting skills. Here are a few of my favorite images from that morning. Care to join me for a session at the arboretum or another location of your choice around the Triangle this fall? It may still be 85 degrees here, but it's already time to start thinking about getting photos for your holiday cards. I still have a few openings for mini sessions on October 11 at the arboretum. You can find more information about the minis here. Please book soon, as space is limited. I also have some availability for full sessions this fall. You can find more information here. Send me a note to book. Want to see more of my work? Check out my portrait portfolio and the portrait section of my blog. Hope to work with you this fall! 
We woke up this morning to school buses zooming through the neighborhood. It's the first week of school for most kids in our area, which means...my favorite season has arrived! Ladies and gentlemen, it's officially time to think about fall portraits. I am now booking full sessions throughout the fall, as well as one day of mini sessions.
Mini sessions will be held Saturday, October 11, at one of my favorite local spots: the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. These sessions offer a cost-effective way to capture portraits of your family for holiday cards and gifts, and are also perfect for commemorating birthdays and other milestones, or taking outdoor headshots. The details: Saturday, October 11, 2014 JC Raulston Arboretum Raleigh, NC Investment: $175 Includes: 25-minute session Online viewing gallery of 7-10 professionally edited images 5 professionally edited digital images (with print release) 20% off additional la carte products (artwork and digital images) Rain date: October 12 (Overcast conditions and even a few sprinkles are just fine, but please reserve this day in case it's pouring rain or storming on the 11th.) You can find more information on full family, newborn and maternity sessions here. To schedule, email julia@calmcradle.com or call 919.996.9407. Full payment and signed contract are due at booking. Appointments are limited, so please book early. To view more of my work, check out my portfolio here, as well as portraiture blog posts here. Hope to see you this fall! 
Help! I'm in the middle of one of those drowning-in-content-but-no-time-to-post stretches. Between travel, house guests, photo sessions, home projects and wanting to play outside every possible second, time seems to be evaporating even more quickly than usual. One day I'll catch up...or not.
In the meantime, you can join me on Instagram @jsoplop. I've been posting there quite a bit this winter and spring, and you'll find a lot of images that don't make it to the blog. When I get back to work here on the blog over the next few weeks, you can expect posts on: a DIY headboard made from upcycled picture frames, trips to Florida and Asheville, portrait sessions and a few new photo products I'm obsessing over. Happy spring! Above: Fringed tulip at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. 
Don't forget to book your spring mini session! I have a few spots left.
Please join me at one of my favorite local spots: the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. Mini sessions offer a cost-effective way to capture mid-year photographs of your family. Plus they're really fun! Here are a few reasons it's time to get in front of the camera: Birthdays or other milestones Gifts for family and friends Seasonal/Easter portraits Outdoor headshots The details: Saturday, April 26, 2014 JC Raulston Arboretum Raleigh, NC Investment: $175 Includes: 25-minute session Online viewing gallery of 7-10 professionally edited images 5 professionally edited digital images (with print release) 20% off additional la carte products (artwork and digital images) Rain date: April 27 (Overcast conditions and even a few sprinkles are just fine, but please reserve this day in case it's pouring rain or storming on the 26th.) To schedule, email julia@calmcradle.com or call 919.996.9407. Full payment and signed contract are due at booking. Appointments are limited, so please book early. To view more of my work, check out my portfolio here, as well as portraiture blog posts here. Hope to see you in April! |
My new book is out! Click to learn more about it.
Hello there
I'm Julia Soplop, writer and photographer. I believe there is something profound in bearing witness to moments of joy and pain in others’ lives. My husband, three girls and I live outside of Chapel Hill, NC. You can read more about me here.
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