Heather Prather Photography

A little while ago I got a call from a friend of mine  – he had a really cool cover story the Erie Reader was doing and he wanted me to photograph it. One small thing, the event’s in 2 days. Well, I do have some commitments that day – what’s the story?

Roller Derby.

Roller Derby?! For real? Let me move some things around…

And so I got to cover the Roller Derby. The night of the Zombie Brawl – are you kidding me? Who gets to do this?  And I met the writer – Jay Stevens – a super cool guy besides a really talented writer. Pick up the Erie Reader and check out his story (and some of the photos I took that night).  If that doesn’t quench your thirst for thrill, here are some more shots of these rad ladies getting their derby on.

I did some really wonderful sessions last summer, and much to my chagrin, I was remiss with blog posts. This one in particular though, I have to re-visit. Aside from the fact that this child is beautiful (and comes from an entire family of beauties) her mom has a special spot in my heart. She was my first real client. She thought I was good at this before I did and she played a large part in convincing me that I could make a go of it. I’m not even sure if she knows that… but I am very grateful. She also brought me 3 of the most stunning children to photograph – icing on the cake.

Thanks, Lynn – for everything.

I recently had the pleasure of photographing this adorable couple for their maternity session. The baby is due in June and I *can’t wait* for that session. I love babies – especially newborns and to add to my excitement, I will have the privilege to capture their little bundle’s first year – they have chosen to subscribe to the bella BEBE portrait plan. If you don’t already know, you can find out all about it here.  This session was a lot of fun for me, Nicole and Steve are wonderful to work with and I’m very much looking forward to capturing all the preciousness of their baby this year. But before there will be 3, there are 2 – and here are some of my favorits.

This has been a very exciting week for me. I was asked to photograph the first babies born at the new Hamot Women’s Hospital - truely an honor! And even more exciting is that my images will be used in the ourdoor campaign, which means… Billboards!

I started on Monday with the very first baby born - an adorable little girl, and worked through Wednesday photographing the next 10. I love to photograph newborns, so this was an extra treat for me – these were NEWborns. And the new hospital – gorgeous doesn’t do it justice. It really is something. Needless to say, I was living the dream. 

Thursday morning was a rough one for me – it started with a call to AAA for a dead battery and meant being a half hour late for everything after that. So finally after dropping my daughter off at school, on my way back to Erie at about the 26th St. exit, I see it – the Billboard!! My photograph way up there, larger than life! So Thursday turned out to be a good day.

I just want to say that I have followed the Hamot Women’s Hospital campaign from the beginning and have really been impressed. I love the concept, the artwork, and the language used – I really have enjoyed it. For those who don’t know, Tungsten Creative Group are the clever people behind it and I was absolutely delighted to be able to play a small role.

So… here is the image of the first pretty little girl born at Hamot Women’s Hospital

and here is the billboard on I79 at the 26th St exit

Excellent way to begin 2011 – Happy New Year, everyone!

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by a client of mine to photograph a family for a non profit organization that she is volunteering with. The Hero Program provides financial, educational, and emotional support to terminally ill children and their families. I was honored to be asked and wanted to do anything I could to help - and so, a portrait session for the Clear family was arranged.

I have always recognized the importance of photography, and take the responsibility of preserving memories quite literally to heart. But the oportunity to do this session for this family gave my job a new depth of meaning. I hope the Clear Family enjoy their images for years to come, and just as much, I hope they know what it has meant to me to be able to do this for them.

Here are just a few of my favorites from their session.

Please consider donating to this incredible program, thanks.