sara montour photography

niles + annie + eloise

sara — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:01:00 +0000

It’s crazy how much changes in 6 months!

Have you booked your session yet? Why not, silly? Contact me!

sam + emily + sabina

sara — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:17:33 +0000

the homeland · via instagram

sara — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:41:54 +0000

I spent that past week and a half up in my hometown of Pequot Lakes helping my mom, brothers, and sister move out of their house. It was a little overwhelming and stressful for all of us, but I’m so glad that we were all there to do it together (minus Dylan, who is up in Winnipeg). On most days we had a small army of people helping and it meant the world to all of us, especially my mom, that so many people took time out to lend a hand.

I’m excited for this move for them; it’s going to be a great fresh start in so many ways and I can’t wait to create new memories in a new place.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of fresh starts. For better or worse.

It’s also no secret that I’m in love with instagram and documenting life on my iPhone, so I made a little collage of my homeland adventures including: the move (sometimes in the pouring rain), a flat tire (also, the baldest tire you’ve ever seen. OOPS.), some found treasures that I found while packing, an unexpected snow fall and then snow melt, the tiniest turtle, and more.

I love you, my amazing family. xo. Also, a special shout out to my little sister, Kaitlyn, on her 17th birthday. I adore you and your amazing spirit and can’t wait to see what creative adventures life brings your way. Or, probably more accurately, you brings life’s way.

May 6th · Spring Mini Sessions!

sara — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:26:54 +0000

I’m so excited to announce the 2012 Spring Mini Sessions!

Mini sessions are an awesome way to get affordable updated photos and it’s a fun way to kick off the spring. We’ve been gifted an absolutely amazing spring here in Minnesota, so we might as well take advantage of it, right?

Here’s the 411!

Is 15 minutes enough time?
Heck yes! I’ve been challenging myself to doing 10-minute photo sessions lately and it’s amazing how many great moments can happen in that short amount of time. These shorter sessions are great for headshots, updated photos for children + newborns + maternity, high school senior portraits, etc.

Can I have more than one person?
Because of the limited time I’m going to be focusing on one person per 15 minute session. If you’d like to have more than one person I’d recommend either booking multiple time slots (if you let me know ASAP I can try to schedule them back-to-back) or booking a full photo session with me which is $250 for 1-2 hours.

How do we book!?
Shoot me an email at sara@saramontour.com or fill out the contact form here · I’ll let you know what times are available and send you all of the info. As soon as your session fee is paid, you’re all set!

Because of the limited sessions available all session fees are nonrefundable.

(Psst! Mother’s Day is conveniently the next weekend; this would be a pretty rad gift, no?)

unsettled

sara — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:54:29 +0000

I feel like I’ve been sick a million times this winter. It’s been weighing on me pretty heavy and piling a mountain of stress on top of the already-existant previous mountains o’ stress. The combination of feeling the need to do a million things all RIGHTTHISSECOND and then the need to listen to my body and CHILLTHEEFFOUT so it can heal. Balance, right? Still absolutely struggling with balance in every aspect of my life and this blog post is just going to be the written admission of it so when I finally figure it out I can link back and say “ha! At least I got out of THAT place!” (this place)

Currently: unsettled and discontent.

Also, currently: hopeful, optimistic, and continually savoring the tiny little moments that make me smile from the inside out. (not to be forgotten: those moments are the reason that I’m a photographer)

Soon: more settled, more content, but still always fighting for more.

sabina · one frame

sara — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:50:06 +0000

garden update

sara — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:56:52 +0000

I thought I’d do a little update on the plants that I’ve been growing for the past couple of months. I started the seeds and have been keeping them under just regular 100-watt equivalent CFL bulbs for about 12 hours a day. For the most part they’ve been super happy and it’s been a pretty easy, and awesome, process.

I took all of these photos last weekend, on the 25th, and a bunch of these are already significantly bigger. It’s crazy how fast they grow and how much a little bit of time on the roof in full sun helps. (I live in a 3rd floor apartment and will be planting everything in containers on my roof/fire escape.)

On to the plants!

eggplant
plant date | 2/12

I was planning on planting some more since only one seed germinated, but I think I’m going to stick with just this one for now.

kale
plant date | 2/26

beets
plant date | 3/19

These are at least twice as big now. I planted an early variety and a gourmet variety, and am going to keep planting every few weeks. I also think that I’m going to end up planting these in bags on my roof. Getting creative with the apartment garden.

carrots
plant date | 3/19

Two varieties of these, too. One baby and one carnival blend. Also planning on growing these in bags.

Squash varieties
plant date | 3/19

Acorn Squash, Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, and Watermelon. I also planted some Spaghetti Squash. I’m hoping I can keep all of these far enough apart that they don’t cross.

On to the peppers! They’re probably my favorite to grow.

Santaka Pepper
plant date | 2/12

I’m excited about these, and planted more last week. They’re the hottest of the peppers that I’m growing.

Sweet Bell Pepper
plant date | 2/4

Planted more of these after I realized I only had one.

Cayenne Pepper
plant date | 2/4

The Cayenne Peppers have been loving life so far and I just spotted flower buds on 3 of them!

THIS is a mystery seed that came in the Cayenne Pepper packet. Clearly not a pepper. Any ideas??

Brussel Sprouts
plant date | 2/12

Romanesco Broccoli
plant date | 2/12

I haven’t had great luck with broccoli in the past and wasn’t even planning on planting any this year, but I saw the Romanesco seeds and decided to try it out.

Brandywine Tomato
plant date | 2/12

I’m glad I decided to take pictures of everything because it forced me to separate all of the plants and made me realize that I only had one Brandywine plant.

Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes
plant date | 2/12

Cherokee Tomatoes
plant date | 2/4 + 2/26

Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes
plant date | 2/4 + 2/26

And that’s that for now. I also planted a bunch of herbs and am planning on adding some potatoes into the mix along with several other things, but that’s what I currently have started + taking over my apartment. I’ve been posting updates on Instagram (@saramontour) pretty frequently if you want to follow this little urban gardening adventure over there.

road trip to fargo

sara — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:50:34 +0000

This past year has been pretty overwhelming for me and because of that lately I’ve been making a pretty big conscious effort to spend more time with people that build me up and less time with people that break me down. I spent this weekend with a whole bunch of people in the former category and it was so great. These friends are lasting and incredible and it’s so fun to be back in Minnesota, living life together. There are now 2 adorable little babes in this crew and it’s adding such a fun dimension to our time together.

Love. You. All. <3

look to the sky

sara — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:58:13 +0000

somewhere in between fargo, nd & minneapolis, mn
print available

get gone

sara — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:25:52 +0000

This fall I did a quick shoot for local band Get Gone in anticipation of their new album, Dogs In The Woods. The album has been recorded and now they’re asking for a little help to get it pressed onto everyone’s favorite format: vinyl.

Check out their kickstarter video below, and then head to their project page to throw a couple bucks their way and preorder the album.