Crave Portland

The kids and I did the Crave Portland fashion show the other week representing our friends at Fancy Pants Children's Boutique. It was hysterical and I had Shannon and Shyla there for moral support. The kids had a blast and they didn't get scared to go out on the runway, which was surprising. Shannon's little girl was there as well shining like a real rockstar and Shannon's good friend, Charity had her two beautiful little girls there as well. Fancy Pants made there presence known and I think it was a big hit. You have to go check out their store. Thanks to Deena and Ninette over at FP and to Shyla for being my extra hands! Thanks also to Shannon and Charity for filling in with their Super Models last minute.
3215 SE 192nd
Suite 100
Vancouver, Washington

Jamison was hammin' it up!
Nothing like a once in a lifetime chance to match your daughter on the runway:)

Simple things...

This was our trip to Sunriver a while back and I worked on a few that evoked emotion for me and my family. Dan and Tiana so graciously invited up to spend the weekend with them and it was so awesome. The kids couldn't get enough of the snow and we laughed the whole time we were there. O.k. so the kids weren't the only ones that couldn't get enough! Check out the rest of the shoot on my featured section of my website...the Happy Holidays feature.
We found some ice patches to drag the kids on.
Notice all their nervous little hands in this shot. Don't you remember sitting on Santa's lap and being so nervous because of all the anticipation of waiting to finally have a turn with him and then ask him for that year's desire:)
Jamie was awfully excited to see Rudolf in the middle of the hotel shop. I love the inquisitive finger touching the red nose!
No one made it past this slick spot without falling at least once. I really felt guilty about getting everything on camera and not helping....a little:) It was the funniest thing ever. Why is watching someone fall on ice so dang funny?

Amy Seely

I don't even know where to start with this girl. We met in San Diego and she was a surprise quest at the workshop that I went to and from the moment I heard her voice...she rocked my soul! Recently Shannon and I have got to spend more time with her and get to know her because she lives here. She has an amazing spirit to match her angelic voice and she makes me laugh! The other night we went to a friend's house and Amy played a couple jams for us and I get goose bumps every time. This obviously doesn't do her voice justice, but it was amazing nonetheless! This is one of her new songs that isn't even out on cd yet...so enjoy and you have to check out her music.

More snakes

More Snakes, please.

Shyla was the first brave soul to handle the snakes out of the photographers. She got a little nervous when the snake started hugging her a little too much!

The first brave soul out of anyone. Tanya's sister, Alisha was great handling the snakes.

Shannon was so excited about bonding with snake that she ended up taking this one home to the family:0 Totally kidding, she did hold one though...trooper.
The kids were so excited about this night and I think they had an amazing time. Tré was a little nervous but he got beyond his fears.

She looked so cool in ths shot above, I thought I would show her nervous shot as well. This was when the snakes first got there and they were a little chilly, so he was finding warmth around Shy's neck!

No explaining neccessary...

When I heard that a girl on my volleyball team wanted to get some more high fashion shots in her portfolio and that she wanted to set up a snake shoot. I was all over her like flies on paper:) This is not what I typically shoot, and that's why it was such a blast. Or maybe it was because I was with the two greatest people Shannon and Shyla! You have to check out their shots as well. I always learn the most from these types of shoots. They make me think outside of my box and to take risk. Although Chris and Xeike said there was no risk, their disclaimer said injuries could result in death....please sign here. They were amazing with their pets and they were very knowledgeable and they were great with the education of the species. Thank you to all that were a part of this shoot...especially our killer model, Tanya. Her make-up artist was a doll and her sister was a huge help. Here's to thinking outside your box and conquering fears (S:) Check out the rest of the shots in my featured section on the site!

Coming Soon!

I know it's going to be tough to wait for...but, wait until you see this shoot. I don't know how long you'll have to wait...don't ask:) It will be worth it though. Heaven's Eye just got a lot more comfortable with the reptile species!
This was early before the shoot started so I was still sweating behind the camera when the kids got this close to the snakes. The handlers were amazing and I will post a lot more about them and the shoot. Thanks for the awesome night girls...especially Tanya. Thanks for trusting me with this shoot! You were just incredible to work with!

Row Row Row your boat

I have had my eye on this boat for about a year now. When I get a concept in my mind, it doesn't rest until I play that scene out! Every time I would drive past this house with the boat on my way to see my sister, I would envision the kids in it. These two were perfect because of their super-sized, blue eyeballs! Well, I finally got the shoot and although it wasn't exactly what was in my head, I think I am able to let it go now. The only stinker is that in doing this shoot, we ran into an old run down tennis court. I have had an idea that involved a tennis net and kids, but it wasn't on my life list yes because I didn't have the location picked out. I'm sure you'll be the first to see if that one ever plays out, but just know I will be thinking about it until it happens. I have the location, models in mind, and now I just need the stars to align:)
P.S These are looking quite desaturated on this post. These are much brighter blue than this show...just incase you cared:)

Mac Daddy

This is soulfood for me.  I just met Mac at a photographer's get together and he and Kristy were just what the doctor ordered!  I was just showing them how to use studio lights and I never thought I would get this kind of show in return.  Mac you are hysterical.  If you don't already know these people then you're missing the boat  They were just great folks to hang out with and I thank them for such fun memories.  Everyone needs more people like this in their life.  Does anyone know which famous photographer's laugh is in the background?  

Play Date!

I know you all haven't seen this little guy in quite a while.  Man probably haven't seen him since he got all of his curls cut off. I had a few photographers come into town recently and we got to have a little playdate in the studio.  I just happened to have the perfect model here at the house to pose for us.  There is nothing better than being able to call your friends over and ask if they want to dink around and play together.  Life is good.  K

He loves it, he loves it not

The is 'B' and if you remember correctly I put a lot of yawning pictures up of him a while back. Well, this is him, not yawning and looking like a stud. We got a lot of variety even though he didn't like having to change so many times. You can't get the senior girls to stop changing into their whole wardrobe they bring. Senior boys only change because their moms are forcing them. Thanks you Mom for being so awesome on this shoot and for raising such a sweet guy. You guys were great!


This was the very first shot we took. I was driving down to our first location and looked in my rear view mirror at all the fog...to die for. He thought I was crazy for making him jump into the middle of the road. Craziness pays off sometimes. We got a couple more really cool ones out of this location.

Who we attract...

The journey to wholeness requires that you look honestly, openly and with courage into yourself, into the dynamics that lie behind what you feel, what you perceive, what you value, and how you act. It is a journey through your defenses and beyond so that you can experience consciously the nature of your personality, face what it has produced in your life, and choose to change that.
Whether you explain it with the saying, Opposites attract or Like draws like, there is something mystical about the way we attract people into our lives. There is a divine setup working that ensures we attract the people who will cause us to take a deeper look at ourselves. The people we are attracted to and who are attracted to us are the ones who volunteer to help us heal our unseen wounds.
I love everything about these quotes from Gary Zukav, and they especially make me thing of someone in my life.

As many of you know this girl means the world to me. It becomes more and more clear why we drawn into each other's lives (and maybe even more confusing as we try to define it). She makes me want to be a better person, photographer, mother, and most importantly, a better friend. I have learned so much from having her in my life and I treasure every piece of it. The picture above is a picture that I took at Jesh's workshop that I thought was ironic because I put a nice label on her as being a "closed book". The picture below was a self portrait that blows my label away and opened my eyes a bit more to who she is without the labels from me. It says she's strong (clearly indicated by her huge bicep) and in fact, open...yet guarded. She is Shannon...no labels...no perceptions...just Shannon. Love ya. Thank you for your friendship and for being "my mirror" last night.
Don't you just love the "ideal communication" sign above your head. We weren't allowed to talk at all during this shoot, but we found ideal communication anyway:)

Just thought I would add one more because she's so hot.

SAMEUNDERNEATH

When Jake and I were out shopping we met the owner and creator of this amazing clothing line, Sameunderneath. You have to check out his site and read about his mission. He is full of passion, drive, and his clothes are so damn soft. It was really great to hear him tell his story and be able to see ourselves in his shoes. We are still truckin' along with Deep3 and our story is very similar. We believe so much in Deep3 and the message of "living life beyond..." we know it will take off one of these days when Jake can put his whole heart into it. I don't usually buy gear that screams logos like this, but I really believe in what this clothing line is all about. This is a limited edition hoodie that Ryan designed for Portland, that I fell in love with. You have to go check out his line at the store on NW 23rd.
I forgot to mention that I topped my lovely weekend off with a family shoot that I have wanted to do for quite a while. The kids got to be the photographers and we all got to be the silliest people that we could muster. Jake and I always make fun of each other's fingers when we dance. I snap a lot, so he says it looks like I dance with my thumbs in the air...whatever! His dance that I captured made the cut for a canvas in the house and Christmas card fun, so I can't show it yet. I'd say that we might both want to be a little more conscience of our extremities in our dancing future:)
Tré took this shot. He is all about direction. There were many times that he was so caught up giving us directions that he would miss the shot. Clearly, Jalena has been taking notes from watching me, because she is an Over-Shooter. The lights couldn't even recycle fast enough when she was shooting. This was Jake and I waiting for Tré to get the kiss...clearly he missed the romantic kiss that was right before this one:)