Too Many Gun Deaths

As many of you know I have been a part of an amazing journey with my dear friend Heidi Yewman. She is writing an incredible book I have spoken of before about gun deaths. You have to go check out her site. I know that this is a highly debated topic and this book isn't pro or anti gun. Heidi always likes to say that she is "anti-people dying from guns". We had the pleasure of interviewing a man that lost his son in the Columbine Masacre. His story was the first that Heidi ever told me about and in an instant I got a vision of a picture for the book. Although this isn't the image that we will probably be used in the book I still wanted to share it. This amazing man is a advocate against guns and he speaks on many occasions, sharing his loss with the world....all the while wearing his son's shoes that he was wearing when he was murdered. Intense, right? Well, this image for me is intense as well. His son's spirit is with him everytime he speaks and it was interesting how there is a reflection behind him.....Hearing just one of these stories is going to change the way you view guns and I thank the 19 brave people that have shared a glimpse into their painfully shattered lives to bring awareness to the rest of us. There loved one's spirits live on and these stories matter...we will never forget.....
Just a quick poem that came to me as I was working on these photos.....
If Shoes could talk...
I'm proud of every step that you've taken in my shoes. I thank you for continuing my journey that was laid out before me. No one else could wear the heaviness of these shoes. I admire your strength, courage and determination. Your shoes always seemed so large to fill, but look, we're exactly the same size now.

The Love you Make

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" As many of you know, my Dad doesn't have the best health these days and he has had a VERY rough year to say the least. We went up to Seattle this last weekend to be with him on his 70th birthday. He is recovering from yet another surgery and this time he has lost use of both arms. We are hoping that he gets use back in his right one when it heals. I saw the most beautiful moment this weekend. My Mom and Dad are about to celebrate their 50th anniversary this summer (I think). I know these are suppose to be the "Golden Years" for them, but I would dare to say that they aren't exactly celebrating. Watching my Mom feed my Dad and my Dad get frustrated with having to take so many pills and to deal with the pain. To them it may not seem like a time to celebrate...to me though...I am celebrating their love. They have given and taken so much from each other over the years and their love continues to grow. How lucky are they to have each other to lean on in the worst of times and to hold each other as the experience the best of times. I pray daily that God gives them strength during these difficult times, but I also thank Him that they have each other and that we have an amazing example of love to model ourselves after. They are two of the most beautiful people in my life and I love them with every ounce of my heart. Emotions runneth over and I wish we could all be together as a family to laugh away all the bruises on our hearts:(

In Love

"You will find as you look back on your life that the moments that stand above everything else are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love." Henry Drummond
I guess that's why I love photography so much. Each shoot is done out of love and passion for life and the photos help me remember the moments that stand out the most to me. It's interesting that this is the image that my children will remember most about me....a camera always in their picture:)
I was sitting here going through my quote book about passion and I wanted to write something about sharing my enthusiasm...well, low and behold, I found a quote from another great mind (comparable to mine) from Mr. Bill Gates:) "What I do best is share my enthusiasm." How is that for taking the words right out of my mouth! Here's to spreading the enthusiastic word and finding that passion in your life, or appreciating the passion you have already found.

Self Expression

When I was a little girl I remember begging my mom for the latest trends for hair. She let me highlight, perm (why?), and even cut really short. Well, why was it so hard to let my daughter cut her hair. I knew it would make her look older and I also knew that it was her wanting to express herself. I knew I needed to let her do it, but that didn't make it any easier. It's a day I won't ever forget:) It was Mom's day at school so we got to snuggle and sing songs together, all the while glowing because she was proud to have me with her (best feeling in the world!)
Then it was off to the hair salon to gussy up! She had trouble sleeping the night before. She had an excited giggle going all morning and she could hardly stand another second until she got to get her hair chopped off. There is something about the picture below that says it all for me. There is something in her eyes that is telling me that it's time to start letting her grow up and that it is going to be o.k. but not easy. I am totally tearing up even as I write this!
And the first cut! I think it was about 6 or 7 inches!
Once she saw the first cut, there was a perma grin on her face that could light up any room. She was so excited and proud:) This takes me right back to the moment I got my ears pierced. I wonder when and if we get this same feeling as adults?
Still giggling...thinking about showing Daddy and the boys at home. She said that Tré was going to love it, but that he was going to be shocked.
Are you dying! So old, I know.

The best moment was when she got home and she couldn't stop staring at herself in the mirror and she says to me, "Mom, I just feel so cute!" I probably got a little too deep when I replied with, "remember that feeling Lou, remember that it is all about how you feel on the inside and that you are so beautiful because you are you." I also thought it was a bit dramatic with the tears but I couldn't help it. She just giggled and bounced across the room swishing her hair back and forth. Oh, what a day!

I am a Rockstar

I didn't want to wait for someone else to proclaim I was a rockstar so I went ahead and bestowed the title on myself. This man below (Billy Hawn aka Ricardo) recently gave Shannon and I the opportunity to peer into his rockstar life. What that meant to me was that I wanted to take the opportunity to tell his story for one night. My job was going to be trying to define this one night in Portland to be different from every other stop he was going to embark on while on the road. You see this is exactly what I needed to complete my theories on the "Rolling Stone" way of shooting. You know before when I said I wanted to shoot like Annie L. did while she would tour with bands (Keeping it Real). Well, little did Annie know...if she would have been a little more cool she wouldn't have had to tour with them for months and years to get the real story:) I was able to get to know both Billy and Jason in a blink of an eye and I a happy to call them friends. Chew on that Annie;) For real....Thank you to you Billy for letting me peer into your window of life for a moment and for making me laugh so damn hard. The passion that is within you is contagious and your smile can light up any soul.
This is the effect I have on many of my clients....sometimes I make them want to just bang their foreheads. I love to capture emotion though.....and that's emotion:)
The 70's green room....This is Billy in h

Jason, posing for Shannon and Billy (rockstar turned photographer...see anyone can do it:)Shannon helped with the scary lighting on this crazy little inside joke/prop that the boys picked up at a thrift shop. They get a little lonely on the road and need a little female presence.
Probably the most beautiful song preformed that night. Amazing!
Loved watching all the girls swoon over the boys. I' sure that if I wasn't hiding behind the camera the whole night, distracted, that I would have been gazing as well.
There couldn't be swooning without love notes:)
Thanks again to Billy Hawn and Jason Reeves for a spectacular night and fun times. You guys are a class act. Check out the rest of their in my proofing section...password...hawn.

Big Shoes to fill

I have decided to devote today's post to my Mom because I don't need a special day to think about how amazing she is. There is no humanly way to put into words everything that I want to say about her. She was, is and alway will be my hero...my mentor...and the person I most look up to. I thought that I always appreciated her and thought she was pretty great my whole life....but I didn't get 'it' until I became a mom myself! I will always look at her path as the yellow brick road! In my mind it is plated in gold and it shimmers in the sunlight. I jump on it for a moment and I realize that they are the biggest pair of shoes I have ever jumped into. I take what I can off of that path and I jump back onto my own. I can't stay on it long because if I were to try my whole life to live up to her legend in my mind, I would never measure up. She is the most humble woman and she is going to not believe that these words are about her because in our own minds it is hard to see ourselves in this light. But I know that all my brothers and sister think she is a Saint and she in nothing short of 'perfect' in my mind. I love you with all my heart Marsh and I am so thankful that God chose me for you. Thank you for showing me a beautiful soul, a gracious heart and a humble mind to model myself after. I have to practice more, but I am getting there:) I think of you everyday and wish that I could be closer. I Love You! Thank You for all that you do.

I'm with the BAND!

I had the beautiful opportunity to work with a couple a few years ago and they have since, become good friends of ours. Well, Keegan just released his latest CD call Hybrid and it is a collaboration of someone amazing artists and he asked me to do some live shots. Let me just say that I have never done this before and it was an incredible learning experience. The lighting was not spectacular and digital cameras do not like RED lights, but I think I was able to give them a pretty cool vintage look. The performance was out of this world...the talent was HUGE...and the Mission Theater was the perfect place to hold such a ridiculous jam session like this.

His whole family was there...including his glowing wife who is due with their first baby next month:) This picture of his Dad in the crowd made me get vapors. His family is so proud of him and their support is beautiful. I kind of wish my Dad was on my shoots jumping around like this...I think that might be a little distracting:)
The crowd was so into the moment and they were on the peace train.
This is one of the artist that was performing that night with them and he looked hysterical standing out in the crowd. I could pick him out like "Where's Waldo". Then my husband showed up and he stood out even more because he was a hair taller.

Fav shot of the night. This was so hard to get and I thought I missed it. Did I mention that live shooting in the dark is the hardest thing ever. Thank you Keegan for the experience and for sharing you passionate talent with another artist like me;)

L O V E

You never know where LOVE will appear:) I thought I would reflect on love today because that's always inspiring. I am in love with my family and I'm not afraid to scream it! I am at a point in my life that I truly love myself (that's fun to say). I love my job title...MOM. I love my passion (photos). I love life. I hope you all feel the same and that this reminds you to count your blessings. We are pros at focusing on the negatives in life, but sometimes it takes reminders to notice all the good.