Mr. Serious

Meet "K"...he is the most serious 17 year old that I have ever met. He has know since he was very little that he wants to be an astronaut....and I know for a fact that if anyone is capable, it is this young man. He is a pilot already at 17 years old and he intends to carry out his dream and I couldn't be more impressed. He has such a beautiful soul, and a smile that could melt you. The first couple pics were just warming up in clothing that he never wears. He is in shorts and a tee 364 days out of the year I am told. I just couldn't get him to break out of his shell at first. See below what finally made him feel at home.....no not the hammock...
not the fence in front of the catholic school...
not even when I forced him to do some karate moves at me...although, I did get a genuine smile (a "i don't know what I am suppose to do/nervous smile, but I'll take it)
I wasn't until I got him to the airport, that he relaxed and got comfortable. Although, he was not comfortable hanging out under the scaffolding and ended up giving me some scared smiles. We didn't hang out here long. I forced him to stay for a couple and even made him pretend to smile. I still don't know if we were allowed under there, I'm such a rebel.
He is an amazing pilot and his parents have every reason to be very proud of him. Can you imagine finding your passion at the age 17 and living it out! He is going to go incredible places in life, and I can't wait to say that I knew him when! Thanks "K"

Body Language

You don't have to be a genius to see that my niece "E" isn't a big fan of her new spectacles (as Jalena calls them). Her body language totally changed when I asked her to put on her glasses for a shot or two. I thought I could convince her how cute she looked in them if she saw a picture of herself being all sassy in them. Well, I got sassy from her, but I don't think the pictures scream happiness with the new adjustment in life. I think she may just see how unhappy she is about wearing them...I tried:(
Now she is happy, sitting on her Dad's car that she never gets to do.

Never Forget Them

This is what the pins said that everyone was wearing at the memorial/dedication. It was a peaceful day filled with more hope than sadness. It was so surreal for me. I remember watching footage on the T.V. and then it was gone out of my head after a bit when I turned it off. For the community that went through the massacre, they live it each day. The memorial was so well done, and it is a beautiful place for people to remember the 13. I just went online to research more of the details and I am definitely not ready for that. I could feel rage and confusion building up the more I read. For now I want to remember the words that Dawn Anna (mother of Lauren that was killed) spoke and I want to remember the 13. Here are a couple pics from the memorial.
This balloon was released for Dave (the teacher that was killed)
This was one of the fathers of one of the students killed and he was wearing a shirt with all the victims names.
These were the 13 balloons that the families wrote messages on and released them all together.
Then they released 13 doves into the air first, then 200 for all the injured. It was so powerful and I will never forget!

Processing Thoughts

I just got back from Colorado and I have been trying to write on my experience all day and I can't come up with the words. As my friend Heidi's husband put it, "It sounds like you have some processing to do"! That is exactly what I am trying to do and I just can't get all my thoughts straight. Let me try to start by explaining why I went on the trip. As you remember from before on an earlier post...my friend Heidi is writing an amazing book called Shattered Lives. We went to Colorado to interview a couple people on her list and to take pictures of a couple people that she had already interviewed. I went there knowing that it would be as intense as the other interviews and that we would be wiped out each day. What I didn't see coming was that the trip would be uplifting, enlightening, earth-shaking, and peaceful. I will be able to explain it more as the week goes on, but for now I just want to thank Heidi and her family for being so great to me. Heidi, you mean the world to me, your book has impacted me more than I could have ever dreamed of, and you are making a difference in this world. I admire you and I want to thank you for making me a better person. Thank you for being you and opening your world to me.
This is out at Heidi's parents cabin and we were at 9,000 feet (holy headaches!)
Heidi and I on the self timer.
We went to the Columbine Memorial and it was the most powerful moment of my life. I will leave you with the words of Columbine...."NEVER FORGET THEM"!

New Boutique

I know I mentioned this place before, and I'll mention it again, because I love it! You have to go check out Fancy Pants in Vancouver because it rocks and more importantly, the girls that own it are RockStars! This was a shoot that I did for them last minute outside of their shop to try and get a couple images for marketing purposes. I still have a shoot in mind that I want to do at a barn with their clothing and some willing models so I can really do their clothes justice. Jamison was wearing the amazing Knuckleheads line and he was just to die for. It was a blast to work with individuals that totally trusted me and wanted my vision...it helped to have such cute models too!

Sent from Heaven

A friend once told me...."it's not that easy for all of us to get pregnant like you, Kathy Carlisle." Well, she was absolutely right and here is a testimony for all those that feel like the road is hopeless. From day one I watched Amy struggle with the disappointment of not getting pregnant as easily as they thought it would be. Watching her on her road to success has been amazing and I think she is nothing less than a hero. She never complained through the pain-staking process, and I don't think I have ever heard her complain once about her handfuls now. It all paid off in full, because her perfect little blessings have totally rocked their world and everyone around them. I think this shirt is so fitting for these two because they are two little angels that were sent straight down from Heaven!

'S' is for Shy!

I have had a few shoots lately of seniors and they were so shy! I know that 'S' said that she had a great time during the shoot and she had a beautiful smile on her face the whole time, but I think she may think that I am crazy. She is a beautiful girl and a very talented softball player, I hear. But she was so quiet, which means I am usually extra loud in the shoot. I hope I didn't annoy her too much and I really hope that she enjoys the shots that I got. I love her shyness in the pictures, and I really love the laughing ones. Check out the first one of her shadow...I think that it is what all women in or out of sports should see as their perception of themselves:)

More twins

I know I can't get enough of these two! This is a concept that I have had in my head since before these two were born. As a stay at home mom, it's not very often that we get dressed up and take care of our kids at the same time. I love that Amy is all dressed up, twins at her feet and her hands are full. I just wanted to get a couple shots of them before they are off and crawling so these are a couple that we got. I know these are just teasing you Amy, but the others will be done by this weekend. K

Family

I know you all have seen this picture before....but after being away from family at a difficult time I wanted to grab the first picture that spoke to me and made me feel better. My Dad is in the hospital with a staph infection where he hooks up for dialysis. I don't understand all the technical stuff and the next steps to getting him better are all very sudden and seem serious. He has to have the tubing removed as quick as possible to get rid of the infection and then they have to create a new line so that he can go through with his regular dialysis on Wednesday. He is very weak, and his fever has totally taken him down. I can hear it in everyone's voice that they are scared of the unknown and hurt when they see Dad so weak. I say all this and I feel better when I look at this picture because I know how important family is and this pic shows the love that is needed to get through tough times like these. I want more then anything to be home with everyone right now and I feel so helpless here going through my daily routine. As the kids got down on their knees tonight and said the most beautiful prayer for their Grandma and Papa, I just smiled. It wasn't until I wrote this that I totally broke down because I have been storing up all the emotion, just waiting to hear news. He is very strong and I know he is going to get through this, but it is a very hard transition to go through....life isn't slowing down any and the love just keeps growing....which makes for a very large heart that can easily get broken. I miss my family and wish I could pull together with them at this time. BTW what is that painful feeling that you get in your throat when you are about to cry...I want a medical explanation for that annoying pain! Hug your family and tell them that you love them tomorrow.

JT Concert

Before you think I am the hippest Mom on the planet for going to the hottest concert of the century....I have to confess that I have only been to 2 other concerts before this. To my defense of the choice of concerts....not many bands came to Fairbanks, Alaska to perform! It was Night Ranger and The Judds! Needless to say, I was so excited when my friends Amy and Josh invited me to go. The night was full of hysterical stories and some incredible people! I had a blast and I think Justin loves me for coming to his concert! I am pretty sure that he was staring right into my binoculars the whole night. I was far away, but the bonus was that I was in a suite and there is no other way to party now that I have been spoiled. I don't think I could watch another concert any other way. Thank you A-Hall for more amazing memories....I wish we could have documented more to help with the memory.

Ahhh.....Young Love

I gave you guys a sneekpeak of these two amazing people, well here is a bit more and they are now on my featured section on the website, if you can't get enough. Thank you two again, for a great few days together and for sharing your love story. I had a blast with you both and I learned a ton in the process. Check them (Mind/Castle) out in a couple weeks after their new site will be live. It's never easy to shoot other photographers, but here is my stab at it! K

Shhhh....

...listen to what these pictures have to say. I wish I could say that taking pictures is just a hobby or something I do on the side. It's way more then that, and not just because I get paid to do it. If I am somewhere without my camera and I can see moments slipping by me without documenting, I literally get sick to my stomach and beyond frustrated. I look at these pictures from last weekend and they are so much more than pictures to me. They may not speak a thousand words but man do they ever speak loud and clear in my mind as moments that I never want to forget. I love the one below because as much as my kids are talked about as a whole...they are so good, they are so cute...well, they are so different and they are all enclosed in their own little identity in this shot. I don't know what else this one says other than....I called their names individually 5 times each just to get them looking at the same time. Why do I bother, because these are the ones that don't carry the emotion that I get if I just let them do their thing.
This was hysterical. We had the best time ever riding around Seaside on this. We felt like we were famous because everyone was staring at us. I jumped off at the red light to take a shot and Tré was panicking that I wasn't going to get back on in time.
I can't get enough shots of them snuggling and having fun together. Jalena and Tré really bonded on this trip playing together, and it sparked memories that I have of my little brother and I having fun on family trips. I think it is time to make millions so that we can travel a lot more together!
This is packed with emotion for me. These four are the reason I breathe, the reason I smile more times out of the day then frown, and the reason I feel like I won the lottery. Tré put it the best last night when he said, "I love being in this family"!
Here's a Tré shot of Jake and I. I love it because the most amazing model is right behind me in the picture. I was charging towards Tré with the camera because he had it on rapid fire and was shooting away on me and Jake.
This one just puts vapors in my eyes! Enough said, I'm vaclempt!
Two different perspectives...only inches apart. Try to see life from the person next to you today. K

More Favs!

These first few, Jamison is wearing a new little outfit that I picked up at this new AMAZING boutique that just opened up in Vancouver (Fancy Pants), you have to go check them out. I wanted to take him to the car junkyard to do a shoot but when we came across this broken down car right by the beach house I couldn't resist slipping it on him. I love the company that created this line, Knuckleheads, (shirt also) and I think that she is local (but big in Cali). I have a lot more shots that I can't wait to share....but I can't stay awake another minute with the first day of school being tomorrow. Did you know that I HATE schedules. I hate that my little crew has to be broken apart and I miss summer already!