Jeremiah + Lisa

Even though I swore that this first wedding I helped shoot was going to be my last, I had that funny sensation come over me ~ the one you get right after you have a baby when you forget just how tough that pregnancy and labor was the instant you look in your baby's eyes. Yep. As soon as I looked at these pictures I forgot just how much work it was and what a long day it was and just kind of went "aaahhh ..." So just *maybe* I'll take back what I said and I'll shoot one again someday. Here are my favorite shots!





































Thanks again to Irene Jones Photography for giving me the chance to second shoot with you! You can see some of Irene's pictures at {this} link.

Brothers.

I love that they are friends.
I love their little heads leaning in close to each other, so intent.
I love that this is a glimpse of our simply, ordinary, everyday life.
I love that I used to lie on the stairs just like this.

linking this post up here:

Standing in the Shadow

This week's I Heart Faces challenge is all about embracing the shadow. While I don't enter as many of these challenges as I used to, I still love thinking about the different themes and seeing all of the ways people capture them. When I started thinking about shadows I immediately thought of this photo I snapped while at After Dark last September (hands down the BEST learning experience I have ever had!). This was such a fun photo for me to take because it took me so completely out of my comfort zone. Bright sunny day. Middle of the day. Model in the middle of that bright sun. Definitely not the typical combination for a photo shoot!

One of the mentors is just out of camera on my right holding up an sb-900 speedlight. And I am crouched down on the pavement ... right in this guy's shadow which you can see spreading in front of him ... to capture the look without any lens flare. Oooo it was fun. Seeing it again reminds me how much I enjoy experimenting and trying new things. Definitely makes me want to step out of my comfort zone again!

Before and After: Bridal Edition

A few weeks ago I had the fabulous opportunity to second-shoot a wedding with my friend Irene. What an eye-opener. Seriously, I have so much respect for wedding photographers. That is a lot of work and one very long day. Still it was fun to get my feet wet a bit and see just what it would be like to venture out of my nice comfort zone of portraits. I plan to share several of my favorites from this wedding soon, but this one screamed a "before and after" share. This photo had great potential, but there were definitely a few things that needed a little photoshop help ... starting with that unsightly telephone pole. Just a little lasso with my magic wand, a touch of content aware fill, and *poof* it was gone. Truly, it was that easy. Photoshop has come a long way since my first version (Photoshop 6 I think? About 9 versions ago?).



Then it was a simple matter of warming it up, brightening a bit, and adding in a few more clouds. I used some Florabella actions (Blush, Halo, and TeaTime from Luxe II) at a very low opacity and at the last minute threw in a little "lovely and ethereal" (a free action from The Pioneer Woman) to finish off the look I was going for. Whatcha think? Feedback welcome!

Sadie, Tyler, Ethan, & Malia ... and some bunnies.

When my friend called up to let me know she had baby bunnies we immediately made a plan for a photoshoot. It definitely proved to be quite exciting ... especially when we had 4 bunnies, 8 kids (her 4 and my 4), and some chilly weather to work with. (And still, for some reason the kids chose to snack on frozen gogurts between shots!) ... With all the chaos surrounding us, I'm quite happy with the photos I was able to capture for her. Those bunnies have been a big part of their family --in fact, they have just had their 4th set of babies born! How fun to have this moment of their family history forever documented.

Spring.

... is SO not here yet. In fact ... it is snowing in my hometown of Lake Stevens, WA today. Yikes! But I still want to offer another sneak peak from my soon-to-be-blogged session with bunnies ~ I did plenty of pics with my own kids too. This is one of my favorites. Maybe just staring at it and wishing good thoughts will bring warmer weather to these parts ...



linking this picture up with other spring-themed pics {here}.

Spunky.

... is the very best word to describe this little girl. So full of energy and life and tons of personality.

Coming up soon? Some seriously cute pictures involving her, her sister and brothers, and 4 baby bunnies. Don't let the anticipation get to ya ...

Unbelievable.

How fast time flies. Seriously. How can this little lady already be 2?! We invited her best little girl friend and her cousin over to enjoy dinner with us last week to celebrate.


I pulled out all of my favorite pictures of the little lady from the past two years and put them on display in the dining room as decoration ~ along with a festive banner and a party hat that I actually MADE. I do not consider myself the crafty type, so I was quite proud of myself. Of course she would have nothing to do with the hat ... so I ended up wearing it myself :).

I decided on a "flower" theme, mostly so I could just use fresh flowers for display ... but then I decided to also make some flower pens to give to our girl guests and little bags of gummy worms to give away to my boys ... and then my sister gave me the brilliant idea to also make flower and gumdrop cookies ~ truly the easiest things ever and I thought they turned out so cute. I absolutely LOVED the cake, made by my friend Tamara from The Cakewalk Shop. And I seriously thought it was amazing that the cake almost perfectly matched the invitation, which Tamara had never even seen. I just told her "flower theme" and she went with it! (And speaking of the invitation, I made it using {this} kit from House of 3).

It was the perfect celebration for our little girl ~ albeit a bit wild with my boys running crazy through the house ~ sure love this little one, though!

Napa Valley

On my recent trip to San Francisco we also ventured outside the city and up to Napa Valley. We went antique shopping, ate an incredible meal, and took in all the sights of the gorgeous vineyards. No wine tasting ... just admiring the view ... but it was truly splendid.

San Francisco. In b&w.

Just a few of my favorite shots from San Francisco in black and white. I think it makes everything look so classy and timeless ...

San Francisco.

I just spent an absolutely fabulous weekend in San Francisco with one of my friends that I hadn't seen in over 10 years. It was a perfect getaway. We had a great time seeing all the sights ...

... exploring the pier ...

... eating clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls at Boudin ...

... wandering through Chinatown and tasting my first cocktail bun. Yum yum yum ...

... enjoying the beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts ...

... wandering past City Hall ...

... and {of course!} seeing the Golden Gate Bridge.


That is truly one beautiful city. In fact, more pictures to come tomorrow ...

Proof.

I'm convinced that we have truly turned into moles with all the cloudy days we get around here. Because when the sun does manage to peek out, it is simply

much.

too.

bright.

for my kids. As this photo proves.

In fact, I have even heard my kids say such appalling statements as, "turn the sun off!"

No, please don't ... bring more so we can get used to it!

How to Catch a Leprechaun

Actually ... how to try and not succeed.

Every year we gather the kids together and make a trap ~ with the hope that we will be able to catch a tricky leprechaun and force him give us all his gold. We leave it out the night before St. Patrick's Day and dream about what we will do with all our riches. But unfortunately, those leprechauns are always too sneaky for us and manage to get away, leaving gold candy all over the house to mock us. I loved this year's trap. My kids put a lot of thought into it:

The hope was that the leprechaun would see the giant shamrock, get curious, spot the gold, get all greedy, try to get his little hands on it, climb up the ladder, and *oops* fall through the trap door and get stuck.


Unfortunately, he must have figured a way out! Oh well, we still have so much fun trying year after year!

Daddy Time

I just LOVE this picture of my little lady and her daddy. He is her absolute favorite person in the world. And I love watching the two of them together.

They had lots of fun daddy-daughter time this weekend as I snuck out for 3 days to San Francisco. I had such a good time and of course took a bazillion pictures, including the Golden Gate Bridge from at least 10 different angles. Hopefully at least one will be worth sharing :).

Happy Monday everyone!