An Evening in Redmond

I spent Thursday evening in Redmond last week shooting a wonderful family. I should thank them now for their hospitality. They were so welcoming, and made me feel right at home. It was so much fun to watch all of them interact and to capture these kiddos in their own back yard doing the things that they love.
Alex is 6 and just finished kindergarten. What a hoot he is. I had a ball watching him run and play. He loves climbing the trees in their yard, playing catch with his dad, and Star Wars.... when we started talking Star Wars... he just came alive.


Now, you may think I am crazy, but I just love this next photo. Alex got a little upset, and it was amazing to watch him just melt into his mom. He fit perfectly in her arms. I love the way mom embraces him and comforts him. Years from now, I hope that Alex will look at this photo and remember the love and security of his mothers arms. By the way.... he was laughing within seconds of this photo being taken.

I could have watched this three year old cutie all day long. She loves.... LOVES flowers. It was so adorable to hear her say, "mama... I love your clematis." She made her way through the yard picking out her favorite flowers and leaves and then would carefully place them into the pockets of her sweet pink cotton dress.

I could almost feel the joy that Megan's hugs and flowers gave to her parents.


It was a pleasure to spend the evening with this great family! Thank you for allowing me into your home to take these photos. A special thanks to Alex and Megan for being such great sports!

Happy Father's Day

I hope you had time today to thank the fathers in your life. As most of you know, my father died when I was 15, and even though I only had those few years with him, there is so much that I am thankful for. Not only am I thankful for my father today, but also my grandfathers, brother, stepfather and uncles.... thank you. Thank you all for what you have done in my life to make me who I am today. To all of the fathers out there, thank you for... being amazed by us from the day we were born...Thank you for holding us up...
Thank you for fixing boo boos with scooby doo band aids and a dance...Thank you for helping us explore life with confidence...
Thank you for making us laugh...
Thank you for teaching us life's lessons and always making us feel secure.
Thank you for protecting us, even if from water balloons...
Thank you for making us feel like we can fly...Thank you for showing us the ocean and teaching us how to fly kites...Thank you for giving us the courage to try new things...

Thank you dads for all you have done and for making us who we are. Happy Father's Day!

Bran muffins and Blur

I spent some time with a friend the other day helping her understand her camera. We had a lot of fun talking about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and really just how to get what you want when you take a photo. It was fun to try to verbalize what I try to do with my camera, and what I am thinking when I take a photograph. We had lesson on aperture and what it can do for your photos. She was in the process of making bran muffins, so we used some of her ingredients as our subject! Aperture is the magic behind the blur in photos, and it is so much fun to watch someone learn how to use this great feature on a camera. It opens up a world of creativity with your photography. If you are interested in learning how to take better pictures, by all means let me know and I would love to help. If you want some other great resources on how to take better photos, check out MeRa Koh's Refuse to Say Cheese website. She has a great DVD series that focuses on Mom's who want to take better photos of their children. I have them myself and I think they are great.