Since I am not doing as many weddings as I used to (I used to photograph 30-40 weddings/yr but have decided 4-8 weddings is more manageable w/ 2 little guys at home & a husband in residency) I always look forward to a full day of photographing people at one of their happiest times. Jim & Katherine are a couple who are not shy about showing how in love they are. It is infectious to be around them. You cannot help to smile when you see Jim beaming at his new wife.
Katherine getting ready


Jim's son was the cutest usher I have seen! I had to force myself to stop taking his picture.



Congratulations Jim & Katherine!!

Now that Father's Day has past I can share w/ you an album I created for a client's Father's Day gift. The biggest challenge in designing this album was making sure all 4 kids got equal representation. I was happy w/ the results and my client was thrilled. I am looking forward to hearing what her husband thought of his gift.
This is the cover (back/front)




Here is a link to see the whole album.

Happy Father's Day

Thursday afternoon I had a great time photographing a friend's little girls. I took Cooper and Oscar along as I was checking out a place that I had been wanting to photograph at for a while. It was chaos but we managed to get a few good pictures of each child (getting the siblings together was completely out of the question w/ this bunch). This is what Madeline & Keira's dad will be getting for Father's Day.

I will share a few more pictures in the next few days.

Charles is 3 wks old

It was so fun getting to see Charlie Fraker again. He has grown a little and this time we got some pictures in his birthday suit which is a must at his age.
In each sitting I do I think the magic happens when my clients just do whatever they want w/o looking to me for direction. And that is exactly what this next picture is. Erik just leaned in and gave Margo a kiss. I LOVE IT!!! And I have been sitting typing and deleting for the past 5 minutes trying to explain how, for me, this image completely represents the Frakers but I cannot find the right words except that they are totally in love w/ their new baby boy AND w/ each other.

This last image was taken after we had finished up. It may just look like a snap that anyone could take but for me at that moment it was wonderful to see how content Charlie was to be with his dad and how at ease Erik was to be holding his newborn son (not often the case for 1st time dads). Just minutes later (as they invited me to watch the end of the French Open Championship match) Charlie was sound asleep on his dad's chest.

Here is his slideshow. Click on the picture to start.

With Father's Day this weekend I thought share a few pictures of Cooper w/ his dad taken last week in Kirkland. Next year my goal is to get Oscar in on the action.

June Bugs...Lucy & Harris' 1st Birthday

Yesterday afternoon was a perfect day for a party. Cooper had been talking about Lucy & Harris' party for days. And in his book (& ours) it lived up to his high expectations. All the kids were having a great time.
Harris the Birthday Boy

And Lucy the Birthday Girl

Harris' big brother Stanley


Cake time...

One guest was off to her ballet recital & we were lucky to get a sneak preview.

Cooper on the kazoo

I am going a little overboard w/ the number of pictures but all the kids were so cute. To see more check out the gallery.

As many people are starting to discover, management of digital images can be a little bit of a nightmare. Computer file folders are starting to become the dreaded photo box that kept filling up & became a final resting place for pictures that deserved a better home. Since I work w/ images on the computer all day (and night) my personal pictures rarely got touched. I am trying to turn over a new leaf & stay on top of pictures I take. Here are a few personal pics from the past few wks.
Cooper was on cloud 9 when he found toy jackhammer at our friend's bbq. For the past year he has been turning many an object into a jackhammer (i.e. the Johnny Jump up part that attaches to door jams).


At the same bbq I found Oscar getting his toes wet in the baby pool.


It was hard on me (but maybe more painful for my family) in San Francisco because every block we walked had an incredible mural, bright wall, etc. Cooper quickly tired of "just one more..."


And finally my husband's crazy solution to not having a bike for Cooper.

The challenge of photographing little kids is one that I almost crave. As a parent I know how difficult it is to just let my kids go free w/ another adult. I find myself always stepping in to keep the craziness to a minimum. But as a photographer I love the mayheim (most days) & the unknown of what kids will do next. With the Galvin children we were in constant motion w/ hopes of capturing one or two groups shots before the clan went running (or crawling) in all directions.



For some reason I really like this image. May not do anything for anyone else, but I like it...

I had a lot of fun photographing all the kids at Cooper's school. I spent about 20 minutes each of the 3 visits and it was so apparent how much the kids enjoyed being at their school. This is the last year for this school as the couple who run Millar's Place are returning home to Michigan. It is sad to see them go but I can completely relate to the desire to get back to family and friends.
Here are a few of their daughter Kilee.




I put designed an album to give them as a end of year/going away gift that I was really happy w/. This is the cover and here is the whole layout gallery.