Hopefully not your standard school picture...

Cooper's little school (Secret Garden on Capital Hill) asked me to take class pictures of a few of their classes. I photographed 35+ children in 2 hours...I was exhausted. My goal was to make sure I captured every little one as naturally as possible the back alley of the school. It was a fun challenge (the kids were adorable) & hopefully all the parents will see the personality of their child when they look at their images not just a snap shot of what they looked like when they were little. To make sure there was a little cohesiveness between the pictures I had each child sit however they wanted in a green chair for a few pictures before moving to another spot. There was also the bright green bouncy toy that made a brief appearance...who can resist that!
Because I do not want to leave any of the kids out here are a few more pics than usual.
This is the four year old class (the class of 2021!!).

Blue-eyed Ainsley

I am constantly amazed as I walk out of my clients home or a location after a shoot at how much I love talking w/ all my clients. I know I have said this before but I truly think I have the best clients ever!! This next family is no exeption. They are a couple after my own heart as they are world travelers. Ainsley is 9 weeks old and I cannot get over her big blue eyes!
Ainsley took her first flight on Wednesday with mom to visit Toronto to see all the grandparents and their friends. I hope your trip is going wonderfully and you will enjoy the pictures as much as your family.

I was going to skip this post all together because I have so much already to share from recent work...but my mother let me know today she was hoping to see a few pictures from our trip. And since she was such a huge help in making the trip so successful I must grant her a wish.
We had so many great times on Orca Island and in the mountains. Here are just a few that I like...
The first series will speak for itself. Then you will see the beauty of the mountains and our rare attempt at getting a family picture. I have so many more pictures of Oscar than Cooper these days...he has had it w/ his snap happy mom. You will see a frequent reaction I am getting from him when the camera comes out this is right before his hand goes over his face....capturing pictures of your own kids is never easy.
Thank you mom for all your help!!xxoo

I'm back...

After a much needed getaway and then some internet connectivity issues that prolonged my blogging silence I am now neck deep in work and excited to share so many images. I have a few from our trip that I will post tomorrow but first I must share pictures I took the day before leaving town. I was honored to have Olivia travel up from Portland to have her senior pictures taken. She was up for everything (she indulged me and laid down on train tracks!!). She is beautiful so it was hard to put my camera down...I definitely could have shot for another hour or two w/ her.

BIG NEWS!!!

I started my business in 1998 here in Seattle. In 2000, my husband and I moved to Phoenix, AZ for him to start medical school. I started my business again. In 2004 we moved to El Paso, TX for him to start his residency in Emergency Medicine and I started my business again. In 2005(w/ my strong urging), he transferred to the Univ. of Washington ER residency and I started my business again. In July he will be finished w/ his residency and there was a strong possibility we would be moving one more time.....but today he accepted a job at Swedish Providence here in Seattle (I cannot begin to describe how excited I am for him finally fulfilling his dream!!) which means we get to stay and I can really enjoy the business I have established and continue to work w/ the amazing clients I have come to meet. Thank you for all your kind words during this process. So many of you have expressed wonderful sentiments about how you did not want me to leave Seattle. It means so much to me to have wonderful clients that are excited to have me document their families as they grow and change.
So now we celebrate!!! The timing is perfect because we are taking a week vacation on Saturday (vacation has not been in our vocabulary these past few years) and I cannot wait to enjoy time w/ my husband and boys w/o wondering where we will be in 4 months.
I will be completely out of touch w/ email but I will be checking my voice messages.
Finally, tonight I attended a meeting for photographers of Souluminations. I have mentioned this phenomenal fondation in previous blogs but if you have not read them or overlooked the link I STRONGLY urge you to visit the foundation's website &/or blog to learn about the incredible gifts they are giving to the most deserving children and their families. Soulumination is expanding to provide the same gifts to adults who are nearing the end of life. The work I have done for Souluminations and for other families in similar phases of life has been the most meaningful and impactful work I have ever done. The requests the foundation is receiving for photography are increasing quickly and funding is imperative to enable Souluminations to meet every family's request. I promise you will be giving an priceless gift if you donate to Soulumination.
And on that note...have a wonderful week...I know I will!

Little Miss Spitfire!!

I am definitely ready for a sunny spring! Rain continues and rescheduling is always a result. But this week I had a couple that were up for a rain or shine sitting and I am so glad they were up for anything. I had a ball w/ their little 2 1/2 year old little girl Lucy. She was in constant motion and I loved it! We did a little snippit of a day in the life of Lucy. I feel so fortunate that I have such great, laid back clients that just let their childrens' personalities shine.

The weather in Seattle has been wrecking a little havoc w/ my shooting schedule but it doesn't mean I am going to stop snapping away. Cooper is looking out our window wondering when he can venture out w/o getting soaked.
































We went to a birthday party this weekend and there were so many adorable faces and moments. The kids got to play around on a Tumble Bus. I had never heard of it but it is exactly what it sounds like. Tumbling, climbing, sliding, balancing & swinging on wheels.





































Keaton, the birthday boy, sees the cake coming. I just wonder what goes through the mind of a 4 year old before they blow out the candles.























Oscar was so excited to score Cooper's great gift bag. He was beside himself the whole way home.

I was looking forward to seeing how much little miss Eleanor had changed since I met her when she was 3 months old. Her smile is as beautiful as I remembered it but she shared it much more often this time. I think she wanted to show off her two new teeth which made her even more adorable. She was sitting so well that I thought she would make a perfect center piece in their dining room. I love the red dress w/ the red walls. I am looking forward to photographing her first birthday!!

Only 4 spots left for El Paso

My April trip to El Paso is almost booked to capacity. If you have been thinking about reserving a time email or call me today. I have 3 times available on Friday & 1 on Sunday. I am looking forward to a great trip.