{B(LOG}AN)

Tired of pictures of Cora?

2012-01-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

well, too bad :)

One Month Old

2012-01-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

My lil' wiggle worm

2012-01-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

Best of 2011

2011-12-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, this year zipped by quick, didn't it?! This year I photographed 7 weddings and 20 portrait sessions. I traveled to Haiti, Las Vegas, Washington and The Oregon Coast. I got pregnant and had a baby. As I looked through the photos from this year, I focused on the highlights of my year and I noticed this year had a lot of firsts.

Our first time leading a team to Haiti in January.

My first time attending the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International conference in Las Vegas in February.

First engagement session with geese :) Hannah and David in March.

I shot my first wedding pregnant. (I then shot every other wedding this year pregnant too : ) Hannah and David in May.

The first time I dropped my camera at a wedding. (Hopefully the last time that happens!) Caryn and Rolando in June.

First Day After session with Shawn and Nicolle in July.

First Sparkler Exit from Samantha and Sam's Wedding in July.

First Senior Rep from Albany High School, Jayma in August.

First time Second shooting with Lauren Hurt, Josh and Kattie's Wedding in September.

First Engagement session while pregnant, Amy and Steve in October.

First Newborn Session, Sterling in November.

First daughter, Coralie in December :)

2011 was an amazing year, I am so grateful for all the people I got to work with through my photography. I am so very blessed. Thank you fans and followers for supporting and encouraging me this year. Happiest of New Years to you all!

Bath Baby

2011-12-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's right, we're going all out in the girl department. Pink everywhere :) Even her bathtub is Disney Princess Pink with claw feet! Pink towels, pink blankets, let the girlyness abound!

I absolutely love what her hair does after a bath.

Coralie's first two weeks

2011-12-27T23:14:00.001-08:00

Most parents say things like "Wow, can't believe it's already been two weeks!" or "Seems like just yesterday she was born!" and there are moments when I feel that way but for the most part it has been a long two weeks. Long and wonderful for sure, but long still. Just like she should, Cora has taken over our lives and we're knee deep in baby land around here. With feeding and changing and rocking and napping and then feeding and changing all day and night long, plus caring for a 4 year old and a little holiday called Christmas, I've honestly struggled to find time to pick up my camera. Sad I know, but I believe even more now that moms should hire a photographer that first week cause yeah, just being mom is tough enough, capturing those precious moments when you're so tired and hormonal and exhausted and recovering is well, hard. And I know the importance of a photograph, but even some things take a back seat to feeding your child or sleeping :) Soo... She's been here two weeks and I've only taken a few photos :( But, I have snapped a few. Here are a few peeks into the last 15 days.

Coralie's Birth

2011-12-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to write this blog before the details of her birth story slip from my sleep deprived mind. Now I'm mostly writing this for my own memory and if the details of a birth are not something you're comfortable with, I'd advice skipping this post. It's nothing too graphic but I figure I'd at least give you warning :)

It has now been 11 days since Coralie was born and already I can't imagine life before this wave of love came over me. She is amazing. And this is the story of her birthday.

We had been on edge expecting labor to start any minute since my midwife appointment on Thursday morning had revealed that I was almost 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Before that I had been feeling just fine and pretty confident that I still had about a week before anything would start happening since I had yet to feel any contractions. I was still a full week from my due date and having had a baby already, I knew what a contraction felt like, so I knew I hadn't been missing them. But apparently something was happening while I was unaware. And we spent the next few days waiting for it to hit any moment. I wrote this in my journal on Friday.

Right now I'm in that weird spot, the before spot, but very close spot. It's like when you're about to move out of a house or a town or quit a job and you start looking at everything differently, like "this could be the last time I shut this door, or this is the last time I'll ride this elevator" and you're half sad at what you're leaving but mostly excited for what you're going to. I've been breathing in this quiet day, Logan has been playing well and I've been able to just rest or tinker on little projects. I was sitting in his room watching him play with his trains and just thinking "This might be the last time for a while that it's just me and him." and it did make me sad. It's been me and him for almost 5 years now. 5 amazing years as a mother of a boy, of a son, of one child. That's all about to change. I'll become the mother of 2, a son and a daughter. A brand new sack of issues and struggles and joys and moments of amazement. How much has Logan shaped me? how much more will you shape me?

My mom took this on her phone at church on Sunday morning.

Nothing happened until Monday morning around 5am when I woke up to go to the bathroom and just felt generally uncomfortable. I wandered around the house a little and rocked in Cora's room for a little while just wondering if I was close. I went back to bed and about 5:30 I woke up finally feeling a mild contraction which for those that don't know feels a lot like cramping but it builds to a peak and then subsides. I laid in bed and watch the clock till the next one came 5 minutes later. I nudged Jon and said "I'm having some contractions." He grunted back. Another five minutes goes by and another contraction.
"Jon, I think it's time to go."
"To take Logan to school?"
"No, to the hospital."
"Ohhh!"

Jon hopped in the shower and I slowly got dressed and gather a few last things. I had to stop every 5 minutes and hold on to something as the contractions were getting a little stronger each time, still not too painful but very steady. I snuck into Logans room where he was sleeping and kissed his forehead. He opened his eyes and I told him we were going to the hospital to have the baby and that Nana would bring him to meet his sister soon. As I slipped back out of his room I couldn't help but tear up knowing the next time I saw him everything would be different.

We loaded up and headed out to Silverton Hospital at about 6:45am, which I remember because I was watching the clock the whole ride out and the contractions were getting closer, mostly 4 minutes, some 3 minutes apart. The road out to Silverton is a long single lane road through fields and farms so when we came up on a School bus with 6 cars behind it slowly creeping along we knew there was no way around them. We sort of chuckled and thought "Oh, so this is why people take an ambulance to the hospital." We arrived and got checked into a temporary room at about 7:15. The nurse came in to check me and I was 5, almost 6 cm dilated. We waited in that room for about 20 minutes while they prepared our birthing room. This is when I had my shining moment of labor. I needed to get up and use the bathroom but the contractions were getting pretty strong and only 3 short minutes between them didn't give me a lot of time. So I got into the bathroom and all the sudden felt super nauseous so I leaned over the sink to throw up when another contraction came on strong. Well I had to pee and there's not a lot you can do when a contraction hits, so I stood there throwing up in the sink while peeing on the floor and trying to breath through the pain of a contraction. Yep, labor is glorious. The lovely nurse came in and help clean me up and get me into the wheel chair and we headed down to our room where the jacuzzi tub was ready for me. I loved the tub, nice hot water with massaging jets on my back and sides. At this point my mom and sister, Bethany had arrived and they took turns along with Jon sitting at the side of the tub with me. I remember looking at Jon and saying "Ok, you ready to take over for me now? ready to tag in?" and when my mom answered "Oh you know Jon would if he could, he'd take this from you if he could.", I just answered "He couldn't handle this." ha ha.. what a jerk.

After about 30 minutes in the tub, I said, "OK, I don't like this anymore." and Jon thought I meant the tub, but I meant labor. I started feeling so sleepy and just wanted a little break from the contractions so I could sleep. I got very mellow and just sorta sunk into a weird place almost like a dream. I just remember turning off the jets and just trying to rest. My body must have known what was coming next. I felt like I needed to use the bathroom and so I slowly made my way out of the tub. When I stood up a strong contraction came on and I braced myself while Bethany and Jon dried me off. Then I sat on the toilet and another contraction hit. They were very strong and I was starting to sort of groan through them. They felt different, very low and deep. I told the nurse I thought I was ready to push and she called my midwife to come check me. I got up on the bed and the urge to push was very strong, stronger now than the contractions. My midwife checked me and said "Yep, you're complete. Lets have a baby!" I asked about my water breaking and she said it still hadn't but no worries, it'll break during the pushing. Now with Logan's birth, I had pushed for almost three and a half hours. It was very slow and I had to wait for a contraction and then push while counting to ten and then wait for another contraction. This was very different. I didn't have to wait for a contraction, in fact there was no waiting if I wanted to, I had to push. Well more like my body had to push and I just had to agree with it. Jon was at my side, my mom on one leg and my sister on the other. They were having problems with the lower portion of my bed not retracting or something but there was no time to mess with it, my midwife just simply leaned over that part and didn't really even need to tell me to push, she just kept saying "Good, great... that's it." when I'd push. I think it was after about two or three pushes that my water finally broke and she said "I see hair, just like daddy's." and then she looked up at Jon. He was white as a sheet and started to stumble backwards. She said "Lay down and put your feet up!" Jon sat down and the nurse ran over to lift his legs up on to the bench. I remember looking over at him and saying "He needs to eat something." and I remember them saying "We need another nurse in here for the dad." They brought in some orange juice for him and then he was back at my side. The midwife said "Oh good, your color is back." I grabbed his hand and could tell we were very close.

I pushed for about 20 minutes, all the while making strange grunting sounds that I couldn't control. The midwife said "Push through the pressure, we're there..." and I pushed and looked down and saw Coralie's head and shoulders and reached down and pulled her onto my stomach. I could hear Jon half laughing, half crying but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She wasn't crying and I was worried for a second and tried pulling her up closer and the midwife said, "Hang on, the placenta isn't ready yet." and then Coralie let out the tiniest, sweetest little cry. I relaxed and just soaked in the feeling of releif, joy and love. Jon cut the umbilical cord and they snuggled her closer to me. The midwife and nurses were busily doing things but it was like Jon, Coralie and I were alone. I love that they never took her off my chest the whole time, just did what they needed to do and left us alone. I do remember them commenting on how the placenta was in the shape of a perfect heart and that they'd never seen anything like that before.

*The photos with me in them were taken by my sisters Bethany and Carley.

She was born at 9:19 am, only two hours after we arrived at the hospital. I was laying there holding her and still not believing it had happened that fast. I was saying "That was crazy! Did you guys see that?" It was like it wasn't really me who did it, more like another part of me that had yet to show itself till that moment. It was the 'mother of two' part of me that switched on and took over.
We started making phone calls and posting pictures from our phones announcing her speedy arrival. They cleaned her up, weighed and measured her and helped me to the bathroom so they could remake the bed. She weighed 7 lbs and 11 oz and measured 20.5 inches long.

My sisters kids and husband came in to see her. I remember Abby had her hands over her ears the whole time and Gabe looked at me and said "They cut the baby out!"

Jon's mom brought Logan in and he just sorta stared at her. We asked him if he wanted to hold her and he said yes. Later that day when he was gonna go back home he said to me "I wanna take the baby home." I said "We will honey, we get to keep her, she's ours!" and he answered, "No, she's mine." :)

We stayed at the hospital till Tuesday evening and headed home. I felt pretty good and I wanted to get home to be together with Logan. It felt wonderful to drive home, listening to Christmas music, past houses all lit up with Christmas lights. Christmas could start now. We had our gift, our precious, speedy baby girl.

Coralie's Room

2011-12-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

We seem to be on the verge of labor. I got checked yesterday by the midwife and she said I was 3 to 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She said the head was right there and ready and that if contractions start not to wait around till I feel like I need to push, just head straight to the hospital cause I've done all the slow stuff already. Wow, that sure was easy! I'm feeling good today, no contractions or anything, just sorta waiting feeling like they could start at any moment. I was kinda hoping my water would break in some awesome place where I could make a huge scene and have a great story to tell. So far, no broken water.
So yesterday and today we've been getting the last minute things in order, putting the car seat in the car, packing our bag and I've been putting a few last touches on her room. Granted she won't really be using her room much when she first comes but I also probably won't have the time or energy to finish everything after she comes so I'm motivated now. So here's the "not completely finished but mostly there" tour of my baby girl's room:

So clearly my color scheme was yellow, gray and turquoise. This room was formally my office as you can see in this post, and I had painted it a creamy yellow back almost two years with the secret hope that one day I'd be decorating it for a little girl. I started with the bedding, couldn't find anything I liked so I went to fabric store(multiple times) and choose patterns and colors I liked and decided I could make my own. The quilt was a pretty simple quilt and for the bed skirt I simple used Logan's old crib skirt and cut it apart to use as a pattern. Then for the crib bumper basically all I had to do was measure and create a super long pillow case for Logan's old one which I simply just covered and sewed closed :) I did buy the sheet, wasn't gonna mess with sewing a fitted sheet and all that elastic!

The crib was a hand me down from Jon's sister and I love it, and I chose all white furniture to go with it. The glider was a thrift store find which my sister, Carley and I recovered the cushions and added the buttons. The artwork over the crib is one of my favorite parts of the room. They are three of my favorite pictures from a book that I grew up reading and I simply framed them with some of the same fabric as the glider.

I still have a few things to do for the closet, I'd like to organize it in a way that will allow me to store some of my craft and sewing items in the corner, possibly with a little work space for my sewing machine as well. We'll see if I can make that work. The dresser and night stand I got off craigs list and still need some touching up and new knobs. I'd also like to tweek the curtain I made as well, but for now it works.
Logan is excited but I still am not sure he knows exactly how much his life is about to change. I probably don't know exactly how my life is about to change either :)

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

It was foggy and frosty this morning, so what better day to go get a Christmas tree?? We headed out to a local tree farm with Logan who was beyond excited. And lucky for us he wasn't too picky about which tree to choose, so we went with a Noble. She's a beauty :)

Look at my studly husband carrying that tree like it's nothing! We got it home and in the house, but then realized all our lights either didn't work or only half the strand worked, so after a trip to the store and dinner we finally got it decorated.

35 weeks and 6 days

2011-11-11T10:25:00.001-08:00

Well my last prego update was ages ago, I'm ginormous in comparison and still have a month of growth to go. We have decided on a name for our little lady after much back and forth on things like the number of syllables or the meaning of the name in foreign languages. We've decided to call our daughter Coralie Hope. I love it. It sounds sweet and feminine.We'll probably call her Cora for short. Jon chose the middle name which I think fits perfectly, We hoped for her :).

I'm feeling good these days, starting to get a little uncomfortable and feeling enormous but at the same time really enjoying having a big tummy that strangers want to rub and that my husband can almost not reach completely around. She gets the hic-ups a lot, either that or has very rhythmic kicking. If she comes at the same point in my pregnancy as Logan did she'll be here at 39 weeks, or December 9th. I think I'd prefer her to wait till her due date or a little past it. That way Jon's 2 weeks off will overlap Christmas and New Years, plus it would give us more time to get ready. I don't feel ready yet. I haven't really nested yet. We've got the main things we'd need for her, and since this isn't our first I feel like the millions of things you think you NEED for a baby, we've realized aren't so hard to go with out, or hard to run and grab if you do need them after she comes. She'll have her mommy, daddy and brother. She'll have plenty :)

I have started working on her bedding. I found a set that I loved but there was no way I was going to plop down 500+ buckaroos for it, so I've bargain shopped for fabrics and so far have made a crib skirt and partially recovered the glider cushions. Still need to do the arm rests on the glider and a crib bumper and quilt. I'll hopefully do a big nursery post once we've moved everything into her room and gotten things settled, as long as we do that before she shows up!

I starting to remember some of the glorious and not so glorious things about having a newborn. I've been around a few little ones lately and it's reminded me how mesmerizing they are. I'm remembering when Logan was under a week old, we'd just stare at him fascinated by every little facial expression, every little sound and coo he'd make. It was better than television. And seeing my husband become a father, become what he's always wanted to be more than anything else, that of course was glorious. But that's not all I remember. I remember feeling a tired like no other tired I'd felt before. Exhaustion, extreme emotions and physical recover are realities that you don't realize going into this the first time. Jon and I are different people now, we've done this before and yet we're still in for a big change, something we haven't handled before. We haven't parented two. In some ways I assume it should be easier. We have almost 5 years of parenting experience that may or may not help us out :) Adding another person to this family excites and scares me. In my pregnant emotional roller coaster mind, I've drifted between these two extremes:

What if this never gets better? What if it's too hard? What if it only gets harder? What if we can't recover? What if this is what does it, this is what ends us? What if this baby is just too much?

or

What if this defines our love all the more clearly? What if this glorifies God? What if this is what pushes us off the edge of comfortable and sends us soaring on a passionate adventure? What if this baby is just what we need?

I cling to the latter. I cling to the belief that God is big enough to guide us through this and that he's good enough to litter it with incredible joy while at the same time kind enough to use it to push us out of where we've gotten stuck and loving enough to do it because it's what's best for us. I believe God is God and I am not. But since He promises to never leave, I'll be ok, I'll be better than ok. I'll be better.

Sterling, 9 days old

2011-11-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

When Sterling's mom had contacted me about doing newborn photos, we had talked about a date mid to late November. Then I didn't hear from her for a few days until I got an email saying he had come 3 weeks early! Luckily I had a few openings that week and I was able to get out to their house and photograph the little man 9 days after his surprise entrance into the world. It's really amazing how tiny they start out! It was such a joy to get to cuddle him and he really did great letting us move him around and pose him while he slept. Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

Josh and Kattie's Wedding

2011-10-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

I was honored to second shoot with an amazing photographer, Lauren Hurt back in September at a gorgeous venue west of Corvalis, Beazell Memorial Forest. Lauren was such a trooper! She had actually broken her foot at a previous wedding that month and was determined to not let it stop her from doing a fantastic job for her clients. She brought me a long to help out since obviously she would be hindered a little by the large cast, but honestly I was amazed by her. It was such a blast to shoot along side her and this couple, Kattie and Josh, AMAZING! So much fun, so creative and just gorgeous! In fact, I'm pretty sure they chose their bridal party based on looks because, man, every single one could have been a model! Of course they didn't choose that way, they were their closets friends and you could certainly tell they all loved each other and were so happy be celebrating with Kattie and Josh. Here are some of my favorites from the day.

Amy and Steve

2011-10-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

What a fun and relaxed couple! Amy and Steve were a blast to photograph, so comfortable and easy going and they know how to make each other laugh :) They brought along their dog, Shadow for a few shots and then let him chase after the squirrels the rest of the time. I'll be photographing their wedding in January and I'm so glad we did this shoot first. It's so helpful to me as a photographer to get to know my clients before the wedding day, and wandering around the park we discovered we have a lot in common, such as Steve spent a few years in my home town of Fairbanks, Alaska. He's also a big fan of the original transformers, just like my husband. When I sent them their photos and asked if they had a favorite, they said the could only narrow it down to their top 7! ha ha.. Good to hear :) Here are some of my favorites.

New Products!!

2011-10-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like a Kiss? I've switched to a new album company! I've spent a long time creating my custom sample albums and I'm so excited to share them with you. One reason I love Kiss Wedding Books is they simplify the process. I LOVE their album design software SWAT and truly feel my clients are going to love their products too!

The albums are available in 4 square sizes, 7 great colors and either Leather or Linen covers. They all come in beautiful fabric bag covers and are printed on photo paper for gorgeous full page custom designed spreads.

Their smallest size, 4x4 is perfect for throwing in your purse to whip out and show friends or family any time. They're called little kisses! so cute! They work wonderfully for gifts for parents, grandparents. I can imagine they'd be great brag books for maternity or newborn sessions as well as high school seniors.

I designed a sample engagement book in the 8x8 size in white linen. It would be perfect for a guest book at your wedding, leaving space around the photos for people to sign and leave little notes while featuring your engagement photos.

I designed a sample wedding album from Shawn and Nicolle's wedding this summer in the 10x10 size in red Leather. It's simply breathtaking. The leather is so plush and the thick pages showcase the photos so well.

I'm so excited to be able to offer such a quality product to my clients. They are simply beautiful, I just want to KISS them! ;)

Johnson Family

2011-10-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

My fabulous older sister has a gorgeous family. Seriously. Look at them! And they've been my models many a time, and sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have them so close and at my disposal :) We had a fun time trying to catch the four of them smiling in the same direction at the same time and amazingly, It happened more than once! Here are some of my favorites from their session.

Fall Mini Sessions

2011-10-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce I'll be doing my first ever Mini Sessions! I've been considering it for a while and I'm excited to give it a try. What are Mini Sessions? They are the perfect solution to the busy holiday season! You get some great shots to choose from for your holiday cards or for holiday gifts and for most families it's a more affordable option. They are ideal for families, couples, high school seniors, children or individuals.

Included in a Mini Session:

$75 for a 20 minute session

1 to 4 people (each additional person add $15)

Your choice of 5 digital files from 30 day online ordering gallery

*Things to note, these sessions are designed to be quick, fun and efficient and therefor aren't as personal, and customized as a normal full session would be. They are called mini for two reasons, the mini price and the mini experience. It'll give you a taste of what a full session could be and I will do my best to make it as relaxing and natural as possible. I do still have some dates open for full sessions if you'd like a more dedicated session with a larger variety of files, more time to loosen up in front of the camera and more options for locations ext.

I have chosen two dates, one Saturday (Nov 5th) and one Wednesday (November 9th) at two different locations in Salem. There will only be 4 slots per day, and payment in full required to hold your slot. (We will be choosing a back up date for each of the locations in case we get rained out.)

Here are the details of each day:

Saturday, November 5th
4 slots available between 2pm-5pm
Location: Minto Brown Park

A few examples of family photos taken at Minto Brown

Wednesday, November 9th
4 slots available from 2pm-5pm
Location: Deep Wood Estates

Here are a few examples of family photos taken at Deep Wood:

To book your slot, please email me at tekoa_rose@hotmail.com or give me a call at 503-507-1266. I'll be updating this post as slots get filled. If there is a high demand I might add more slots or additional dates.

Knights of the Watts Table

2011-09-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Meet the great Sir Logan, the brave Knight of Wattsville.

Stay tuned for his trusty steed, Luc and his noble King Jon and Queen Angela. :)

Tawni and Jake's Wedding

2011-09-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Even though my wedding season is over, I've gotten asked to second shoot with a few photographers this fall. I absolutely love second shooting. It's all the fun of being the main photographer without the pressure :) as well as getting the chance to watch how another photographer does their thing and learn from them. Alyssa Jul Photography is based out of Portland and it was a blast working with her. She found me through a group called Pursuit 31, a group of Christian women photographers that hosts retreats and meet ups to encourage women and create a supportive community for women like me! :) It's been great to be a part of it and spending the day with someone like Alyssa who I can relate to in so many ways was such a blessing. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day at the beautiful venue called Postlewait's in Canby, Oregon. Congratulations Tawni and Jake!

OMSI

2011-09-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Logan has learned it's fun to pose for the camera :)

We made a trip up to OMSI this week and what a fun day. Logan loved it.

State Fair

2011-09-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of the state fair and we rode our bikes over to enjoy the end of summer in full fair fashion. Logan loved seeing all the farm animals and did great the whole day while we cruised around taking in the sights. My mom and dad are back in town and they came with us. It was a great day.

Big Brother

2011-09-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

This boy is growing up. Fast.

Senior Rep | Elizabeth

2011-08-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth is a sweet heart and a total bombshell in front of the camera! We had a last minute location change before our session but it didn't phase her, she was super flexible and had a great attitude the whole time. She's my senior rep for South Salem High School and here are some of my favorites from her session.

If you're a friend of Elizabeth's and would like your senior portraits done by Tekoa Rose Photography, simply mention her when you book and you'll receive 10% off and she'll receive credit for the referral!

Senior Rep | Justin

2011-08-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Meet Justin, my other senior rep from South Albany High School for 2012. He was a blast to photograph, easy going and up for anything. He brought along his great looking guitar and some killer shades :) Here are a few of my favorites. If you're a friend of Justin, just mention him when you book your senior portraits and receive 10% off as well as giving him credit for the referral!

Senior Rep | Jayma

2011-08-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to introduce my senior representative for the class of 2012 from South Albany High School, Jayma! We had a great time shooting Jayma's senior photos at the State Capital Building in Salem. She is a gorgeous girl and super easy in front of the camera. As a senior rep, Jayma gets a free session and a chance to earn credit and cash prizes as she refers her friends to Tekoa Rose Photography! If you're interested in becoming a senior rep for me, click here, I do have a few more openings for area schools. Here's are some of my favorites from Jayma's Session.

Jayma brought along one of her favorite accessories, her boyfriend Brycee. What a darling couple!

Here are her awesome senior rep cards that she can hand out to friends for them to receive a discount!
If you're a friend of Jayma's and would like to have your senior poritrats taken, just mention her at your booking and you'll recieve 10% off, plus give Jayma credit! Visit www.tekoarosephoto.com for more details!

Samantha and Sam's Wedding

2011-08-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

This was my last wedding of the summer. I took a limited number of weddings knowing that later this season, I'll be waddling more and more as my due date draws closer. This was a great wedding to end the season on. I'd shot one of my first weddings out at Green Villa Barn a few years ago, and I was excited to head out there again, it's such a beautiful setting and it was a gloriously beautiful summer day too. Samantha was drop dead gorgeous and covered from head to toe in things that sparkled in the bright sunshine. I was honored to shoot their wedding. Check out some of my favorites :)

Here is the kiss from two angles! Mine on the right and Ashley, my second shooter's on the left :)

I love the way Samantha's dad's arm is right in the middle of this shot, it shows his celebration as they're announced as man and wife. So fun :)

Samantha and Mike's Wedding

2011-08-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of second shooting a wedding a few weeks ago with Kacy Kizer down in Brownsville, Oregon. The wedding took place at Sanctuary at Washburn Heights and wow, what a location! The couple who owns it built their dream house on a hill overlooking the valley and to enjoy the view they built nearly 10,000 square feet of deck that wraps completely around the house. I had a great time second shooting, trying to look for the different angles and different shots than the first shooter was getting. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful spot and a very beautiful couple. Here are some of my favorites.

There were ladybugs all over and they loved Sam's dress :)

It was fun to try and catch things the other photographer might not have noticed, and the little stories going on .

Congrats Samantha and Mike! And thanks again to Kacy for letting me tag along on such a fun day :)

Dear Baby,

2011-07-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm apologizing already. I'm sorry you have to come into a broken world. I'm sorry I'm a product of this broken world. I have already and will continue to make mistake after mistake. I'm learning and it's hard. Please forgive me. Please know that despite all my mistakes, my poor reactions, my lack of patience, my selfishness, I love you and most importantly God loves you. I am absolutely, completely and ignorantly unaware of how dependent I am on His mercy. It is only by His mercy that you are mine. It is only by His mercy that I will be able to parent you. It is only by His mercy that you will be able to forgive me when I fall short. But I promise I will try, I will turn to God in these icky moments of feeling like I don't have anything to give, don't have anything to offer you and God will fill me, God will sustain me and love you through me, your imperfect mother.

Boswell Family

2011-07-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

This session is a great example of why I love photography. It allows me to connect to people. I've known this family for over 8 years and for the last 5 they've been living in the Philippines working with Youth with a Mission. Heather is a Midwife there and an incredible heart for pregnant mothers and newborns. It was a pleasure to photograph them but mostly to just get to spend time with them, playing and laughing before they head back to the Philippines this week. Jon and I would love to go visit them one day and serve their ministry. Maybe one day :)

Day After Session

2011-07-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

The day after Shawn and Nicolle's wedding, we met downtown to do some more photos while they were still in town and still had her dress and his tux. I really hope I get to do more of this type of session, it's a great option for couples who opt not to see each other before the ceremony but don't want to leave their guests waiting and waiting while they do photos after. A Day after Session can give the couple a variety to their wedding album with a new location and a fun excuse to wear their fabulous outfits again. There's no pressure of having to get back to the reception or any other deadlines, just fun soaking in the fact that they woke up married. I had a blast with you, Shawn and Nicolle, thanks for being willing to get silly looks and hey, we even got free ice cream cause you guys were soo cute!

Shawn and Nicolle's Wedding

2011-07-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

Shawn has been waiting to marry Nicolle for 5 years. She moved away for school and he waited. When their day finally came and they were standing at the alter as the pastor announced that Shawn may now kiss his bride, she made him wait again. She walked over to her bridesmaids who pulled out a tube of the brightest, reddest lipstick which she liberally applied to her lips before heading back to the alter where Shawn was now hiding with his groomsmen. With arms wide open she called to him and he strolled across the stage and swept her into an epic dipping kiss. It was definitely worth waiting for.

I had so much fun photographing Shawn and Nicolle's wedding. They are one of the funnest couples, willing to try anything and laughing with each other the entire time. What a fun and beautiful day it was at BeckenRidge Vineyards. Congratulations you two! Thank you for the honor of spending your long awaited day with you.

They might have a tendency to be a bit goofy. Such a fun couple!

Man, I had a hard time choosing the photos for this blog post because there are so many great ones! We also did a Day After session with Shawn and Nicolle the next morning, but I'll make a seperate post about that one.. Congratulations Shawn and Nicolle!!

19 weeks

2011-07-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

We find out the gender of our baby in one week. I'm going to be quite conflicted on that day I feel. I want to know, I want to start dreaming of my baby as one or the other, to start buying cutesy things to start imagining how Logan and this baby will interact as they grow up together. And why is it that I can't do that until I know the sex? Some would say, that it won't make that big of a difference, a baby is a baby, sex won't change too many things. And yet, I feel we say that because we don't know the incredible ways our lives are shaped by the gender of our children. If I have a boy, I'll be the mother of two boys, and live in a household of 3 boys. My life will be significantly different than if I have a girl. Obviously the big things won't change, I won't love this child any less if it is one sex or another, but I will have to love them differently. I'll have to shape and fit that love into a different box, a different shape, a different case. Mostly because simply they are a different child but a large part of who they are, their brain's development, their body's development, their personality, their culture, their lives are shaped by their gender. And not just their lives, ours as well. How different of a person would I be if one of my two sisters where a brother instead?

So here we sit, on a brink of finding out something that will shape and influence our lives it ways we only barely understand and yet it's the most simple question, one that has to be answered. Is it a boy, or is it a girl?

*Sorry for the photoless post. I do have a wedding and a family session I'm currently working on, so photo heavy posts are on their way :)

Since I have no photos to illustrate my feelings, how bout a video? Love this musical and this song puts it nicely.

Watering the Children

2011-07-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

Caryn and Rolando's Wedding

2011-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Caryn was nothing short of gorgeous on her wedding day and beyond adorable. When I came to tell her that Rolando was waiting for her at the front of the isle and it was time for them to have their first moments seeing each other, she squealed. Being their wedding photographer was a true honor, documenting their brilliant love for one another and celebration of being forever united. I really do have the best job ever :) It was a joy to spend their wedding day with them out at Silver Falls Vineyards.

Her mom's reaction to seeing her in her dress was precious.

Rolando and his groomsmen got ready out at the vineyard and my super duper second shooter Ashley took these of them getting dressed.

We set up a sweet little private moment for the bride and groom to see each other for the first time before the portraits. Rolando didn't know what he was in for with that bombshell walkin' down the isle toward him!

Caryn and her new Father in Law got down!

Rolando wasn't bad either.

We ended the evening with a few fun photos in the sunset! What a fun, beautiful day! Congrats Caryn and Rolando!

4th of July

2011-07-08T00:06:00.000-07:00

This has to be one of my favorite holidays. It marks the beginning of my birthday month, the weather is great, you get to stay up late and play with fire. We got to spend it with Jon's family in Olympia at the bay house, and I am forever ruined for celebrating it anywhere else. It's right on the water of the Puget sound and as soon as it gets dark there isn't a moment that you don't see a firework going off somewhere around the bay. It's spectacular and I love it.

M Family

2011-06-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

A few fun favorites from a recent family session I did down in Albany, Oregon. One of my favorite parts of my job is working at getting smiles out of little ones. I get to make farting noises, jump and down, make silly faces and generally just make a fool of myself. It's great fun :)

What have I been up to?

2011-06-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been neglecting this blog a bit these last few months. I'll be blaming it on the pregnancy, which is partly true, this one has brought much worse morning sickness than my last one did and it's taken its toll on me. I'm 13 weeks today, so the hope is now that I'm heading into the second trimester that should fade a bit, but we'll see.

My other excuse is that I've been enjoying summer time a bit. A few weeks ago, we headed up to Washington to visit with Jon's family. All his siblings were together for the first time in over a year and boy, what a great weekend we had. We had fabulous weather and Logan played on the beach the entire time. Him and his cousin Ben are only a few weeks apart and they were inseparable.

We've also been working on converting my office into a baby room. So far all we've done is clean it out and set up the crib but it's a start! :)

We made another trip out to the beach yesterday, and it was fabulous. We flew kites, built sand castles and just relaxed. oh, and buried the dog :)

Hannah and David's Wedding

2011-05-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

You may remember Hannah and David from their lovely engagement session earlier this spring. They are such a sweet couple and shooting their wedding earlier this month at Portland Foursquare Church was truly an honor.

Pregnancy Update: 7 weeks

2011-04-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks I went on a roller coaster ride with moments of pure joy and excitement and moments of petrified fear, agonizing worry and depression. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but I was sorta a mess. After making an appointment with my midwife and explaining that I'd had an ectopic pregnancy a few years ago, they recommended that I have two blood tests done to measure the level of the pregnancy hormone. They wanted to rule out the chance of this being another ectopic. So because my midwife didn't reassure me that I was for sure guaranteed a normal pregnancy this time, that I was long past the risky stage it sorta sent me into a spiral of worry. I knew what an ectopic pregnancy felt like and I hadn't felt anything that would make me think I was having another but any tiny spot of blood, any tiny little pang of a cramp would paralyze me. I tried my best not to worry, not to be afraid but I couldn't shake it. I would hear a song on the radio and I'd be balling my eyes out while trying to drive home from work.

I went in for the first blood test on Monday, then for the second on Wednesday. I waited on Thursday for a phone call from the midwives letting me know the results. We were hoping for a doubling of the hormone to show that the embryo is implanted in the uterus wall rather than the fallopian tube. I was hoping this call would be the for sure answer I was wanting. No call came on Thursday. Finally they called Friday and told me the first reading was around 8000 and the second was 14000. Not quite double. So I was still living in the land of maybe. They said not to worry, they wanted to do an ultra sound to confirm, it's the Friday before Easter, so we scheduled it for Tuesday.

Tuesday came, after another few days of ups and downs. I was excited for the ultra sound, but then when we got into the car to drive there, the nerves went crazy. What if I'm about to drive to a mountain of bad news? What if the drive home is going to be to the hospital instead of home? What if I'd rather stay in the land of maybes?

We sat waiting in the lobby. Another couple was there for an ultrasound, probably the one that tells you the sex of the baby since the woman had a lovely round belly. They were so happy and carefree. I was wringing my hands and had to pee. When they called me into the room and I climbed up to the table, I couldn't fight the tears anymore. The moment of truth. The technician asked why were were having the ultra sound and I managed to squeak out something about a past ectopic pregnancy. She started rolling the devise around my stomach and up on the screen was all sorts of black and white shifting shapes that seemed to mean something to her, because she was typing things and clicking buttons, but meant nothing to me. I kept looking for a something that looked like a baby to me. Nothing that I could see. She was quiet for the first few minutes that seemed to drag on and on. She said to see the baby we'd have to do a trans vaginal ultrasound. So I start to get up to change and she says "But it's in the uterus, it's definitely not in the tubes." I just sorta look at her and say "You saw it?" She says "Yep." and off I go to the bathroom to change. In the bathroom as I'm changing I felt surreal. She said definitely. But I still hadn't seen it. Back onto the table and this time the screen looks a little different. She points out what certain shapes are, my ovaries, my bladder, my uterus and then there on the screen is a round black circle with a tiny little white shape inside it with a even tinier oval inside fluttering rapidly. She says "That there is kiddo! and the flutter is a healthy little beating heart." She clicks a few buttons on the computer and the sound of a steady, fast, heart beat fills the room. I don't think I breathed the whole time it was beating. 114 beats per minute, she said. There it was, the solid, for sure, definite proof I needed that the baby was safe in the uterus. No risk of ectopic pregnancy. We finished up, she printed off a photo for us and we walked out of the office. Jon asked how I was feeling and I couldn't even say anything but "how do you think?" and we hugged. We sat in the van for a little while and I tried to put what I was feeling into words, but all I could say was "I'm so grateful." and cry.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139: 13-16

Why your wedding photographer is so important- My biased opinion.

2011-04-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

The most important choice you will make when planning your wedding, is who to marry. :) Obviously.

I believe the second most important choice you will make when planning your wedding is who to photograph the day. Yep, more important than what dress you wear, where you get married, what time of year, flavor of the cake, or song you dance to. The choice of who photographs your wedding will make every other decision you make that much easier, because you'll know that they'll capture all the hard work, all the excitement, emotion and details in a style you love and they'll make the experience relaxing, intimate and memorable.

I love photographing weddings. I love having the privilege of being such a significant part of a couple's declaration of love and commitment. Being a wedding photographer, I have a strong bias about this, but I hope by the end of this post you'll understand why I feel so strongly.

What other vendor do you ask to come into the changing room with you?
What other vendor will you even speak with again after the wedding?
What other vendor is there with you the entire day, in every moment, from getting ready, to driving off in the sunset?
What other vendor does it matter if they have a great sense of humor?
What other vendor does it matter if they can relate to your grandpa and your toddler niece?
What other vendor creates something that is irreplaceable, that is the ONLY thing you'll actually keep(other than your spouse) when the wedding is over?
What other vendor creates something you'll show your grandchildren?
What other vendor even matters!?

OK, obviously I'm getting a little carried away, but seriously, the choice of photographer is different than the other choices you'll make because of how much it will effect how you remember the day, how the day flows, and even how you feel on the day. Now, photographers aren't magicians, they can't create something that's not there, but why work so hard to create a gorgeous day that won't be documented with the same amount of concern, experience and passion as it was created?

When I meet with brides, I tell them to look for 3 things when hiring their photographer.

Ability. Are they able to do the job? Can they show you consistently good images in different lighting situations, different times of year, different locations? Do they have experience doing it? Do they have happy clients? Do they know what to do when things don't go as planned? Do they have effective, reliable, professional grade equipment and back ups?
Style. Do you love the way they see the world? The way they frame a photo, the way they edit? Is it traditional? modern? fun? trendy? Will their style become dated in 5, 10, 20 years? Does it match with the style of your wedding? Does it fit your personality? How do they pose their subjects? Do their subjects appear relaxed or uncomfortable?
Who is this person? Like I said before, this person will be all over your wedding day, are they someone you can stand? No matter how hands off a photographer is, they still effect the day in some way. Do you feel relaxed around them? Can you trust their eye and their professional suggestions? How will they treat your family? Are they easy to deal with, professional, prompt, reliable? Do they make you feel like a friend or a paycheck? Do they allow you to be yourself? Are they awesome? :)

Lastly, do they like doing this? Will they tear up when your dad first sees you? Will they respect your choices and your day? Will they do whatever they can to make sure your experience is phenomenal?

The (E) family

2011-04-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Meet some of my favorite clients! These folks just love being in front of my lens :) I photographed Bert and Christina's Wedding last summer, their maternity photos almost two years ago, newborn photos of their adorable twins and on Saturday I had the privilege of photographing their family at Champoeg Park. The twins are growing so fast and kept me on my toes running through the grass and working to get some smiles. It was great to spend some time with this lovely family again.

Serendipity

2011-04-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

So, ages ago, when I first started this blog, I posted about a collection of books I have called Serendipity Books by Stephen Cosgrove. I had a few of them when I was a kid and I always loved the illustrations by Robin James. I started collecting them when I would come across some at thrift stores and used book stores. I currently have 35 of these little books, which is just about half of the collection.

My favorite of the collection is one called Buttermilk. It's a story about this bunny that gets scared at night by shadows and then when her dad takes her back during the day she sees that it was just trees and nothing to be afraid of. I don't know why I love it, but the artwork is so adorable. I'm thinking that if I have a girl I might use this book as the inspiration for the decor/theme of her room.

I hope to collect them all, so I was browsing on amazon today looking at the ones I still need. The first in the series is called Serendipity and I was shocked when I came across the cost of the book new. I must not be the only one collecting these.

It's different the second time around.

2011-04-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

"I was tempted to go to the store tonight and get some more tests and maybe test again tonight... but I've resisted the urge and chosen to trust God. Trust not that He'll make it all exactly like I want it, but that the way He wants it is best. I'll practice waiting on the Lord. Thank you for loving me so perfectly God. Help me trust in you. Help me love you this way. And if you could, if it would be best, could I please be pregnant now? :) please?"

I wrote this in my journal on April 4th. We'd taken a pregnancy test the day before and it was negative. But I was still holding on to the hope that I had just tested too early. We waited till April 8th to test again. It was strange how different it was this time. I was nervous for both possibilities. I was nervous that it would be negative and for sure confirm that I wasn't pregnant. I was also nervous that it would be positive. As many of you know, almost two years ago I had an ectopic pregnancy which luckily we caught before it ruptured and were able to treat. I am still at risk of having another because I've had one. And that's not the only risk, there's ALWAYS a risk and there's always a lot of things that can happen and so many families go through excruciating pain and heartache from complications during pregnancy, miss-carriages and infertility. Seeing two pink lines this time felt different. The first time I was unaware of the reality that I now only know a taste of. And yet that taste changed me, changed the way I look at this pregnancy. I am so grateful. And I'm scared. I don't want to live in fear of what could happen and I choose to trust God. It is a miracle every time, only by the incredible grace of God that we are undeservedly trusted with a new life.

"God.. now the real trust begins. My hopes were high... now they're in an airplane a mile above the earth. My risk for heartache just quadrupled. " - written in my journal, April 8th

The fear of heartache is real, in fact it's life. I am starting to see that the most meaningful experiences in this life involve a significant risk of heartbreak and pain. It's when you can look at that heart ache and pain and say "You won't stop me from trying. You won't stop me from trusting, from being vulnerable. You won't stop me from loving."

Love, life and this baby is worth the risk.

For those curious, I'm 4 weeks along today, which puts my due date around the middle of December.

New toys..

2011-04-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

are the best.

We went to Toys-R-Us a couple days ago to let Logan spend his birthday money. Just going to the toy store seemed like a present enough because he just loved it. He spent at least 15 minutes just playing with their Thomas train set. Jon was finally able to pry him away from the trains to show him the hot wheels. Jon convinced him to buy a race track and Logan has been LOVING it. He took it for show and tell today at school and his teacher said the boys went crazy over it. It has kept him busy for hours.. so I love it too :)

Mommy got some fun new toys too. If you remember a few month ago I posted about Jon's Man Cave progress. Here's how it currently looks:

Right before we left for Haiti we moved the rest of the living room furniture into the man cave which left my living room bare and empty. We've made the most of the empty room, Logan loved playing with his cars in the big vacant space and for his birthday party we filled it with balloons and let the kids go crazy in there since there wasn't much for them to break. We'd been waiting for our tax return to purchase the new couch that I wanted. And see, I'm the kind of person that I make up my mind that I want something(ikea ektorp couch) and I'm not satisfied with much else. So finally yesterday, almost two months later, we got a couch for the living room as well as a bookshelf/room divider and desk attachment for the living room. I LOVE IT! Obviously it still needs some more seating (leaning towards some cool chairs like these), a rug, more artwork and accessories before it's really finished, but I feel like it has a framework to work with now and I'm much more motivated rather than just staring blankly at an empty room.

Our van was awesome, we removed all but one seat for Logan and were able to fit all 6 boxes in it.

I'm not completely settled on the placement of the couch. But for now it works. And I love it.

Photography Tips: Exposure

2011-04-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! It appears people are liking the idea of this series of blogs, so I'll try to keep 'em coming. It's good practice for me too, to break down the concepts of photography and explain what's all just floating around in my head in a concrete way. Also, I might run out of ideas for posts very soon so if you have questions, or things you want to hear my opinion on, ask away!

Ok, so this post is going to be all about the basics of EXPOSURE. Wikipedia defines exposure as the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium. If you don't know already, photography is all about light and controlling the amount that goes through your lens onto your film(or in the new world of digital, your sensor or memory card). There are three things that control the exposure of your photograph; ISO, shutter speed and aperture. I'll explain each of these and give some examples of what it looks like when you adjust them. One thing to keep in mind is that the three work together to expose a photograph and it's the balance and control of all three that will help you create the photos you want.

ISO

I'm starting with ISO because it is something that is often times overlooked as effecting the exposure of a photo. You'll find I'm going to be referring to film a lot in these posts because, that's how I learned and so much of the digital photography is based on that too. Think back to the film days, remember purchasing film with a specific number like 400, 800 or 100? These were the speed of the film, which means the film's sensitivity to light. A high number meant the film was very sensitive to light, so you could use it in low light situations and it would allow you to use a faster shutter speed, aka the film "speed". A lower number like 100, was not as sensitive to light, so you would purchase this film for a sunny day at the beach, where there was lots of light. Now with digital, we can quickly adjust the sensitivity of the camera's sensor between each photo if wanted, which greatly effects the way the photo is exposed. Most times people leave their camera's ISO setting on Auto, which means the camera looks at the available light and chooses what it things is the best ISO.

In the photo above I shot three photos, leaving the aperture (the f2.8 number) and shutter speed (the 1/125 fraction) the same, only changing the ISO. You can see that the higher the ISO gets the more light is being exposed on the film/sensor.

There are two things that ISO controls. One is what we just went over, which effects the brightness of a photograph or the exposure. The other thing that the ISO effects in a photo is digital noise or what we called grain for film. Take a look at this comparison between two photos, taken at the two extremes of my camera's ISO range.

Now, notice the grainy or "noisy" ness of the photo taken at the higher ISO. A higher ISO is going to give you more noise in your photo than a lower ISO. Now take a look at the shutter speed difference between the two photos(That's the fraction). I'll go over shutter speed next but I want you to notice that the exposure of both pictures is the same because even though I adjusted the ISO, I also changed the shutter speed which gave me an equivalent exposure. Make sense?

So we understand what ISO is, but why would we want to control it? Generally setting my ISO allows me to then have the shutter speed and aperture that I want. If I want a fast shutter speed and I'm shooting indoors I need a higher ISO to keep my shutter fast. If I'm outside on a sunny day and I want to slow down my shutter speed I lower my ISO.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is defined by Wikipedia as the time that the shutter remains open. Most of you probably know the concept of a shutter but if not I'll explain it this way. First imagine that light is water and your camera is a submarine; a yellow one if you're a Beatles fan like me :)

The submarine's door is the shutter. Normally it's closed and no water(light) can get in. When you push your shutter button the door opens. The shutter speed determines how quickly the door closes. If you leave a submarines door open for a long time, a lot of water will get in right? If it's only open for a short amount of time a small amount of water gets it. In this analogy the ISO would be the size of the submarine? and a perfect exposure would be a submarine full of water, and the brightness of light is the water pressure.. ha ha, well it's not a perfect analogy but you get the point.

The shutter speed is generally measured in a fraction of a second such as 1/60th of a second or 1/250th of a second. So even though the number on the bottom of the fraction is getting bigger the time the door is open is getting smaller. Make sense?

Now just like ISO, Shutter speed controls two different things; one being the amount of light falling onto the film/sensor aka exposure, and the other is blur or motion. Take a look at the comparison of these photos. Mostly take note of the shutter speed differences.

Notice that in the photos with the slower shutter speeds the motion of Logan jumping is not frozen. The faster shutter speeds freeze him mid jump. Obviously when photographing a moving subject that you want to freeze the action, you should use a higher shutter speed, which means in order to still get a proper exposure you'll need to either raise your ISO or open your aperture more(I'll get to this next). In other words, the submarine door will not be open for as long, so you need a larger door opening(aperture), or a smaller submarine(ISO).

Now there are some cool effects that a slower shutter speed can give you. You're able to show motion of your subject by tracking with them and blurring the area around them like this:

f5.6 1/60

Or you can control the light of a long exposure like these and get really creative.

f4.0 10(ten full seconds)

f2.0 4(four full seconds)

Aperture
Oh boy, I saved my favorite for last! I love controlling my aperture because of the effects it can give you. Trusty Wikipedia defines aperture as a hole or an opening through which light travels. So I've alluded to it before in this post, but what is the aperture on our submarine analogy? It's the size of the door, or the size of the opening in your lens that allows a large or a small amount of light through the lens. Aperture is also called your f-stop. Now exactly why they use numbers like f1.4 and f22 to describe the size of the aperture, I'm not entirely sure, I think it's something to do with an equation factoring in the length of the lens and the area of the opening and some other mathy gobly-gook. I don't worry about that, but it is important that you understand that the smaller the number the larger the opening. An aperture of f3.5 is much wider than f16.

Just like shutter speed and ISO, changing your aperture will change the amount of light allowed into your lens and changing the brightness or exposure of your photo if no other settings are changed. But the reason I love aperture is what else it changes in a photograph. The aperture controls the photo's Depth of Field or DOF. Wikipedia definds DOF as the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image. Take a look at these three photos with different apertures. Look at the sharpness of the fence in the background in each.

The photo on the left has a very shallow depth of field because the soccer ball is sharp while the grass immediately behind is not and as things get farther away from the plane of focus the more blurry they become. This photo causes your eye to be drawn towards the soccer ball. The photo on the right has a deeper DOF and you can see the detail of the fence much clearer. One is not better than the other but the different looks can be used to draw the eyes attention to the area that you want. The proximity of the object as well as the focal length(zoom) also affect the DOF in different ways; the longer the focal length and the closer the object is to the lens, the shallower the depth of field.

The aperture is the one aspect of the exposure that happens inside the lens rather than inside the camera body like the shutter speed and ISO and understanding how a wide aperture can change the available speed of the shutter is why they call lenses that can go as wide as 1.4 or even 1.2 very fast lenses. They allow so much light in that the shutter speeds can remain fairly fast even in very low light situations.

There is a ton more that I could say about each of these aspects, this blog is just a quick overview of each and this blog is already pretty long! Ask me questions if you don't understand something or would like more clarification. I know that if this is your first time learning about these things it can seem like a lot of things to balance all at once when you're shooting. The best way to learn is to take one part of it and just go out and try changing just that setting and seeing what that does, once you feel you understand that, try the next one and then the next. Most DSLR cameras have modes called Av and Tv. Av stands for Aperture Priority which means, you can choose your aperture and the camera will decide everything else for you, Tv (Time Priority) is the same just with the shutter speed. These are great settings to try out when you're starting to learn to control the different aspects of exposure.

Alrighty, this blog is growing and growing so I'm going to stop. Again, I don't claim that any of this knowledge is original to me or that it's necessarily all inclusive, but hopefully it will help someone understand exposure a little better.

Quick, get outside! The big glowing orb is back!

2011-04-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

Photography Tips: Know your camera

2011-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

So.... Ever been here? You just got a cool new camera, thinking to yourself, "Yes! Now I can finally take the kind of pictures I want!". You turn it on, start shooting and... no such luck. Still blurry, still out of focus, still confused about why your better camera didn't equal better photos. Yeah, they're bigger files, and they might be a little better but they aren't the photos you want, you still feel like the camera is smarter than you are and you're not sure your money was well spent. Been there?

Well, over the past few years, I've been asked for advice from people feeling frustrated because they plopped down a half grand or more on a digital SLR camera and just can't seem to get photos that are much different or better than their old point and shoot. Now, I am certainly not an expert, I know enough to know that I don't know enough. But, part of my intention for my blog and my business is to be a giver. I have been so blessed and learned so much from photographers that are willing to give away what they know. Freely I have received so freely I shall give. I thought I'd write some blog posts with photography tips and if people like em, I'll write a few more. After all they say you don't truly know something until you're able to teach it. Now, I am not saying that these techniques or recommendations are by any means things I've learned on my own, things I am the first to ever suggest or even that these are the "right" way of doing things. They're just the way that I do it. So yeah, is that enough of a disclaimer? If you like these little photo tips, let me know, if you have specific questions, even better!

So my first tip for taking a giant leap forward in your photography is: KNOW YOUR CAMERA

As basic and simple as it sounds, READ YOUR MANUAL. Yep, the easiest way to get a quick handle on how your camera works, what the different functions do, how to adjust settings and customize your camera, is right inside the very box it came in! Even if it's a simple point and shoot camera, most have some sort of manual options that can give you the creative control. Read through it with your camera next to you and test out each setting, each menu that they discuss, try it out. Make note of things you don't understand and look them up online. Ask someone. Try the different modes and see what the differences are. You might think that some of the settings or modes will never be useful to you but trust me, you won't know till you try, and you want to be able to control your camera, not allow your camera to control your photos.

What sort of things frustrate you about your camera? Research those issues, try to find out what is causing your camera to function that way, rather than just choosing a setting that works, work through the other settings to see if that setting gives you a certain effect. Often times a setting changes the way the camera meters the light or exposes the photo. And remember, part of the fun of any art is the experiential part of it, the fact that there really is no wrong way of doing it.

You have to remember that the camera is just a tool and that you in fact are smarter than it is. Yep, most cameras these days come with little computers inside of them that can do a lot of thinking for you if you want it to but the camera DOES NOT create the photo, you do. Taking control of the settings on your camera is the only way you'll be able to truly create photos rather than just get lucky sometimes. Unless you understand the tool that you're using, you will never master it.

Once you've read through your manual, dive into some other great reading. There are thousands of great books out there, things that have taken the authors years and years to learn, you can learn in a few hours just by reading their books! Here are a couple of my favorites:

The Digital Photography Book (1, 2 and 3) by Scott Kelby - great technical books, simple instructions and how to explanations without a lot of nerdy photog jargon :)
Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders - a great book if you're considering doing photography as more than just a hobby and how to look at the things that make you different in the field of photography.
Camera Creative by Chris Gatcum - a fun look at experimenting with your camera and really trying new things. Lots of great ideas of faking the effects of more expensive gear with improvisational, homemade gadgets.

Now, I must be honest. I don't read all that many photo books. I read a TON of photo blogs. Which is helpful of course and the internet is a huge resourse, obviously, but one thing I want to do more of is take my own advice and start reading more, not just photography books, but business and marketing as well. Here are a few of the books on my To Read list:

The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber
Poke the Box by Seth Godin
Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard
Speedlighter's Handbook by Syl Arena
Fast Track Photographers Business Plan by Dane Sanders
The Photographers Eye by John Szarkowski
The Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson
It's not how good you are, but how good you want to be by Paul Arden
Zag by Marty Neumeier

Have any suggestions to add to my list? Have you read your camera manual? Have any other great photo tip resources?

4 years, 7 years, two amazing boys.

2011-03-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

Logan turned 4 today. We celebrated his birthday earlier this week so today we just sorta let him tell us what we should do. We told him we could go anywhere he wanted for lunch. He chose Costco. :) I am a million miles from the person I was 4 years ago today. I have had a million moments of joy that I hadn't had yet when I was sitting in that hospital room holding him for the first time. I had no idea how much of my heart that child would own 4 years later. I am so blessed.

taken in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2007

Jon surprised me for our anniversary this year by taking me out to the Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton, Oregon. We ate an amazing dinner at the Garden View Restaurant, enjoyed live music in the lounge and had such a great relaxing time. I highly recommend it. We didn't check out the gardens because the weather so bad but maybe this summer we'll make it out there again when everything is in bloom.

What can I say about the last 7 years being married to this man? He spoils me rotten and still keeps me from becoming a spoiled brat. He is my best friend, my faithful support, my teammate and my prince charming. I love you, Jon. Thank you for seven AMAZING years. I'm especially thankful for the last 4, watching you father our son. You an are incredible father. Logan means SOO much to me because he is my son, but the fact that he is your son too, that he is something we share with such intense passion and love makes him all the more precious and priceless to me. I love you.

Logan gets behind the lens for once.

2011-03-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

We got Logan his very own little camera for his birthday. It takes a wopping 2.1 mega pixel photos and even little videos. Crayola, the toddlers' Canon. Logan's well on his way to being my second shooter :)

4x4

2011-03-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

My son and his cousin Gabriel were born 6 days apart. Each year since they've been born we've thrown them their own parties a week apart and thought at the end of the crazy chaos "Why are we doing this twice?". Of course, it's always the same people coming to both parties, using the same paper plates and candles and it just seems silly. So this year we decided to just throw one big party for the two of them during the week between their birthdays. It was a great success. Yes, same amount of chaos, but only once :)

Beach day

2011-03-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Not exactly the type of beach day you'd envision, with hot sunny skies and warm splashing waves with little children digging and building sandcastles. Not quite. More like bundle the children up so they don't freeze and climb to the top of a crazy huge sand dune to watch enormous, cold and scary waves crash on the jagged cliff below you while you hold onto those little children for dear life. These are the types of beach days we have in the spring in Oregon.

funk.

2011-03-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you wake up in the morning just feeling in a funk? Just grumpy as all get out, everything in the world is against you and you just want to soak in your self pity. Am I the only one that has these funk filled days every once in a while? It's like you were orbiting around life just fine and something knocked you out of your normal orbit and you're all haywire but you have no idea what did the knocking. I was there yesterday. Just in a funk, total Eeyore type of mood. So anyway, do you have any quick fixes for your downer days?

For me, it's a walk to the park with my kiddo. Something about his wonder for the simplest things, his excitement over finding a worm and the fresh air, just does a body and mind good.

Here's he's telling me how old he's going to be on his birthday.

Phriendly Photogs

2011-03-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

You know when you see those dry cleaner places with names like Krazy Kleaners and you think "Both of those words start with a c and yet they changed them to a k... WHY???" Well, Phriendly(pronounced Friendly) Photogs is my version of that. It's horrible, I know.. but oh well.

So what is a Phriendly Photog? Well, it's something I want to start posting about regularly. As I've been building this photography business over the last couple of years, I've been incredibly blessed by some amazing photographers who have answered my millions of questions, critiqued my work, lent me gear, shot with me, given advice or just simply encouraged me. I've learned SOOO much from them and been influenced big time by their attitude and willingness to share what they know with me. But honestly, the majority of my photographer friends live far away from me, some freezing in Alaska or sun bathing in California, and I have only a few dripping in the rain here in Oregon with me. This doesn't mean there aren't photographers here in Oregon, I just don't know very many of them. I follow their blogs and facebook stalk them but I don't KNOW them. And honestly I've been scared to contact them. Scared that they would judge me or tell me I suck or something. I don't know why I thought this is how it would be, but none the less I let that fear keep me from reaching out and so I was stuck feeling very alone and isolated. Now, I don't want to negate the AMAZING photographer friends that do live close by, such as James and Katya, two amazing folks who have lent me their photography hobbies as second shooters, or Kacy Kizer, who has answered all my emails and even took me along as an assistant for a shoot or David Ilyin, who rescued me by giving me a quick off camera flash lesson in Starbucks or Ashley Purcell who shot some great photos of me and my family for my website. And it's been because of these amazing relationships that I crave more. I crave a community of photographer friends, a network of colleagues who encourage each other, who can help each other and grow together. I'm starting to realize that I will only have this community if I work at creating it and if I step out and encourage others first.

So, I recently posted on Craig's list that I needed a second shooter for a few weddings this summer that my regular second shooter, James wasn't available for. I saw this as an opportunity to make some new photography friends and the best way to get to know someone is to shoot with them. For photographers, that's like seeing someone with their best friend. So, I figured it was a bit of a shot in the dark, but maybe it would lead to some connections. Much to my excitement, someone responded; Daniel Troutman of Troutman Photography. I met with Daniel today and it went great. He brought along is adorable 3 year old son, which immediately made me like him all the more. He's a family man, and hey, we can relate big time! We talked shop for a while and he'll hopefully be second shooting for me at a wedding in May.

So here's to being each other's allies rather than enemies, colleagues instead of competition, phriends instead of friends ;)

Some shots of me at Hannah and David's engagement shoot, taken by my awesome assistant Carley Klein.

cowboys, safaries and worms

2011-03-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

Logan wouldn't hold still for a photo with this hat, so I took a video.

We had a day or two of nice springy type weather before heading back into the rain and wind. Logan took advantage of it and went digging for worms in the back yard. He even found one!

This weekend was Logan's school auction. This year my sister, Bethany was coordinating the whole thing and it was quite involved. We spent most of Friday at the school decorating for the African Safari theme. We transformed basketball hoops into palm trees, hung enormous camo netting from the rafters and walls, stapled paper vines all around the entrance, hauled in fake plants, trunks, a live animal crate, hand painted murals, stuffed lions, and boxes full of authentic African trinkets and decor. And then we brought in all the auction items! Tables and tables of donated items, everything from toys to jewelry to eggs to tattoos. It looked amazing. I'm so proud of my sister for pulling it all off and the evening was a ton of fun with games, a great meal and a live auction with a great auctioneer. Jon won the tattoo and I won the farm fresh eggs for 6 months. Lots of fun and all for an amazing school. It was great to be a part of it.

And the amazing eggs that I won!

Haiti: 6 weeks later

2011-03-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

6 duplexes

12 displaced families

13 days

17 team members

$27,000 dollars

Life changing trip to Haiti: priceless.

It's been six weeks and I still haven't really truly blogged about what this trip did to me. Basically it drop kicked me. Painfully, shockingly, traumatically propelled me into the goal. The goal that is intimacy with God. The goal that is guarded by selfishness, by pride, by the myth of control. I was shoved past all those, shoved onto my face before the living God. And I see that now, even though at the time I didn't hear the crowd from Heaven roaring, or the players ripping their shirts off and lifting each other on their shoulders as the announcer screamed "GOOOOOOOOAAAALLL". I didn't see it then and I'm just starting to see it now. The goal, the point, the reason, the end, the objective, the aim and purpose where all fulfilled. And just as no one congratulates the ball that flew into the back of the net, the glory goes to the one who drop kicked it. Well done, God. Well done.

So... what did we really do there? Our team was part of Youth With A Mission's Homes for Hope project. We were able to see and be part of the completion and dedication of 6 duplexes for 12 families of earthquake victims. Mostly we painted. and painted. and painted. Then we'd take a break to drink water and play with a horde of white eyed, deeply beautiful children. Then we'd paint some more.

One very cool moment for me on this trip was one day when we finished painting early and loaded up into the trucks to drive further out into the rural areas where we were working. I was excited because this is where we had spent the majority of our time on the trip I had taken there two years earlier. As we drove out, I told one of my team members about this one little boy that I had played with last time and that I wondered if he was still out there, and if I would even recognize him if I saw him. We spent the afternoon driving out to the farthest village on the road called La Grange where we sang songs, played soccer and tossed a few kids up in the air. We drove back and made one final stop so that one of the staff could say hello to a family he had been visiting. A few of us walked out towards the river to look around. As always, a group of children gathered around us. I was taking photos of the river and when I looked up from my camera I saw two boys about 5 feet from me. I smiled at them and as soon as the taller one smiled back at me, I knew it was him. It was the little boy I had met two years ago. I asked one of the translators to ask him his name. Nelson. Yep, definitely him. I asked the translator to see if he remembered me. He smiled and shook his head yes. I was blown away. I told him I have his photo hanging in my house. I told him I pray for him. I told him God brought us back together. I wasn't able to stay and play with him again, just took a few pictures. I hope God brings us together again.

Another ministry we were able to be part of was the Prison ministry. On both of the Sundays that we were there, we went to the Prison in St. Marc to be part of a church service the YWAM base puts on for the prisoners. I had been to this prison the last time I was in Haiti and I have to say the conditions have significantly improved but they still have close to 25 people per 10ft x 10ft cell. The first day we were able to share a few testimonies from our team and I was amazed by the way God used those that stepped out in faith and shared. We prayed with some of the prisoners and sang songs. Then we went back to the base. The next week, we returned to the prison. This time one of our team mates had felt that we should teach on the story of when Jesus washed the disciples feet and then actually wash all the prisoners feet. After some prayer and discussion with our team we loaded up towels, buckets and soap and headed to the prison. Jon preached and a few others shared their powerful testimonies. Then we went around to each cell and as the prisoners stuck their feet through the bars on the door, one person would wash their feet while other teammates prayed for them. It was incredible. We washed over 500 feet that morning! While we were washing feet, Philipson, one of the YWAM staff who had started the prison ministry made an unexpected visit and saw what we were doing. He was blown away and said that just a week earlier they had done the same thing in a tent city in Port-au-Prince. He knew God was doing something big!

On our final day at the work site after we finished the homes, we were part of the dedication service for the families that would be moving from the tents they'd been living in for a year into the duplexes. It was an incredible day. We handed them their keys and prayed for them and were able to bless them with a few gifts and a catered meal.

This trip would have been nothing like it was if it weren't for the team I traveled with. We didn't just practice community, we were trapped in it, we lived it. It was hard, but some of the greatest things in our lives are the hard things. I was amazed by my team. I saw them bless a nation. I witnessed God use them, I got to watch as God opened a part of their heart and as they stepped out and obeyed the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I am so grateful for each one of them. I am so incredibly proud of them all. I can't even begin to express how much I love them. Thank you, team. Thank you.

Hannah and David

2011-03-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

As my trusty assistant Carley and I drove up to meet Hannah and David at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens for their engagement session, we drove through a few heavy downpours, then a break of sunshine then a double rainbow. We were worried we'd be stuck under an umbrella the whole shoot but luckily it only sprinkled for about the first 10 minutes and then the clouds and setting sun created the most perfect light. Hannah and David were simply lovely, so super sweet to each other and so easy to direct. One thing I love about shooting engagement sessions is the couple can really be themselves, show me who they are with out any stress of a wedding day. They aren't in super stiff clothes that they're worried about getting dirty and for a lot of couples it can be a great way to spend some quality time together snuggling and being super affectionate. It's a great break from wedding planning stress to focus on the reason why you're going through all that stress. Hannah and David were willing to climb out on limbs, sit on wet rocks, and even feed some seriously scary ducks! I love couples who are up for anything! I can't wait to photograph their wedding in May.

Poor Hannah was helpless against David's tickling.

Luc goes to the spa

2011-03-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hair cut and bath day for the dog.

Before and After

Help me out!

2011-03-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

OK Folks, I need your help. During the next few months I'm going to working on creating a brand new beautiful website for my Photo biz. While in Vegas I visited a few different website companies booths and this helped me decide which one to go with. I decided to use Showit and I'm really excited to get started creating it. BUT I'd love some feedback from you guys about what I should include. So here's how you can help:

Describe my photography. What words come to mind when you see my work? How would you describe my style?
Describe me. Who am I and what ways could I display this on my site?
Send me links to websites that you love, either their design, their functionality, simplicity? What makes them memorable?
If you're a past client, what things made you choose me? What was your experience like?

And since I hate posting blogs with no pictures, here's one I took of me, good ol self portrait style, while testing out my new 50 1.4 lens.

To Be List

2011-02-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

So I blogged about WPPI but mostly just showed some of the photos I took while there. I didn't talk about the many amazing speakers I got to see and hear and meet. While going over the pages and pages of notes I took, I thought I'd give a quick overview of the things that moved me from each speaker. I teared up in almost every single session. Yep, I'm a sap.

Jarad Platt inspired me to become emotionally invested in my photographs by being invested in my clients. He inspired me to wait for the decisive moment, wait for the moment the photograph was born to be taken. He talked about what his photographs and his style say about him. What do my photographs say about me? I started a list of some of the things I wanted my photographs to say and reflect.
Friendly. Joyful. Authentic. Relaxed. Personal.

Becker had some seriously awesome things that motivated me. He spoke about the ABC's of success, A being attitude, B was branding and C for connection. He said It's more important to be personal than to be professional. I loved this! I of course want to be professional in my business, but I want my clients to feel like we're friends, like I genuinely care about are them and that I understand that photographing someone is such an intimate experience. He talked about turning your clients into raving fans by not being satisfied with simply satisfied customers. They have to be wowed, they have to be amazed by the experience and recommend you to their friends with genuine enthusiasm. I can do this by making sure my number one goal is ensuring that my clients are having an amazing time and connecting with me in a memorable way. By being passionate and genuine, I'll then draw this out of my clients.

Bobbi+Mike was a blast. Bobbi is the cutest, most genuine and authentic people ever. She was super nervous to be speaking but really did a fabulous job. I loved the way she talked about the power photographs have to tell us who people are at that exact moment rather than just show us what they look like. And she said the best way to show your clients you care about them, is to actually care about them. Loved that. Show them how to be real and genuine, give them space to be themselves. I love her because she kind makes crazy faces when she talks :)

Jasmine Star again delivered a fabulous presentation. Her focus was on the idea that you don't have to be trapped doing things in your business that you hate. Take control and change your story. Change what's not working, change what you're not good at so you can focus on what you are good at. Something I wrote in my notes while she was talking about managing your workflow and business sides was, "You're your own boss, so boss yourself around!" My favorite thing she said was about sacrifice. She said to look for the sacrifice, look for the conflict and the things your clients have overcome. Sacrifice makes good stories. Loved that :)

Jerry Ghionis was hysterical. This guy should go into stand up comedy if his photography ever flops. I doubt that will ever happen though, he's super talented! Some of my favorite quotes from him were "If the magic is there, capture it. If it's not, create it." He had some great practical ways to evoke emotion out of your clients. He said just reminding them how monumental and important the event is can help your client touch into their emotions and their hearts rather than just their heads. He advised to photograph your subjects through the eyes of their loved ones. He said your style of photography is dictated by who you are as a person. So Who are you?

Susan Striplin was my last session. Phenomenal. She went though some of her older work and showed us what changes she made to greatly improve. She said she went to people she trusted and said "Tell me what's wrong with my work." which to a photographer is like asking someone "Tell me what you don't like about my children." She forced herself to truely look at what she was doing wrong and fix it. My favorite quote from her was "Learn how to make it when it doesn't exist, so you can recognize it in real life." Her session was perfect to end on because it just really inspired me to go out and shoot, go out and not be satisfied with the way I am now, but to strive for being a better photographer.

But honestly the best speaker at WPPI was none other than God. Yep, God can speak even in Las Vegas, even in the city of Sin. On Monday night we went to a meet up for Christian photographers. It was so good to be with like minded people connecting and talking about what God was doing in our lives. We had a time of worship and then a speaker named Albert Tate. He spoke on Psalm 23 and as I sat there and listened to his powerful message, I heard God. Albert talked about how sometimes a shepherd would break the legs of a sheep that was wondering off and carry it with him till the sheep could learn to trust to shepherd again. That's where I felt I have been the last few weeks; in pain from the brokenness but being carried by the shepherd. It was beautiful. He said sometimes we can get caught up in all the things we're trying to do, busy and actually be doing what we are supposed to be doing without being who God has called you to be. God has called me to be, not do. And in the middle of all the inspiring speakers and exciting business strategies and technical know how, I was reminded of my true strength. I was reminded that God has blessed me to BE a blessing. He has called me to BE a reflection of His glory in the world. He has called me to BE a vessel of transformation in the world, in my business, in my home. God has called me to BE.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Ps 23: 1-3

WPPI

2011-02-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

What does WPPI stand for? Wedding and Portrait Photographers International is the official meaning. After spending 6 days at the yearly conference in Las Vegas, it has a few new meanings to me. Such as:

Wedding and Portrait Photographers In (line)
Walking and Paying Plenty of Income (on food)
Wanting to Play and Purchase Insane (amounts of new gear)
Wonderful People and Purposeful Interaction
Wishing Photographer friends could Permanently be In my life

Ok, so most of those are just silly, and I just enjoy a good Anagram but there is some truth mixed in there too. Such as waiting in lines and expensive food. But mostly it was fanFREAKINtastic. I don't usually get to spend 6 straight days just focusing on photography while being surrounded by other people who are also passionately pursuing a career in photography. I was loving every second of it. Worth every penny. And as my mom advised, I sponged up every drop.

View from our Hotel room at the MGM Grand

Meeting one of my favorite photographers, Spencer Combs!

One of the reasons my trip was so amazing was the people I spent it with. I flew to Vegas and met up with 3 of friends from Alaska. Tyler, my childhood buddy who lived just up the road from me, the closest thing I have to a brother, is now a videographer. Joe and Rebecca, friends from High School, are photographers in Fairbanks and they all flew down to Vegas for the conference. To save a boat load of cash we all bunked up together in a hotel room creating a fabulous summer camp feeling. We spent hours upon hours discussing photography, business, marketing, cameras, lighting, gear, pricing, websites, clients, and of course farts. Being able to process the conference with these amazing people truly made the experience sink in and soo much more enjoyable.

"Photography is nothing. It's life that interests me." - Henri Cartier Bresson

Haiti: a week later

2011-02-08T23:56:00.000-08:00

Still speachless.. but getting there. Here are some of the panoramic photos I took in while in Haiti.

View of Port au Prince from roof of YWAM base on our first morning in Haiti.

View of St. Marc from the fort

Beach at Camp Indigo, a resort south of St. Marc

Road from work site to St. Marc

The work site

Work site on final day, after completing homes for 12 families. Note, all these photos were created by combinding many photos together, some distortion occurs. Such as the homes in the photo above are actually in a circle even though they appear in a line.

Haiti, the first of many.

2011-02-03T14:32:00.001-08:00

What a wild ride that was! I'm still unable to talk about the trip in any detail without crying. Now really, if you know me, that's not saying much, I cry all the time, but really, this trip is going to take a while to recover from. The day before we left, I remember praying "God, empty me out and just fill me back up with you. If my body is of any use to you, use it. Take over, get me out of your way and be glorified." Be careful when you pray something like that. Chances are God's gonna listen.

It'll take me a while to write a big blog about the details of what we did and go through the 3000+ photos I took. For now I'll just say that God ~~pushed~~ shoved me towards him. And it was hard, thrilling, exhausting, draining, painful, lots and lots of hard work and an true honor. And I'm so grateful. Grateful for the chance to serve such an unpredictably faithful God.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1: 2-4

Haiti bound

2011-01-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

We leave tomorrow morning. My bag is packed. Things are in order. Here we go!

Please pray for our team:

Pray that we'll be loving, patient and unified in our dealings with each other. They'll know we are Christians by our love.
Pray that we'll have wisdom to keep our team physically, emotionally and spiritually safe.
Pray that we will be an encouragement to the Youth with a Mission staff and a blessing to their ministry.
Pray that God be glorified in everything that we do and be recognized for the faithful, loving, all powerful God that he is.

See you on the other side!

Pain

2011-01-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." - The Dread Pirate Roberts

A young girl at work is only a few weeks into her pregnancy and is of course full of questions about the process because so much of it is unknown. Every pregnant woman asks other women who've been through labor and delivery the same question: "Does it hurt?" And really it's silly, because they already know the answer. They know it hurts. Do they really expect someone to answer "Not at all, feels quite good actually." Of course not. And yet the fear of pain is so ingrained into us as human's that we cower at it, and honestly we make most of our decisions based on how much pain it will cause or how much we can avoid. Pain sucks, of course it does. The fear of pain is healthy, to a degree. As parents we want our children to be afraid of burning their hands on the hot stove, to be afraid of a busy street, to avoid the pain that these things will cause. But I'm convinced pain isn't such a bad thing. Well, no, I am convinced it is a bad thing, but I'm not convinced that there is any complete escape from it and that in a way it can also be a good thing.

We all know that when you place your hand in a pot of boiling water, the pain causes us to move our hand, therefor saving us from further injury. Will you then immediately put your hand directly back into that pot? Of course not, you remember the pain and pain is a good teacher. Or at least an effective teacher.

But that's not why I think it's a good thing. You can avoid that type of pain. It's quite possible and of course preferable to learn not to put your hand in a hot pot of water with out actually doing it. There are lots of pains in this world that we can learn to avoid without the pain itself. Soo much of parenting is trying to teach your children lessons with out them having to fail to learn not to make those mistakes again. Some lessons have to be learned the hard way of course. Sometimes and for some people pain is the only effective teacher.

Last year, Jon and I were getting ready for a trip we'd be taking and I had just finished using my curling iron. I unplugged it and placed it on the floor next to my suitcase so that I could pack it once it had cooled off. Logan came walking into the room toward the curling iron. I looked up from across the room and said to him "Do not touch that, it's hot!" and in an act of defiance, he looked right at me while he lifted his bare foot and stepped down hard right on the hot barrel. Immediately his face turned from pride for his own independence to pure shock as he moved his foot and burst into tears. I scooped him up and tried to address the stripe of red across the bottom of his foot with something to sooth the pain. I remember, once he finally calmed down enough to speak he said "I stepped on it, but I don't want to anymore." Now this might sound cruel and of course I wasn't glad that he had burnt his foot, but in a way I was glad that his disobedience had been met with an immediate consequence. I didn't have to say to him "I told you not to step on it! Why didn't you listen to me! You'll be getting spankings for that!", all I had to do was offer my empathy for the pain. The pain did the teaching.

But this still isn't why I think pain is a good thing. I'd prefer that Logan didn't have to burn his foot to learn the lesson that "Obeying mommy will keep me safe". While I was giving birth to Logan, I wasn't thinking " Thank goodness this hurts, so that I know to avoid getting pregnant again!" That pain wasn't there to teach. Who really knows what that pain was there for. It might be there because of Genesis 3:16. But regardless of why it hurts, the truth is this: that pain is worth it. Some woman say it's the worst pain you'll ever experience. Some women say it didn't hurt as bad, and the reality is pain isn't a measurable object, you can't describe pain in a way that any one else can know exactly what it was like because it's a very personal thing. And every single birth is different. It's not something that can be compared. And it doesn't have to be. The point is the pain is a temporarily unavoidable thing that might teach you amazing things in the end. It might teach you that you are capable of far more than you thought you could. It might teach you that you are fragile and that some things are beyond your control. It might teach you about your own incredible need for other people, for support and help. But I think more than anything else, it teaches you that there is a high price to be paid for life. Life doesn't happen with out some pain. A lot of pain. A lot of pain to you. But the fact that you are willing to pay the price, to bare through that pain, teaches you something amazing, the incredible worth of that child. There is pain in life. There is pain that is not worth experiencing. Boiling your own hand is not worth the lesson that "Hot water is not for touching". But the pain of child birth is SOOO worth the lesson that "Life is a precious, priceless miracle."

Now know that I'm not saying that having an epidural or pain meds during labor diminished your experience in any way. Like I said, it can't be compared to anyone else's experience. I'm not saying you should embrace any and all pain in hopes to learn a lesson from it. I'm just saying that since there is no avoiding all pain, find out which things in your life are worth the pain that they cause. I'm saying avoiding something solely because it is painful will cause you to miss out on the incredible depth it can create in you. Like Pirate Roberts said, "Life is pain." And it's because of that, "Life is beautiful."

If you give a photographer a lens...

2011-01-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

As a kid I loved the book If you give a Mouse a Cookie and if you haven't read it, basically what happens is that giving the mouse a cookie leads to the mouse needing a glass of milk, which gives him a milk mustache, which leads him to looking in the mirror in the bathroom which leads to getting a hair cut, which leads to all sorts of other chaos and messes which all lead back to another cookie.

Well the same logic applies to a photographer and their gear. I was set on just taking my camera body and one lens to Haiti. But then I started packing my bag. 5d and 50mm 1.4, check. Extra battery, check. Battery Charger, check. Extra memory card, check. Should probably bring my flash for night stuff. If I bring my 580 flash, it could be cool to have my 430 to do some off camera flash stuff. and wouldn't a reflector be fun? Extra batteries for my flashes, check. It would be cool to have my 28mm for more of a story telling lens, more of a wide angle. 28mm 1.8, check. It would also be cool to have my 85mm for stuff a little further away, to be able to tell the story with out effecting the story, a little more covertly. 85mm 1.8, check. Now that I'm bringing 3 lenses and two flashes it would be nice to have my shoot sac. Since my 5d can do video, it would be cool to bring my tripod.... and my laptop... and card reader... and portable hard drive.. and... See what I mean?

No, I'm truely only going to take my body, my 50 and my flash. It'll be a good challenge to only use one lens. And the less weight I have to carry the better. I'm not going on a photo mission. I'm going on a mission. And I'll probably take some photos. And I would throw all this camera gear into the fire if it would save just one Haitian.

Logan tells it like it is.

2011-01-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

got Haiti on the brain

2011-01-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Not only do we leave for Haiti in 8 days, but today marks the one year anniversary of the earthquake. Not much else on my mind today. Here are some photos from my last trip to Haiti in 2009. Read about my experience here. Can't wait to get back there.

Website woes reloaded

2011-01-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Well... I want a new website. Bad. Even more than I did last time I blogged about this. I want a pretty website, that is cool and unique and different and easy to use and super informative and slightly addicting. I want a website that shows my photos well, that is EASY to update and upload content to. I don't want to mess with HTML but I don't want to be stuck with only a few options for customization. I want a site that is consistent with my brand. Either that or I want new branding, or at least more branding. I want a site that will hold up over time and won't seem old or outdated next year. I want a sight that doesn't cost a boatload every month. and bottom line, I want a site that will bring in business. Right? that's the point? right? yeah..

So I'm researching some options.

Showit

Pros:

Super customizable, can make a site all my own, no limit to creativity
backed by some of my favorite photographers
very compatible with social media
I've heard they have great support and design help

Cons:

$50 bucks a month, but no start up charge
might take a lot of design time up front to create something and I'm not a designer
relatively new company

Big Folio

Pros:

Sites customizable within pre-set flash designs, so hopefully less design time and knowledge required
really cute designs.. they look good.
long standing company

Cons:

a $400 first time set up fee and then $20 per month after that
Less customizable, site might look like a million other photographers sites
Flash sites don't necessarily work on all computers and depend on fast internet connections

ProPhoto Blogs

Pros:

One time fee of $200, no additional costs
Customizable and easy to design
Blog format is easy to update and consistently gets more traffic that other sites

Cons:

I'm pretty happy with this blog, so I feel like I need more of a store front/ official website with my portfolio and what not
Will for sure have a site that looks like a million other photogs

I'm sure there are gobs of other options out there.. Do you know of any? Have the perfect solution for my problem? Please, do tell :)

Man Cave Moods

2011-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

So Jon's Man Cave is nearing completion. He has finished painting the cement floor and started moving some of the furniture into it. Now, most of the furniture is coming from our current living room. The tv, tv stand, ottoman and couches will all be taking up permanent residence in the cave of man. It's going to be a super cool, manly space, complete with foosball table, dart board and working Pepsi machine.

All this progress in the man cave is leaving my living room quite empty. A big empty canvas ready for new inspiration and decor. As of now, I don't have a big plan for what I'm going to use my living room for. Ideally I see it as a sitting room, somewhere to visit with people without the tv looming or calling to us. It would be a great place to meet with clients and display some of my photos.

A few items will be staying in the living room, like the rug and artwork. Also this old swivel chair that I can't bring myself to get rid of. It's been attacked by marker by an unnamed 3 year old boy and the seams have seen better days. But other than that, it's a great chair, super comfy and it swivels and rocks. Plus, Jon's mom rocked him to sleep when he was a baby in that chair. I rocked Logan to sleep in that chair. Yep, it's sentimental so it's staying.

As for the rest, I've started a little mood board to help spark my creativity. The chair in this mood board might be the type of fabric I imagine using for recovering the chair but I'm not set on that at all. I LOVE Ikea's ektorp couches and am pretty sure we'll go that direction. So all you designers out there, what do you think? Any tips on recovering a swiveling rocking arm chair? Any websites you LOVE to cruise for inspiration?

Swing my way

2011-01-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

Our single Ikea purchase was a little wooden swing, which Jon hung in the sunroom this morning. The boys love it.

A random post

2011-01-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

Excuses for my office reaching such a level of disarray:

Christmas happened.
It was a temporary guest room for a few kiddos during the holidays
I attempted and succeeded at making a t-shirt quilt for my father-in-law in the course of a few days

It is an easy catch all room when you are quickly hurrying around your house cleaning before someone shows up.
Well, honestly, I kinda like taking a room from drastically dirty and disastrous to spotless.
I love a good before and after :)

Yesterday was a crazy long day. It started by heading up to Portland to squeeze in a quick photo session with my Aunt and Uncle's family before they move out to Indiana. 8am was the only time that the whole family would be together so we went for it. Unfortunately it was a yucky rainy day and so we did the majority of the photos inside. We did sneak outside when the rain let up for a few minutes. Jon and Logan were great troopers and came up with me, Logan helped his little cousins smile and Jon even held an umbrella over me while I shot out in the rain.

After the photo shoot, we got to hang out with them for a while, Logan and Gracie playing playing playing in her room. Logan doesn't get to see her very often but they always play super well together when they do.

We then headed to IKEA to meet Jon's parents. They had never experienced the glory that is IKEA so it was fun checking it out with them. I, of course could spend 3 days in that story and be perfectly happy. We had a late lunch of Swedish meatballs and then exchanged some late Christmas gifts. Barry, my father in law, was ecstatic about his t-shirt quilt.
We then headed home for a meeting with our Haiti team. These next two weeks before we leave are going to fly by. We have so much to do before we leave. I'm... I don't know know what to say I'm feeling about this trip. I don't think there is a word to describe how much excitement, anticipation, worry, faith and just good old blood, sweat and tears that have gone into preparing for this trip. I've said before that it's felt like a pregnancy, 9 months of preparation for this big moment that we're getting so close to now. Yeah, I know, some of you can't relate to that analogy but those that can, you get me :)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2011-01-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011 everyone!

Give aways are fun! I'll have to think of some more ways to incorporate drawings and contests! Any ideas? Thank you everyone that participated! And remember if you entered, you will receive 10% off a future session booked in 2011 as well as 10% off all prints and products from the online gallery!

And now for the winner! I simply used a randomizer from the internet to choose the winner.

And the winner is.................(insert drum roll).................... Sara Pittock!!

May this year be full of beautiful memories and happy photographs to remember them by. Happy New Year!

Twenty Ten

2010-12-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

Today is the very last day of 2010. It's been a full year. I shot 10 weddings and 29 portrait sessions. I attended the WPPI Roadtrip, a photography conference in Seattle. I bought a brand new camera (5d mkii) and roughly $1400 worth of gear such as new lenses, batteries, memory cards, bags and books. I probably took close to 40,000 photos this year. And these are my favorites. Now, I limited myself to choosing one photo per month. These were picked based on the photo, not the people in them, so if your photos aren't included please don't be offended! I loved ALL my clients from this year!

January:

David and Gabe, Keizer Rapids Park, Keizer, Oregon

February:

Jaime and Fred's Wedding, Green Villa Barn, Independence, Oregon

March:

Rachel and Tim's Engagement, Esther Short Park, Vancouver, Washington

April:

Liam, Riverfront Park, Salem, Oregon

May:

Brittany and Will's Engagement, Blackberry Vineyard in West Salem, Oregon

June:

Katie and James' Wedding, Deepwood Estates, Salem, Oregon

(OK, I cheated, there's two for June, I couldn't decide!) Laurel, Minto Brown Park, Salem Oregon

July:

Holly and Will's Wedding, Reed Opera House, Salem, Oregon

(ok, I cheated again.) Christina and Burt's Wedding, Banks, Oregon

August:

Kazandra and Jeff's Wedding, Lewis Home, Lebanon, Oregon

September:

Steele Family, Mill Creek, Salem, Oregon

October:

Conrad Family, Deepwood Estates, Salem, Oregon

November:

Turkington Family, Minto Brown Park, Salem, Oregon

December:

Rosie and Chris

And since this Blog is suppose to be about my son Logan, I'll throw in a few of my favorites I took of him this year too:

So what do you think? Which one is your favorite? Is there another photo I took that you loved but didn't make it into my favorites? As always, I love feedback!

I want to say Thank you to all my amazing clients, for trusting me to capture precious moments in your lives, allowing me into their stories and for just being overall rockin' super models! Love you guys! Happy New Year!

Christmas

2010-12-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

This was our very first Christmas in our new house. Our poor little house didn't know what was coming. Everyone came over for Christmas eve to have dinner. There was a horde of presents to pile all across one side of the living room, 11 stockings to hang on the hearth, and three little kiddos to open one present before bed. As is the tradition, they received fun new jammies.

After we'd driven around looking at the Christmas lights we headed back home to go to bed. We took our time waking up since we weren't going to open the majority of presents until David got home from work at 2pm. The kiddos piled into the bed with Bethany as she read them The Grinch. Then we piled into the living room to dig into our stockings.

Luc enjoyed his stocking too :)

We then started a big breakfast. Grandpa made apple strudel pancakes. Bacon and yummy toppings. Yum, Yum, Yum.

To pass the time before presents we went a little craft crazy. We made felt ornaments and yeah, made a big mess. What other way is there to be crafty?

Mom and Dad got the kids a cool gift that we tried out before it started raining.

And then came the present chaos.. It's amazing how quickly we went through that huge pile.

We spent the rest of the day playing with our new toys and then enjoying a huge turkey dinner. It a was a full day. Wouldn't have it any other way.

400 Fans Give-away Details!

2010-12-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

400 people. That's a lot. To me anyway. 400 people are my "fans" or "like" my photography business Facebook page. Horray! I am soooo grateful each and every person that takes the time to look at my work, comment about photos they like, cheer me on and encourage me to pursue this dream of mine. This has been an incredible year. Thank you for being awesome fans. How can I thank you properly? How about a give-away??

As promised here are the details to the give-away!

What am I giving away??

A Free Session!

1 hour, 1-6 people at location of your choice
Online ordering gallery and
20% off all print and product orders made with in 30 days of session!

Want it? Here's how to enter:

Tag Tekoa Rose Photography in a Facebook* comment (Don't know how? Watch this video)
Or leave a comment on this blog post if you don't have Facebook
Must be done before 12:01am January 1st, 2011
Make sure I know about your tag, some haven't been showing up on my page, so leave a comment if you don't see your tag on my page's wall!

Winner will be selected by a random drawing and announced New Years Day 2011.
Must book and complete the session in the year 2011. Session may be given as a gift certificate.

*Must become my fan or "like" me to tag me!

So maybe you're thinking to yourself: I would LOVE a free session with Tekoa Rose Photography but I live far far away from her or I've already had a session with her, or I never win anything! Well, here are some reasons why you should still enter:

The session may be given as a gift certificate to a friend or family member who does live close by.
You've got a whole year to use it, so maybe, just maybe our paths will cross this next year! I'm always looking for an excuse to travel!
Every person who enters will receive a 10% discount on future sessions booked in the year 2011 AND prints and products ordered through the online galleries. You know what that means? EVERYONE IS A WINNER!!
It can't hurt! :)

So, what are you waiting for? Go Tag me!

Kacy Kizer

2010-12-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

*Warning* The following post contains images that are what you might call PG13. Might not be appropriate for horny teenage boys. ;) I've tried to keep it tasteful and nothing more than you'd see in any fashion magazine or a Victoria secret advertizement.

I got the chance to assist for a local photographer whose work I love! Her name is Kacy Kizer and she's a wedding and senior portrait photographer based out of Eugene, OR. It was a really low key, relaxed shoot for a part of her portfolio she's developing so for the most part I simply held a reflector for her and shot a few shots from that angle. It was great to meet her and chat on the drive up and down from Portland where we met her make-up artist friend Austie Eckley who was prepping a few models to display her home made veils and head pieces. We shot boudoir style photos inside a really cool older house with a claw foot bathtub and vintage furniture. It was a fun fun girly time :) And I was able to snoop at Kacy's gear, ask her a million and a half questions and there was even a moment while I was holding the reflector and I asked if the light was in the right spot and she said "You're perfect." Yep, that's right, Kacy Kizer thinks I'm perfect. Ha ha.. Oh and I even got to use her 50mm 1.4 for a few minutes, which of course was enough to solidify in my mind that I NEED to upgrade from my 50mm 1.8.

Here are a just a few of the photos I managed to snap, most one handed while holding the reflector.

Angels we have heard echoing in a gymnasium

2010-12-10T00:08:00.000-08:00

Logan appeared in his first Christmas Program tonight. It was epic. Close to 70 little kids on stage in their daddy's over sized white t-shirts singing Christmas songs with titles like "Hey, Hey Gabriel" and "What a strange way to save the world," while hundreds of beaming parents and grandparents squish closer to the stage to get a pictures of their little angel doing the hand motions a full measure behind the rest. Logan did amazing on stage even though he threw a fit when we tried to get him to wear the white t-shirt so he could match the rest of his pre-school classmates before the program. He was screaming "It's too big!! It's too big!!" but after much convincing, he finally sported his angel costume. And I have to admit, I was one of those crazy moms that snuck down the isle with her big camera during the first song and stayed down there the whole time. Yep, I'm one of those. Logan danced and sang and did hand motions and sat still and even smiled and waved at me when he spotted me crouching down near the front. I loved every second of it.

I love Gabe's wide open yawn in the photo above. Gabe started crying after a few songs and climbed down off the stage to his momma. There was one moment when I was worried I'd have to grab Logan off too. I think the girl next to him was telling him it was time to sit down again, which apparently he didn't want to do because he gave her these two crazy looks! ha ha.. Luckily they were both quickly distracted by the next song. I can see he's really grasping the Christmas spirit.

Mayonnaise be merry and bright

2010-12-06T22:59:00.000-08:00

Well, thanksgiving is over, so Christmas is barreling toward us like a fat man running down a steep hill. Bring it on baby :)

Thankful for Monday

2010-11-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure Mondays will ever be able to get their reputation back. They've always been a day hated by the majority of the population and even for me, who's almost always had a midweek weekend, Mondays are still no good. After starting work at 6 am, I usually treat myself to a coffee on my break and by the time I get home, it's usually starting to wear off. My motivation to do anything productive quickly depletes and I usually try to sneak in a nap if my son allows me to. Technically today is my Thursday, but it still feels like a Monday. So to avoid today, I'll post some pictures from this past week and some of the things I'm grateful for as a post-Thanksgiving... post.

My parents: What a blessing it is to have two incredible parents that love each other and love us so completely. They are somehow managing being miles and miles apart for an unknown amount of time while my dad gets things worked out up in Alaska so he can eventually move down to join my mom. After spending 30+ years in Fairbanks this transition can't be easy. I am proud of the way they are embracing this new season and facing it as an adventure together. My dad came down for Thanksgiving and after some prodding from me and mom, Dad agreed to a quick lil' 5 minute photo shoot with the grandkids during a brief bit of sunshine.

My Other Parents: We got to spend the holiday with Jon's family up in Washington. We celebrated Karla's 50th birthday by reading her letters each of the family members had written and of course shedding a few happy, loving tears. It was wonderful to be able to bless someone who is constantly a blessing to others. Logan got to play play play with his cousins, Ben and Ella. Thanksgiving day was spent playing in the snow, lounging around watching football, prepping dinner, eating dinner and playing apples to apples. It was a lovely Thanksgiving.

My Son: I know, I know, cliche but its true. He might be the only person who can redeem a Monday. He can make the worst day better just by smiling at me and he adds so much joy and laughter to my life. I am so grateful to be his mom and to love on him no matter what day it is.

A little Alaska in Oregon

2010-11-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

I can remember staring out the window at my big fluffy white, snow filled back yard in Fairbanks, Alaska as a kid and thinking there were millions of little diamonds resting on top because of the way the sun made it sparkle. My mom would say "Go get me some of them diamonds!" And we would gear up, putting your mittens on before your coat so that when you pushed your hands through the sleeves your wrists were tightly sealed in, safe from the cold and wet. Pink snow boots, red knitted hats, overall style snow pants, scarves wrapped around your neck 6 times and tucked into your over sized coat and 30 minutes later you were ready to attack the subzero temperatures. Snow ball fights and snow angels quickly got boring and you spent more time digging out the swings and slides, writing your name in the snow with colored water in a squirt bottle (us girls have to be creative) and carving out a snow cave from the huge snow drift formed by dad's snow plow. It's amazing that something that for most of my life was completely normal and constant, is now such a novelty here in Oregon. We got a beautiful dusting of snow last night and of course, school is canceled and no one is moving out there today. Logan spent a few moments in the snow this morning before wanting to go inside and have hot cocoa. He wanted Jon to throw snowballs at the dog and needed help making his own to throw at me. I showed him how to catch snowflakes on your tongue. His mittens got quite matted with snow which he did not like. So we headed inside and sipped hot cocoa by the fire.

Lunch is good.

2010-11-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

My lunch date.

He's a stud. Sure knows how to entertain a lady.