Peace and Pandemonium

Labels: arsty, Sophia

Follow this link, you wont be sorry. Go right now!

Thanks Holly! I am in tears from laughter.
Just as a side note, "The Damned" picture is actually pretty groovy!




Seriously.

I had the great pleasure of photographing the Wellman Family last weekend. They wanted to go to SLC to take the pictures and I was thrilled. For me, SLC is filled with untapped locations to photograph and I have had my eye on a few of these spots for a while. This photo shoot finally gave me a reason and a subject to use them with. Thank you Wellmans for such a fun afternoon. The weather was grand, the company was even better, and I am so pleased with the outcome.
Success!






















and my favorite image of the day....

Last April (yes we're talking April 2008) I did an interview with Jessica Steir, the brilliant mind behind the photography website known as Momshots.com. (Jessica is also a guest speaker at Photo Camp Utah so if taking better pictures of your kids is your goal, be sure to check out her class!) This is a website that helps mothers and other aspiring photographers learn how to take better pictures. Specifically of kids but in general as well. We met at Borders and talked about photography for over an hour. It was so fun and Jessica asked me some really great questions. She brought her recorder to tape the conversation and then took the time to edit it into a 30 minute podcast. She posted this on her wedsite back in December and I meant to put this out there long ago but sometimes life (and I admit, nerves) get in the way.

I get a lot of emails from people who want to know general photography related questions. I'm more than happy to answer them but I thought that if I also gave you this link, you could listen to it if you have the interest and 30 minutes to spare. I dont know, maybe you'll learn something you didnt know before? I'm not making any promises though. :) Also, just remember, this intereview was taped nearly a year ago. I have learned A LOT since this time and not everything I say in this conversation is absolute truth. Please forgive my ignorance and just take from it whatever is helpful.


Click here to listen to our conversation. :) Enjoy!

A couple of updates...
1. You can get great group shots at fstop 5.6. You dont have to go as high at 8.0 unless you have tons of available light.
2. As far as camera angles go, shoot however you want. Dont limit yourself. I have captured some great images of adults, even though I was shooting from below eye level. :) The way I see it, rules are meant to be broken so please, break 'em!
3. This picture is referred to in the interview when we are talking about clothing and textures.

If you are interested in photography you would have to be crazy not to attend this. $10 bucks for the whole day! Even if you only learned one new thing it would be well worth your time and money! I'm going, I already bought my ticket. There are a limited number of seats so if you want to participate follow this link now and sign up! Let me know if you're planning on going so we can meet up.

When Sophia was 8 months old she had surgery on her head. Her scalp was shaved from ear to ear in a 2 inch wide strip . With the exception of this unfortunate head shearing, Sophia has never had a haircut! Her long, luscious, curly locks have been both a blessing and a curse. Her hair is obviously beautiful and striking but more often than not, it is literally a rats nest. The length and the curl plus the fact that its fine cause her to wake with dread locks every morning. She absolutely HATES it when I try to brush it out so I allow her to go 2 and 3 days between official brushing and let me tell you, that is bad, bad news!! This morning I spent 45 minutes carefully brushing out a dread lock that should never have been brushed out. It was a mess. That was the final straw. Sophia has been wanting a haircut for weeks now but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Today, I could.

Labels: family, Sophia

My youngest brother Christian is the epitome of a love child. He oozes affection, love, and sweetness. Therefore it makes perfect sense that he was born on the day of love...Valentine's day in case you needed that clairification. :) He flew into town over his birthday weekend to hang out with the family and gather his presents. I, of course, took the opportunity to capture his unique style and document it for posterity's sake. Don't you just love looking at pictures of yourself when YOU were 15??

We had such an amazing shoot together. The dreary, freezing cold winter decided to take the day off on Monday. The clouds parted, the snow stopped falling. The sun even came out and it was 50 degrees outside!! I was in pure heaven. Hey, it's been a long winter and my standards have dropped! We wandered around downtown Provo and found some interesting nooks and cranny's and when all was said and done it was one of the best days I've had this year! Sunshine, family, and photography. A perfect day!





























And as if that wasn't enough, there are MORE! Click here to check them out.

Labels: Christian, family, portraits

Kathryn is a friend of a friend and she and her fiance Kent are getting married on February 28! Guess who their wedding photographer is? Yep! I agreed to shoot it. Perhaps against my better judgment?? That is yet to be seen. ; ) This will be my first full wedding, including ceremony and reception. I'm a bit terrified but also excited for the challenge. It's an indoor wedding and I don't usually use a flash so it should be interesting to say the least. Watch for those pictures in the following weeks and keep your fingers crossed for me!!! I'm going to need it.

To hold you over until then, these are some images from their engagement session taken on a very snowy Valentines Day. It truly was a day for LOVE!!!






















To view more images from this shoot click here

Labels: engagements

In these difficult times, I sometimes forget that my blessing come in many disguises. I often need to be reminded just how good I have it. I thought I'd pass this on so you can remember just how blessed you are too.


Things to be thankful for:

-Be thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means you have enough to eat.
-Be thankful for the mess you clean up after a party because it means you have been surrounded by friends.
-Be thankful for the taxes you pay because it means you're employed.
-Be thankful that your lawn needs mowing and your windows need fixing because it means you have a home.
-Be thankful for your heating bill because it means you are warm.
-Be thankful for the laundry because it means you have clothes to wear.
-Be thankful for the space you find at the far end of the parking lot because it means you can walk.
-Be thankful for the lady who sings off-key behind you in church because it means you can hear.
-Be thankful when people complain about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.
-Be thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means you're alive.


Thanks for posting this Momo!

Labels: family, portraits

Labels: artsy, family

My friend Lorena and I got together last night for (an always much needed) girls night out. Before hitting the town, we just had to do a little impromptu photo shoot.















The fun never ends with this girl. Thanks for the great night Lorena!

Labels: portraits