Some Gilberts never change {portrait}

This is the last post from my Holiday Mini sessions, and what a fun one it was. I sent out a quick note a few weeks ago for the first person to call and book a session with me in Salem gets a $25 gift certificate. One of the those fun incentives I love to throw out there every once in awhile. Within minutes I get an email from an old friend....she was so cute, she says "I want that $25"

We struggled for days looking at scheduling possibilities, and nothing worked. Between my schedule, her husbands work and the holiday trip they were taking, nothing was working. We were going to be crossing paths on both ends of our trip, I was heading to Salem, they were coming near Bend. Finally, due to some sort of miracle in the heavens, we made it work out.

I met Lyle (the husband) in Junior High, but we didn't become friends until just after our High School graduation. He was friends/ roommates with my ex-husband, so Lyle and I hung out often. He was the one you call when you're in trouble, the one who will always make you laugh and a really good friend. Angie I knew as well, she was a few years younger than I was, but we always had a good time together. One day, I think after Angie had broken up with a boyfriend, I asked her if she like to hang out. I brought her over to the guys house, introduced her to the "roommate" and apparently, the rest....well...is history. They make the cutest couple, and have lasted through the years. I love a good story like this one. They were also the first to come visit me in the hospital after I had Taylor. Shortly after Taylor, life took us to North Carolina, and I lost contact with most everyone from that other life of mine.

Thanks to Facebook, they found me. It had been 12 years since I saw either of them, they now have a very adorable red haired little girl, and are still happily married.

After a very successful session in Eagle Crest, we headed back to the condo to catch up. It was great to hear the stories I missed. They asked a lot of questions about our lives, but what I really found out, is that some things never change. Angie is still the sweet girl I knew at 15, her hair is a little darker, and she totes around a toddler now, but under all of those 15 years is an amazing woman, who is still kind and thoughtful. Lyle will still make you laugh, and while he can usually say something off the wall and sometimes inappropriate, he's always there for a good laugh. He's also still the guy people call when they need help, only now he gets to drive a car really fast, carries a gun and gets paid for it. (He's a police officer) I'm so glad to have met up with these two again. They are a few of the people I always missed seeing, and other than life happening, I'm not sure why we lost touch. I hope that this little reunion will spark something to keep the three of us in contact.

Thanks so much Gilbert's for letting me photograph you. I had such a great time reconnecting and watching your adorable little daughter. She is just too cute, and a perfect combination of her amazing parents.

Is it still raining?? {portraits}

As promised, this is the second post of my Mini Holiday Sessions. This particular session was almost canceled due to weather.

All week long I searched for the perfect family location in a strange town. I found a few, but none just right. The day before we were scheduled to photograph, I noticed a field. Its a field right across the street from my parents house. It's one we played in growing up, rode bikes in since our road was only half paved. I suppose when you see things every day, they start to loose their amazement. There used to be an old building in this field, that was long ago torn down, although the piles of cinder block and old tires that people have dumped still lay. I noticed an old patch of trees that could possibly make a great back drop. (Note to self...remember this spot, it could come in handy)

The weather was beautiful all week, and then it hit. The rain started Thanksgiving day and seemed to not let up. I had set up a session with a woman I went to High School with and her family. I don't remember Jennifer and I as friends back then, but she was always nice. I was always too quiet. I didn't make friends easily. We reconnected on Facebook, and I enjoy getting her updates and comments. She now lives away from our old town, as do I, but both of us were going to be visiting family for the holidays back home.

It was perfect, except for that rain. Maybe it will let up?? In the early hours of the morning, I was awoke by the loud rain pouring down on the shed outside. My stomach turned as I knew I was going to have to cancel with Jennifer, even though everything else had worked out so perfectly.

Well, long story short, we actually did cancel, it had dumped rain all night, and everything was wet, and gloomy, definitely NOT picture weather.

After a long talk that morning, we decided to postpone and hope we can make our schedules work again. I was bummed....

About 10 minutes later, the sun started to peek thru the trees, drying the ground fast then a hairdryer. I called Jennifer back, pushed the session back an hour and hoped the weather would hold.

Well, as you may already know, it did hold. In fact, the photos are some of my favorites. The vivid colors and light in that field were this amazing combination of perfection. I had such a great time with this family. They were fun and willing to do anything I asked. They even sat on a pile of old junk, cinderblock and rotting tires. But that's what it takes to get a fun and different family photo. Thank you Alvarez family for a great morning, and thanks for tromping around in some wet ground with me!

Blast from the Past {portriat}

This past week has been an interesting one. I decided to go home for the holidays, and I ended up booking 3 sessions while I was there. All of these families I knew in that other life of mine, and I have not seen any of them since. The first family was the Wentworth family.

I headed over to Salem last Sunday morning. The snow was terrible crossing the pass, so badly that I worried we may not make it. (I'm a woos when it comes to driving in the weather like that) We hit a huge blizzard type storm, and could barely see a car length in front of us. Needless to say...I made it fine, and was so glad to see dry pavement.

I had about an hour before my first session. I was going to be meeting the Wentowrth's at one of the fabulous historic sites in Salem.

A little background....

Jenny and I met in Junior High. She was the cousin of a very good friend of mine. I loved Jenny from the minute I met her. She was sweet and kind, and was so funny. Thats what I remember of Jenny. Jeremy, I knew separately from Jenny. We worked together at my first job, he was sort of a confidant for me. He would listen to all of my High School drama, and tell me how to deal with those "boys". Shortly after starting work with Jeremy I discovered he had a girlfriend. Her name was Jenny. The two of them had a tough start to what turns out to be a lasting, loving relationship. They started their family early, and once Jeremy and I no longer worked together, I didn't see the two of them again.

One day searching the beloved Facebook, I was reconnected with Jenny, and found her and Jeremy to still be married with now two kids, and couldn't have been happier. They two of them seem to overcome anything that life throws at them, with grace and love. They have a beautiful family, and seem to be very happy.

I was thrilled when Jenny asked me to photograph their first...yes, I said first, professional family portrait. I only hope I lived up to their expectations.

It was so great to catch up, neither one of them have changed a bit, except for the now teenage daughter and very energetic 10 year old son that they tote around with them. It was a good start to my week of reunions.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting the rest soon....I have several more special appearances from long time friends to come.

I must be crazy!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we welcomed yet another member to the family.  Who can resist a cute and cuddly little kitten, especially one that has this sweet a face.  Welcome Koda!  He reminds me of a little tiger cub, he's so sweet.  Both girls are fascinated by him, and no one wants to ever give this little guy up.  However, the other two furry members of our family are less excited that he's here.

A bit of a celebrity {portrait}

Bend is small, but we have our hometown celebs. The girls love listening to the radio in the morning as they get ready for school. Their favorite morning show USED to be "Dave & Bryon" in the morning, until they went their separate ways, and no longer have the morning show together. Kaci's favorite is Bryon, she think she's so funny. Well...he is really funny.

I've done a few freebies for Dave and Bryon, and was excited when Bryon emailed again about some promotional photos. I photographed all of the radio staff still needing head shots. Apparently Bryon thought they rocked, and asked again if I could do some photos...this time for his church.

He and his awesome wife Shawna, along with a few others on the church staff met me at my favorite Bend location for some very funky head shots. That morning Kaci heard who I was meeting. After she rattled off his favorite candy, what him AND his wife were for Halloween, I thought I should probably let her come with me for this one.

Just like I figured, Bryon was amazing with her, let us take a photo and let her be completely star struck. Her first experience with someone famous! She bragged for days! Thanks Bryon and Shawna for thinking of me....I had a great time, and so did Kaci!

Bryon and Kaci

Bryon Mengle headshot....

The adorable wife...Shawna.

New Moon...to go or not go?? {personal}

To go! That was the decision, which was made on a whim, two months back. We bought our tickets and the girls have been anxiously waiting ever since. The night as a whole, besides the whining when the flashback movie broke, and the complaining because we were in a different theater than all of our friends, it was an adventurous night.

We ran around the Old Mill theater for hours, the kids had free reign of the whole place. There were hysterically drunken 30-somethings just as excited as the tweens, all decked out in their favorite "monster" garb.

4 hours of waiting in a theater, the lights lowered and the screams began. Within 5 minutes of the first scene those same 30-somthings were yelling at a lit screen to "Take it OFF" in anticipation to see "Jacob" shirtless. I will not say I did not enjoy the glimpse of the brown shirtless chest, but isn't the guy actually 17? ODL! Pick someone we don't have to feel guilty for drooling over.

Both girls stayed awake through the entire movie and made me laugh every time Kaci would whisper..."Mom, he's so HOT, Jacob is soooooo HOT!" She's nine!

We made it home shortly after 3am, thank goodness we could literally walk to the theater if is hadn't been for the 40 degree night we had. But we made it to our warm beds before half of the theaters even let out....did I mention we had a dream parking spot just outside the back theater doors....it was wonderful!

The next morning I let the girls stay home, Taylor actually didn't have school...conferences. Since Kaci is the sleeper of the family there was no way she was actually getting up. I unfortunately did not have the luxury of sleep that night. The stress from knowing how tired I was going to be made it harder to fall asleep and if I remember right... 2 hours is about all I got. The nausea set in that morning, I had two pots of coffee and it still didn't help. I was miserable. The girls called me every hour after they woke up to complain about each other and I had such a busy day I didn't make it home until 4 pm, with loads of homework and editing to still finish.

I hope they had fun....I paid for it the next day for sure!

Belly bumps and giggles {maternity}

Yesterday I met the cutest little brown eyed girl. She was a complete ham for the camera and for the exception of her modesty getting in the way a a few great shots mom and I wanted to get, this little cutie was a dream to photograph. She was all smiles and giggles, and I know she's going to make a great big sister.

Thanks for making my job so fun. I hope this cute little family loves their photos, it was a bit cold outside, and we definitely had to improvise on our backgrounds. The priceless shots of the "belly bumps" made it all worth it in the end....you'll see....it is just TOO cute!

See...belly bumps! I love this shot!

A Graphic Designer in the works! (design}

So, I have been taking classes online since August at The Art Institute. It's been going very well, and my previous experience has made the classes fairly easy for me. I feel confident when I turn in a project, and usually get very possitive feedback from my class mates.

I saw an add online for a logo contest. A local company needs a new logo and are offering to open it up in the form of a contest. We don't win anything, except for the pleasure of seeing your logo all over town. I decided to enter, I need the practice. now I just can't decide which logo to submit...so I need your help. Which one do you thing is contest worthy?

"What's Your Sexy?"

With the help of some amazing friends, some gorgeous women, and lots of wine and food, I was able to pull off a very fun evening this past Saturday night. It was a tiny idea, formed from several brains that blew up into a very successful event.

The whole crew, Sophie, Carie, Tambi and Chantel

My "marketing guru", aka Carie, helped me advertise, organize and facilitate our "What's Your Sexy?" boudoir night. Thanks to Royal "T" Antiques for hosting, and giving us an awesome venue to hold our party and take our photos. This store is ridiculously fabulous inside and you must see it! Tabree (the owner) is a rock star when it comes to setting up her style in the quaint little store. I had two assistants that night, Chantel and Sophie, I couldn't have done it without you! Their eyes for the details let me focus on lighting, posing and the girls without having to "see" when a tiny hair was even out of place....if I could pocket these two and take them everywhere with me, that would be ideal. While I was focusing on the woman in front of me, these two were already scouring the store for more fabulous finds for photos....You were AMAZING! We had a killer soundtrack, thanks to my friends Kat and Chantel, to get everyone in the mood, and some great food. Let's see....am I forgetting anyone??

I was so unsure of how the evening would work out, and I honestly wouldn't have changed much. (except for the blisters on my feet by the end and the exhaustion that set in...I was a mess, running all over the place.) There were six women brave enough to face the camera that night, and possibly several more ready for next time. We had a blast. Each women found she was a different sexy, and all the photos were great! We had cute sexy, sultry sexy, curvy sexy, and more. All of the girls were so great and they made it a wonderful night for me. The comments I received from these women were heartfelt and wonderful, and it's why I love what I do. Some women were there for a husband, a boyfriend and we even had a few there just for themselves. It was AWESOME! A few of these women were even gracious enough to let me share a few with you. I still don't have permission from everyone yet, so there could be more coming, but here are a few to entice more of you sexy women to come out for the next event...yes, we are already in the works, and have women anxiously awaiting a date to be set. So, all of you ladies out there, you are sexy! If you don't know what kind...you should come find out!

This girl can ROCK a pair of heels.....{Senior}

I met "L" and her mom a few weeks ago at a local tea house, to go over senior photo packages. Her Mother described her as glamorous, and "L" was every bit of that. I found a great new location for us to tackle her senior photos at, something unexpected, something very contrasty from her typical great taste and amazing wardrobe. On picture day "L" and I drove to Redmond for what turned out to be, round one, of our photo shoot. This girl shows up in some rockin' shoes....pair after pair after pair. He tells me she wears them everyday, and NEVER wears a pair of jeans. Glamorous is a bit of an understatement when it comes to this High School Diva. To top it off....she tells me she's a softball player! I had a great time with her...both days...and I hope she's as happy with her AMAZING photos as I am. Thanks "L" for laughing with me....I still like the big laugh the best!