I had the pleasure of photographing this little girl before she was even born when we captured her mother’s maternity session. A few weeks later she surprised her parents with an early arrival!  She chose to make her entrance into this world during the middle of an important football game and to commemorate the occasion her parents brought along some team spirit to to use for props (both teams!).

Happy Birthday sweet baby!

On a day like today when it is at least 50 or 60 degrees outside, it’s hard to remember what is feels like when you are constantly being hit by arctic gusts of wind.  The day we headed out for Michelle and Brian’s engagement shoot was one of those days.

Michelle & Brian had on the coolest set of trench coats– which reminds me I still need to add one of those to my wardrobe! These guys were fun!  They didn’t even flinch at the chill in the air. They were so accommodating to all my silly ideas for poses that they even came up with several of their own ideas and locations.

This was the second shoot in a month where water was involved or someone falling into water was involved.  This time it was my beloved flash unit taking a digger right after we finished shooting.  I was breaking everything down and launched that baby up into the air for a splashdown completely underwater.   Brian leapt to my rescue and, of course, landed in the water.   He did, however, save my flash from certain death!  I am happy to announce it has now made a full recovery and I think Brian survived unscathed as well!

Brian & Michelle, thank you for your patience in the chilling winds of fall!  I had no idea how cold it was until the drive home so I know you guys must have been freezing!

Congratulations on your engagement!

Operation Love Reunited (www.oplove.org) is an organization that I only recently found out about.  At it’s core, it appears to be a moral booster to military families and the soldiers they have deployed overseas.  OpLove hooks up families with photographers in their area who agree to donate their time doing photo shoots for the family and then creating and mailing a small portrait book to the soldier’s military post overseas.  The photos can be taken before the soldier leaves, after the soldier is deployed, or even as a reunion shoot upon return at the airport.  After having experienced the constant emails from my husband, Dave, the last time he was deployed for “more pictures, more pictures, more pictures”, this seemed like a no brainer for me!

Although this is my first official shoot for the organization, I’ve spoken with several family members regarding the program. Everyone I’ve talked with is dealing with deployments of a year or greater.  I am in complete awe of how these families are able to hold down the fort and get the kids to all their designated activities.  When Dave deploys it’s usually only for about three months because of the nature of the Air National Guard.  That sounds so easy now!  I totally feel like a whimp for taking the kids to my folks place for help!  I promise that the next time – I will be stronger!

So, I have been in touch with the family in these photos since we started our journey back from Idaho.  I immediately connected with their mom because her cellular phone number began with an Alabama area code!  It’s a southern thing!   We had scheduled an outdoor fall session and then realized that we were probably going to get pelted with rain so we bumped it up a few days.  I ended up taking my boys along because of the reschedule and that added a new element of chaos to the adventure!  My youngest, Sid, kept getting in the shots and posing everytime I asked one of the girls, also named Sidney, to stand next to her sister.  It was soooo cute but needless to say my Sid was a bit exasperated with me before it was all over and he sulked off by himself and sat on a rock to pout.

The girls were awesome!  They seemed to have a blast playing on the rocks and hamming it up for the camera.  Their brother, however, was not at all thrilled at having some crazy lady stalking him with a camera.  By the end of the evening when they were playing in the leaves he decided he might be having just a little bit of fun and started cracking a few smiles.  Yay!

I am so looking forward to getting the book together and shipped out!  What a great treat to have when you’ve been away from your family for so long!  Kudo’s to Operation Love Reunited for coming up with such a great idea!

(**Note:  The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.**)

For more information, check out their website at www.oplove.org.

Every few years I get the opportunity to do something I don’t normally do and that is photographing seniors.  I am fortunate enough to live next door to a house full of young men.  One by one they’ve been going off to college and one by one I’ve had the opportunity to photograph them.  Now there is only one left but luckily he has a few more years until graduation.

The most recent of the boys to hit senior status is Nolan.  We ventured out to Kincaid Park on a gorgeous evening that just happened to be a wee bit freezing.  Nolan looked like he survived the cold alright, though, and we captured some photographs that I just love!  My favorites were of Nolan next to a gnarled old tree right as the sun was setting.  Very cool light and great fall colors!

Congratulations, Nolan, on your senior year!

Amy & Andy are engaged! They will be tying the knot next summer out in the valley. I am excited about photographing their wedding and really enjoyed the opportunity to spend a few hours with them on a gorgeous day prior to the hustle and bustle of the big day!

We traipsed over rocks and outcroppings and played in dirt and water. At one point, Amy even went sliding and splashing into the water as we tried to inch near a waterfall! I fell in a few minutes later as payback for even suggesting such a thing. Luckily it was gorgeous and hot outside. Amy’s jeans never quite dried off but she looked like she was having fun throughout the soak filled latter half of the day.

Congratulations Amy & Andy! I’m looking forward to your wedding next summer.

Another little boy in the studio! This fellow was almost old enough to hold his head up. There is a funny picture mixed in below of his mom giving him a little help propping his head up with her finger — makes me laugh!

He was also fascinated by the flickering of my lights. He stared right into them completely content to watch them flash on and off. I love the images of him with his mom. He looks utterly and completely happy! Congratulations, mom & dad, on a beautiful baby boy!

My favorite family and my favorite time of year! We have done their family portraits now for about three years and it’s so much fun to see how much the girls grow and change with every passing fall. We always have the great vibrant yellows and reds of September in Alaska and every year this family documents the session with a portrait book! Too much fun and a beautiful day to boot!

I met Leslie and her brother & nephew out at Bird Creek right before the autumn leaves had really changed.  Leslie traveled up from Idaho and wanted to have some family photos to take back home with her.  We started out in the rain but just like any other day in Anchorage, if you wait five minutes, the weather will change!  We ended up having great weather and stayed dry for the rest of the evening.

The big challenge of the evening was to counter balance her nephew’s “James Bond” posings with a few natural smiles.  There were some great lifted eyebrows and expressionless glances but eventually we had him crack a real laugh.   I think those are going to be keepers for his grandmother!

Alisa & Casey are married…finally!  At least that’s what their friends and family were saying!  They’ve been a couple for a long while and everyone was very happy to help them tie the knot and celebrate.

They were married downtown and the party quickly moved over to the Hotel Captain Cook.  Alisa is also a photographer so she made sure she had a beautiful suite at the hotel for all her “getting ready” shots.  Yay!  (okay, I just have to say that one more time. Yay!)  She also had a surprise bouquet that was absolutely gorgeous even if there was a bit of a stressful moment involved!

The reception was a definite party.  The ambiance at the hotel was crazy dark and gave us some good opportunities for tricked out lighting styles.  Too much fun!

Congratulations Alisa & Casey!

Twelve days old!  I can’t even imagine how shocking life is when you’ve only been alive for a few days.  This little man was a real trooper.  He tried very hard to keep one eye on me at all times!  I have several shots of him with just the one eye opened!  He finally drifted off to sleep after at least a good hour of fighting and snuggled in for some cozy shots.  Too sweet.

Hannah and Anders decided to get away for the weekend and talked their family and friends into joining them. They headed south into the Kenai Peninsula and set up shop at a beautiful lodge high above the banks of the Kenai River. They did some fishing, some hiking and then threw in a wedding ceremony for good measure!

Because Hannah & Anders have such a passion for the environment and Alaska in particular, they incorporated some unique details into their reception. The plates and cutlery were all made from bamboo and are completely compost-able, not to mention elegant . My favorite detail, however, were the wedding cakes. There were three different cakes and they all included entirely organic ingredients. They were jam packed with flavor! Kudos to the pastry chef!

Prior to the ceremony, I was fortunate enough to sneak away with the couple for a few shots on Kenai Lake. I get the impression these guys spend a lot of time in this area because before too long Anders had me “off roading” in the family mobile to get to a lookout high above the lake. It was completely worth it, though, and added a nice perspective to a perfectly pristine day for getting married!

Congratulations Hannah & Anders!

Chelsea & Sam were married at Alpenglow at the top of a neverending dirt road in Arctic Valley. The day was spectacularly sunny and warm and beautiful! A dream day for sure!

Chelsea is one of those people who has a special knack for making you feel like you’ve known her forever. She and her merry band of bridesmaids welcomed me into their group and I spent a full day following them around from the hair salon to the mountain top. It was on the mountain top where I first caught sight of Sam and got to witness the perfect wedding gift — Mr. T cuff links! They were a present from his bride to be and Sam was ecstatic.

Sam & Chelsea were married outside in front of their family & friends.  The reception was kicked off with plenty of dancing including my favorite dance of the evening, Sam & his mother dancing to Sweet Home Alabama.

Chelsea, you are a stunning bride!  Please don’t use the photo of the two of you strangling each other as your Christmas Card!

Here is to a lifetime of fun, love & laughter!

Elaina and Seth were married on Friday, the last day of July. They are blessed with two beautiful and supportive families who helped pull off a very perfect wedding day for these two.

The ceremony was held in a private location hidden away on Jewel Lake. Although the day started out with a tiny bit of sprinkling rain, the sun decided to make it’s appearance just in time for the ceremony– perfect!

Thank you Elaina & Seth for letting me share in such a beautiful day with you. Congratulations on your new life together!

Last week I headed down to Turnagain Arm to meet with Alisa & Casey and capture some engagement photos for their upcoming August wedding. We picked a beautiful but crazy day to venture out next to the inlet! The wind was knocking us off our feet so after a brief meetup at Beluga Point, we opted to head inland and find some wind breaks. We tucked into the trees and really lucked out with some great locations. The weather was remarkably tame until the rain clouds decided to let loose but fortunately we were wrapping things up. It was perfect timing, anyway, to free Casey from the joy of never ending photographs!

Be sure to check out Alisa if you are in need of a photographer down in the Kenai Peninsula. She will be relocating there after the wedding and getting back into the groove of photography sometime thereafter!

Congratulations Alisa & Casey! Here are some favorites from the day.

I’ve know Michele for years and years but never had a great opportunity to get to know her until this past winter when we were down south.  We took a detour from my brother’s house in Tennessee and stopped in to visit Michele and Zefen in their new hometown of Ashville, NC.  We had a wonderful time in a wonderful town and I tried to figure out why in the world I never got to spend more time with her!

Luckily for us, they came on an extended trip home to Alaska to visit their family this summer.  Time was still short but we snuck in a few good visits and Zefen and my boys had a great time throwing toys around and wreaking all sorts of “little boy” havoc!  We also had the good fortune of meeting Zephen’s grandmother and her beautiful and tiny dog, Bijou.

Michele, we are already looking forward to seeing you again next summer!