A big surprise showed up a few weeks early just in time to sport a Santa Claus hat and booties! Included are a few photos of his beautiful older sister, as well, from an earlier maternity shoot! He was just a few days old and as sweet and patient as anyone that young can possibly be with a crazy photographer trying to snap photos and make him pose!

Welcome to the world and Happy New Year!

I met this baby girl at a wedding recently and had the opportunity to capture her one year portraits as well. The title says it all. She has the best cheeks ever! Such a cutie and a great sport as long as there was “Pirate Booty” — a fun kids snack– hidden in strategic locations.

My favorite shot is the one of her looking studious reading the book she brought along to play with.

We recently added a new member to our family.  He is furry and runs on all fours and sometimes answers to the name of Ivan. On other times he answers to the name Eisen-Howard (when Sid says Ivan it sounds like Izen) and yet other times he chooses not to answer at all.  He is a crazy fur beast with a perpetual smile on his face.  He looks like a Russian Wolf Hound mixed with an Alaskan Husky then crossed with a Golden Retriever.  He is a a nut (did I mention that already?)  The best part, however, is that he adores Solomon and Sid and they love him!

Ivan came from the Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue from up in Wasilla.  It is a great organization of volunteers who house the dogs themselves until a permanent home can be found for them.  It was great for us, too, because we were able to meet with him in a home environment to really get a better impression of his personality. We were looking for a love sponge who would entirely tolerate two little boys and this silly puppy completely fits the bill.  He is a non-stop barker and the fastest thing on four feet that I have ever seen.  He loves to sleep upsidedown with his paws in the air and he has two ice blue eyes with a hint of brown in one.

This past weekend we took him out for a walk around the lake which is now pretty solidly frozen.  We’ve been dog sitting Mookie for the past week and had him join us for the jaunt.  The boys careened around the lake in the sled and the dogs just played and played and played.  It was a perfect little family adventure on a cold November day.

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!

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.

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.

We made it!  After driving about eight days straight for a ridiculous amount of hours, we finally pulled into the driveway in Anchorage around the first of July.  We are halfway unpacked and I am gearing up and getting super excited about wedding season!  

We flew from Alabama to Idaho and so we didn’t technically start driving until we already hit the northwest.  We hooked a left into Washington and drove up through Rossland, BC to visit some friends.  What a great start to the trip!  We slept inside instead of in the tent, saw beautiful gardens, climbed a crazy steep hill and got a glimpse of a Raccoon.  After that we headed to Banff and experienced non-stop wildlife viewings.  Banff was stunning and from there things begin to blur together.  

We drove the Cassiar highway which was in wonderful shape.  We were the only ones on the road and it was smooth and fast.  The highlight of the Cassiar was our night camping at the Deese River Crossing.  Beautiful location, incredible hosts and sparklingly clean facilities! 

After a bumpy ride on the AlCan, we hit Whitehorse in the Yukon and enjoyed a great evening at the Takhini Hotsprings. The water was perfect for little boys and swimming!  The next day we stopped into Muktuk Adventures to see the sled dogs and the boys were hooked.  Solomon even started crying when we left.  It turns out that Dave had already met some of these dogs four years earlier during the Yukon Quest when a blizzard prompted the race directors to call in the helicopters.  Gorgeous dogs, great hosts and another wonderful day.

Now we are just looking for the next family adventure.

While in Alabama I’ve been researching every type of Album company I can find. I’ve finally settled on three great great vendors that I am very excited about. I just received my first small album with panoramic spreads and I’m thrilled about the opportunities for this style. It is a beautiful excellently crafted piece that is great for an engagment album or parent album. The pages are thick and sturdy just like a flush mount wedding album but the press printed style allows the album to be offered at a more exciting price. Sizes, however, are limited up to 8 inches square. The paper can be linen, pearl, or semi-gloss and the full page spreads are gorgeous. I am seriously digging this book!

I have found that recently I’ve been spending all my time updating our personal blog about Alabama. Because of this I realized that my photography blog was looking a little lean.  I thought I’d post and oldie but a goodie to beef things up!   

This was a group effort heading out in time for sunrise to catch Dave’s plane the day he pulled it off skis.  It was just a few days before our trip to Alabama.  Hopefully we’ll see that whacked out looking plane again in July when Dave returns from Afghanistan.  Can’t wait!

As I was looking for a certain file I came across one of the last set of photos I took before we left Alaska for our year long adventure.  These were taken mid-February and, yes, it was a bit chilly outside!

I couldn’t help but post just a couple from this day.  We actually had fun traipsing about on the lake just at sundown.  It is a good reminder for me to get out there and enjoy the neverending heat wave that the southlands have to offer.  As I am swating bugs, applying sunscreen, perpetually searching for shade and always glistening with sweat, I need to look over these photos and be thankful for our temporary “change” in lifestyle!