My anniversary was quickly approaching at the beginning of February and I had to come up with a surprise for Dave– pronto! I had just received some leather wallet samples with photographs bonded to the leather. These were surprisingly elegant and I thought a nice leather tri-fold wallet might make a nice gift. (Okay, I know what you are thinking. The perfect gift for Dave would be a new set of floats or some geeky techie stuff, but I really have limited resources!) Of course, that meant I needed a new photo of the boys- fast! On the last night that Dave was in Fairbanks, I hijacked the kids for a quick session right before bed! I knew I wanted a black and white image to print on the black leather and I knew their faces needed to be close together. The boys complied with about 15 minutes of some sort of cooperation and I ended up with a whole set of images that I just love!

I had so many cute photos that I decided to create a sample of the new accordion books that I’ve started offering, as well. These are really cute but much tinier than I expected! I’ve decided, because of their miniscule size, to include them as gifts for client’s that purchase a certain amount, rather than trying to sell them. They include about 8 to 10 images and they work great as refrigerator magnets or as little accordions to prop on your desk. They come in a group of three, which means they are perfect for sharing with the grandparents!

Below are some photographs of the design and of the actual books themselves.

I met the following mom-to-be in the most unlikely of circumstances. We were looking for house sitters (really dog and cat sitters!) for a year and she and her husband were looking to check out Anchorage as a permanent residence. She found out about her new position with Alaska Airlines about a day after they started demolition on their fixer upper in California. Great timing! Our neighbor just happened to introduce us right as we were both in need!

First and foremost, these guys took such good care of our animals, so much so that Kemuk fell madly in love with his new master and now lives with them permanently. Then they went over and above the call of duty by installing new baseboard trim and stripping and refinishing our main window trim! I know! How does anyone get so lucky with house sitters? As they say in Chile, these guys have a Buena Onda – or good wave – or good vibrations to steal one from the Beach Boys.

This photo shoot was a lot of fun! Pregnant ladies don’t come much fitter and trimmer than this so we tried out a few new lighting styles and when I found out she was doing Pilates I figured she would be the perfect guinea pig for the last pose! Strong abs!

Only about a week or so after these photos were taken their beautiful baby girl decided to show up a wee bit early! Congratulations you two! Can’t wait to see your little bundle.

Only about a week or so after these photos were taken their beautiful baby girl decided to show up a wee bit early! Congratulations you two! Can’t wait to see your little bundle.

It felt like I was doing an Engagement Session but this couple was actually nearing the completion of one full year of marraige! They were adorable and oh so photogenic! You can tell from the giggling shots that these two are madly in love! I had the opportunity to catch some reunion shots at the airport when he came home for a two week R&R stint. Right at the crucial moment as he was about to come down the escalator I received the dreaded “CF Card Error”. The most horrible timing ever! I changed cards as fast as possible and grabbed a few photos after they had already said their first hello’s but I was so bummed not to have gotten their expressions upon seeing each other after almost a year!

A few days later we did a portrait session and captured some fun images of them in the snow as well as with their cutest dog ever. The puppy apparently was a gift from him to her when he first deployed! Awesome present!

The exciting news for both of them is that he should be home earlier in the year rather than later! I know they can’t wait.

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

A couple of new portrait books came in and I just had to share! They include a newborn studio session, an outdoor family portrait session and a Christmas session of my boys for their grandparent’s yearly gift.

I love portrait books! They contain so, so, many images from your entire session that I feel they are one of the best ways to capture all the great moments from a photoshoot.

No, they are not cheap!  But imagine all the custom work that goes into designing and tailoring each book to your specific family and photo session.  All books contain a minimum of 20 pages.  They typically include about 25 images.  Calculate the price of purchasing 25 edited images individually and you can begin to see the real value.

Each image is fully edited and additional processing goes into matching the colors and tones of mutlitple images on a page.  The design can be basic white with crisp and clean transitions or a more modern feel with current design elements.

My parents now have four books.  When I spoke with them on Christmas day they told me they pulled out all their old books and were comparing and contrasting the changes in the kids to the new book they just recieved.  It made me laugh because I couldn’t imagine that I had actually remembered to give them books for the past four years straight!

Portrait books come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  My favorite is actually the 8×8 which is small enough to carry in your purse but big enough to have a panoramic print or two traversing the 8×16 inch full spread!  All of the books that I print now for our Grandparents are of the 8×8 inch variety.  It seems to be the universal favorite for layout and portability without losing the size of the image!

As a new product for 2010, I am also including mini-books.  They are approximately 3.5×5 or 5×5 inches and look similar to accordian cards but with an attached hard cover on both the front and back.  Because of their small size, the products only contain about 10 images and come in quantities of three.  More details on the mini-books with sample photos coming soon!

For several years we’ve been fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving with Dave’s Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim.  An added bonus is that Uncle Jim’s neice and her family also spend Thanksgiving there and our boys love having their kids to play with.  Our first trip up as a family was when Solomon was 2 months old.  We’ve made it several years since and we were anxiously waiting to see everyone again after spending last Thanksgiving in the balmy tropics known as Alabama.

Mary & Jim have a cabin several hours north and have added a bunk house and are now working on a stellar hangar and workshed that I neglected to grab a photo of.  It’s a mighty fine piece of woodwork!

The main house is a circular cabin and is heated by a wood stove downstairs which keeps the whole house toasty and warm — a huge bonus because many Thanksgivings it is barely above zero degrees outside.  This year, however, we had a heat wave. The kids were able to sled and sled and sled some more due to a warm wind which brought us up to about 25 degrees.  Woo-hoo!

Did I mention the food?  Mary makes just about everything from scratch and there were some divine bread rolls that I am still drooling over (butter makes the world go round, right!)  On our last night there we always get to experience the massive undertaking of making lefse, a kind of nordic bread that I know nothing about.  It requires a full team effort, though, and these guys have obviously been doing it for years and have all the kinks worked out.  The kids even helped rolling and carrying and flipping this year.  It was a blast.

Can’t wait to see what happens next year!

To see the slideshow go here:  A Far North Thanksgiving

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.