Autumn Wrap-Up

Well, it's December 1st - my quest to enjoy the Autumn season is officially complete. I feel this was an important exercise for me to do. I found myself feeling much happier this fall as I tried to really appreciate the little things around me.

Crunchy leaves, fresh brisk air, surprisingly warm days, light sweaters...all these things I previously pushed aside in my hurry to hate on Winter. Well, my perspective has changed this year and I have found many things to be thankful for.
One thing I am not thankful for : acorn squash. Or maybe just squash in general. I went on this I-love-fall-time kick and bought all these harvest-y foods at Sunflower Market. Turns out, I hate gourds. No matter how many different ways I tried to make it, I could not come up with a single recipe that didn't make me feel like I was eating baby food. So. Lesson learned.

Everything else about the season turned out fine, though.

Now that the lovely fall colors have disappeared and everything is brown and dreary. I feel ready for the snow to come. I can't believe I just said that! I usually hate snow. But my tree is up, my baby is coming, and I'm ready for a little Christmas spirit.

Bring on the Winter - I'll celebrate that too!

Tonight I made my first advent calendar. It's nothing super fancy, but I found this free downloadable version and printed it out. I've been inspired by the traditions of Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day (a favorite blog) and so I'm going to fill our calendar with ideas and activities for Joe and I to do to get the most from the Christmas season. I hope this will be a new tradition for our growing family. If you get a chance, check out Jordan's list - it's pretty inspiring!

Walker Family

This was such a great session. And you know what? It only took 30 minutes. You don't need a ton of time to get great photos. You do need a photographer you trust, a nice golden light, and a baby full of laughter.

By the way - I miss these fall colors terribly.

Mark and Katie, thanks for hiring me - your little family is just beautiful.

See all the photos and order prints by clicking here.

Mottaghinejad Family

This family session was a little different than most. Sarah said she really didn't want her family photos to feel posed and preferred a very natural look. What exactly does that mean for me as a photographer? It means we spent most of the time chasing around this little toddler, capturing moments of her playing with her parents.

It was a different way of shooting for me, but I rather enjoyed it - and I love how a couple of the photos have a fly-on-the-wall feeling to them.

Of course their daughter was the star of the show - with a face like that, who could object?

Because of the fast-paced nature of this shoot, I actually shot most of the images digitally, which is also out of the norm for me. Lately when I think of digital work, the only thought that comes to mind is this:

Please Santa, bring me one of these and one of these. Please, Please, Please.

Thanks Mottaghinejad family - you guys are a blast!

Hainsworth Family

What a great family! They are all so photogenic - it was a real dream working with them. The Hainsworths have four handsome boys and three gorgeous daughters in law. No grandchildren yet, but you can bet that when they do arrive they'll be just as dapper as the rest.



I hope you're all preparing to spend a great holiday with family and friends - I just love this time of year!

Done. Done. Done.

Wow. Things have been very crazy around here lately. How crazy, you ask? Well, here are some indicators:

1. It took me three separate attacks to actually finish the dishes.

2. By the time I folded all the clean laundry that was strung around the study, I needed to wash more underwear.

3. When people would say, "How are you?" I drew a blank. Completely unsure of how to answer.

Yep, it's been a little nuts. But my ORCA project is done. done. done. I am so happy with it. I would like to thank everyone who came out to see the photographs - your support was overwhelming. Now that this behemoth project is finished, I can start getting back to normal.

Hey, here's one sign that life is less crazy now:

Joe bought me these flowers for the opening night and I actually had time to make a nice arrangement out of them. I love having flowers on the table. More signs that life is slowing down:

1. There WILL be blog posts this week. Many of them. Prepare yourself for some great family shoots as well a little virtual tour of my Deaf culture show.

2. I have clean underwear.

3. How am I doing? I'm doing great - thanks for asking.

To all my clients

If you are wondering why you haven't seen your family photos yet, here's why:

(click to view larger)

Thank you so much for your patience. I promise lots of great photos coming up soon!

Also, I hope to see many of you at the opening reception. Come learn more about Deaf culture, enjoy photographs, food, and conversation.

Brooke + Andrew Engagements

Brooke and Andrew are very cool people. very. very. cool. She wore a flower in her hair. The minute I saw that, I just knew it was going to be a great shoot. They laughed the entire time and I left that evening with one thought running through my head:

Man, I love my job.

OK, so I was digging the sun flare that day. Can you blame me?

Thanks guys, it was a blast and you were great.

P.S. For you photo nerds out there...this is the first batch of film I've had processed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab. They come highly recommended by Jon Canlas and Jose Villa. I must say, I am completely sold. Not only is the work beautiful, but their customer service is out of this world! You should check them out.

Hope you had a great Halloween

I forgot to take photos of our ward Halloween Party decor (I was too busy running around like a chicken sans head), but I promise it was pretty fabulous.

Instead, here is a picture of our cute pumpkins before they were carved. I like them best this way.

There's even a little one for Eleanor

So I got knocked-up in the lock up - you gotta problem with that?

Check back tomorrow for some great engagement photos (not nearly as spooky as seeing my pregnant self in stripes).

"It's a whole new animal!"

That is what I yelled to Joe as I hung my head out the window, gripped my camera tightly and snapped away. My hair whipping wildly around, barely able to catch my breath - this is the only phrase I could think of to convey the thrill I was feeling at the moment.

He just laughed and continued driving, warning me to watch out for oncoming cars and to please stay in my seatbelt.

"It's a whole new animal."

I was referring, of course, to landscape photography.

I usually consider myself a people photographer. I thrive on interaction and am continually intrigued by the human face. Capturing the landscape has never appealed to me. Landscape photography is early mornings, lonely trails, heavy equipment, and patience, patience, patience. Landscape photography is mastered by the likes of Ansel Adams and John Telford. Old guys. (Don't tell John I said that).

But that was before I discovered the "new animal." Joe and I were soaking up Autumn, driving around Deer Creek Reservoir and I had brought along my digital camera. The fading light, the pinkish clouds - it was all too tempting. I took a couple snaps.

I was hooked! My camera didn't leave my face for the rest of the ride. I'm sure I seemed crazed, but the experience was extremely invigorating. The scenery changed rapidly and I was faced with endless possibilities. I shot until the light was gone and I was too cold to keep the window down any longer. The moving landscape had captivated me - I would never see it the same way again.

This one (above) is my personal favorite. Which is yours?

At this point I would like to make a public apology. One summer I took a Nature Photography course at BYU. I was one of only two photography majors in the class and as such I felt a mild sense of superiority. (embarrassing to admit, but true nonetheless) I studied this stuff full time, afterall. I thought I knew so much.

There was an older gentleman who always presented photos he had taken from his car, while he was driving. Our patient teacher tried to convince him to take the time to pull over the next time something caught his eye. "Yeah," I thought, "any self respecting photographer knows that good work takes time and effort. You can't just shoot this stuff on the fly. At least have the decency to stop the car!" In my mind I criticized this man for his amateur approach.

Dear Sir, please forgive me. I was narrow-minded. I had not yet experienced the thrill of photographing the world at 60+ mph. You were right - it really is beautiful.

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Rowe's Baby Portraits

This little one is sooooo cute and he was such a joy to photograph. I especially love his precious wrinkles!










Click here to view the entire event and order prints.

A Little Preview...

...of this little guy. Can't wait to post the rest later this week!

Fall is here

I thought it was finally time I recognize the arrival of autumn on my blog. Though it officially started last week, I feel now is perfect time to discuss the changing seasons as the first fall storm is blowing in as we speak.

First, let me be frank. I have never loved fall. I hear people say that it's their favorite season and I just don't get it. I'm a spring and summer girl. I abhor the freezing Utah winters and I hate short days and long nights. To me autumn has always symbolized summer in it's death throes - the end of the carefree days, a short precursor to the eternal winter ahead. It's a mere transitory period that always throws me for a loop.

That being said - here is my new goal.

To embrace Autumn. Completely.

I have a number of reasons to feel differently about fall this year:
1. For the first time EVER, I am not a student. Yipee!
2. It is the last season of my life without a wailing child - I had better enjoy the alone time while I can.
3. Everyone in the blogging world seems so jazzed about the change, I just thought I'd hop on board.
4. It really is a shame to feel depressed about entire seasons at a time. Being happy is better.

One of the first things I did to work on this goal was attend the Sundance Harvest Market. It was a blast(though smaller than I had anticipated). The leaves were changing, the air was clear, and there were some great vendors present. Here are two of my favorites.

Windborg Sisters' Design has the coolest decor for children's rooms and nurseries. These canvases are absolutely stunning in person. They use paint and paper to collage these great pieces and the texture is so cool! How perfect would the bird one be for my daughter? I know, absolutely perfect. Go check out their work on Etsy.


There was also some beautiful handmade jewelry there from Silver Linings Studio. It was love at first sight. Nice photography too, don't you think?

I have some other fall-ish activities on my list to help me fully enjoy this season. I want to go apple picking, stop by the Provo Farmer's Market a few more times, and maybe even try making this wreath from real leaves. Cool project, huh? And of course I'll be photographing the changing scenery, the brisk air, and the ever shortening golden light. Here are a few photos to get you started.


Yep, fall is here and I am embracing.

*There are a couple of blog posts out there that really got me in the mood for this tribute to Autumn. CJane's words about the beauty of transitions really inspired me. As did this post about farm life on a great little blog called Progressive Pioneer. Check them out and see if you can jump on board with the Autumn-lovers!

San Jacinto Monument

So, when you go to Texas you will be amazed at how many places claim to have had an important part to play in the war for Texas Independence. Every teeny tiny town says they are the birth place of Texas. But believe me - this is where it really went down.

The San Jacinto Monument

As a child I learned that this was the actual place where independence was finally won. As an adult I took my husband there to prove it to him.


Sometimes it's fun to play around with spatial perception. You should see this baby big - it's pretty cool.

Two Lovely Ladies

Each is lovely in a different way - one is a dear friend and the other a super cool mural. Both are works of art. And as we head into the fall time weather, photos of these two ladies serve as a reminder to me of the hottest day of my life spent strolling South Congress in Austin.