Rattlesnake Ledge | Kirkland Photographer

I recently hiked up a mountain with a backpack that was most certainly not meant for actual hiking/backpacking (more like carrying a laptop from one office to another) and I learned a few things:

• I need to think about what I need at the top instead of bringing choices that I don’t need from the bottom
• I need a backpack that will not slowly try to cut off my head
• I need to get out and explore the beauty of WA more often
• I am very blessed to call this place home
• Glad I left the children back home where they could not complain about every drop of sweat and all elements of exertion
• Composing a shot when you have about two square inches before falling 1200 feet may be a challenge

Kauai

I wish I could say that I produced this.  My friend, Cara, showed me this and sent me the link.  Devin Graham has inspired me on a whole new level!   I watched it while we were there and recognized many of the beautiful shots.  I was inspired-I want to study cinematography and get a GlideCam.  : )  I have now watched this probably five more times and wanted to share it with you.  It is just absolutely beautiful. Read about it after you watch it… follow his blog for more amazing stuff!

Bus driver | Kirkland, WA photographer

So, when we moved to Washington, I applied to be a bus driver.  Long story-sort of.  Are you laughing?  I can be a bus driver AND a photographer, right?  I spent hours at the computer completing the in depth application wondering the whole time what exactly it takes to be a good bus driver.  I wanted to see the world-the people in the world who would board my bus and maybe have a conversation or two about who they are.  I had a picture in my head of how I wanted my bus driving career to be.  When I told my husband what I was doing when he called one afternoon, he laughed and had to ask again.  Yep.  I am serious.  I wanted to be a bus driver.  I was new around here and wanted to meet new people-what better way then driving them around?  : )  Well, to make the long story long, it didn’t work out and the schedule was well, not going to work for me- I suppose bringing my four year old son with me on my route wasn’t an option.  But, the idea still excites me… maybe someday.

My vacation | personal

A VACATION!  This vacation was much needed.  But, I must say that I am embarrassed that the last thing on my blog was pictures of me and here I start the next post with well… a picture of me.  : )

These pictures are from Kauai-I think the most gorgeous of the Hawaiian islands.  This island suited me well… tons of adventure, hikes, swimming, snorkeling, and the beauty was amazing.  I needed more time to get in the kayaking and hiking as we only accomplished one hike.  The hike was the Napali coast.  It was difficult.  Difficult.  We hike 2 miles in to a private beach, 2 miles up to a waterfall but maybe I forgot that I would need to hike the 4 miles back out?  I could barely move the sore muscles the next day!  It was time to get out of Kirkland, Washington and enjoy warmth and the sun.  We met up with several of our favorite couples, making it a superb vacation!  One of my favorite activities was the zipline!  If you are headed to Hawaii anytime in the near future-check out Kauai!  Do the hike along the Napali Coast and visit Princeville Ranch for their awesome King Kong zipline!  Now, its time to check back in to my regular life and get blog posts rolling, Photo A Day (flickr page here) caught up, and tasks checked off my to-do list (and finally stop the vacation responder in email).  I suppose vacation can last only so long…

The other side of the camera

It is rare that I see myself in front of the lens (in a professional kind of way).  I was actually a little thrown off when I saw these… I thought, “Do I really look like that?”  It is such good exercise to be on the other side of the lens every once in a while and a must do for any photographer.  It was interesting to feel a little awkward and uncomfortable, wondering what to say, what to do, where to sit and so forth.  When I am the one with the camera, I can see exactly what I need and how to shape and form the portrait.  But, then there is the other side of the camera-the other experience.   There is this constant wonder, “Do I look ok?”  “Was I blinking?” “Do my arms look silly?” “What should I do with my hands?” “How many rolls can you see?” “Is it a good hair day or bad hair day?” and the questions go on and on.  Insecurity.  Are we ever comfortable with who we are in pictures, what we look like in pictures?  Do we have high expectations that what we see is not what really is?  Do we look at pictures and immediately start tearing ourselves apart (look at that hair, what was I thinking?  Look at my stomach, I didn’t remember my Spanx, etc.)

I like these photos by Jessica with Twist Photography.  She did a fabulous job getting little snippets of me while we were working on OCF versus natural light.  Jessica is awesome and I am thankful that I have these!  I am ok with my funny arms.  : )

Interested in an update on my personal project?  Visit THE Flickr page!  Headed into May and I still have a picture every day.  It’s clearly miraculous!  :)

Loving the light | Kirkland, WA Photographer

There are few moments when I am able to go on an excursion with my camera for personal projects and fulfillment.  I’m not complaining (well, sort of) I am simply stating reality.  : )  I reserved a “day off” to visit Seattle and some of the spectacular sights on the University of Washington campus.  I was lucky enough to meet up with other photographers from the surrounding area so we could collaborate ideas and have fun.  We visited the Suzzallo Library, got about 30 steps in the door, and saw the grand staircase.  We were all in love with the light and stopped for what was probably close to an hour in this place. We walked around ooohing and ahhhing about the pretty light. We truly didn’t mind losing ourselves in here…  it was quiet and full of opportunities.  The unfortunate side of losing ourselves was losing track of time.  Why does time fly when you are having fun?

(love the shot above of all of us “in” the picture some way or another)

We wandered out to the common area where all the cherry blossoms canopied over us like fluffy umbrellas.  Amazing!  The color, the texture, the smell…   We used most of the remainder of our time together here with these trees.  Our visit together ended with refreshments at Starbucks and a walk around U Village (a shopping center that I didn’t know existed until this day).  We didn’t use our time wisely and get a shot of us together… I certainly hope we can clear our calendars once every 2-3 months to have these moments to explore and discover new things as friends and fellow photographers!

You can visit Jessica at Twist Photography.   You can see more of this day and other pictures from my Photo A Day personal Project on the Flickr Page.  Go, see, enjoy.  : )

Sledding, snow, and spring | Kirkland, WA Family Photographer

This was MY family enjoying a snow break a few weeks ago.  We loved our time with the sleds and especially loved that this nice white puffy hill was only one hour away.  Convenient.  But, let’s be honest.  I am done with the cold.  I am done with 3 layers.  I am done with my permanently affixed fleece.  I am done with knee high socks. AND I am done with shivering every day.  When will it stop?  I am happy to report that I have noticed spring buds and color appearing around my home BUT I am still searching for sunshine (on a consistent basis) and temperatures in the range of 60-70.  Is that asking too much?  Oh, and I think I am fairly certain that I would not be able to bloom if I was planted in a place that continually brought snow to my doorstep in the winter.

Are you an artist? | Kirkland, WA photographer

What exactly is an artist?  Who determines if you ARE or AREN’T an artist?  The realization of this question asked by Kevin Kubota at WPPI made me stop.  And think.  Am I an artist?  Well, I can’t draw to save my life.  My stick figures look sickly and if you ask my daughter what happened when she asked me to draw a flamingo-you may laugh as hard as she did.  So, what is an artist?  The first thing that comes to mind when I think about an artist is some type of drawing or painting.  My dad is an artist.  He entertained us for hours at church by drawing funny things that often resembled ourselves.  My daughter is an artist (an eight year old artist) who can depict vases of flowers and barns filled with animals.  My mom is not an artist and unfortunately I have her drawing genes (sorry mom).  I have friends that are called artists and husbands of friends that are artist.  Who named them?  When did they get comfortable calling themselves artists?  How does one become an artist?

Is it education?  Is it dedication?  Is it earned or deserved?  Is it longevity?  Is it based on how much money your artistic works bring in?  Is it based on who your know or who knows you?  I looked it up and found this:

art·ist

[ahr-tist]

1. a person who produces works in any of the arts that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria.

2. a person who practices one of the fine arts,  especially a painter or sculptor.

3. a person whose trade or profession requires a knowledge of design, drawing, painting, etc.: a commercial artist.

4. a person who works in one of the performing arts,  as an actor, musician, or singer; a public performer: a mimeartist; an artist of the dance.

5. a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill.

6. a person who is expert at trickery or deceit: He’s an artist with cards.

I’m happy to say that I was then open to the idea that I might, just might, be an artist .  I don’t have to draw or dance (which I do love to wear my belly dancing jingly thing and move around the house and PRETEND that I have skills) or sculpt or mime.   The title, Artist,  is subjective.  What I call art and what you call art may be on opposite sides of the spectrum.  And that’s ok.

WPPI Las Vegas, 2011

So, you meet people for the first time after what started as an online relationship…  Before you know it you are doing things that you never would have imagined.  Get comfortable and let me explain.

I arrived in Vegas on a Sunday evening where I was planning to connect with Kelli.  I actually enjoyed sitting around, catching up on my Words With Friends games and doing a great amount of people watching while waiting for her delayed plane.  She finally landed safely and she was the only one that I knew-and by “knew” I don’t mean that we were from the same school, neighborhood, or even city.  Kelli and I started our relationship as teacher/student.  We officially met (that real life thing) in October when she happened to be in Arizona with her husband on a romantic weekend getaway (in Arizona? ok, whatever works) and I in Arizona to shoot some mini holiday sessions.  We realized our paths were crossing and planned a quick meet-up. We dined at Joe’s Farm Grill between our daily business and duties and then we went on our merry ways.  So, there we were at the airport together laughing with anticipation about our upcoming week at WPPI.  We arrived at MGM Grand and I met my roommates, Brianne Hall and Jaclyn Davis (who actually arrived later due to some well, ummm… wrong flight problems) who were more adorable than their avatar would show and we all headed to dinner to meet up with some other graduates from Kelli’s mentorship.  Many of the women and I are virtual friends-we help each other through our online forum offering suggestions and ideas for our businesses.  There we were.  Together.  At the same table.  In real life.  That moment when you get to put a one inch avatar together with a real face is life changing.  You should try it.

After some digestion and relaxation, we headed back down to meet up with Leah from Go4Pro, Spanki Mills, Noelle Reynolds, Anna DeMille, Carrie Rainey, Stac Worthington, and Angela Richardson all of whom I had never met online or in person before (thank you Kelli for the nudge).  Within moments of our chit chat, trying to get passed the awkward first meet-up moments with a million loud people around us and a ring a ling ding on the slot machines surrounding us, we determined that it was time to take our party to the hotel room.  Yep.   See what I mean about this… First call was pajamas and then it got crazy from there.  Once you have pajamas on, you can’t promise that anything good is going to happen.  For instance, I don’t know that I have ever eaten so many chocolate eggs in one night.  Anyhow, before we knew it, there was jumping on the beds, mock boudoir sessions (complete with cotton socks, sweat pants, a DJ and a lamp), and cinematography all  happening in that MGM Grand, 20 floors up.

The good news about all this was that 1. laughter is good exercise.  2. I now have fellow photographers that I call friends (who are uberly talented and gifted).  3. we lost sleep from the very first night… no need to adjust later.  4. I learned the beauties of lamp light and a good DJ.  I think it is safe to say that WPPI will make it on my calendar next year.  My first year was no let down and it can only get better, right?  I was surrounded by people that inspired me and challenged me to do things, understand things and change things.  All in all,What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.   (AND… Well, what is a post without my Photo A Day update?)

Mustaches

What do you think?  I sort of like the look.

Meet my dear friend and  Mentor -Kristin Conk.  We got together at WPPI and had fun at the photo booth.  I think I am a natural at mustaches… it seemed to come easy for me and Kristin, well she struggled with keeping hers right where it should be.  Should I be proud?  There was much covered at WPPI and it definitely was not short of fun and friendship.  I went to be inspired, make changes and be enlightened and came back with much more.  I highly recommend getting yourself a mustache to see what it can do for you!