Hiring a cheap photographer | Kirkland, WA Photographer

I think these are hilarious.  Some nail the moment and how I feel at times.  Should I admit that?  Pricing is a touchy subject, right?  It is hard to assign a price to yourself.  Most of us question ourselves at some point, question our pricing.  There are so many photographers snapping out there, so many styles so many different ways to order a good ‘ol 11×14.   I recently read what Zack Arias wrote on his blog and loved it.  There is a place for every photographer, no matter what our pricing structure may look like.   We all start somewhere and we all grow into something as we keep our business alive.  Part of progressing is learning and understanding the ins and outs of business-the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Inevitably, this knowledge and growth leads to change, sometimes that change is manifested in the pricing structure.  But, as this funny clip says… In the end I suppose we get what we pay for.  : )      (I hate that lesson in life)

She’s EIGHT | Kirkland, WA Photographer

Kids are the true tale of time!  If you watch kids, you will learn that you are growing up (and older) too.  ; (  Sad news?  I will always feel young at heart and its hard to believe that time isn’t stopping.  I was with my daughter the other day, helping her shop for clothes.  I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I am the mom.  I am the older one-I love to shop and I remember those school shopping sprees with my mom.  I remember what she looked like as she was presenting ideas and combinations to me.  She always seemed older-always my mom.  There was no possible room in my brain to believe that she once was in my young school age shoes-she was always mom to me.  That’s how my daughter will look at me…  I am always mom and OLD to her.

Her eighth birthday is a very special one.

Missing Teeth | Bellevue, WA Photographer

I love when 6-9 year old (ish) kids smile-there is bound to be some missing teeth!  It is adorable (ok, not always but here it is!)  You can see that she is a little timid- but not for long.  Not only is she proud of those missing teeth, she is creatively wearing Mrs. Potato Head’s earrings. What happened to my imagination?  Just curious…

Is it fall? | Kirkland, WA photographer

I wonder how will I know when it is fall?  In AZ it went from hot to not so hot and then we knew that Halloween must be over.  : )  The other day the wind picked up and the chills started.  I rushed to grab a cute scarf that I never put to good use in AZ.  While in my closet digging through my “winter” bucket, I also grabbed my thermals and thought it to be a perfect opportunity to wear them!  I was cold, the wind was blowing, it was all a little too exciting so what was I to do?  Watch it from the window?

I changed, layered up, and squeezed back in to my jeans with an added layer beneath (and a thought that I should buy jeans that have room for that type of layering since they weren’t exactly comfortable).  I grabbed my camera, a book about lowland trails in the area, the children and husband, some water bottles and got in the car.  Then, the sun stopped playing her game and made herself visible.  I decided to play it safe and stay layered but later regretted that decision.  It warmed up and was a perfect scene for an afternoon walk.  While on the trail I could see different shapes and colors of leaves polka dotting our path.  It dawned on me that summer may be over and that this is the sign of fall…

My son | Kirkland, WA photographer

This little guy is always on the go!  While he is very capable of down time, her prefers to be playing, pretending and imagining.  Gone are the days that he was content on the family room floor.  I miss his chubby cheeks that were even bigger than his sister’s, I miss his feet doing circles as he concentrated, I miss rocking him in the middle of the night, I miss his middle of the night visits when he was scared, I miss those tiny flip flops, and the list goes on.  Now I enjoy playing trains, making his favorite dish-macaroni and cheese, making play date arrangements, seeing his sweet face as my daily alarm, watching him imagine a world and using the most incredible sound effects! When I get out the camera, he runs or walks backwards to avoid being “caught”.  He is goofy and I was proud of this capture!

He has always been a mellow guy, eager to give compliments and make one feel loved.  He didn’t walk until he was 18 months and I was never worried-I enjoyed having him close to me for longer than normal.  It is interesting that first-borns (my daughter) get to be the experiment child.  We learn and grow as parents with them, learn when to be worried and when to let go.  After child number one, we think a dropped pacifier will be just fine, a wet diaper for more than 20 seconds will be just fine, a dirty outfit will not put us on the CPS list, and that kids will develop and grow regardless of what we want or don’t want for them.  Our passions as parents are reflected in the way we raise our children. 

I love being a mother and I am very grateful for the experience-one of complete sacrifice on one hand and selfishness on the other.  Motherhood is a sacrifice as you give up your time to serve those in your care (constantly and continually) and selfishness because rearing children can be so rewarding and an emotional gift.  My children challenge me and I often lose patience.  I have to remind myself to stay calm, talk with kindness and show respect.  But through our daily challenges, we grow closer and we love deeper, sassiness and disrespect and all!  : )

My daughter | Kirkland, WA Photographer

My daughter is growing up so fast.  I miss those chubby cheeks that wow’d the doctors upon her arrival, I miss those tiny little chubby feet that never fit in any shoes, I miss that crazy mullet hair that only grew in the back but was nearly absent in the front, I miss those tiny little 6 month clothes that I could pick out without any consideration as to how she would feel, I miss folding those clothes, I miss wrapping her in a fluffy terry cloth towel after a bath, I miss seeing her stand up in crib when it was morning, I miss her first words that only I could understand and interpret, I miss watching daily as she grew and changed and learned…  the list goes on. 

Now, I get to enjoy the conversations about friends and school, the mommy/daughter dates that seem to be ever important, the nightly reading about Junie B. Jones and her shenanigans in school, shopping and appreciating her opinion, waiting in anticipation to see what kind of an outfit she put together for the day (she’s getting pretty darn good), playing games that bring on her giggles, utilizing her help to clean and cook whenever possible, watching the light bulb go on when she learns something new or completes something with pride, teaching her and learning from her (mostly learning), watching her swim and swim and swim and loving her swimming lessons… the list goes on. 

There is a guarantee-time doesn’t stop.  No matter the situation, time goes on.  Isn’t that strange? Not really, but sort of?  : )  Some days I want to freeze in time and those are the days that seem to go by the fastest and other days can’t seem to be over quick enough.  I can’t stop her from growing up-even to enjoy a perfect day for another hour.  She will continue to grow and learn and someday think that I’m not awesome (WHAT?) and then hopefully come back around to thinking I am awesome.  : ) 

The Space Needle | Kirkland, WA Photographer

One of my goals here in Seattle is to get a photograph of this thing…  I don’t want to be rushed, I don’t want to be driving by (like I was with this one) and I don’t want to be in the rain.  Let’s see… put all those wants and wishes together and I’m not sure if it will ever happen.  This will NOT be the only picture I have of this.  I am determined…

More Beauty | Kirkland, WA Photographer

In an effort to take a better look at my surroundings, I took my camera with the 50mm 1.4 attached and wandered.  I saw many things that made me wish I had a macro but I also saw many things that made me happy regardless of what lens I had.  I noticed color and detail, textures and lighting.  I felt so free (and like some landscape photographer) as I just had the intent of finding-just finding what was around me.  Sometimes, this is the best way to make friends with your camera or to love photography (or love it all over again).  There is beauty all around (not just when there’s love at home like the primary song sings) if we just look for it.  And, we never have to look far.  (notice my play with the watermark-or don’t.  I haven’t settled of course.  I am non-committal and fine with that for now.)

Braces | Kirkland, WA Photographer

How many people love their braces?  What about all those who request to have them (the famous term) “photoshopped” out of the picture.  I love her full showing of the braces, I love her full smile.  I love the snapshot in time, the time when she has braces.   There is no holding back (mostly because she maybe was just letting me do my thing and she was focused on something else), no tight upper lip trying to cover the million dollar investment her parents have made.  : )  That’s right, those things are expensive!  Be proud, consider it your current form of bling.

New Surroundings | Kirkland, WA photographer

One of the first pictures I love here in WA.  (There is no boost in color, it is just VERY green here.)  Washington offers a great combination of color and light.  The sky always seems to be perfect for outdoor pictures.  I took these with my 50mm 1.4.  I had everything else packed away and the 50mm was light weight and easy to carry around.  I have fallen in love with this lens again.  I never stopped loving it (is this a song, or what?) just remembered it fondly.  : )