Christmas 2009

I love Christmas! For me, it is a holiday filled with the joy of family, fun traditions and fond memories.

This year I was able to photograph the newest edition to our family, Emma Jo, my cute little niece, as she had her first visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Doesn't she look like a little doll. Her stockings were cute...she is so tiny they look like sweat pants on her little legs.

Mrs. Claus holding Emma

Santa holding Emma. I'm not sure Emma knows what to think of this whole experience...

A tender moment with Santa

Our former neighbor made the perfect Santa, complete with a real, snowy-white beard.

Each Christmas morning, we gather at my parent's home for family time, hot chocolate with a scoop of peppermint ice cream (stirred with a candy cane), home-made cinnamon rolls, and sausage.

This year, the favorite gift I gave was to my grandmother. The gift was a photo compilation of my grandmother surrounded by her 14 children.

Above all, I love that Christmas is a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the reason for the season.

Christmas is not only a time to remember His birth, but His life and love for all mankind. May His example of love and dedication bless your life each day.

Merry Christmas!

AKC retreat '09 - day 1

Monday, July 27, 2009

I am so excited to be in Charleston, South Carolina, with some of the sweetest photographer ladies in the United States!

Alpha Kappa Camera (AKC) is a female photographer sorority created by photographers Cristi Owens and Amelia Strauss, two of the super-fun photographers I met at the Zero-to-60 Workshop in Ireland.

This week, their dream of creating AKC became a reality in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, where 9 female photographers from 9 different states gathered to network, talk shop and relax.

We are staying at a beach house on charming Sullivan's Island.

By the end of the evening, all the girls participating in the retreat had arrived to the beach house.

For lunch, Yellowfin tuna tacos in the courtyard at Poe's Tavern

Later, we went shopping at Piggly Wiggly's [can you believe that is the actual name of a grocery store? - it made me laugh :)].

After Joanna joined the group, we all went down to the beach . . .

Since this is my third trip to a beach . . . I was fascinated with all the beauty I found.

The grasses were so beautiful with wispy shadows cast on the near-white sand.

For ease and enjoyment of walking (and a possible a trail marker back to the beach house) we left our sandals behind . . .



These sandals were particularly fun . . . bright and sparkly!



Cute Shea.



The birds sailed on currents of air near the shore.



Beautiful blue skies.



My first time seeing a jellyfish . . .



Super-fun bunch!



For dinner, tapas in down town Charleston.







All the girls . . .

fun business news : mini albums

I love mini albums . . . so tiny, so intimate . . . a great way to share your precious memories with friends, family, coworkers and everyone in between! These little treasures are included in my wedding and family packages.

I have been looking for a new album company [my previous company seems to have stopped making my other favorite album :( ]. Today my shipment arrived from Art Leather . . . fun!

These albums contain twenty 3x3 photos . . . they are so much fun to hold.

The back cover of the album has my company logo in silver . . .

These albums are the perfect gift. What parent or grandparent would not love to have this pocket/purse sized album to adore and share images of those they love . . .

Interesting in holding a mini album filled with your precious memories? Contact me about shooting your wedding or family, portrait or senior session!

Theresa + Wade + Ryan + Ivan : Family

This was truly an awesome shoot! When Theresa asked if I would shoot her family photos, I suggested that we shoot them at a place where the family enjoys being together. I work with Wade up at Huntsman Cancer Hospital; on many occasions, Wade has mentioned his family's involvement with hockey. The perfect location for their family: the Utah Olympic Oval, where the family spends up to 4 nights a week scoring, supervising or playing hockey.

The tiniest hockey skates I have ever seen . . .

Ivan was a ham for the camera . . .

The guys out on the ice . . .

The family

Look at that smile . . . doesn't Ivan look like he is up to somethin'?

I love this shot of Ryan

Doesn't Theresa look beautiful in this shot . . .

Wade

Theresa + Wade

We finished the shoot in time for Ryan's game . . . the red helment . . .

Wade watching the game

Ivan being a ham for the camera again :) . . .

. . . while Theresa helped keep score.

Ryan was really quick on the ice.

One of the things I loved most about the shoot was it was the story of their family doing things that were very much a part of their everyday lives. I love it! Thanks for such an awesome shoot! Thanks for letting me capture a few moments in your lives!