Blizzard!

Well everyone, if you ever wondered why I left the beautiful Inland Northwest - take a look at this! It hasn't stopped snowing for 2 days straight and we can't even leave the house. We got stuck on the hill coming home last night and started sliding backwards. Sooo scary. We ended up driving for an hour before we found a way to get to my mom's house without having to drive up a steep hill. It's crazy! I think it is absolutely beautiful, but mostly because I'm on vacation and I have nowhere to be. I get to just sit inside and stare out at it. It's been interesting. I miss everyone, but I'm having a good time! See you soon!

Maternity - Lisa

Aww, so beautiful!! One of my oldest and dearest friends, Lisa, is having her first baby. A boy. She looks absolutely amazing and this is only the first of a few maternity sessions we are doing. Next is a shoot in the snow up in Washington. We'll both be up there for Christmas since we're both from Spokane. We just really hope it snows for us!

Merry Christmas!

Melissa and her two adorable dogs came in for Christmas Card portraits with an entire set in tow. She had the cutest idea to have an entire Christmas scene, complete with a tree and presents, as her backdrop. Not to mention her sassy santa outfit, check her out! With the help of our wonderful assistant, Wiley, we made the whole thing happen. Her dogs are sooo cute and I had so much fun!

Senior Portrait - Josh

Talk about a busy high school senior! Josh plays football, basketball and runs track. Now he can add modeling to his resume. He's definitely a natural in front of the camera and a really nice guy to top it off. Thank you to his mom, Lori for bringing him in and Lisa, my longtime friend for setting the whole thing up (and being my assistant, lol). You guys were great and I had so much fun!

Halloween Wedding--Ben & Kimberlee

Talk about doing something different on your wedding day! This wedding went from frightening mummies and witches to beautiful flowers and an amazing bride and groom. Kimberlee is full of energy and enthusiasm and I can't help but smile when I'm around her and Ben proved to be her perfect match.

They decided to get married at the Ryde Hotel on the River Road (Hwy 60) because it's believed to be haunted and Kimberlee had her bridesmaids and bridesman dress up in costume for the ceremony. She also had her bridesman (Boy George) sing to her as she and Ben walked down the aisle after saying their vows. So cute!

After some fun family and bridal party photos I stole Ben and Kimberlee away to take some shots of just the two of them. They are naturals in front of the camera and it couldn't be more obvious how in love they are!

My friend Matt Holsinger, their DJ, introduced me to them and I can't thank him enough! I really enjoyed working with all of you and I hope you enjoy your photos...

Roadtrip!

Hello everyone! I just got back from a week long roadtrip and I had an amazing time! My friend, Kristene, and I drove from Sacramento to Vegas (woo hoo!) to Zion National Park and then to Arches National Park and back. We bonded during our long car rides from place to place, I camped for the first time in 13 years, and we saw some of the most amazing places we could imagine. The pictures I took don't even capture the full beauty of the places we went, so anyone who has the chance should definitely go see them in person. The first few photos are from Zion National Park in Utah, where we camped and took our first hike up the side of a very steep mountain. There were so many breathtaking views we ended up stopping every couple minutes.

We had a long drive after Zion to get to Arches National Park near Moab, Utah but the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We drove through valleys, grasslands, canyons, and deserts. The landscape seemed to be constantly changing and I was really in awe. So, of course, we had to stop along the way and capture as much as we could.

We ended up getting to Arches right as sunset was starting, which was perfect. We did a little research and found a short hike to a view of the famous "delicate arch." So, off we went. Little did we know the hike was straight uphill, oops. Pretty strenuous but sooo worth it. We sat on the edge of a cliff and watched the sunset over the hills and took pictures, of course. This place is truly amazing.

We decided not to camp and ended up staying in Moab a few miles down the road. It's a cute little town with a great atmosphere. This is definitely a busy time for them with tourists from all over the world. We were lucky enough to find a room even though almost every hotel was completely full, so we had a great dinner and went back to our comfy motel. Our second day there we got to really see the park and found some great places to shoot.

That night we took the hike we were most afraid of, up to the real view of the delicate arch. We thought it was 3 miles but it ended up being half that, thank god! It actually ended up being pretty easy. Once we got up there I got really scared though, I guess I'm a little afraid of heights. We were sitting on a slanted slab of rock that led straight off a cliff. If you tripped you would fall right off. A little terrifying.

I have to say that we drove on the easiest and emptiest highways imaginable. We had the easiest time getting around. We ended up taking Hwy 50 all the way home and were alone pretty much the whole way. So, when we got a little bored, we decided to stop and do a photoshoot. First it was for the landscape (there was a salt flat in the distance reflecting the mountain range), but then we started goofing off and suddenly Kristene became America's Next Top Model. Check her out! This was so much fun and I'm so glad she wanted to be in front of the camera for a change.