CELEBRATE THE MOMENTS

Senior Reps Are Back!!

Every year we do a senior rep program here at the studio.  We hand-pick a few fabulous juniors to represent Momento in their schools.  We photograph these kids in the spring of their junior year so that they can take their images and show them to their graduating class.  Then in the summer they come back in for the "real" senior portraits.  I am always excited to shoot the sessions for the senior reps because on their first session, it is a chance for me to play and try new things out for the upcoming senior season....and on their second session, we have already gotten to know each other so it is fun to joke around and see what each senior has been up to since the last time they were in.  We appreciate how hard our reps work for us!!!

Here are a few images from our reps second sessions....not all our reps have been in for their second sessions, so the rest will have to come later, but for now...here's Nick, Maddie, Kalle, Brendan, Elizabeth, and Shawn.

       

More Senior Favorites

Seniors, Seniors, Seniors!  Here are a few of my favorite high school senior images so far this summer.

   

 

A Wine Country Wedding

Over the 4th of July, I got to witness a whole different kind of fireworks when my good friend Adina married her soulmate Mark.  I've known Adina and her family for years and it was truly a gorgeous event and one of most fun weddings I've been to in a very long time.  We spent the day before the wedding wine tasting in Amador County, touring the beautiful vineyards, scoping locations for wedding portraits the next day, and tasting all the fabulous wines.  I spent extra time and made a trip out of the holiday weekend, touring Sacramento and San Fransisco with good friends.  Here are a few images of the beautiful couple.

A little love in the barrel room at Montevina Vineyard....

The beautiful walls of Villa Tuscana Vineyard...

Back to Young's Vineyard where the wedding took place...

Cheers!!!

A dance for Dr. Miller and daddy's little girl....

Congratulations Mark and Adina on a beautiful event and a beautiful life. 

World Traveling - A Rare Opportunity

     A few months ago, a good photography friend of mine, Tom Bagby, called to ask me if I'd like to do some traveling.  Tom makes a mission trip with his church every year to a small orphanage in Guatemala and Miriam, the first girl to ever be taken in at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage was getting married and Tom wanted to do something special for her.  Miriam was the first girl to graduate their program, the first to get married.  The trip was scheduled for a particular busy time of year for me, but is one of those things you just CAN'T say no to.....so of course I said YES!  We had an awesome time at the wedding, and we had the opportuny to travel the countryside as well.  It was such a rare opportunity to see such a beautiful, remote, part of the world.  It certainly gave me a new respect for all the gifts I have in my life.  The people, the surroundings, the culture...it was all such a breathtaking experience. 

     The people who have established the orphanage are a special kind of angel.  For more information on the girl's home itself, check out their website at http://www.shadowofhiswingsorphanage.org/

     Here are a few images of the people and the country...

 

Just a little SPRING!

I spent last weekend in Kansas City With my good friend Scott enjoying....wait for it....70 degree weather!  After MONTHS of Minnesota cold, it was great to walk around downtown and get out of the house and enjoy some good weather for a change.  Also took a few snaps of Scott's son Reece while he hammed it up in the bathroom....he's such a FLIRT...but he's so cute he gets away with it!!!!

Here's Reece giving me some funny faces...

And just a few from Downtown KC...

   

On the way home, I ran smack into Minnesota/Iowa winter again, driving through rain and ice at 20 MPH for 2 hours!!!  UGH!!!  So much for spring....guess I'll have to wait a while longer for it to get to me up here in the tundra. :)

The Gift of Darby

Every now and then, I am fortunate enough to have a client whose story touches me.  Melanie and Nick are such clients.  When Melanie came in for her maternity portraits, I thought it was going to be just like all my other pregnancy sessions.  But then Mel started to tell me her story.  Melanie and Nick were there to cherish this pregnancy, to capture each second of it.  She had lost twins in her previous pregnancy and this time she was going to record every moment of life, even in the womb.  So this session became just a bit more poignant than any other maternity session for me.  You see, the love I could see in Melanie's face was a love for the baby she carried, and a loving memory for the two she lost.

Melanie and Nick had a very healthy baby boy named Darby.  I am thrilled to say that he has been in to visit me a number of times in the first 9 months of his life.  He is so stinkin' cute, and probably one of the most loved babies I know.  See....he's a gift.  He's Melanie and Nick's angel baby.

So I thought I would share a few of Darby's images.  I am blessed to be able to share these moments with my clients.  I have a great job!!!

Ahhhh.....Paradise!

I have been missing in action for the last few weeks on a jet-setting tour around the world....well...kinda. :)

I had the extreme pleasure of taking a much-needed vacation right after Christmas, to the fabulous, relaxing, WARM Hawaiian Islands....AND I WANT TO GO BACK! hehehe.

My good friends Bob and Diane Para graciously invited me to spend some time with them.  We spent the first few days relaxing in Kilua, Oahu.  We took a harrowing trip (only because Bob drove) to the ruins at Puu O Mahuka, where the steep paths around the ruins are covered in red vocanic mud and the locals still leave offerings amoung the trees and rocks.  Some even offer the rocks themselves up with their prayers.

 

Then we jumped an inter-island flight to explore the island of Kauai, and EXPLORE it what we did!  I dubbed myself "THE NAVIGATOR" and was in control of the map....which meant we were going to the END of the roads!  Yep....all of them!  I wanted to see ever inch of anything I could. :)   One day was spent driving up the roads of the Waimea Canyon where we saw mountain waterfalls and rainbows that seemed to explode from the mountains themselves.  Then we trekked down the Polihale Road, which is NOT for the faint of heart (or rear) as it is filled with FIVE MILLION POTHOLES!  But the end was totally worth the bumpy ride down the (closed) dirt road....the deserted beach that marks the beginning of the Na Pali Coast was one the most impressive sights I have ever seen!

We attmpted to see the Na Pali by boat as well.  We hopped a catamaran and were blessed with views of bottle-nosed dolphins, humpback whales, and one very large sea turtle, but the waves beat us, and after bucking extreme swells for about a half hour (and poor Bob turning green) the crew decided to head back and Na Pali Coast, sadly, was NOT reached that day.  

Determined that no part of the island should go unseen, we contact Safari Tours for a helicopter tour.  We chose the Eco-tour and it was quite possibly one of the coolest experiences I have ever had!  A large part of Kauai is privately owned by the Robinson Family and our eco-tour took us to the very tip of Keith Robinson's private mountain, where he met us and led us in a fascinating discussion about the native plants of Kauai.  It is sad to think that so many native plants are endangered and quickly disappearing from this beautiful place on earth.

We took the island by land, sea, and air.  We came, we saw, we conquered!  It was so much fun to relax and to take in such a beautiful place.  I may just have to make it an annual trip!!!

And of course.....Diane would never forgive me if I didn't include at least one image of a "random chicken".....and if I'm gonna include the birds, I'd better not leave out the bees! :)

Fabulous Couple....Scott and Kristin Vig

In an effort to share some of my favorite clients from the last few months, I am posting one of my favorite weddings.  Scott and Kristin were married on October 6th and recently came in to view their images.  The viewing is always the best and worst part of the process for me because I am always a ball of nerves hoping each clients LOVES their images as much as I do!  hehehe.  I have felt a great connection to Scott and Kristin since our first consultation.  It seems like we shared so many ideas and they were just up for anything.  That is my favorite type of client, the ones with NO FEAR!  So here are a few from Scott and Kristin's day.  Thanks you two for letting us be a part of it!

Ummm...yeah....about that....

Well, the fun new adventure of blogging turned out to be a STAGGERING Success didn't it!!!! (insert sarcastic tone here!) hehehehe.

Ok....let's try this again!  Hopefully it won't take me six months between posts this time!

Bringing you up to speed.  Well, it has been an interesting Fall to say the least!  We experienced water damage at our studio which resulted in a pretty bad mold infestation, so were have been forced to find a new home!  We are currently in a temporary space in the Savage Business Lofts until our BRAND NEW STUDIO is built!  We are very excited for the new building and I will keep you updated on the progress.

We've had a very exciting year and I am hoping that 2008 proves to be even better, if that is possible!

YAY!!! Finally Blogging!!!

Well, I am finally entering this century and blogging!  All my friends are doing it, and we all know how I HATE being left behind, so here it is....a virtual diary of all my comings and goings...of my favorite shots, projects, and travels....upcoming events and specials...and just about everything else I feel like rambling about!  Get ready kids....I feel as if I have been handed an open mic....be afraid, be VERY afraid...one never know what I might blurt out! Hehehehe!