{Sneak Peek} Kristen and Angie, a mother & daughter

It's almost been a week since I went out and visited with Kristen & her mamma.

Last Thursday evening, was just gorgeous; we had beautiful weather, and by that, I mean it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been in August, a delightful sunset and we got to hang out with swarms of mosquitoes. I had a great time photographing these two (and we threw in a couple extras) and am having a difficult time choosing which images to showcase. There were so many beautiful photos from that evening.

 One of my favorite things about shooting on-location, and not in a tiny little studio somewhere (of course I would love to have a dedicated shooting space indoors, especially during winter months), is the availability of unique props. Sometimes it's the least likely items and places that make some of the most beautiful portraits.
This little tub made a great place to kick up a leg & rest a bit.

 Who would have thought an irrigation ditch could be so beautiful...these ladies made it look GOOD!

It wouldn't have been a complete session without the Man in the house. What a great sport. :)

 We shared lots of laughs. I think at this particular moment, I was actually being carried away by about 15 dozen mosquitoes (and I even used some repellant before we started).

The ladies were late in getting the little guys some dinner, and they promptly let us know about it, in fact, they tried eating the shirt right off Kristen's back. 

This is probably one of my most favorite images from the night. Such a pretty lady and those eyes are SO blue.

Thank you ladies for a great session. I'll be in touch with you this week with the rest of your proofs.

{Real Life} Air Tankers & Helicopters

Summer just wouldn't be summer without seeing some Air Tankers & Helicopters. We are fortunate to live in a wonderful, beautiful, rural area where we can just go out to the base & watch them fly.
Here's a quick peek from yesterday evening.

Have a great Thursday evening. I'm off to photograph a beautiful mother & daughter, for a sunset session.

(Sneak Peek) Elizabeth & Tim, Engaged

I love shooting babies, toddlers, and families, but that's not all I shoot. I actually love getting to photograph lots of things, including high school seniors, couples &  I take a limited number of special events each year.  Tim & Elizabeth are one of those special events, scheduled for 2012.  That's right, they'll be getting hitched next summer and I'll be there capturing all those little moments for them. I'm super excited for them & for their wedding. Last Saturday evening we did their engagement portraits & I love, love, love what we came up with. 

Here is a little peek into the fun we had. 

This was quite the adventure...I was sure the 'brothers' had rigged up the hammock. :)

We actually had quite a few adventures during their session, including the circle of bovine on-lookers.

 

This last one is quite possibly one of my most favorite shots ever. 

I am an idea gatherer, notebooks, magazine clippings, miscellaneous mismatched notes jotted on scraps of paper.  Often times the ideas & inspirations are just begging to come out & play,  but they get stashed away until just the perfect moment. Making portraits in the evening is one of my favorites, not only is the light gorgeous, but this time of year, it's starting to cool down & get a little breezie by then. I don't shoot much in the evenings because that's when most little people head to bed & well, since I do a lot of child and family portraits, you see how this is going, things don't always match up.

Everything finally came together & I was able to get this shot of the two love-birds.

You guys were awesome! I can't wait to hang out with you again and photograph you some more. I'll be in touch with you this week with the rest of your proofs.

{Sneak Peek} Jana

I'm a very lucky girl. I have been blessed with some very wonderful people in my life. This beautiful lady is no exception to that.  Not only is she my aunt, but I consider her my best friend and a mom figure. For as long as I can remember we have had a close relationship.  We have been discussing a photo session for quite sometime and we finally got to make it happen. I love what came out of her session (aside from all our laughing and celebrating).

 

 

Thank you for always being there. For being a great role model & inspiration. Love you.

{Sneak Peek} The Chambers Family

It's another lovely Saturday here in Northern California. My day late morning & afternoon will be filled with working on business things, finishing up the edits for a couple of sessions & preparing for an engagement session this evening. 

It's been a week of craziness since I visited this beautiful family down in Happy Camp and I'm ready to share there session with all of you!  If you're a follower of the Facebook Fan Page you will have already seen a few of these and know that what's to come is just gorgeous. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them for our session and they were quite the troopers and I ended up with so many great images for them (in fact it was so hard to narrow it down to sneak peek that I put together a couple boards instead of all single images).

The whole family. Seriously, they were gorgeous

 Mom & Dad with their children & grandchildren.

Some of the best moments in childhood, come from spending time with grandparents (at least it was like that for me) and these little ones, just LOVE theirs.

Aren't they just so stinkin' cute and look at those eyes!! 

 

 Enjoy your preview & I'll be getting in touch with you soon with your gallery information. Thank you so much for a great morning.
 

{Casting Call} Back to School

TGIF!! Happy Fridays.  I am in the process of planning out a "Back to School" session. It's going to be super cute & extra fun, definitely not what you'll be getting from traditional school portraits

I am looking for 1 girl & 1 boy, ages 4-6 (pre-k/K).

To be considered for this promotional shoot drop me an email. Please include a current, non-professional photo of your child, their age & grade they will be entering.

I will reply with details on what you will receive if your child is chosen. 

You must be willing to sign a model release & provide the requested clothing. I will be choosing my 'models' by September 1st. This is not a 'first come, first served' call.

***I adjusted the email link to go into a different mailbox, the original inbox is having some issues.***

{Contest Entries} It's Fair Time

 It's that time of year again, our annual county fair. Once again I have entered some photographs with hopes of bringing home some ribbons, preferably blue ones, but there are a few other amazing photographers in this county that I'll be up against. So best of luck to you all.  Here are my 2011 Siskiyou Golden Fair entries.

In the Professional Black & White categories:
--Animal

--Floral

For Professional Color categories:
--Animal

--Candid

--Floral

--Mt Shasta

--Sunsets & Sunrises

--Other, not listed, specify: Farm Life

Have a great rest of this sunny & hot, Tuesday in August.