Little Sarah just turned 8 on January 11th. She has limb girdle muscular dystrophy. She will most likely end up in a wheelchair in her teens. There is no cure as of yet. Here is a link with info on this type of MD http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/limb-girdle-muscular-dystrophy

The killer show started with Amanda Hardy on stage, solo, acoustic and amazing.  Amanda is influenced by bands like Alice in Chains, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Foo Fighters, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, Soungarden and MANY MORE…

If you have not heard this amazing young talent you do not know what you are missing!!

“I’m a singer/songwriter from the Seattle area. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. I have Fender & Gibson guitars and love my Taylor Acoustic! I’m heavily influenced by the “Seattle Sound”. Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and other bands from the “grunge” era have given me a lot of inspiration. Led Zeppelin and the Beatles are right there as well!
I love all kinds of music. From jazz to the heaviest rock you can think of. Layne Staley is my biggest vocal inspiration, his lyrics and styling of his voice gets me every time. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for me, it’s going to be great! ”

In the Between took to the stage and completely rocked the set. Formed in 2012, In The Between brings a dynamic flow to the stage. With the melodic grooves and moving vocals In The Between has taken the North West by storm and has no plans on stopping. Fueled by a strong desire to bring entertainment and put on an amazing show, In The Between brings a performance that is un-equaled in the northwest.

Kaitlin’s vocals bring a sense of serenity to the mix, powered by Shane’s powerful guitar riffs. Fish and Will round out the rhythm section with a powerful drive that keeps the crowd moving.

Very cool sound… In The Between is currently booking and playing shows in support of their debut EP  “Fall In Line”

Lady Justice… Bridging the Gap between intimate acoustic and driving rock, Lady Justice explores the ever changing inspirations life through melody…

Hailing from Seattle, two friends sat down and started writing. After realizing the ease of this process together, they decided they might be on to something great.

Lady Justice is Rock, Alternative, Singer songwriter with an edge

I do have to say, I am sorry Sevens Revenge… I was not able to stay through your set but yea… You guys were rocking the joint when I had to leave… Coldbeers = 1 CHP Concert Photography = 0

Again, please take the time and donate by clicking here

All in all over $1,000 raised last night… I am so humbled to have even been the smallest part of such an amazing event… Thank you Louie G… and thank you to all the bands… Until next time!!

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Christian Hamilton Photography

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C-Leb & the Kettle Black totally blew the roof off of Jazzbones… The dudes were on point and totally killin it… A southern rock sound that will melt your face…

TheTrades.com writes “North West originated but definitely Southern Fried, C-Leb & the Kettle Black offer an energetic “Hott Mess” of throaty blues, wicked slide guitar, and honky tonk harmonica on their debut. It ain’t got that “Parental Advisory — Explicit Content” sticker on it for nothing as it’s profane as all get out (though it has “clean versions” of four of the songs at the end of the disc… y’know, after your ears have already melted off).”

C-Leb & the Kettle Black by CHP Concert Photography

C-Leb & the Kettle Black by CHP Concert Photography

C-Leb & the Kettle Black by CHP Concert Photography

Frank O. Gutch Jr. – Rock & Reprise.net
“This is take no prisoner stuff, the kind of stuff the real Southern bands used to play.The Celebration is straight-on rock with a touch of Delaney & Bonnie thrown in for good measure. My favorite, though, has to be One For the Road, a medium-beat ride on a musical hog of no mean size. It is wall-of-sound perfection when you turn it up, and I would bet that anyone who really wanted to listen would turn it way up.”

C-Leb & the Kettle Black by CHP Concert Photography

After the amazing set by C-Leb & the Kettle Black Walking Papers threw down and threw down hard… This show was sold out and it was standing room only for real…

Walking Papers at Jazzbones – CHP Concert Photography

Walking Papers at Jazzbones – CHP Concert Photography

The band played its first Seattle shows initially as a duo with Jeff on guitar and Barrett on drums, but soon added Duff McKagan on bass to make their official debut as a trio on July 22nd, 2012. Benjamin Anderson brought his keyboard talents from the studio to the live stage, evolving the band into a quartet. Pearl Jam and Mad Season guitarist Mike McCready has been known to make guest appearances on stage as the lead guitar player.

Walking Papers at Jazzbones – CHP Concert Photography

Walking Papers show that a great song can be conveyed with thundering drums, rumbling bass, and a howling guitar just as easily as it can with percolating marimbas and shimmering vibraphone. The songs on this album can stand alone as individual stories, but taken together as a whole, they convey a much larger narrative with tales of wandering souls, the collisions of will, and the dark beauty of the American heart.

Walking Papers at Jazzbones – CHP Concert Photography

Walking Papers at Jazzbones – CHP Concert Photography

BLUF… AKA Bottom Line Up Front… If you were not at Jazzbones on Friday 29 March, 2013…. It sucks to be you.

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Christian Hamilton Photography

On Saturday, March 2nd 2013… the house was brought down at Louie G’s in Fife, WA with one of the most amazing line ups ever to play together in the local music scene. I am not even going to get all involved with trying to explain the insanity… I am just going to show y’all what you missed!!

Ayron Jones and the Way

Ayron Jones and the Way – CHP Concert Photography

Ayron Jones and the Way – CHP Concert Photography

Ayron Jones and the Way – CHP Concert Photography

Sweet Kiss Momma

Sweet Kiss Momma – CHP Concert Photography

Sweet Kiss Momma – CHP Concert Photography

Sweet Kiss Momma – CHP Concert Photography

Cody Beebe and the Crooks

Bound by their collective roots in Central Washington and Washington State University, Cody Beebe & The Crooks began performing together in February of 2009 in Seattle, WA. The band spent the subsequent three years exploring music together and discovering what CBC was to become.  The band calls it Roots Rock; some radio gurus have dubbed it Progressive Americana, and others have said “Steve Earle meets Pink Floyd.” Musically, strong elements of gritty blues, classic rock, country, and funk are obvious. More subtle are the splashes of jazz, R&B, Grunge, and metal. Sometimes soaring above, sometimes smoothly crooning, sometimes twanging, and always deeply emotionally invested, their melodies and lyrics soulfully unite the sound. If their genre can’t be easily named, that says nothing of its approachability and timelessness.

Cody Beebe and the Crooks – CHP Concert Photography

Cody Beebe and the Crooks – CHP Concert Photography

Cody Beebe and the Crooks – CHP Concert Photography

This is what it is all about… Great Music, Great People and Great food down at Louie G’s

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So, I know that things happen, and here is where I think this session took a wrong turn… right at the beginning. The timeline for the session was set for 10 am… we didn’t start until around 10:35-ish… Again, I understand things happen and was not at all upset, my wife and I sat and waited. Now, this may not have been the case, but there was only one person missing at start time, the husband. Yes. they drove separately. Niki, the wife, was on time and was very pleasant but when her husband arrived he was very visibly and verbally annoyed. This was not the start I had anticipated.

TIP# 1:  When a time-slot is booked, verified and confirmed and your session does not start on time due to no fault of the photographer, expect that the clock is running. This is not because we do not understand that things happen but rather our time is just one of the things that you pay for. Other things include talent, processing style and then finally prints. A photographers time is their most valuable commodity.

Well, we did start the session and things seemed to have calmed down and everything was going well… the issue was, starting as late as we did limited the session not only as far as time was concerned but also lighting. I try very hard to schedule sessions around times that will provide the best possible light. I know it may seem trivial, but a 30 – 45 minute delay can really limit what is available as far as backdrop. So, I continued to position the family so that the sun would not be blinding, causing them to squint or make other unflattering faces… mostly positioning the sun directly behind them.

TIP #2:  Trust what is being told to you is what is best. If a photographer says that they do not think that something will work, trust that… it is normally truth. The art of photography is using light to create amazing images. It was not that long ago, prior to the digital age, that light was the only way to create images. A camera collected the light using a series of settings, F-Stop, Shutter Speed and ISO. It is true that today’s digital cameras use the same concept but with all the digital ways to manipulate images it is not as vital for a photographer to understand the “Painting with Light” concept.

Well we worked through the late start and we moved quickly around the fast moving sun and created some amazing images. Everyone seems to be having a good time, the kids are doing amazing!! They, the children, look amazing!! Great smiles and beautiful expressions… This will lead me into my next tip

TIP# 3: In a post session email, do your best not to complain about the way your children look. If you, the parents, do not like your child’s hairstyle, change it… It is not my place to say I do not like your child’s hair… Actually, I LOVED the hair here… I LOVED the way the children smiled and laughed… My final thought on this, there may be some photographers that will tell you to fix your child’s hair. I will not… They are your children, not mine and I will NEVER judge them or make them feel as if they are not perfect just the way they are…. enough said.

TIP#4: I have a part in my bio that states: “I cater to the clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories and have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized.” This is not a way for me to steal another photographers work. I do highly recommend that clients send “Concepts”… I will use those concepts to create images in my “Style” of photography. You should not expect a photographer to pose you in exactly the same manner as the concept you provided. The photographer that took the original image worked very hard on that image and I will not steal it…

And finally….

TIP# 5: The conversion of images to Black and White is a common practice… even more so when the client makes several references to liking Ansel Adams.  The conversion of certain images to Black and White is not a way to try and dupe the client into thinking they have more images in the proofing gallery but rather a way for the photographer to give the client more options. It is important to understand that not every image will be in the proofing gallery… It is the photographers job to produce only the best of the best for you and your family to see…. some images may not make the cut, and it is not due to them being technically wrong. I bracket every pose with a minimum of three exposures, this not only ensures that the exposure is correct but gives an opportunity to salvage an amazing image that may have someone closing their eyes or looking away or whatever… but this still does not mean that you the client will get every image…

TIP#6:   My computer screen is calibrated in order to provide the best possible prints… I spend a fair amount of money on the monitor used and the calibration software… this again comes down to trust… The images may or may not look perfect on your screen but your should trust that your photographer has invested in the appropriate calibration software and monitor

Now having said all this, this family was very nice… I did have  a great time with them and the images, as far as I can tell, are wonderful!! As always thank you so much for stopping by!!!

Christian Hamilton Photography

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For those not familiar, Seattle is kind of crazy when it comes to weather… There has been this lingering fog hanging out for days, but the weather forecast for the morning of the session looked promising… until the morning of the session… I arrived at the the session location about 30 minutes early and saw… nothing… a think, dense fog stretched from Alki to Seattle and showed no signs of lifting.

Well, Adrianna showed up on time and ready to go… and here I am… standing like a dear in headlights trying to figure out how to salvage the day.. Thankfully my wife Brittney was quite familiar with the area and did a little RECON mission while I waited for Adrianna to show up…

Tacoma Senior Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

Though, this was not my initial concept… I am totally loving the look and feel of these portraits… It just goes to show, sometimes things happen for a reason… I mean… would the initial concept of the session had better results?? Who knows… better yet… Who cares!!

Tacoma Senior Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

There were some lessons learned at the end of the day… a few would absolutely be … have a backup plan!!!…  Adapt and overcome… Have fun with it!! and if all else fails I can always count on my wife to get me through All that said…Saturday, Jan 19, 2013… This day will be known as the day the Seattle fog stayed!!

Tacoma Senior Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

Tacoma Senior Portrait Photographer

 
Thank you all so much for reading and I do look forward to hearing from you!!

Christian Hamilton Photography

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The new year is upon us… 2013… Can you believe it has been a year already?!?! What a year it has been.  A year spent working full time in the The U.S. Army, working full time on my business Christian Hamilton Photography, volunteering for Operation Ward 57 and Operation Love ReUnited (OpLove)… It has been a great year, fulfilling and accomplished.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

I am  welcoming 2013 with TONS of specials!! This year I will incorporate a 10% off return client discount, $25 credit client referral  program and extend the 50% Military discount throughout the new year. Your life is a story that deserves to be told. Not in words. But in images. I provide an extensive range of services that allows you to take away a permanent reminder of who and what is most important in life. From Family portrait sessions to Senior portrait sessions to Maternity sessions, Christian Hamilton Photography Captures Life.

Financing Now Available

I am now offering a 2 month, 3 month and 4 month financing plan. Christian Hamilton Photography strives to make professional portrait art affordable to EVERY family. I understand the price of professional portraits my be outside your budget.  I cater to the clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories and have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session. Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child’s stages in life. Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget, it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting).

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

New Package Pricing

Christian Hamilton Photography has put into place a new package program for 2013.  The new package program is set up to make it easier for you, the customer, to receive the best possible service. A package for every budget has been incorporated to allow you, the customer, to receive the best possible service for your budget.

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

Your Input Matters

Christian Hamilton Photography, going into 2013, wants to hear from you!! Help me improve your overall experience by rating me on Yelp.com. Your input matters. You, the client, are the most important thing to me and I will do everything I can to ensure you have nothing but the very best and your reviews will help me do that.

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

Sign Up

Sign up for Christian Hamilton Photography’s newsletter. Want to know what specials and giveaways are going on every month?? Sign up and stay up to date!!

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

2013 is going to be a great year… a year of new beginnings, new memories and Christian Hamilton Photography would love to be a part of it!!

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Vote Christian Hamilton Photography Best Artist in the Sound

Ok, I am looking to end the year feeling good about humanity… so I am going to offer this… Go to the Operation Ward 57 website, a non-profit supporting our wounded warriors and their families, donate, buy a shirt, buy a beanie, buy a blanket… whatever you want… leave me a comment saying you support our troops and receive a free session including Family Portrait Collection II (A $375 value) for new clients and/or a free 20X30 canvas wrap (A $150 value) for previous clients… Now through 1 Jan, 2013!! Go show your support today

Thank You all so much and Merry Christmas!!!

Christian Hamilton Photography

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Vote Christian Hamilton Photography Best Artist in the Sound

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

I contacted Brett and Maegan the day after the contest was over and we began to put together details for the session. We discussed several amazing Tacoma locations but finally decided on the Tacoma Waterfront. The weather here was being somewhat a pain.. go figure… but we played it by ear and finally met up for the session about a week after the contest was over. I gotta say.. I didn’t think the weather was going to hold… It was actually raining on my way to meet them… the sky was dark and gloomy… I sure was not confident that this would be the right time but really… it was the only time… this had to work!!

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

I will tell you… they were a fun family… we drove on in the cold, misty Tacoma weather and personally… I think came away with some absolutely amazing images. This just goes to show you… perfect weather and pretty colors are not needed to create amazing portraits…

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

So, in the end… after about an hour of cold misty rain… in ended up being a fun day that resulted in the Harrison family receiving some amazing custom portraits. So, if y’all are interested in seeing what other giveaways and contest are being offered… you gotta head on over to my Facebook Page and stay tuned for your chance to win!!!

Tacoma Portrait Photographer – Christian Hamilton Photography

And don’t forget!!! The best artist in the sound… if you vote for a Portrait Photographer leave me a comment on that blog and you, yourself, will be entered into a drawing for a free session PLUS $50.00 in print credit!!!

As always… thank you so much for stopping by

Christian Hamilton Photography

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Best Artist in the Sound

I have, this year, set out to prove that a “Portrait” or “Event” photographer can produce work worthy of being called art. I quote from my biography “I cater to the clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories and have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized.”  I refer to your portraits as “Portrait Art” for a reason… they are art

Who can deny that fact? I say that there is room for a portrait photographer to be considered as one of the best artists in the Puget Sound. I mean after all… We, the portrait photographers also take a blank canvas.. we too paint… we paint with light.

The portrait photographer also shows emotion… We are actually in the business of capturing that emotion… Isn’t that art?? I say yep… it sure is… Anything, in any medium that evokes emotion is art,

So this year, before you write us portrait photographers off as possibly being the Best Artists in the South Sound ask yourself…” What do I feel when I see their work??” This year vote for a portrait photographer…. Hell… Vote for me Christian Hamilton Photography… Best Artist is the Sound… Has a nice ring to it… Don’t ya think??

Thank you so much for stopping by

Vote here and sound off for your chance to win a free session… just leave your name in a comment below and say that you voted for a portrait photographer for best artist in the sound!!

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