We staged our photo session in two parts. The plan was to photograph him at Discovery Park in one morning, but the weather didn’t cooperate and we nearly froze and blew over the bluff into the ocean. I had to pry my hands open after that session. We did get some great shots at Discovery Park, but still had more to do, so we met the next morning at the University of Washington main campus and had a second session photographing on the grounds. I can’t complain, because I always enjoy Anthony’s company, and I got two free breakfasts at the fabulous Portage Bay Cafe. Mmm~!

I’m still new to sports photography, and it’s something I never imagined I would have an affinity for. But, as an athlete myself, I seem to be drawn to it and now that I’ve sampled a little, I’d like to do more! Particularly, I’m thinking it would be fun to do before-and-after portrait sessions with men and women who have partnered with a personal trainer. It would be promotion for their business as well as mine… and fabulous photos for our clients!

What do you think of that idea?

For your entertainment, here are the two morning show clips of us preening for charity. I’m the short-haired tall girl, in case there was any doubt. Yes, I am aware I am stupidly fidgety.

I volunteered to assist at the Brides Against Breast Cancer gown sale today and just finished my shift. I spent the day helping brides with their dresses and giving out information about Get Hitched, Give Hope. GHGH is the local charity group that I work with which raises money for the Making Memories Foundation, the same organization for which BABC fundraises. Making Memories grants wishes for Stage IV metastatic breast-cancer patients for whom the cure won’t come soon enough. A REALLY good cause.

And speaking of which, I have LOTS more news about Get Hitched, Give Hope soon to come. Tickets go on sale on August 1 and I hope you’ll join us for a fabulous party and amazing wedding details. Hell, it’s fun even if you’re already married or even single… it’s at the frikkin Four Seasons and what better excuse for a posh party do you need!

All right, I’m out for now, off to second-shoot a wedding at a location with a significant in-joke that I can’t tell anyone. Then, tomorrow we’re heading up north to visit Evergreen Gardens in Fairmont, where one of my lovely August brides will be married… and take a nice long bike ride to train for the RSVP bike race (from Seattle to Vancouver BC, 204 miles). Peace!

Kendall had just recovered from a six-month stint in a body cast to combat her hip dysplasia, but you wouldn’t have known for all the smiles and laughter she brought with her. She’s even learning to stand and walk, which is a big, big accomplishment for her!

Kendall’s favorite thing right now is doggies, and there were so many dogs at Marine Park while we were photographing that it was almost impossible to keep her attention. But she was so cute shrieking at each puppy for attention that we found it hard not to immediately forgive her.

Her mom, who also goes by Kat (like me!) was simply radiant and beautiful. Aren’t they just a lovely pair? We’re so happy to have photographed them!

Watch their gorgeous photo slideshow to see more images!

We had a leisurely, casual, and contemporary family portrait session on the beach at Corona del Mar one morning. While the weather was surprisingly like Seattle (perhaps to make me feel at home?) we managed to evade the rain and spent several hours exploring the beach together, while I got to know them and their sweet little boy.

They were such a wonderful family, so good together and good to each other. It was really a pleasure to photograph them, and I think the results speak for themselves. I had such a hard time choosing photos for this post, and I totally over-delivered on their session. But, what can I say? It’s jobs like these that make me feel really glad to be a photographer and not like I’m working at all.

Thank you all for a fabulous California experience, and I look forward to seeing you later this year!

To see more images from their session, visit their online photo gallery or watch their slideshow!

A few weeks ago, I took a train down to PDX one afternoon to shoot their session and catch a ride back to Seattle the same night with friends. We had a pretty narrow window to photograph in, made a little bit narrower by my train’s tardiness. I confess, I was a little nervous because Andrea painted herself as “camera shy” and I wasn’t sure we’d have enough time for her to get comfortable. But, as it turns out, either she is a big liar or we just meshed that well –these guys had a wonderful sense of humor– so this shoot was one of my most fun and stress-free sessions yet!

They started their engagement session in Tanner Springs Park in Portland’s Pearl District, then ran about for photographs on the Broadway Bridge before heading to Overlook Park for more pictures before sunset. Alas, we lost most of the light before we could take frisbee-diving photos, but I really couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful shoot with more fun people.

Thank you, guys. Enjoy your photos and congrats on your pending nuptials!

Little Rowan, the oldest of the girls, was torn between jumping in as many as possible and maintaining her pristine, princessy dress. It didn’t take her long to decide that being a princess was overrated. She completely muddied her tights… and then decided that she REALLY wanted to be a princess and broke down in tears at the state of her shoes. So cute and hilarious!

This was one of our biggest family portrait sessions so far, and the one with the most kids under the age of three to date. A photographic challenge alleviated just a bit by the fact that two of the three children knew us from previous shoots… but a challenge nevertheless! We all made the most of the sunny day and got some lovely photographs we hope they’ll treasure forever. Enjoy!

And here’s a bonus behind-the-scenes picture of Justin holding two babies at the same time, one in each arm, while I photograph the ladies together!

Want to see more? Check out their super-cute photo slideshow!

When Maggie suggested staging photos on the ferry boat that runs between the mainland and Bainbridge, I did a little happy dance in my chair. I love ferry boats!

We started the session near the ferry dock at Seattle’s famous Pike Place market for some engagement photography at the market’s well-known landmarks. We meandered from Post Alley through the market proper and down to lower Post Alley where the gross-but-fascinating “gum wall” is lurking before heading to the ferry terminal. We missed the first ferry we wanted to catch by minutes, but no biggie…that gave us time for a good beer, great conversation, and a few more cute photographs!

Funny enough, the forecast for that Sunday was touchy at best but there was enough wind to blow away all the clouds and leave us with nothing but sun… and a VERY stiff breeze on the water! All of us ran from sheltered alcove to alcove bent over to stay upright in the gale. It’s a pretty quick ride between Seattle and B-Island, so we shot wherever we could on the boat before jumping off and exploring the Bainbridge harbor and Maggie’s family home where their dog, Cody, was waiting with kisses. It was a wonderful tour-de-Seattle with an even more wonderful couple.

Thank you both for spending the afternoon with us! And enjoy the photographs…

To see more pictures, visit their engagement photography gallery or watch their engagement slideshow online!