My wife Athena and I went to downtown Kennewick last night for an impromptu photo date. We had a lot of fun and made some great images! Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!
I love the irony here:
I really love the motion in this one!
Here are Josiah and Kefir’s more traditional “faces forward” portraits:
My goal with this set was to show a slice of preschool life. These are the ones I really love!
Nephew Skye:
Josiah:
Kefir:
Niece Raven:
Here’s my mom – “Grandma Pam” – with one of her Valentines on Christmas Eve.
And on a romantic note, here’s Pierce Pettis with “Song of Songs” (Note: There is some mild discussion here of the content of the book of Song of Songs, so you may not want to play it if you have young children about).
Pierce is a folk singer I discovered several years ago, and I’ve really come to enjoy his music. For more, check out his website or enjoy an entire concert online at Front Porch House Concerts. Beautiful stuff.
Athena relaxing:
Grandma Lil playing with Josiah:
Here’s Josiah:
And Kefir:
Good eats!
These look really cute! If you’re a scrapbooker, you need to stop by.
Cathy, the owner of Scrap Happens, cuts the anniversary cake while her husband, Jim, serves up the food.
The store held a raffle to win a Cricut cutting machine – those things look really cool! This is Cathy, calling the winner.
The drawing for a portrait session and 30×40 gallery wrap canvas print from me is going to be held tomorrow (Saturday) at six, so if you’re a scrapbooker, or know someone who is, make sure to head over to the store and put your name in! You also have until then to spend some money with Scrap Happens and save on a session with me. Check out the previous post for details!
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Mmmmm…..pizza!
Kefir loves to ham it up!
Here’s the first set of images, taken while Athena was giving the kids a haircut just before Christmas. What I find funny here is how much our kids enjoy getting their hair cut!
Here’s Kefir:
Josiah before:
And after:
Dad and the kids blowing out candles:
Kefir cuddling on Mommy at the end of the night:
Two weeks ago, Athena, the kids, and I had the chance to go to Calista’s birthday party – she was turning two! A lot of fun was had by all, and Cali got a huge pile of loot! I didn’t shoot the whole time, but I did shoot a lot – I can’t help myself! Here are a few for you:
Yum!
One of Calista’s new toys was a fishing set, complete with fish!
Josiah had to get in on the action!
Yeah, those cupcakes were good!
Kefir makes the funniest faces!
Calista being photographed (note Grandma on the right):
Kefir looked so jealous watching this little girl push around the stroller…
…but he decided to bide his time. As soon as she was done playing with it, he grabbed it!
I love this one!
The slideshow is online, but it’s private. If you know the family, hit T.L. up, and she’ll give you the link.
Thanks for looking!
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Kefir after “ants on a log” today. Here’s two more with Jos – I hope they make you smile!
Here’s Josiah, caught being still for a (split) second:
My lovely wife:
I love the emotion that comes through in these two images! They were just playing around and wrestling in the yard.
Thanks for looking!
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Actually, it was more like “really strong, freezing wind!” Athena braved the cold the other night to model for me at Uptown in Richland. She lifted the scarf up, and the wind just blew it to the side – that tells you how strong it was! This is my favorite image from our short session.
You might notice – I’ve edited the format of my images to allow them to appear larger on the blog. Yay!
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This is my favorite image from this series. I caught him off guard for a moment, playing with my son.
This is an image I took of Athena and Kefir at my birthday party a few days ago. I liked it so much, I thought I’d share it with you, and use it as an opportunity to get back into regular blogging!
Let’s see, my last post here was….uh….December 15. Yeah, I’ve been kinda busy! Taxes are done now (yeah!) and I’m getting caught up on work, so I’m going to make the time to get some images here on a regular basis.
Speaking of taxes, allow me to put in a plug for the IRS. Yeah, I really mean that. Bear with me a second. The IRS has a system called Free File. If you have an adjusted gross income of $54,000 or less (remember, that’s adjusted gross income, not your total gross) and haven’t done your taxes yet, you need to check this out. It works through different tax software companies (I chose H&R Block) to prepare your taxes and file online. Even with my somewhat more complicated business taxes, it was easy to understand and easy to do. Filing didn’t cost me anything, and neither did the software. Okay, that’s the end of the shameless plug.
The image above is one shot out of a series of cool images that I made while playing around with some light. I’ll share some more of them with you over the rest of the week.
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I’ve been so busy with clients’ images lately that I haven’t really had a chance to work on any of my own. I took a few minutes today to play around with an old image (Kefir was 7 1/2 months in this shot; he’s almost two now) of my wife and son, trying out some texture and tone. I really liked what I got, so I’m sharing it here. I hope you like it!
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Such a precious moment!
I said this in the last post, but I love the bright, vibrant colors in Calista’s room!
Riding the rocking horse!
Ice cream time – look at that HUGE cone!!!
I love this…Rob and T.L. in the background, having fun watching their little girl…Calista just enjoying eating.
Sneaky, Rob!
The aftermath. She looks disappointed that she couldn’t finish the whole thing!
I love this image!
Bathtime!
I love these details!
Time for washing…
…and rinsing!
Calista is just so stinkin’ cute!
A quick towel-off…
…and it’s into PJs to play a bit before bed:
Such cute little hands!
I absolutely love these last two images!
Thanks for looking through all of these! I hope you enjoyed them, and I’m sure I’ll add more images of Calista throughout the year when our families hang out together.
]]>I’m back with more, and I’ve got so many favorites that I’m going to have to divide it into two posts! Make sure to watch the slideshow after you’ve enjoyed these!
Getting ready for the session:
We started out with Calista in diapers – she did not want to get dressed after this!
T.L. did manage to get Calista dressed, and we went to the kitchen for a bit.
I love the colors in Calista’s room!
Calista spent awhile with Rob…
…throwing sugar packets!
They played “catch” with Rob’s wedding ring:
I love the colors of all the toys in these images!
Clapping!
High five!
This is only the first half of our session! Check back tomorrow for some fun images with ice cream and then bath time! In the meantime, enjoy the slideshow!
]]>I got to hang out with her for a couple of hours and do a portrait session on Tuesday evening, and we had so much fun! Here are a few of my initial favorites for you to enjoy:
Make sure to check back, and I’ll post more soon!
]]>I’ve been having fun making slideshows lately. This session was so fun, I figured I’d make another. Enjoy it!
We started out at the Richland Parkway and worked to get a variety of interesting locations:
We then walked over to George Washington Way…
…and Athena danced for me alongside the busy street!
We saw the sign and both of us had the same idea:
We then walked down the hill to Howard Amon Park — this was one of my favorite places to play when I was a kid!
We walked down to the water, and I asked Athena if she wanted to get her feet wet. She did, and thought it was a blast!
Lately, we have been spending some time together enjoying some “Trash the Dress” images from other photographers. This is a style that is becoming popular among photographers and brides right now. The idea behind these images is that a bride can show her new husband that she won’t be needing her wedding dress again. Rather than put it in a box or bag in the closet, a bride and her photographer can make some wonderful, fun, classy images by putting her, wearing her dress, in some unusual locations. She might wear it in the ocean, lay on the sand, climb a tree, or any number of crazy, fun, creative ideas!
For more about the philosophy behind Trash the Dress, check this out. As part of the philosophy of focusing on creating wonderful images as opposed to merely destroying an expensive dress, some of the photographers involved in this are now encouraging their brides to donate the dress (it’s usually salvageable) to Brides Against Breast Cancer!
The moniker “Trash the Dress” applies to more than just brides. I’ve seen grooms underwater, bridesmaids trashing their dresses, even seniors jumping in the water in their prom dresses!
I suggested to Athena that we try a bit of the style in our shoot. Not necessarily getting her outfit wet; but more of creating some fun, energy-filled images in an unusual location. I’m afraid she took me literally, and headed out into the Columbia!
We both thought this was a lot of fun!
“Are you ready?” she asked me.
I was.
I really think my wife looks gorgeous when she’s dripping wet!
Don’t miss the slideshow! I think this is my favorite yet (but then again, I’m rather partial to the subject)!
]]>Amanda (my sister) and her husband Andy recently moved into a cute H-house. After our photo session we went back to their place and made some images with the new house as a backdrop.
After a few images with just Andy and Amanda, we let Charlie out of the house:
Charlie had a blast!
Yeah, Charlie is a very friendly dog!
Can you tell they are really dog lovers?
I thought this was so funny! Josiah stopped running around for about half a minute to psych himself up, then suddenly took off running through the water:
The next evening Athena made some awesome enchiladas! Kefir ate until he was full, then started laying tortilla strips on top of his head — I couldn’t resist taking a few shots!
Bath time!
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I saw this yellow sign against the red garage door on our way back to the car and thought it could be a fun graphical element. I asked them if they were up for making a few more images — I’m so glad they were!
I tried as hard as I could to narrow down the image selection, so as not to overwhelm you with pictures on the blog. I cut it down to 19. I’m sorry, I know that’s a lot, but I just couldn’t let any of these not make it on the blog — I love them too much!
I’ve just gotten a brand new slideshow program and I am loving it! I stayed up last night (okay, until 4 a.m.!) tinkering with it, and I have a slideshow of Jared and Charmane’s family portraits to share with you. I am stoked — I love this so much! Check it out!
We had so much fun on this shoot, and the family had a blast playing soccer:
These are some great moments of the family enjoying time in the park together!
This gazebo is actually the spot where Jared and Charmane got married!
Isn’t their baby girl adorable?!!
While he was enjoying being photographed…
…his brother was off to the side playing peek-a-boo!
He had so much fun!
Charmane’s baby is just so cute!
He sure loves the camera!
My wife Athena came along to play with Jared and Charmane’s kids so they could have some time alone (well, with me shooting them, at any rate)!
I already mentioned that this gazebo is where Jared and Charmane married. It was their idea to shoot here (at the Demonstration Gardens in Kennewick) and the fact that they got married here made it so sweet! Awesome idea guys — I love that!
We finished the session off at the water play area. The water came on unexpectedly at one point and surprised them:
I just love the colors in these two images!
This moment is so sweet!
She looked so cute and peaceful in her daddy’s arms…
…and then fell asleep.
I hope you enjoyed these! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Jared and Charmane’s slideshow for even more images.
]]>Bon appétit!
I had forgotten her name in the last post; this is Betty:
We had a fun time, and I asked one of my sister’s coworkers if she would like some images for the Arc to use. Happily, she said yes, and I spent the last half of the barbecue having fun, making some great images. Here are a few of my favorites:
The Arc had need of a certain image for an upcoming newsletter, and my sister helped me find some people who could help me make that image. She first thought of this wonderful lady (whose name I can’t remember — I’ll have to get it from Amanda) but when we found her she was in the middle of eating. I came back a bit later after wandering around and taking some more images, only to find that she had gone. Just as everyone was packing up, we saw her getting on the bus, and Amanda saved the day by introducing me to her. I’m glad she did — she was fun to photograph, and I made a bunch of great images! Here are two of my favorites:
Here’s Amanda, holding Kefir. He loves his auntie!
Kefir tends to get all the attention!
One of Amanda’s clients surprised her from behind and gave her a hug. I loved these images as a series, so I combined three of them into a collage. The small size of my blog images doesn’t do it justice, however, so click the image for a larger version.
Thank you to all those who helped me make these!
Oh! I almost forgot! Here are two more for you of Athena and Josiah playing after the barbecue:
If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you’ll know that Athena’s nephew and niece, Skye and Raven, have been living with us for a little over the last three months. If you missed the introductory posts, they are here and here. You can see other images of them by scrolling through the blog.
Anyway, the kids left to go home just under an hour ago! I feel relieved — taking care of four preschoolers is exhausting! I’ll look forward to likely seeing them again in a few months on Josiah’s birthday.
Knowing that this was going to be the last time I’d see them for awhile, I took some images of the kids yesterday and this morning to share with you. Enjoy!
I think our life can now return to normal — whatever “normal” for us is!
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Kefir: “Hey, Daddy’s taking my picture again!” Okay, he didn’t actually say that. But I’m sure his babble meant something like it!
Raven, as usual, tried hard to stay dry.
Calista took an interest in the neighbors’ dog:
We went inside for pudding popsicles. Yummy (and quite messy)!
Josiah and Skye had a blast playing on the slides:
Kefir ate. And ate. And ate, and ate, and ate! Sometimes I think he eats more than me!
My wife, looking lovely as ever:
My sister Amanda and my brother-in-law Andy goofing off:
A split-second after I took this image, Kefir disappeared from my viewfinder as he fell on his rear!
We had some fun getting wet at the water fountain!
If I didn’t know better, I’d think Kefir could read that sign!
My mom and Raven:
Raven was pretty nervous around the water and stayed as far away as she could. This is the same girl who can’t wait to get in the bath and splash everyone else!
I love this image!
Andy decided to get in on the action:
Kefir decided to go check out the rest of the park by himself. Grandma Pauline went to go bring him back.
Yeah, my brother-in-law is a goof!
Amanda and Raven:
I hope to see you again soon, Grandma!
My beautiful wife giving me “the look.” No — not that look! This is the “Do you really have to take my picture?” look! Um, yes, I do. You’re gorgeous. I can’t help myself.
We had a picnic in my parents’ backyard. I just really like this image!
Athena reading to Raven. My parents’ living room has this huge north-facing window, and I just love the light in there!
Raven and Kefir had a lot of fun playing the piano, much to our, uh, “enjoyment.” Actually, it was quite funny to watch.
My mom took Josiah and Skye down to the neighborhood park to play.
Athena, my sister Amanda, and my brother-in-law Andy hanging out:
Kefir just looking cute:
Kefir and Grandma Pauline:
My mom doing what she does best, reading to the boys. She works in a library, and is largely responsible for instilling in me a love of reading. She’s helping to do the same with our kids.
Kefir doing what he does best, chewing on the book:
Before we left for the evening, I ran outside to take a few images of my mom’s roses. Here’s my favorite:
Stay tuned — I’ve got one more visit with Grandma Pauline to share with you tomorrow!
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I made barbecued chicken tonight — very yummy! After we ate, Athena got the idea to roast marshmallows over the still-hot coals, and we made s’mores. Very, very yummy!
We have four small children in the house. Very, very messy!
Here’s Mr. I-can’t-eat-a-sandwich-without-pulling-it-apart!
“Uncle Aaron, can I have another s’more?”
“What do you mean, no??!!!”
Here’s Miss I-can’t-eat-a-sandwich-without-pulling-it-apart!
“I can’t eat this fast enough, it’s so good!”
My lovely wife, enjoying watching the kids. Notice how her mouth, chin, and cheeks are devoid of chocolate and marshmallow after two s’mores — she knows how to eat them!
Okay everybody, into the tub!
]]>Kefir is getting to the point now where he can put things together (he tries really hard, at least):
A couple portraits of my grandma relaxing:
Raven and Kefir “helping” Athena put away a puzzle. Raven is actually handing a piece to Athena; Kefir is shoving one into a toy.
Kefir is such a cute kid!
Kefir loves to “play” the piano — he even “reads” music!
Yeah, Raven’s quite cute too!
Check back for more tomorrow!
]]>My Grandma Pauline:
Raven was intrigued by her plastic ice cream cup:
Kefir got a lot of attention (of course!):
My dad:
Josiah and Skye were out with my mom when I took these — check back for more soon!
]]>We had a great time hanging around our cabin, sometimes having intense theological discussions:
My brother-in-law, Andy, discovered that we had wireless Internet access. He took some time to email his wife (my sister) on his Palm:
Andy and I took a hike and goofed off for a self-portrait:
The dining hall — the staff fed us well!
Watching the chef cook us omelettes was a lot of fun:
The last night we enjoyed a long discussion around a campfire:
The last day we had a chance to celebrate communion:
Good times.
]]>As Cookie Monster would say, “Yum, me love cuppycakes!”
Calista’s grandma tried to teach her to blow out her candle:
Yeah, Calista loves cuppycakes too!
On the way out of the neighborhood, Kefir played with me in the car…
…but his brother didn’t have quite as much energy!
Skye (who usually does not like to have his picture taken) a few days after he came to stay with us:
My sister was watching the kids for me one day while I got packed for a trip; I came out of the office, and this is what I saw. I ran to get my camera!
Raven eating (and looking remarkably clean while she does it — only a few crumbs on her shirt!):
This girl absolutely loves to talk on the phone! Actually, she loves to pretend to talk. She hangs up the real phone if we let her hold it!
Mmmmmmm, sweet window light — I love it!
Look forward to more images of all of us in the coming days. (Um, I’ll change that. You won’t see more than a couple of me. I need to hand the camera off to Athena more often — I’m not that good at self portraits!)
]]>Here’s my niece, Raven. Yeah, she really is quite cute — though quite a handful!
Here’s the handsome young man — my nephew, Skye.
Yeah, living in a house with four preschool age kids is a little crazy!
Stay tuned and I’ll share a few more of my favorites with you!
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He, his wife Susan (who has also been a friend of ours for a long time — in fact, she was Athena’s maid of honor!), and their two adorable kids came over Saturday afternoon and hung out for awhile, then we headed over to Leslie Groves Park in Richland for the shoot. It rained, but we had a blast!
Here are a few of my favorite images for you as a teaser:
Their older son was absolutely fascinated by my camera, and kept running to me and staring into the lens!
So far, this is my favorite from the shoot:
I’ll post a few more later — make sure to check back or subscribe to my feed!
]]>Rob and T.L.’s dog, P.C., is so cute — though usually quite annoying.
Their daughter is even cuter! You might recognize her – her portrait is on the blog header above.
The kids all had a lot of fun playing:
Athena enjoyed the chance to relax after a long day teaching:
Mmmm… that meat looked so good even before it went on the grill!
The potatoes were looking nice:
The steak and ribs just looked so good on the grill!
I just love barbecue sauce!
There’s nothing quite like a warm fire on a chilly night — even if that fire is fueled by propane!
Rob and Justin had a fun time cooking. I do love the look of the smoke in these images! Why is it that men seem to gravitate toward cooking with fire?
Doesn’t the end product just look yummy?
I have to admit, everyone agreed that the ribs stunk (not a very good cut, and way too much fat), but the steak was juicy and absolutely delicious! I’m afraid I didn’t take any more pictures — I was too busy eating!
]]>So, while Athena and Josiah slept, we played — with the new lens, of course!
Can you tell what that is in his hand?
It’s the mouse!
My son is mildly obsessed with the computer!
Finally, he started to get tired, and eventually fell asleep:
Kefir not only played with the chalk, but tried to eat it!
I’m glad they make chalk non-toxic!
Josiah spent most of the time playing in the dirt:
Kefir tried to take some pictures, too!
We had a really fun time just enjoying the gorgeous day!
At the end, of course, the kids had a bunch of fun splashing in the bathtub, but I didn’t take any pictures — I was too busy trying not to get wet!
Look for one more set of images with the new lens tomorrow!
]]>On Christmas, my parents gave me a gift card to one of my favorite camera stores, and I spent a little while deciding what to use it for. Last week, I received the lens I finally chose — three and a half months after Christmas!
The lens is a prime lens — meaning it’s not a zoom. I haven’t shot with a prime lens on my main camera since I was in high school, and I am absolutely loving it! I’ve shot a couple of hundred frames of my main subjects around the house during the day (my kids), and over the next couple of days I’ll share some of my favorites with you.
We started out just playing on the floor in some window light:
Then moved on to Josiah “playing” at the computer:
Finally, Kefir just being cute:
Check back for more tomorrow!
]]>They were playing on the floor one day last month, and I noticed the light streaming in through the living room window. It was gorgeous. So being the photographer I ran and got my camera; this is the result.
Here’s three-year-old Josiah, playing with his Thomas set:
And his little brother, one-year-old Kefir:
I’m sure you noticed his left eye, so before someone asks me, I’ll explain. Kefir has a droopy eyelid (my wife could tell you the proper medical term — I can’t remember it). Yes, he is fine. If it interferes with his vision, it doesn’t do so badly; not nearly as badly as with some kids with this condition. He’ll have to visit an eye specialist every six months until about the first grade, and he may end up having surgery at that point.
Here’s a few more of the kids (aren’t they cute!):
And my absolute favorite for last:
I love it when my wife walks in while I’m editing a photo and says, “Oh, wow!”
]]>Athena has been the biggest promoter in the world for me! The other day (Valentine’s day, actually), we ended up going to a business presentation. Just after we arrived, I’m getting coffee and cookies and turn around, and what is my wife doing? Passing out my business cards to three people in the office! Yeah!
Isn’t she gorgeous!?
