Muses

Saw this poem featured on The Creative Mama and made into a print courtesy of FrancyPants Academy.

I knew right away that I wanted to take some photos of the girls to capture how this poem made me feel... and thinking about framing it for the girls' room.

Lucky for us, it's a free download compliments of Kelli France from FrancyPants Academy (thanks Kelli~) so download away~

I could read this poem over and over again and never get tired of it...

Naomi and Noelle-y, you are my little muses who inspired me to get behind the lens in the first place....

Even though mommy takes pictures of other people now too,

you will always be my favorite subjects.

Emily's 1 Year Old Session | For Tim Park Photography

The month of June has flown by - can't believe it's already July!


Summer News:
Excited to share that I've been given the awesome privilege of interning for a photographer whom I greatly respect - Tim Park from Tim Park Photography! 


I blogged briefly about one of Tim's workshops I'd attended this past year and since then, he has been a huge influence in my photography journey. Everyone who's met him knows that not only is Tim a talented photographer but an immensely gifted teacher as well. 


To see some of his latest work, become a Tim Park Photography fan on Facebook.


I'll be periodically posting some shots I've taken while assisting Tim during his portrait sessions. 
Here are several from a 1 year old session with baby Emily - what a sweetheart ~

...and because I always enjoy seeing a behind-the-scenes look at a shoot, here's one more...

Have a great Fourth of July weekend everyone~

My Little Scouts

A big part of a photography session is location location location.


So last week, ventured out to Chino Hills in search of some golden fields for test shots....which soon turned into...rock collecting!

Turned out to be a beautiful place to take photos and ended up shooting the Lee family session here...you can see how it turned out in my next post~

Thanks to my little scouts for being mommy's helpers!

(And thanks to the "Chino girls" for giving me a reason to love Chino even more~.)

Happy Mother's Day~

"Children and mothers never truly part - 
Bound in the beating of each other's heart."
- Charlotte Gray


A few favorites from this past year...

{Baby B}

{Baby J}

{Baby K}

{My girls}

In other news, my sweet friend Jane Chong is starting an exciting new venture~ check out her new event and design company! Lots of eye candy for those that love all things design.

If you are planning a wedding or birthday, she will beautify your entire event and coordinate every little detail - you can just sit back, relax and actually enjoy your celebration! 

The amazing photos of her school-themed wedding makes me want to get married all over again (ok, almost, minus the stress!). 

Wishing her the best of luck as she begins a new adventure~ love you Jane!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

I've been wanting to shoot some landscape photos lately but when you have two little ones running around, leisurely shooting landscape photos is not high on the priority list. (Is it ever? It should be!)


But my sweet hubby offered to watch the kids so I could go location scouting at Laguna Beach yesterday... WHAT???!


Out the door I go. You gotta strike while the iron is hot, my friends.


Unfortunately it's been rainy, cloudy and windy all week which has been soothing for my Seattle soul but not so great for outdoor photos - luckily the sun came out in time! But shooting at the beach wasn't as romantically awesome as I imagined it to be...overexposed photos, glare off the water, washed out skies filled up my memory card...I really need to practice!


For those like me that could use a few tips, read this great article on beach photography - very helpful.


Here are a few of my favorites....these were each shot at different points before and after sunset...love the difference a few minutes of light can make.

P is for Print

I take a gazillion photos.
Like you didn't notice.
BUT
I rarely print them!


I am a hoarder....
....of digital images (hanging head in shame, while typing).
We should start a support group and call Oprah.


For my parents and in-laws, this is a cardinal sin.
Why take a bunch of photos of their precious flesh and blood and NEVER PRINT THEM?? 


Personally, I can skip around tra-la-la-ing in digital images all day long and never feel the need to print a single photo. I can just look lovingly at my shiny external hard drive and be content. 


Well, this is where my talented bloggy friend Jenny Chien came to my rescue! She did an awesome giveaway on her lovely blog - a $60 Groupon to Blurb - and I won! Luckily, I had a Blurb book all designed and ready for print from 2009 (yes, I realize it is now 2011) - and it arrived in the mail this week :)  


Thank you so much Jenny!





2009 was a significant year for us - a new home, new baby, new school, new church - so it was especially important that I documented all of it.
The book ended up being a whopping 150 pages - did I mention I take a gazillion photos???

Off to mail these goodies to rainy Washington....

and now on to getting our 2010 album completed!

Happy printing my fellow momtogs!

i heart you too

For those of you who love all things font (and free), download this free lovely Ribbon Font from Kevin and Amanda's website - fonts for all and all for fonts!

Happy Love Day~

{the JOY of LOVE} : Day 12

Today's theme: Eyes


Naomi and her daddy.
Taken in the doorway of our house before going out for the day.
(If you look closely, you can see my reflection in Tim's eyes :) )

Processed these using Pioneer Woman's "PW B&W" action which is by far, my favorite B&W action to use. I always adjust it and use it in moderation but love the effect it has.

She has free downloadable actions right here - enjoy!

Hoping everyone has a relaxing weekend with loved ones~

Click here for more blog fun!

ShutterMoms Workshop

Had the privilege of attending Tim Park's ShutterMoms Workshop this past Saturday. A great time of learning, meeting other shuttermoms and fueling my love for photography! Min from L&M did a wonderful job coordinating the workshop with lots of yummy food, plenty of coffee (very important to mommies!) and awesome door prizes and goody bags.


One of the favorite things I learned -


"Every time we compose a shot, we have to think: What will and what will not be in the frame?"


Tim reminded us to be intentional about composing a shot and not haphazardly shooting away, hoping we get something good in the frame. 
He taught about a vision minded approach - how we are to be directors and storytellers with our images, instead of shooting 10,000 tight head shots of our kids (I am guilty of this!). 


There is so much more that was shared there, so if you want to learn more, you have to check out one of his workshops! He will be offering more workshops in the future, so to stay in the loop, join Tim's Facebook page for updates and to view his work.


I wish I could've taken more photos, but my camera battery ran out halfway through...yes, total fail. I was pretty sad :( but lesson learned!




The workshop was also very hands-on and allowed us time to handle our cameras.
So in the above photo, I took a photo of my friend Cindy for an exercise on how to use light to create different moods and effects. Very fun. (And isn't she beautiful??)


Happy shooting everyone~