Reflections | March 2015 Roundup

After completing my research I finally made a decision to purchase a couple of Westcott Spiderlite TD6's.  These are primarily for photographing boudoir clients on some of the dark, gray Pacific Northwest days, though I will use them for any portrait session too.  They are fabulous, I'm very happy with the results I achieve with these!

March was a busy month, a lot going on, but by far the highlight of the month for me was getting to see and photograph the Aurora Borealis a dream of mine for many years.  I always thought I'd have to travel to Alaska to see it, but I was able to see it locally and it was well worth standing in the cold until 2: 30 in the morning.

I have this Himalayan salt piece with an colorful LED lamp inside sitting on my desk, which was a reminder of how much I'd hoped at some point to photograph the Northern Lights.  It cycles through some of the beautiful colors in the Aurora.

I had an assignment this month of Intentional Camera Movement from a local group I belong to and I usually dig into my archives for assignments due to time constraints for personal shooting, but this month I was able to take some images and it was fun.  I tried visualizing that my camera was a paintbrush, below are some examples.

And the last image for the month is from a recent session I did with Emma who will be entering her senior year next fall.  After a session, if you were to call me and ask what I'm doing, you will hear "just editing...  how about you?"  If they are a photographer, the conversation keeps moving, but if it's anyone outside the industry, this is usually what I hear...  "Editing?  Again?  Still?  Can't you just not be so picky?  Can't you just do less?"  (And mind you, I'm not complaining, it's just part of the job.) 

 I wanted to take a moment and show this before and after.  I think it speaks to going the extra mile when you or the client choose a location, but cannot always control all aspect of a session. (SOOC=straight out of camera)

Northern Lights | Bellevue Portrait Photographer

It has been a dream of mine to photograph the Aurora Borealis in any capacity; be it the flaming dancing bright lights, or the more muted colors in the night sky.

I was waffling back and forth last night when I made the last minute decision to leave my house about 10:30 and head east far from the noise pollution of any city in search of remote darkness.  On my way up toward Snoqualmie Pass I saw nothing but cloud cover and fog so thick at times it was hard to see.  It left me begging the question, why are you doing this again?

Nature is truly amazing...   Watching how the lights change from moment to moment or how the clouds move in and (fortunately) back out again revealing the stars and color.   It's all very exciting!

My bucket list is a minimal one, but it just got smaller.  I am still chilled to the bone today, but I'd go back and do it again in a heartbeat!

 

Bellevue Senior Photographer + Session Favorites

Some of my favorites from a recent session with Emma.

Reflections | February 2015 Roundup

Here are some of the random images for February's roundup.  Enjoy :)

So I've been working with this young one, getting him used to the camera's shutter clicks.  He is so tentative, as he should be and also why his expression is so cute.

As I was trying to get him comfortable with me, he did move in closer.  In this image he is 18" away from me and no glass between us.  Take a look at what I saw in the viewfinder coming up in the background.  Now that was exciting!

Look at him sneaking up on the younger male.  They are the same height, but when you really look at their faces, it's like looking at Simba and Mufasa, they are very different--baby to mature adult.

I have photographed so many sunsets over the water and came across this sunset in the agricultural area of Woodinville one evening on my way home. I had to stop and take a few images.

I took this image from West Seattle this past weekend.  It was a beautiful day for the last day of February.