Evening Fog | Bellevue Portrait Photographer

I was so lucky to take some time off and go into the nearby Snoqualmie valley and take some images during the recent week of heavy fog.  As a local Bellevue portrait photographer, it's a refreshing rejuvenation of creativity that only transcends into my work with my portrait clients.  

If you are interested in booking your portrait session, please contact me here.

Bellevue Photographer | January 2012 - Photo of the Month

During the snow days of January, I had 10-inches of snow up here!  I wasn't able to get out for about four days, so what does a photographer to do that was waiting for snow sessions and then couldn't get out?

Get on Pinterest of course!  I love Pinterest for inspiration and ideas, it's a great place for me to work with a client and collaborate on concepts.   One night I found this little DIY project for a fun and creative window treatment and since I have so many windows in my home I decided to try it, because I think it would make a fun backdrop for boudoir or seniors. 

I must admit, as I was making these snow strings, I thought, this project is for someone with a lot of time on their hands... but in the end it was worth it and I can't wait to try these with a client!

If you'd like to follow my Pinterest boards you can do so here. 

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Bellevue Photographer | Resiliency: The follow up

Here's the follow up to last night's post.  I was quite concerned about this tree, but look at the difference a day makes!  I was ready to cut this tree down yesterday!  I'm so glad I didn't, I learned so much through this experience,which is a metaphor for life; patience, resilience and a hope.  I will always think about this tree the next time I'm struggling, it will be a good reminder for me that with a little patience and hope, things will be just fine.  I'm resilient too.

(Click the first image to enlarge and bring up slideshow)

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Bellevue Photographer | Resilience

This is quite a departure from shooting seniors, boudoir, families or children.  My goodness, initially I thought that the news was going overboard, but as it's worked out, this has turned into quite a snow and ice storm.  I have a tree in my backyard that was causing me a fair amount of worry yesterday.  As you can see in the first image, well...  you can't see it, which is how it's supposed to be, but as the day progressed I noticed this large blob blocking my otherwise pretty view to the forest on the back of my property.  As the day went on, it dropped a few feet and another few feet until this morning it was on the ground!

If this tree were to snap, it was not is not in danger of hitting my home or shed, but it would be a very big mess for me to clean up!  I've learned that it's very hard to imagine how heavy a "seemingly" small limb weighs and this is a cedar tree!

I try to find the lessons in everything that comes my way, but today I was grateful that I had a the experience of watching every stage of this tree in it's descent to the snowy ground below.  It reminded me how we all need a soft place to land and with family and good friends, we are all resilient and can bounce back just as this tree is going to bounce back (I hope.)   It hasn't broken yet!  It may have a permanent bend and be crippled for a while, but over time, I believe it will bounce back.

(Click the first image to enlarge and bring up slideshow)

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Bellevue Family Photographer | First Snow 2012

 The colors as the sun was setting tonight were spectacular.  Being surrounded by trees, I was only able to capture a hint of blue, orange and pink amidst the gray skies.

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By Request | Finn Update

Finn is doing well!  He's grown so much, he's not a kitten anymore, he's a "big boy" weighing in at a healthy 13 pounds!  I've been wondering what it would be like if I rescued another kitten???  I don't think Finn would like it one bit and I don't need another cat, I was just thinking with Spring right around the corner and sessions booking, it might be nice for him to have some company. 

He has a real routine he's settled into these days.  I can bank on his "nap-time" just as I can bank on "the late at night crazy hour."  Thankfully, he has adapted well to my schedule and isn't roaming around the house at night, meowing and keeping me awake.

Last weekend, I replaced six of his favorite toys, they're all the same and he loves batting and chasing them all around the house.  I walked into the room and said, "Look!  Here's all your favorites and they're brand new!"  He was so excited, he didn't know which one to go after, but true to form, when I woke up the next morning, five of the six toys were either in his food dish, or right next to it.

He's pretty settled into a routine and I don't think he'd be very happy to share the run of the house, his toys, or my attention at this point.  I was thinking that a new addition might help Finn be more social with visitors, however, this could really backfire on me and they both could end up being "hiders" and I don't want that! 

I don't need two anti-social scaredy cats (excuse the pun.)

For now, he's quite content playing with visitors that come to our window every morning :)

As always...  Thanks for asking about him!

What do you see in this image?

I was going through last month's images and came across some macro (close-up) shots I had taken when it snowed.  I noticed this one image in particular and wondered if others see what I see?

Leave your guess in the comments below and I will tell you what I see one week from today, on Valentine's Day, February 14th. 

Have fun guessing. It will be fun to see what others see too!

NEW! | You can view your gallery wrap in 3D

It takes about 24-hours to produce a 3D rendering of your image on a gallery wrap canvas, which can be helpful with the decision process when you're ordering multiple wraps for your home or office.

From this:



To this:

January 2011 - Photo of the Month

SERENITY

January 2011 - Flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley

By request: Finn update

I've had several people ask about Finn lately...

He's growing, getting bigger, but still very much a kitten. He listens well, is obsessed with water and his three favorite toys, he has a fixation with taking his toys and placing them in his food dish and hiding his one and only gift (from Miss O.) under the file cabinets in my office--multiple times a day!

He has run of the entire house now and is doing very well. Thank you to those who have asked about him!

Sunset in January

Volleyball

Volleyball is a new sport for Miss E and she is a strong player. It was fun to watch. I used to be on a volleyball league and loved the game, camaraderie and competition.

Way to go E!

Finn's adventures...

As many of you know; I rescued a feral cat and while he's tame and loving now, he's shy around everyone, but me.

If someone comes over, he's under the bed, so they never get to see him. I have been posting photographs so those interested can see how he's growing and coming along.

Of all the things he does, both cute and annoying--by far the most annoying is that he MUST play right under my office chair--I have no idea why, but it drives me crazy, because I'm afraid to move for fear of hurting him, not to mention the constant bumping on my chair while he's whooping it up with his toys. (I just thought of this; maybe it's more fun and easier to slide around on the chair matt???)




My six-year-old niece trying to make friends with Finn.



He'll stand on two legs to hang on to his favorite toy.



He'll carry it around, dropping it in his food dish, just so he can eat.



My knitting bag is his new Jungle Jim, along with the tripod in my office.



Don't let this yawn fool you; he's not bored, he's just revving up.




He loves to watch my cursor move on the monitor.



I've had three blue screens since he started napping on the computer.

That Chapstick has gone MIA--can't find it anywhere!

He has no problem getting into gear boxes...

He's adorable and into everything, but he listens pretty well and is very entertaining.

I spy

Looked up and saw this doe looking at me through the trees.

Rescue mission

So this morning I head out to do some quick pool chores... The sun is shining, no wind and as I reach down to pull debris from the skimmer, I notice the largest frog I've ever seen in my yard! It was in the pool. I thought for sure it was dead...

After finishing my work outside, I thought documenting that big frog before I pluck him out of the pool might be kind of cool...

By the time I got back out there, he'd moved! I figured the movement from the cleaning heads inside the pool pushed him away from where I originally saw him. I wanted to make sure to fish him out of there, because the last thing I need is to head outside to empty the skimmer and open the lid and find a frog that size in there--I might have a heart attack!

I don't expect to open the skimmer lid and see anything more than leaves, or small branches--I've had my share of little critters surprise me when I lift the lid and it's not fun.

I grabbed a net and went to fish him out and would you believe... He's alive! What a big guy!

Perhaps I should go get my pool water tested, because if he survived in there, my chemicals must be off.

Doe passing through for a snack...

I was coming out of the shower tonight and was startled when in the dark I saw a deer right outside my office window. She seemed to be more concerned about Finn, who was watching her from the windowsill than she was about me frantically shooting photos of her eating the apple (in manual mode--no less!) It doesn't look very dark out there, but it was, other than the light from a lantern I have outside my office window.

When the doe made a move for Finn, I became worried, as I didn't want her to charge the window when I was about to leave the house. All worked out well in the end. I wasn't able to wait until she finished eating her apples, but I was able to move Finn out of my office and leave the house tonight.

The quality of these photos are terrible due to lack of light and all the reflections from the security monitors, but they do tell a cute little story...