Inessential Stuff

This is Aaliyah.  She was born on February 16, and these pictures were taken ten days later.  At the beginning of the shoot, she was tired, but wide-eyed, and she clearly didn’t want to sleep.  There was too much world around her, too many sounds and sights, and that strange man with the big camera was something new and peculiar, too.  I rubbed her back a little bit (which  took me back about 6 years and 8 months) and she eventually fell into dreaming.

Here is a short slide show of photographs of beautiful baby Aaliyah.

This is Matt.  I did senior pictures with him and just had a great time.  His mom had described him as “very thoughtful, introspective, intelligent, philosophical, a musician and an artist.”  I didn’t spend enough time with him to verify all those things, but from what I DID learn about him, it all seems to be true.  Though I might add that with that killer smile, he might also be a bit of a heartbreaker.

Here is a little gallery of some of my favorite pictures from the senior portrait session.

I had been wanting to do a shoot with a band for a while, but I didn’t know where to find a band.  As it ends up, Tim Wallace (second on the right), whose wedding I shot several years ago, is now in a band, and they wanted some band pictures done.

So, this past Monday, on a cold, windy, drizzly day, the band got together and we did some pictures.  They rock, so they wanted to convey that in the images, but they were polite, gracious, and pretty excited.  To paraphrase Ed Sullivan, “Level Zero has five of the nicest youngsters we’ve ever had before our camera.”

To learn more about them, check out the facebook page of Level Zero.  And, of course, check out their promotional photographs!

I have been wanting to do a country road shoot for a while (and will be doing more . . . . lots of area left unexplored there). So I arranged and shoot with Haley, who brought along her friend Julie. We drove out towards Cheney (I think they thought I was leading them on a goose-chase for a while), and found a spot.

The concept is a breakdown, as you can see. But it ended up being as much about the sunset as anything. Okay, so there are some continuity problems (few girls would breakdown on the side of the road with a wardrobe change), but it was a lot of fun, as you can see.

And though the road was fairly deserted, I think it’s pretty safe to say that these girls would have no problem finding help if they DID breakdown.

Jenny needed her senior pictures done, and I was lucky enough to have been chosen to shoot them.  Lucky, because it was a fun shoot and Jenny was a great model.

She wanted some gritty, urban locations, which I love, including at some railroad tracks and one of my favorite walls in town.

It was there, after dark, with some 1940′s Latin music playing on the car stereo, that Jenny revealed her inner-super-model, sashaying and twirling and posing far better than one could by merely listening to my instructions.  What fun!  Here are some of the images.

When doing engagement pictures, I tell couples to choose a location that has significance for them–something that is personal and unique. When I made this suggestion to Alyssa, little did I know that she is engaged to a basketball player at Washington State University. But indeed, she is. And she and Caleb thought it would be a great idea to do their engagement pictures at center court at Beasley Coliseum. I couldn’t have agreed more!

So, one day after Caleb and the Cougs beat Stanford in Pullman, I drove down and did their pictures. It was a blast. The gym was beautiful, and Alyssa and Caleb couldn’t be nicer. I’m really looking forward to shooting their wedding this summer, and in the meantime, I’ll be watching Cougar games with quite a bit more interest.

I did some senior pictures with Travis.  He wanted something low-key.  Not really big into glossy, staged shots.  He plays guitar, so he brought it along.  We found a good location.  And then he just played.

Sometimes all the elements come together and something magical happens.  Here, it was the red shirt and how perfect it seemed against the blue doorway.  And how desolate the street was, and how the sky darkened as the sun set, with blues and grays and pale reds.

And the music.  That was really majgical.  Travis played this great guitar, with a technique that reminded me some of the guitar players I heard in Spain.

A great shoot.  Here are some pictures.

Did another senior portrait shoot. Lots of fun. Here’s a sample.

I thought I might put up a few images from the last month or so.  I have been so busy with weddings, and other photoshoots, that I haven’t had time to keep things updated.  This will give you a little taste.

Above you see Rachel.  We did her portraits at the skate park under the freeway just south of downtown.  Lots of graffiti.  Lots of skateboarders.  Lots of good places for pictures.  I plan to shoot there again.  I really liked the contrast of the graffiti with Rachel, who appears so innocent and wholesome.

To the side you’ll seeKatrina.  She wanted something urban.  She also likes pink.  So we shot in the Riverfront Parking Garage.

Then below is a shot from an engagement session with Shayley and Ryne.  They wanted their pictures at Bowl and Pitcher.  We shot there for quite a while, partly because I wanted to wait until it started to get dark to try some off-camera lighting with a brand new battery pack.

They were good sports, and we ended up with some fun stuff.  I like this photo mostly because of the light and the architecture of the bridge, but it also captures some of playfulness between Shayley and Ryne.

The common thread in all these pictures (besides attractive models)?  Off-camera lighting.  I’m really loving it.  Expect to see more, and hopefully fairly soon.

So after Kelsey and Doug’s wedding–after the ceremony had ended and the portraits were done–the newlyweds and their families stood around outside the church, talking, joking, celebrating. While I was taking pictures, I found myself smiling. I enjoyed watching Kelsey and Doug interact. They had an easy, playful manner along with a clear affection. It occurred to me that they would be perfect for an idea I had been thinking about for a while: a “trash the dress” shoot.

So on a whim, I asked Kelsey if she had any plans for the dress. She said she didn’t. They were about to run off to their reception, then honeymoon, but I said I’d email them a proposal.

When they arrived back from their Hawaiian honeymoon, jetlagged, she wrote back (at 1:40 AM!), eager to give it a try. They were as excited about the idea as I was and were game for whatever I suggested.

So a week later we headed out for Bear Lake, north of Spokane, at around 6:30 in the morning. We shared the lake with a fisherman or two and many singing red-winged blackbirds. Kelsy, Doug and I all went into the lake–not as cold as we feared–and we had a great time (photographic proof here). I know that sounds like a standard line, but it was an experience that I’ll carry with me for a long time, and every one of my memories will be happy ones.