Gwil

Yehoshua's Gwil is a very talented friend of mine that wanted to document his album release party. There were many things that I enjoyed about that night. The live music, the people, the art,... I was surrounded by good people and lots of fun. 


Here is a detail shot from that night.

Gwil in his home studio...where the magic happens!

Gwil creates many types of art. If you'd like to learn more about him and the many types of art he creates, visit his website: http://yehoshuasgwil.wordpress.com/

Some Things Only Happen Once

I took this shot at my grandmother's 90th birthday party. Every branch of my family tree gave my grandmother a bouquet of flowers. This is her after receiving every bouquet. I'm glad I had the chance to capture Lola Bella's beautiful smile on her 90th birthday.

To all of you out there, don't waste your time. Once it is gone, it is gone. There is no getting back lost time. Enjoy today because tomorrow is never promised.


Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Important Statement

His glory, my story. I'm just enjoying the ride. (:

Good night and God bless.

Photographers Ramble

Something that will remain nameless has prompted me to share my knowledge with anyone that wants to hear it. 

"Photographers" come in so many forms. 


There are snapshooters, who have point-and-shoot cameras and do not intentionally compose their captured images. Even if they think they compose their photos, if they do not understand the elements of design, which encompasses composition, they may not even be doing a very good job. A poorly composed photo can be spotted a mile away.


Then there are amateur photographers, or otherwise known as, hobbyists. They own a dSLR camera, but still shoot snapshots. It is very similar, in my humble opinion, to a snapshooter. The only difference is that they had the money or found value in purchasing a higher end camera. Hobbyists typically assume that shooting in automatic with a high end camera will automatically produce high end images. This assumption is false. 


Lastly, there are photographers. They can be seasoned pros or skilled craftsmen with room to improve. Really, anyone can improve, regardless of skill level, but I think you can see where I'm going with this. It doesn't matter how much room there is to improve. This group of photographers fit in this category.


Now, think about it. There are a lot of things that separate these three categories. First, there is craftsmanship. A quality photographer must master his craft. The art of photography is a craft and so is the art of post-production. Post-production is editing photos either to enhance them or artistically editing them to create an emotion or a theme. The two are both crafts that need to be mastered. I once had a teacher that would slam into our brains every day, "No horizontal scaling! No horizontal scaling!" That is when you change the aspect ratio of an image, which will result in a short fat person. It distorts the true aspect ratio of an image. In short, it's a sure fire way to set the siren off letting everyone know you are an amateur. 


Second, there is equipment. Photographers invest thousands and thousands of dollars on equipment/tools to further the potential of their craft. Most of the time, their equipment is made of metal parts, not plastic. Equipment can be anything ranging from cameras, lights, stands, tripods, printers, computers, software, etc. That makes a significant difference in their investments. Just Photoshop alone costs $700, and that's just a program! 


Lastly, there is their rate. Real photographers charge higher rates. There are many reasons for this. First, it is poor etiquette to undercut. Photographers love what they do and they do it with all their heart. They invest everything they have to provide a consistent, quality product. Their rate involves re-contributing back to their investments (equipment), rental space, the going rate that the state photography association states(to make the the photography field something that can feed their children with), and their educations involved in getting them the knowledge they use to hone in on their craft. Picking a photographer based solely on their rate is a poor decision. Not only will you be getting a product you could probably get for free from a friend that has a point-and-shoot camera, but you are condoning undercutting. How would you like it if someone took your job by offering to do it for a rate that would put you out of business...or even out on the streets?


Concluding this short summary on why it matters which photographer you hire, it matters because some things only happen once. You don't want to look back at your important day, which you invested in so much financially, emotionally, and physically and think to yourself,"This day was waaaay better than it looks in these photos." If anything, you'd like to remember the day better than it was! You are paying someone to document important moments in your life. The job can be done wrong/poorly. That is the exact reason why it matters which photographer you hire. You want the job done, and you want it done right.


Thank you for reading. I know it was kinda long, but if you got to this point you must have enjoyed something you read. If not, maybe you're like my cousin Judith. She never "abandons" anything she reads. Either way, I'm grateful for your time.

Giving Thanks

I thought that I'd share a vague idea of what I am thankful for. I am thankful for the LITTLE THINGS! I started to write a list, then deleted it because it was just too long. haha What can I say? I'm blessed.

Let the holiday season begin!!

Eagle Falls, Washington

This past July my family and I went to Eagle Falls near Duvall, Washington. The place was really beautiful. Cattle and barns for miles and miles. It's a nice change of pace for me, but I am still not used the new style of beauty here. The natural beauty in this state never ceases to amaze me.


Here is a shot I took on the hike back to our car in Eagle Falls, Washington.

For comparison, here is a shot of a night street scene I took in San Pedro, California back in April of 2009. 

Grumpy the War Plane

Happy Thanksgiving wonderful people! There is a lot to be thankful for. I can definitely say that the good Lord has blessed my family abundantly another year in a row. We are grateful for the exciting adventures we have experienced in our new lives here in Washington.


Last summer my family and I visited the Historic Flight Museum in Mukilteo, Washington. We really enjoyed admiring the amazing mechanical masterpieces they had on display. Fortunately for us, no one was there the day we visited so we had no trouble getting up close with the war planes. There were even pilots there taking the planes out to fly.


Here is my shot of the historic war plane, Grumpy.

Snowy Seattle

It has been snowing here in Washington for the past two days. Now, keep in mind that my family and I are Californians. All of these drastic weather conditions still amaze us. As soon I noticed that it was snowing I started running around like a madwoman...or maybe more like a chicken with her head cut off. All I remember was standing up and clapping really loud, yelling to my kids, 

C'mon guys! Get your jackets and shoes on. It's snowing! MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT! 

The rest was a blur. I ran to get my camera and whatever clothes that were in arm's reach to layer onto my body. Here are a few shots of my amazing children discovering the snow.

The long awaited Space Needle trip!

My cousin Judith, and her husband, Alex visited us before their Alaskan Cruise. They only stayed for one day, but we still packed in a lot of stops. We went to Pike Market Place, Mukilteo Beach, and the Pike Place Market. We only rested for an hour and a half to eat. At this point you might be saying to yourself, "Big whoop. Three places in one day." Keep in mind, we're talking about 8 hours, three trips to the airport, one six-year-old, one grumpy, newly potty trained three-year-old that doesn't like to walk a lot, one trip home to eat and rest, one trip back to Seattle to pick up my husband from work, 40 degree weather, and one sweaty mama! 


Here is my shot of the day.

Whew. I think I got sweaty just thinking about that day!