Sneak Peek :: Valerie & Joseph

OK, OK. I'm behind. As if I hadn't realized that. I threw in a sneak peek for my camping trip right after 4th of July weekend and here we are, a month before Labor Day weekend and I haven't finished showing the wonderfulness I encountered on my camping trip. I promise as soon as I can, I will!

For now, I'd like to hold you off by showing a wonderful sneak peek of the gorgeous wedding I was able to be apart of this past weekend.

Toodles!

Become A Fan!

I got suckered into it. Honest.

A client of mine suggested it. I proceeded in telling her I was nowhere near that cool to make one. She laughed.

Then another client of mine also suggested it. Then another.

So here I am, shamelessly promoting myself. :)

I have officially jumped on the bandwagon of Facebook Fan Pages. And to not make me feel ridiculous, become a Fan. ;)

Click Here

And thanks for the support!

Sneak Peek :: Camping & More

It was a beautiful weekend. I love weekends like this. Family, good times, great weather...all you need for camping and for some great fireworks.

Here's a sneak peek of my camping trip as well as a mini-shoot I couldn't resist doing with Gizmo (niece's dog).


Hope everyone had a good 4th!

Faith, Respect

The other day someone asked me why I believed in God. They themselves did not believe in anything and they said they often wondered why my belief was so strong. I pondered many different ways to answer this...'I just do', 'I was brought up in believing so', 'I have researched other religions and feel most drawn to the Word of the Lord.' But instead I decided to answer with a true honest answer that was a bit selfish but so true and is the root of my beliefs today.

'My grandmother passed away 3 years ago and there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her. She believed in the Lord very much, she said her Holy Rosary everyday and always talked about the Lord to myself and everyone else. Without her wisdom and love and beliefs I would not be the same person I am today. So with that, I believe she is with the Lord and she is happy and she watches over me everyday. I have to believe in the Lord more than ever to know she is well and that she no longer experiences pain but happiness. This is what sparked my belief system so strongly as of late. I have to have belief in the Lord to know she is happy because to just think she is in a coffin somewhere and that's it...I won't believe it, I can't understand it. There is a higher force. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because I believe in the Word of God, the Bible as well. To me, all answers lead to Him. The more I read the Bible, attend church and pray, the more I learn about the Lord and my relationship I have with Him grows. Of course, I have setbacks...who doesn't? I am not saying that because I believe in God, I am the most perfect person and I will do everything right. Sin is what is in between us and our maker. It's a fact of life. I try and pray each day so that I can be a better person and a stronger believe in my faith so that others can see myself and want to follow as well.'

He then said, 'I don't believe in anything. I mean, of course there had to be a God...but what does that mean?'

I asked him, 'How can you believe there is a God and not believe in Him and follow Him?'

He then said, 'My life's been pretty bad. Nothing good has ever happened to me...so why should I believe?'

I told him that I was not a Pastor so I could not give him the correct answer to everything...but I instead said to him, 'A lot of people out there believe they can handle their problems on their own...and a lot of Christian people believe that if they pray about it and hand over their problems to the Lord and believe in Him to take care of it, the turnout is different for them...this is what I believe.'

He then went on to tell me how crazy I sounded and that I was full of it.

I am telling this story for one reason. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I do not make fun of or call people insane for believing in something or someone I do not believe in. Nor should I be ridiculed for my beliefs. I respect you, all I ask is you to respect me. I am offering this story in hopes this sparks an interest in someone who does not believe in God or for someone whose faith has dwindled and is in need of a boost...or for those who have experienced a situation like this.

God Bless You All.

Inspiration...Sure Goes A Long Way!

I absolutely love Jessica Strickland's photos...So much that I get mad at myself that my photos can not be more like hers. There are photographers out there that I love... I love their photos as well as themselves like Melissa Jill...or think they as a person through their blog is so freakin' cool that I don't care if they had not so cool pictures but in fact they do very much so like Jasmine Star...or so FANTABULOUS pictures that I want to drop to the ground everytime I visit their blog...like Jessica Strickland.

I love that there are photographers out there displaying their work, offering tips, helping aspiring photographers such as myself strive for greatness...via their blog. I have never met these lovely ladies in my life but I would be so incredibly honored to do so...which is why I think I'm going to plan a trip to each of their cities just so I can be a 'client' and get my photos taken and be amongst the amazingness of their photography collection. That way I can also say I have met them and rave about how cool they actually are in person. :)

If only I could get the courage to do so...and not seem so stalkerish. ;)

The Puzzle is finally finished!

Hello everyone and thank you for reading my blog. I am so happy to say the puzzle pieces are now back in place and I am moving back to Renton! Not until July, but still it is a major step for me and I am so thrilled that you all have taken this journey with me! I'll be getting back to my photography roots soon, so there will be much to see!

A Sudden Burst of Emotion...

It was sunny. Finally. Seattle was in much need of sun and little did I know, so did I.

I took Jasmine to Coulon Park to get some sun and to finally be outdoors without a jacket. We walked around the lake and sat at some benches to just have some mother/daughter time and to joke around.

Soon enough, it was time to go but as we were walking through the grass (well, Jasmine was running) I spotted a granddaughter with her grandmother sitting on the grass with a picnic basket and an umbrella over them. The granddaughter was taking photos of her grandmother and they were laughing and having a good time.

Then I felt the tears.

It completely caught me off guard. It has been 3 years since my grandmother's passing and I thought I had dealt with it and moved on already so for tears to come so sudden was definitely surprising. I tried to gather myself and not stare so much at the granddaughters happiness on her face but it was uncontrollable. I called for Jasmine and walked fast. I stopped at a bench and held Jasmine tight and sobbed into her. She held me tight as I held her and afterwards she looked up at me and wiped my face. 'It's okay, Mommy...big girls don't cry'. It's amazing how you tell things to your children and all they do is turn it around back at you and all you can do is accept it.

After driving home with lots of thinking, I have once again realized how short life is, not to sweat the small stuff and to hold on to your loved ones. This is part of the reason I became a photographer. I always took photos and video of my family, on holidays even everyday. I look back at these photos and video all the time. It's great to be remembered of what matters most to you because with jobs and life you can forget these things. Sad to say I lose more of my memory of my grandmother, 'Lola' everyday but am very blessed with the video and photos I have of her to hold onto forever.