Alexandra and her family are so excited. The countdown has begun to the arrival of baby number two.I feel like I’ve grown up with this family. Not because we hang out all the time, but because they’re one of the most delightful, artistic, thoughtful, and caring families on the face of this planet. Alexandra’s dad is my college roommate’s (Sarah) big brother.  I have some really fond memories of going to their home up in Bellingham to visit their mom and dad when we were in college, it was always fun for us girls to take little “road trips home.” And then I got to be there to document Sarah’s wedding when she married her best friend Tom. Even though we’ve lost touch these last couple of years, our paths have crossed again – in all of the neighborhoods in Seattle, we happened to live in the same one. So, to see their family growing so beautifully again and to be able to document it… well… it’s truly amazing.

I love this next image probably more than any other editorial family frame I’ve ever shot. These two sure do know how to laugh, and it’s quite clear they share a very special bond.Story-time is one of their favorite activities together. This girl sure can spin a great tale. Sometimes they include photographers, cameras, and maracas. (I know, right? She comes from really smart stock

I think this may be baby’s official “first portrait.” Momma is just beautiful, isn’t she? Congratulations and much love! Good luck this month!!!

Tech Specs: these belly and family images were captured at home in Seattle using a Nikon D700, Nikon 24-70mm, and Nikon 35mm.

I adore the girl in these pictures. I’ve known her since she was in art school. She used to intern for me. Then shoot with me. And now she’s all grown up and has a booming photography business of her own. This is photographer Amy Kiel, and her super cute puppy (yes, this IS a puppy) Lucy. She’s a Great Dane, and she loves people watching at the park almost as much as we do.

Lucy>Amy.

A little jowling. And bubbles. We couldn’t ask for more.

I think Lucy has 2 tricks. Speak and jump, and she does them both at the same time.

And how could we not take this opportunity to create the first ever Facedown:: Great Dane Style?! I mean, did you NOT see our video on CNN last week?! It’s kinda a thing. You should submit yours. We’re waiting….Thank you Amy. You’re beautiful, funny, smart, a rockin’ photographer, and I love you. I’m so glad we crossed paths so many years ago, and I look forward to another many years as your pal! Cheers, girl!!!!

Tech Specs: these images were captured at sunset at Gasworks Park in Seattle just before the rain rolled in, using a Nikon D3, Nikon 24-70mm, and Nikon 35mm

It’s Catherine and Michael’s anniversary. They’re photographers here in Seattle, and I love them, their late-night Pictionary parties, and our silly Twitter conversations.

His vintage pinstripe suit, tapestry bow-tie, and pink gingham dress shirt were the perfect accessories for these amazing shoes and pink striped socks. DANG boy. You’ve got style. Let’s not forget Catherine’s super cute short and flirty ruffled ivory dress and adorable turquoise platforms. Vavavoom, chickie!

Queen Anne is the best. Especially when the evening light peeks through the old city trees.

Jenny Bowker was our stylist on this shoot. She did a fantastic job with the tousled, romantic pin curls and Catherine’s shimmery makeup.

This next series was a super cute one. Just you wait…. this shoot was also for a project we’re doing with Edit 1 Media, and the footage they got in this garden was pretty dang breathtaking. Just you wait…

Anne Bradfield with Floressence did an amazing job pulling together a bouquet and boutonniere last minute-like for me. These included yellow ranunculus, white poppies, white sweet peas, some pods, mini-hydrangea things, and some other really amazing flowers that I totally can’t pronounce/spell the name of! Maybe if we’re nice she’ll list the names in the comments at the bottom of this post… And yes, this is Michael & Catherine’s tandem vintage Schwinn! It’s super amazing, yeah?

Congratulations on making to another anniversary. I am so glad to have met you two, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy to think I may know you for many many more of them! Cheers, friends!!!

In March, Melanie and Carl welcomed their very first little baby boy into the world. Meet Declan during his first week in Seattle.

My favorite part of new babies is their sweet little baby lips. So cute and sweet and pouchy in all the right places.

Who doesn’t love all of the cute little faces babies make as they’re learning what it’s like to be in the world? Sweet Declan was sleeping, and just trying out face after face.

When photographing babies (and kids, and dogs for that matter) it’s a whole lot of waiting, waiting, waiting. Waiting for the food cycle, the diaper cycle, then finally, the sleep cycle. The funniest part about shooting babies is all of the, um, things that come out of the nether region- I don’t keep track anymore of how often I’m peed or pooed on (or my lenses get peed on… those boys, they shoot far, you see!). There was both during this shoot… but we won’t tell you any more about that. No sense in embarrassing this cute lil boy.Melanie looked so beautiful just days after giving birth. No doubt there wasn’t much sleeping happening in this household that first week!I’ve never seen such a dedicated papa. Carl sat in the rocker and held Declan til he fell asleep for some more shots- he was shusssssshhhhing the entire time. Melanie and I laughed at how funny it was at the time, but his rhythmic sh-sh-shhhh sh-sh-shhhh did the trick! Congratulations, you two! I thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to know you and photograph you through such fun milestones over the last few years! Cheers to you both, you’ll make wonderfully supportive, attentive, and loving parents!!

I shot Barbie Hull.

We first met 11 years ago in our Editorial Photography class at the Art Institute. We were having a little fiesta (read: Ramey was tired of cracking the whip on us and gave us a day off) so he assigned us each to partner up and bring something for our little party. Lucky me, he paired us together, and I had no clue what I had gotten myself into. Fast forward 10 years, and here we are. We’ve conquered the Mexican public transportation system, refined the fine craft of prank-pulling, opened a non-profit together, coined a few REALLY silly terms that you might catch late at night on Twitter, laughed so hard we’ve thrown up a little, and have even spilled a few tears together (mostly were while laughing, HARD, and mostly after those aforementioned pranks).  You see, not only do we consider each other colleagues, have built our businesses side by side (the hard way), and lean on each other for advice and new challenges, but we’re kinda really good friends, too.

So, when Barbie called me one late afternoon for a very special favor, I was excited to help her out. She needed a head shot, STAT- for a book for The Crave Company toting some of Seattle’s fav women business owners. Little did I know that just a few months later I’d call up the very same favor of her, but you’ll have to wait just a little while longer to find out what it is for!  You can see the images from my head shot session here-didn’t she make me look nice? She’s pretty good at that in case you haven’t gathered, wink wink! (really, she’s a fan.tas.tic wedding photographer in Seattle, WA).

She’s SUPER at making funny faces. I think hers is made out of Flubber.

I feel like this next series needs a little pre-explanation. You see, I don’t think my ol-buddy-ol-pal likes dogs all that much. We were setting up for some nice late afternoon pictures in the sun on the grass, and I spotted a happy-go-lucky Poodle (or what have you) loping alongside it’s owner on his bike on the bike path. The dog spotted us, as we were within licking height, and made a b-line straight for the completely unaware Barbie for a run-by-licking, while I was poised and ready for the series to unfold. Sorry Barbie…. I just couldn’t help myself A shoot with Barbie isn’t complete without a facedown. This one is on the DNA Bridge (my fav!) off of Westlake Ave in Seattle.

And these last two- not great images or anything, but our attempt at self-timer-couple-photos (these are the polite ones, anyway). Love you girl, and so proud of our journey together! I cherish your friendship and support, and can’t wait for the next big prank……

If you’re a frequent reader of my photography blog, then you know I’m not in the habit of posting many boudoir images. We do shoot a very select number of boudoir sessions each year (we call them Sexy Shoots) so that we can remain inspired and produce unique images each and every time.  Most often these shoots are gifts for our beautiful women’s fiancees, who are also my wedding clients, so we just keep ‘em off the blog so as to not ruin the wedding night surprise (uh, girls, a sassy little leather book full of you makes a really awesome groom’s gift from what my clients are telling me!!!!).

Since it’s Friday and we’ll be out shooting a LOT in the next week, and this girl is just too dang gorgeous to keep to myself, here’s a little tiny anonymous teaser.  A hint. A moment. A whisper, if you will.

A few months ago, I was approached with a fun little idea for a really big project. The Seattle Public Library system needed help: their budget was brutally slashed and they needed a little ol’ fashioned PR. The Friends of the Library, a non-profit designed specifically to help create awareness for the Seattle Libraries, wanted to publish a calendar. The images wouldn’t be of books, of characters in books, but rather characters who loved books. Enter some of Seattle’s most notable celebrities, artists, and business people. After days of scouting and countless planning emails reaching all over the city and back, a plan was formed. It involved an artist, an author, a book-lover, a symphony musician, a businessman, a gal who has her own action figure, a man who sings about Lump, and a chef. And the list just kept growing. Here we were, about to flit all over the most amazing building in all of Seattle, the Central Library, with free reign to shoot just about anywhere we wanted. The result? Here goes!

Above four images: Chris Ballew, a.k.a.  Caspar Babypants. The 16 yr. old inside of me secretly did the whole “shrieking jumping mega-fan dance” when we heard about this Mr. January stepping on board for this project. Not only is he a super famous children’s entertainer (if you run in those circles!), but is probably more well known in Grownup Land for his involvement in the Seattle rock band Presidents of the United States of America. Not only did we get to start the day off by shooting Chris first, but our little crew also got a private concert right there in the children’s section of the downtown library. My favorite PUSA song: Lump. Like, duh.

Above three images: Meet the handsome and eloquent Leonard Garfield, Executive Director of MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry). After a few giggles and jokes, we were able to capture the serious side of this local James Bond stand-in. (joking. or at least… I don’t THINK he has secret missions…. except maybe to get the ladies to go see the clutch exhibit currently at the museum…).

Above image: Ken Kirkpatrick, President of US Bank. Ken was a pleasure to meet and joke with. He worked his way up the ol’ corporate ladder the old fashioned way. A local boy, graduate of UW among other schools, he started his career at US bank in 1971 as a teller! His favorite book: If I Ran The Zoo by Dr. Seuss. And look where he is now. (insert smiley face)

Above image: Rev. Samuel McKinney. Lover of books, activist, and former reverend of one of the most prominent and oldest churches in Seattle, Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Rev. McKinney was a leader in the movement for human rights in the 60′s, and playing a major role in the Central Area Civil Rights Committee (CACRC). He also marched alongside some of our nation’s most powerful civil rights leaders. And, he was friends with the one and only Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am in awe of his long lifetime full of accomplishments. And his purple velvet blazer, by the way.

Above two images: Chef Jason Wilson of the upscale American restaurant Crush. With his boyish good looks and great sense of humor, it was a pleasure to photograph this one. He’s just about to open a new restaurant alongside and within Urban Enoteca- I can’t wait to stop in and try his culinary creations!

Above two images: I don’t know if I’ve ever met a sweeter woman than my Miss May,  Nancy Rawles. A critically acclaimed  and award winning author and playwright, she was all laughs and sincere smiles, even when I lost her in the crazy-confusing escalators at the library. Can you imagine? The Photographer Who Lost Her Muse On An Escalator. It’ll be her next bestseller. You just wait.

Above two images: This one has her own action figure with real shushing action. She’s a legend. The most famous librarian in the world, who writes about and talks about books, even appearing on NPR. Here is Nancy Pearl in the self service holds-pickup area at the Central branch, where she worked for 20 years. We couldn’t hardly shoot a frame without someone recognizing her. This little lady sure does light up a room. I think she should be Miss September.

Above image: Our second private concert for the shoot was provided by the one and only Elisa Barton, the beautiful (and bubbly!) Principal Second Violinist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. DANG the acoustics were great in this stairwell, but I’m sure it had more to do with Elisa’s award-winning and phenomenal talent. Within seconds she had our whole little chatty crew silent with amazement!

Above 2 images: Josephine Cheng was next up. She arrived ready to rock n roll, naturally, because she’s a broadcast journalist. It was surreal and a pleasure meeting her in person after seeing her on our living room tv all these years! She has been a reporter for Seattle based shows such as Evening Magazine and currently hosts About The Money on KCTS.

Above image: Encaustic painter Joan Stuart Ross. With Collections at the Seattle Art Museum and National Museum of Women in the Arts among many others, this artist is one to keep an eye on. Her work is bright and colorful, which is nothing short of what I expected from a gal equally bright and colorful! She’s totally my Miss April, and we had a blast riding the escolator up and down (during regular library hours nonetheless) a million jillion times to get this shot.

Above Image: Here we have the CEO of South Lake Union-based Tommy Bahama, Terry Pillow! He blew in off the street with a jovial smile and a relaxed attitude, absolutely the embodiment of the company he runs. This man knows fashion- he comes from Neiman Marcus, A/X Armani Exchange, Coach, and Polo Ralph Lauren. He’s just the kind of guy you want to be around- so nice and oh-so fashionable.

Above images: My Miss Septembers, Deb Rock and Judith Berman. They head up the Interbay P-Patch Foodbank, which provides fresh fruits and veggies to the local food bank. An amazing idea, and wonderful cause, doncha think? I mean, these P Patches sprout up all over the city, perhaps on unusable or inconvenient land, and not only provide a place for our city folk to garden, but also grow food for their community. MAN, look at that beet.

Above three images: A man who needs no introduction, yet I still will, we have Municipal Court Judge Michael Hurtado.  I have a feeling he was the class clown as a kid. It was all fun and no work photographing him in the law section of the library. This guy has been around the block a few times: after growing up in gang territory in LA and serving in Viet Nam and Thailand, he studied law, graduating from University of Washington. Judge Hurtado has recently been celebrated by receiving the State Trial Judge of the Year Award from the the Washington State Bar Association and KOMO TV’s “Home Town Hero” Award. Thanks for entertaining us girls, Mike!

As much as I was nervous and excited and exhausted after getting lost and shooting such amazing people all over such a HUGE library, this was such a fun project. I mean… I got to work with makeup artist Michelle Chappron for the first time, collaborate with some lovely members of the community (hi Alice & Maggie and Lisa!), meet some movers and shakers, see a real-life action figure in person, and shake the hand of the man that sung about peaches and Lump. I am humbled by their energetic and generous support for such a wonderful community resource as our public library system.

So… I’m curious… what’s YOUR favorite book? Share it with us by leaving it in the comments below!