i love married people

rachel and brad are pretty awesome.



i mean, seriously? look at their sense of style and how comfortable they are in front of the camera:







they got married a little over a year ago, and are still so obviously crazy for each other. i love it. :)











they were both SO easy to shoot. true confession: it can be hard for me to go from "oh hey, nice to meet you!' to invading your personal space with a camera in 2.2 seconds flat! but what rachel and brad did that was soooo helpful to me is that they were THEMSELVES. that's what i always tell people when they ask how they should be or what they should do during a shoot- just be yourself! talk about yourself, tell me what you like, don't like, wear clothes that you feel good in and go with it! i love variety in people and families and these guys brought it in full force. so refreshing! the park where we shot in salem, oregon was a park that they used to walk together when they were just dating. at first i wasn't sure what the scenery would be in this semi-dismal time of year, but i was so pleasantly surprised with how well it worked with their style and personalities! i loved every minute. thanks guys, for a lovely sunday afternoon.

gobble, gobble

thanksgiving this year was a brand-new experience for me. i've spent it away from family before, but never before have i spent it in an art gallery. :) good food, amazing atmosphere, and fun conversations were had at the gallery connected with my boyfriend's sister's fiance. (there's simply no great way to explain all that. ha!)

my little snapshot does not do justice to these amazing pieces of art! there were such amazing things on display.


if you're not sure who i am in this shot... let me make it easy for you. one word: shortest. :)


absolutely everything was so visually oriented- i loved it!


it sounds so cliche to say that i'm thankful, but i truly am. life is not perfect, but it is rich with blessings and it is good.

i'm definitely excited to see what's just around the bend. :) happy thanksgiving. hope you all are enjoying time spent with family and friends.

hello from the east side

good afternoon!

whenever i travel and am stuck in any airport, my favorites are those with free wi-fi. :) let's hear it for something FREE!! (yeah!) my flight out of new york back to portland has been delayed a few hours, which is no problem since originally i had a 4.5 hour layover in newark... so i found myself a quiet corner with an electrical outlet and am trying to catch up on email and such while i wait. i realize it's been a heck of a long time since i've blogged, so here's a random sampling from a few photoshoots i had on the east coast this past week!

the main reason i flew here was for, of course, a wedding. booking a wedding somewhere kind of nails down a specific date that i need to arrive by, and then i tend to book the smaller shoots (families, engagement, senior pics, etc.) around that time. i first met erin and shawn early this year, and shot their engagement photos in the spring at yaddo gardens, in the saratoga region. exhibit a:



they're great. during their engagement session we talked a lot about their animals (i believe they have a few dogs and a few cats between the two of them... :)), their families, and their careers. i loved their fun, easygoing attitudes! this past friday (the 13th!) was their wedding, and as the weather in new york during the month of november can be cold (to put it mildly), they really lucked out. :) their evening wedding was absolutely perfect- here are a few photos from their day.

















this trip was filled with this fabulous wedding, a few beautiful families, and lots of quality time with my own family and boyfriend. i have so much more to show you, but it looks like my plane may be taking off sooner than i'd anticipated and i'll need to quit writing for now. more to come! thanks to all the new yorkers who made this trip so awesome- i'll be back again soon!