Napkin Rings

Just a few shots from a collection I've been working on.

Beautiful Dumpster

Vancouver, British Columbia, July 2008

"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in." --Ricky Fitts played by Wes Bentley, American Beauty, 1999

The dumpster above reminded me of one of the most memorable, beautiful and profound movie clips I've ever seen. I was in high school when American Beauty came out. I watched it at home with my brother since we didn't see it in the theater. Back then, I was a lot younger (obviously), vibrant, creative and a lot more "artsy" than I am now. So fresh and brimming with excitement for what I was going to become in the world. It seems time and life has a way of numbing all those firing synapses. It's too bad, really. But I know it doesn't have to be that way.
Likewise, a friend of mine recently enrolled in a book making class saying, "I wanted to do some creative stuff with my hands again..." Yes, he too felt the pull of his creative roots and decided to do something about it before it got buried by the weight of work, family and everything else in life.

To my disappointment, the "Embed" function from the best YouTube clip of this scene from American Beauty has been disabled so I can't embed it here, but you can still watch it by clicking on the hyperlink. I love this scene. Others may think it's completely out there or too fartsy...but I still love it.
(At the time of this post, the linked clip does not contain any violence, nudity or graphic nature of that sort.)

Portland Cityfest 2008 w/Chris Tomlin

I'm a month late in posting the pics from our time at Portland Cityfest on August 22, 2008. I wanted to see the amazingly talented Chris Tomlin since I've never seen him in person before. What excitement when he finally took the stage and sung his well-known and inspiring songs.

Below: No Tomlin concert would be complete without "How Great is our God". Which he expertly sang. He's sounds just as good live.

Below: "Your Grace is Enough"

I love watching the crowds huddle after events. All the little groups.

A shot of legs and feet. Ever since my talented friend, Justin Clemons, shared with me his affinity for shooting feet, I've started noticing legs and feet too...Thanks, Justin, for letting me jump on the bandwagon. I promise not to take feet photos as cool as yours.

Sunday Morning Serendipity

I had a hankering for eggs and veggie bacon strips on Sunday. To my utter delight, out popped not one, but two gorgeous egg yolks from my beautiful brown egg. What a stroke of luck! Honestly--I resembled a child as I gasped with my eyes wide before immediately breaking out in an awe-filled smile. What can I say? Simple things please me so. It was a beautiful morning. The air was crisp, the breakfast aromas were mixing with the fresh morning breeze, the sun was pouring through the window...ahhh...so very nice. All I needed was the sound of coffee brewing and the fantastically heady smell that comes along with it.

homemade pizza anyone?

Tasty Little Things

For my birthday I had two things of which I don't normally have:

1) A fantastic Twix bar (which I haven't had in FOREVER. And by forever I mean years.)
And
2) What I call "Birthday Cheetos!!!" A completely delicious Family Size bag of crunchy Cheetos. So good. I'll buy another bag in 6 months or so. Good stuff. It'll probably take years off my life...but...oh well.

Honey Lemon Ginger Tea w/Mint

My favorite homemade tea is made from fresh ginger slices boiled in purified water. Once the ginger's boiled and steeped, I add tons of lemon and honey to my cup with a bit of mint. I think it's super yummy and absolutely love it, but others tell me it's too spicy. Depends on how long you boil the ginger.

Ummm...that spicy ginger coupled with tangy lemon, then swirled with honey to sweeten and reign it all back in...Yum! I've yet to find a pre-packaged tea like it. But who needs pre-packaged when you can make it fresh and it's so easy too.

Blueberries on Quaker Squares + Fresh U-Pick

My current favorite cereal is Quaker Oatmeal Squares (the brown sugar flavor) with fresh picked blueberries that are only $1.10 a pound at the local produce farm. The cereal is hearty with a good crunch and flavor, not overly sweet. And with the blueberries...oh...Perfect!

Below: fresh-picked blueberries from our favorite u-pick farm, Philbrook Farm, in Vancouver, WA. They don't have a website yet otherwise I'd link to it. This season, the u-pick blueberries were only $1.10/lb!! Such a steal for a bit of work picking the berries, which are so easy to pick compared to thorny blackberries.

Lilah Maureen

I just love the outtake above from Mark and Marella's newborn shoot. Great energy.

...and, of course, a family photo...

Silver Star Mountain, Round 3

It was an overcast day as we set out for our third trip up Silver Star Mountain. The third time is the charm. Not only did we finally make it to the top but the hike was the most stunning I'd ever seen it, just chock full of blossoms and color everywhere! In some parts I swear it was like hiking through someone's well-maintained garden. I can't believe how perfectly the wild blooms grew. Just smashingly beautiful! The pictures don't do it justice. Like so many things, you just have to be there.

That hill in the background above isn't our final destination, just a bump along the way.

Can you believe how perfect the plants look? Utterly amazing.

Couldn't resist posting another one of Max among the blooms. He looks so cute!

When we came to this huge flat field bursting with yellow flowers I honestly felt like I was in some whimsical land. It was fantastic and magical like The Wizard of Oz and the Yellow Brick Road. The sun would come out for a fleeting moment and the whole expanse would light up powerful and golden. It was the most exhilarating and breathtaking thing I've seen since living here. Amazing. Just absolutely amazing. It was an experience so wonderful that I wished all my good friends could be there to experience it also.

It's Blackberry Pickin' Time!

We've been picking the free blackberries that grow around here and I tell ya what...There is nothing like FREE produce to make something as delicious as a homemade pie. Well, the inside was homemade. The crust was organic, whole wheat, ready-made crust from Whole Foods. I took one look at the directions for making pie crust, deemed it far too time consuming and quickly opted for the (actually quite scrumptious) store variety.

Above: me quickly devouring a warm piece of pie a la mode. And yes, I was shooting and eating at the same time. I love to eat. I love to shoot. So why not do it at the same time?

Below: More blackberry and ice cream fun at home!

The Tiners

I had an incredibly effortless shoot while in Seattle shooting the oh-so-photogenic Tiner family.
They were marvelous models, I didn't have to direct them at all. All I had to do was show up and they did their thing!
It was hard to choose just a couple for the blog, but here are some of my favorites:

and then the entire beautiful family: