Sneak Peek — Kim's "Just Because" portrait session

Every once in awhile, you need to do something for yourself ... just because.

Because you're a woman. Because you're fabulous. Because you got a fantastic hair cut. Because it's spring. Just BECAUSE.

Kim decided she needed to update photos of herself just because, so I was happy to oblige.

And doesn't she look utterly fabulous!??!??!? :)


I've only edited a small portrait of her session, but it's magnificent!

More photos of Kim to come, as well as the engagement slideshow of Rachel and Jarrod, as well as Deanne and Carlos.

Helping out — Laura + Ryan

As I said the other day, I went to Vancouver, BC to help my friend, Jamie Delaine, photograph a couple of weddings.

To read about the stunning wedding of Laura and Ryan, please CLICK HERE. But if you scroll down, I'll share my favorite outtakes. :)

Ok, so onto my commentary. Isn't Laura's reaction to her makeup fantastic? I love these little moments ...


Stunning in her dress!


Oh the fellas! The two guys on the left .... let me just say they were full of laughs. In fact, they could barely keep a straight face. I didn't ask the (I'm afraid I didn't want to know), but they were certainly entertaining. But they held it together long enough to take a GQ-looking photo. Good looking, aren't they?


Orchids! I simply love how lovely they look as wedding flowers. They're especially impressive to me because I had an orchid and kept the thing alive for all of one month. If anyone knows the secret to keeping these beauties alive, I'd love to know it!


Don't they orchids look amazing at the outdoor ceremony?


Laura giving Ryan her "fierce" look after the ceremony. I think Tyra would be proud! ;)


LOVE.THE.LIGHT.


Since I was "second shooting" I didn't get all the best angles (because Jamie was in them), but I certainly enjoyed my bird's eye view here!


The Swan-E-Set Bay Resort & Country Club where the wedding ceremony and reception were held was completely stunning! Loved the breathtaking views!


Um ... I'm kind of in love with this color/view.


Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the beautiful food. Lovely food photography isn't easy, so I always love a good challenge. Thought I'd share a few of my faves. :)


On an more personal note, I was born in Seattle yet grew up here in Kansas. I always thought I didn't like fish/seafood. A few years ago while I was in Seattle, I had salmon again ... oh .... it was just heaven. I enjoyed eating fresh fish during my stay in Canada. :)


Final frame is me just playing with light here.

Where in the world are Karen and Mike?

I know we have some extremely faithful blog readers, and I suspect you were wondering what happened to us.

Weeeeeeell, I've been in Vancouver, BC (in Canada) for a few days helping my friend, Jamie Delaine, shoot a few weddings. I returned late last night (OK, it was actually early this morning). I have a few print orders to work on, some paperwork to catch up on, and I have a very busy September ahead of me. But I wanted to make a brief blog post to show off a stunning image from Sunday's wedding of Laura and Ryan.

Once I get a bit of R&R, I'll share a few blog posts with amazing images from those weddings.

As far as Mike .... he and his stunning wife, Angie, are getting ready to welcome baby No. 2 into their family in February. And with an extremely active (yet ever adorable) 8-month-old already at home, all of you parents out there know, they are BUSY!!!!!!

Tina + Jose's Slideshow

This week is flying by ... and I'm pleased to share another slideshow!


Tina and Jose also wanted to have family portraits done while I was in Oklahoma. The more the merrier! They have a young family, but a truly adorable one! Their little guy, Ely, almost made it into my camera bag and came home with me. ;) He was SUCH a darling.

Tina and Jose, it was a true pleasure meeting you. Please CLICK HERE to enjoy the slideshow!

Cristina + Josh's Slideshow

Every once in awhile you meet a personal cheerleader. Through the grapevine, I met Cristina and she became one of our top fans (I can't say she's our No. 1 fan because Mike's wife and my husband are battling for that title!) ;)

She has so enthusiastically has cheered us on as we've been working on a new Web site (which is still under wraps) ... and her enthusiasm is contagious! I suggested we try to coordinate a portrait session.

When we travel for portrait sessions, I rely heavily upon our clients to come up with fabulous locations. And boy, did Cristina deliver on a super-fabulous location! We met up and headed down to Medicine Park, Oklahoma ... and I'm ready to move there TODAY!!!! The visual possibilities were simply ENDLESS!!!!

Cristina and Josh, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your spectacular hospitality! Your warmth makes me want to up and move to your neck of the woods! Please CLICK HERE to check out your slideshow. :)

Sneak Peek — Tina + Jose

Check out this super-cute family!


More absolutely fun locations to come soon!

Sneak Peek — Cristina + Josh's Family

HELLLLLLLLLLLO OKLAHOMA!!!!!!!!!

I'm on location in Oklahoma, and today had some fabulous family sessions, and know Cristina's been hitting the "refresh" button since our session ended this afternoon, waiting to see something ... *anything* from our session.

So here you go, Cristina! This will have to satisfy you for tonight. :)


Ok, here's another one .... I gave it a little rustic treatment to go with the fantastic area we photographed at.

Bhavna and Corey — Grah Shantek and Raas Garba

A few months ago, I had the honor to travel to California and help my friend, Jessica, document Bhavna and Cory's wedding. It was such a personal celebration of the life and love of these two.

The above photo is actually a relative of Bhavna's. I could not get OVER the beauty of these women's eyes!

(Oh, and I suggest you get comfortable because this is going to be a LONG post!)

Here are a few of Bhavna's parents during Saturday afternoon's Grah Shantek:




My task as second shooter for Jessica was to capture some of the smaller moments of the day ... the smiles, laughs, look and love of Bhavna and Corey's families. Check out this awesome reaction during the Grah Shantek:


It wouldn't be a wedding without a beautiful bride, though!




Isn't Bhavna SIMPLY STUNNING?????

Check out her awesome jewelry:




And doesn't the henna make her ring look UH-MAZING?


Following the afternoon festivities, there was a Raas Garba. They served the most AMAZING food ever ... I can't begin to describe it or even remember what it was all called, but I *adored* eating Indian food all weekend! Sunday night, however, my tongue revolted. About half way through dinner, it was THROBBING and I couldn't eat another bite. :-( BUT the ice cream sundae bar cheered it right up! :-)

OK, back to Saturday!

While we were waiting for dinner Saturday night, one of the kiddos was occupying herself by jumping from stone to stone:


Right before all of the dancing began, Bhavna and Corey lit the candles.


Then there was copious amounts of dancing!


And let me take one second here to talk about Bhavna's attire. Blue is my absolute FAVORITE color ever ... and I was eyeing her stunning outfit all evening. Isn't it amazing???? I'm wishing I wore something so BLUE. But those shoes had to do! ;-)


The movement and flow of these skirts wasn't easy to capture, but I think the following photo shows how beautifully these skirts move.


The BEST part about the evening is that the young and old alike were dancing! I LOVED IT! This is one of Bhavna's nieces ... and I *think* this is one of her grandmothers teaching her the dance. Aren't they adorable????


Bhavna's brother-in-law was also working with his daughter on her dance moves.


And I'll close today's post with this simply stunning black and white image of Bhavna and her mother.


The wedding was a 3-day affair, and I'll post the Hindu-Christian wedding, which was on a Sunday, later this month. It's hard to believe it's been three months since their wedding, but I've been up to my ears ... and have yet to peek through the wedding day images (in fact, it was so long ago that when I was working up the photos, I put my maiden name on the photo credits).