Tiffany and Jeff

This is Tiffany and Jeff-REY! (That was for you Jeff!) I would like to be fun and witty right now, but I am exhausted and need to go to bed. So, I will write later I promise. For now the pillow is calling. Good night!

Miracle Child

This is Bekah. Bekah is special for a number of reasons. First she has the MOST amazing hair I have ever seen. Little ringlets just like Shirley Temple, but they weren't created by a curling iron. I was praying for Bekah when she was only days old. She was born an extreme preemie and spent a long time in the NICU before she could come home to her Mom and Dad. I received regular updates on her health via e-mail and day by day Bekah got stronger and more ready to adapt to life outside a hospital.
To see Bekah, almost 3 years old now, running around and playing and eating ice cream did my heart well. She is alive and thriving and having the chance to try new treats like lollipops and ice cream and receive love from her Mom and Dad. She has the chance to live life to the fullest. My favorite quote is, "I want my everyday to make God bellylaugh. Glad that He gave life to someone who knows the difference between life and half life."--Shauna Neiquist. That is what I think of when I think of Bekah.
I had to call a friend to ask how to spell Bekah's name and felt an internal smile when I heard it was the "h" ending. I have been told that in Hebrew the "h" means breath of God. Indeed her name is spelled appropriately. Bekah your life breaths life into mine. Thank you.

Baby

This precious little one is only 5 days old... and look at all that hair! Not only does she have a lot of it, but it is also really thick! This little girl is the third little miss to the Loftins. We know the Loftins because Erin started pre-school two years ago with their oldest little girl, Alyssa. Erin and Alyssa are the best of friends and ran a muck together at two pre-schools, but will be separated this year because, sadly, the Loftins are moving. *sniff* We will miss them so much! But I know you will have a great time in your new home, just be sure and visit us often and we can get the girls to be pen pals. (Do they even do that anymore?) Or e-mail buddies or something. We love you guys!

I accidentally put both of these versions up. The first one is unedited, obviously the one below is black and white. Which one do you like better?

Family

This gorgeous group is none other than my brother and his family. I have so much love for this family it is overwhelming. I miss them immensely and wished we lived closer. I haven't gotten through a lot of the photos yet because I am very busy, but there will be more later. Thank you guys for everything you do for our family and for "getting each other" so well. I love you all!

Easy

They were light and lively and so much fun! AND, best of all they didn't mind having their picture taken. I know I keep saying this, but this senior/family was ridiculously easy to shoot! We started and ended in downtown Albany with a stop over in the middle at West Albany HS. Thanks you guys for a very fun and easy shoot!

Where? Want?

I often start a thought process but then get distracted by everyday life and never return to complete my brilliant thinking. Not today. Well, at least I am not going to forget to follow the thinking through to its conclusion. It may take me years to complete this task as I have already been interrupted twice. (Once to get a toy up high and once to complete the potty task.)

I digress, I will at least start my thinking. How big do I want this business to get? Really. I was reading the blog of the most fabulous photographer ever, Jasmine Star, and as I read some of her oldest posts she was obviously soooo driven! And now she is famous. I mean, I totally look up to her--this makes her famous right? :)

So, when she started out what was her ultimate goal? Did she want to be really busy? Did she want to be famous? Did she want to teach seminars? Did she want to hone her skills and never stop learning? Did she want to have thousands of people stalk her blog? If that is what she wanted she has totally succeeded. (Not saying that ANY of this is bad thing it isn't. I am inspired by people like Jasmine who find a goal and go after it.) Which leads me to my question... what do I want? Do I want to shoot 35 weddings in one year? Do I want to teach seminars? Do I want to write books? Really, if I dream big with the only thing stopping me is me, then where is my limit? What do I want?

I need to write out my ultimate goals for my photography and start going after them, but what are they?

I will start here...

• I want to bless people with portraits they wouldn't normally be able to afford.
• I want to give free portrait sessions to those who have just adopted.
• I want to be able to pay for my camera equipment from what I earn through the business.
• I want to have time for my kids, husband, family and friends.
• I want to never stop LOVING photography.
• I want to be able to go to Europe with friends in 5 years with the money I get from photography.
• I want to be recolonized as a great photographer.
• I want to go to the Jasmine Star workshop.
• I want to go to lots of workshops.
• I want to be a technically sound photographer.
• I want to be an artistic photographer.
• I want to learn and grow and get better and better.
• I never want to stop learning about photography.
  
• I want to have great photos for my kids to have in their wedding slide shows. Photos that aren't just pretty, but tell their story.

I want...

Amanda and Ryan in Black and White

Kicked Out Again!

Well after getting kicked out of the first location in Portland we decided to move to another spot that was more photographer friendly. Lewis and Clark College... it's beautiful and free! BUT... they are not so keen on having portraits taken. We got the boot after about 10 minutes. But, this family was awesome! No sweat... after an upbeat conversation on where to go we decided on a downtown area. Upon arrival in beautiful downtown Lake Oswego we discovered it was PACKED! But, once again, this family made do and we found numerous small spots to take pictures.

Thank you so much you guys for a fun, EASY (despite no love for photographers in PDX), shoot. Your boys were a joy and you two were tops! (How old do I sound right now?...old.) No really you were so easy to be around, get along with and I greatly enjoyed your company. (And the milkshake too!--Thank you!) Enjoy the photos, the complete disc is in the mail!