Katie

This girl is such a beauty, in and out. At the risk of sounding trite, Katie really is one of those people you just want to be around all the time. Not to mention, she's a smart girl too -- a recent BYU grad. Thanks for letting me shoot your graduation pics, Katie!

Nielson family

What a cute family!

I had them give lots of kisses . . .
it proved to be our best tactic for focusing little Baylor and still getting some cute shots. :)

Family photos are the most challenging for me.
And yet, when you get a photo of everyone in place and looking good,
nothing beats the sense of accomplishment that brings. :)

Baylor

We did just a quickie shoot with Baylor. This kid is the cutest. I've photographed him 3 times now, and I've had fun every time (I'll be posting the previous shoots soon). I am always amazed at how hard it is to take photos at this age, but how fun it is to make them giggle. The payoff is way worth it!

We started off kind of rough...

but it was nothing that a fuzzy bear, football, and some silliness couldn't fix. :)

I love the "boyness" of this picture.

Olivia - Newborns

How sweet is this little angel? She made me miss the precious and oh-so-short newborn stage (although I'll never miss the lack of sleep!). It was so much fun to take pictures of such a tiny little thing again. I wanted to kiss her all over.

I love her face!

Lucky girl - kisses from big brother.

Strawn Family

What a precious photo of daddy and his little girl.

* Smooch! *

And a few of just the parents...

Lucky me...

I got to photograph this beauty the other day.

Sorry guys, she's married.

I hope I can post more photos later this week!

Pretty fields

Talon & I are building a house { well, someone else is for us, actually }.
This is the view I see on the way to/from our lot.
I really love it.

Question:

Does anyone know why Blogger is all of a sudden not allowing the "s400 to s640" trick to enlarge your photos? ARRRGGGG!

¡España!

I'm almost finished editing my photos from our trip to Spain! Here's one of my favorites so far...


P.s. I've been MIA for a while. Why? Great news: I'm pregnant! Unfortunately, I've been hibernating for 3 months, trying to pull out of the exhausted/starving/pukey first trimester...but I'm almost me again! So be looking for lots more posts in the near future.

Fall leaves

Fall in Utah

Took a drive up the canyons last weekend and I was in complete heaven. Can you believe this is the first year the husband and I have taken that drive since living in Utah?? Man, we've been missing out. The colors were exquisite!

Depot Bay, Oregon

I have always loved Depot Bay. It's such a quirky little town that endears you for some reason. I got a kick out of walking the "boardwalk" when we were there in August.

Welcome to Aspinwall's Nursery & Produce.

I worked here for two summers in high school. Best job ever! It was so much fun to see old friends, relive my experiences here, and document some of the things I love about Aspinwall's.

More Oregon flowers

I never knew how breathtaking these flowers were until I got up really close with my lens. Wow! I also discovered some dewdrops on them { and we all know how fond I am of dew! }. I love how my camera magnifies things I can't see on my own...actually, the other day at a football game I stood there with my camera plastered to my face the whole time, because I could see the players and the game much better that way. Call me a dork! Talon, my husband, loved teasing me about it. Good thing I like to be teased. :)





Halfway through taking the photos, what to my big surprise { literally, with the zoom on! }, I came upon this pretty little bee.

XDR-TB

.
I wanted to share this critically important video - put together by one of the world's premier photographers, James Nachtwey - about a new form of tuberculosis spreading around the world. It's called eXtreme Drug Resistant TuBerculosis. There is little we can do to stop it unless we act asap.

It kills me to see people living in conditions like this. Where is worldwide compassion and sacrifice, to give up our ridiculously indulgent lifestyles and instead provide ways for people like this to live a better life? Even if we don't care about our fellow man, at the very least we ought to prevent XDR-TB from becoming a worldwide pandemic and spreading to us.

It is times like this that I stop and think: Am I using my abilities for good in this world? What is my purpose and vision? What more can I do?

Another little peachie droplet :)

Peach droplets

Love these pretty little post-drizzle droplets.

Oregon beach sunset

We had the most beautiful sunset on the beach one night while we were in Oregon. Nothing beats the rhythmic sound of the waves and the fresh salty air on a night like this!

grasses

Just thought this little grass was cute. :)

utah lake sunset