First 70 degree Day

All through the winter and early spring, the kids beg me to go through the sprinkler. After days and weeks of continual nagging, I finally told them that they could go through the sprinkler when the temperature hit 70 degrees. Finally, in April or sometimes May we get a 70 degree day and the kids are estatic to don swimsuits and hit the sprinkler. They do more running around the sprinkler than through it but they have a lot of fun. For this particular 70 degree day, I decided to practice some of the techniques I read of in my latest digital photography book. Here are my best shots.

Sally Leet

The principal of our elementary school, Oak Grove Elementary, retired this year. Several of the teachers asked me to take her photo to use as part of her retirement gift. They wanted it to be a surprise. I told Sally I wanted a photo of her and Buddy (the school dog) for the yearbook. She came in while I was photographing some first graders and posed with Buddy for 6 photos (that was all Buddy could take). When I saw this photo, I was so thrilled that I had to order a print to make sure it really looked as good as it did on my camera! The teachers had it enlarged to 11 x 17 and framed and gave it to her at her retirement dinner. Sally wanted each student to have a photo of Buddy to remember him by (he's such a big part of our school) so she had the photo made into wallets for every one!

Ezra

This boy is so cute! I have photographed his big brothers, Dylan and Jarom, and big sister, Summer, and was delighted to photograph 14 month old Ezra. He has the biggest eyes. He was such a delight. I found the wicker chair at a garage sale and it has been perfect for photographing little ones. They like to climb up in it or wander around it and I just snap away!

Sadie and Mikayla

Doug and Amber, our nephew and niece, just had a brand new baby on their wedding anniversary. Sadie Fay was born on July 23rd. The next week we went over to see the newest addition. Kathi, the doting grandmother, and I set up a "photo studio" in Doug and Amber's dining room and tried to capture Sadie and her big sister, Mikayla. While we got many cute ones of Mikayla (I'm only posting one right now), Sadie was so tired that the week-old baby was not as willing to pose for us! We did capture some photos of the newborn, however. It's very hard to get an 18 month old and a week old baby to pose together!

Megan and Kevin

One of the weddings we photographed this summer was of Megan Brown (Tayler's friend) and Kevin Robinson. We took over 500 photos and these are just a few of my favorites. My friend Patty assisted me because my sister-in-law was out of town. The reception was held at the LDS Colonial Heights building. It is such a gorgeous old building. I was able to do a bridal photo shoot with Megan a few days before the wedding. She looked so beautiful in her wedding gown. Megan's mom, Lesa, also had me take some photos of the couple to use as wall decorations at the reception. It was so fun to see the photos enlarged to 12x18 and up around the room! They are such a cute couple!

Jenna and Stephen

Another wedding we photographed this summer (this time with my sister-in-law, Kathi) was of Jenna Trone and Stephen Johnson. Jenna and Stephen were alot of fun. Their reception was at the Ainsworth House in Oregon City. The grounds were beautful -- a perfect setting for a reception. My sister, Darcy, was here visiting from Tucson the second week in August and showed me new things to do in Photoshop--especially how to selectively colorize an image. As you can see, I kind of went crazy trying it. It was so easy to do and so cool!

Grandpa Knowles

I take a lot of photos of the Knowles family young grandkids, but we don't really have current photos of any of the adults. And we don't have any "portraits" of Grandpa; just casual photos taken at family gatherings. So at one family gathering this summer, I brought my black drape and set up a "photo studio" on Grandpa's back deck. Grandpa was very cooperative and I was able to get this shot.

You Never Know

You never know when you photograph young kids if you've caught just the right shot. When you have TWO young kids that you are trying to get to sit together, it becomes quite the adventure. These two adorable little boys, Sean and Nicholas, came over to my mom's backyard for a summer photo shoot. We tried a variety of poses and I could not tell if we had anything with both of them looking (I wasn't even counting on them both smiling!) and with everything in focus! After much silliness (a big plastic bug on my head) and bribery (smarties), the shoot was over, we were all tired out, and I discovered that we had some terrific shots. They're not even my kids and I could hardly wait to get prints made! I'm so happy with how these turned out.

Senior Photos

Here are more senior photos. I always have fun on these photo shoots.