Timpanogos LDS Temple Wedding: Brittney + Brock

I love these two! Brittney and Brock are so perfect for each other, it was my honor to photograph their wedding day. Here a just a few of my favorites from the temple.....slideshow and full gallery of all images coming soon!

I love Brittney's choice of footwear! The best!! And green ribbon for the bouquet - a girl after my own heart!~

 I love, love, love Brittney's smile..... one of my favorites...

This guy is the best!  What a great Dad! And probaly the luckiest man too - I mean look at his wife (see below) Would you believe me if I told you they are grandparents too?!! Probably not....

These two are just so stylish!

Isn't this the most amazing veil?!!

Okay, seriously.....if I had to pick just one.....I think this image just might be it. I Lurvvvvv this image! I just love capturing true emotion.....and if that emotion happens to be laughter, joy, happiness....all the better!

Yes, I know.....they are facing into the sun, but I just had to get the gorgeous Utah Mountains in the background!

Okay, did I mention that the temple was packed with weddings on this morning???!  In order to get away from the crowds and get the temple in the background, we needed to get creative. 

Almost done........just one more picture, two, okay....maybe five.

The end.....  (smile)

Brides Against Breast Cancer - Charity Wedding Gown Sale

I personally bought my wedding dress, over twenty years ago, at a GIGANTIC dress event in Seattle.  It was a fabulous way to find a great dress and get a fantastic deal!  To make it even better - it would've been FANTASTIC if I knew that the $$$ that I paid for that dress was going to a great organization  like:  Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.   Theses dresses are donated by designers, retailers, manufacturers, and individuals and start at just $99!  All the sales go to benefit the educational programs and wish grant funds for Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation!  Sooooo very Cool!
So mark your calendar for July 16 - 18th starting at 11am  - for more details click on the link!

Super Fun! I'm featured on a Running Blog!

Much to my suprise - on April 27th I was the featured "Runner" for the http://www.hillsandhammies.com/
So very cool! Maria and I met at a Ladies that Launch Event - and hit it off right away. I loved her line of clever running cards - check them out  http://www.bananablossompress.com/.  I picked out one for my running partner's birthday - she is going to LOVE it!

Maria also blogs about everything to do with running and is an awesome resource for anything you need to know! You can also find her on www.twitter.com/bananablossom or www.facebook.com/bananablossompress!

Brittney's Bridals -

Gorgeous Brittney  - just days before becoming Mrs.Brittney Twigg! I had so much fun taking her pictures! 

2010 HS Senior Session with Kendra at Gene Coulon Park

FYI - sunny does not always mean warm.  We canceled Kendra's first session because we were FREEZING and really, who wants a picture of themselves with their teeth chattering?!  So....we moved the session to Saturday. It was still cold and a little windy - but I think we still captured some great images!

Oh and BIG bonus for me.....Kendra's mom passed on her Saturday's Warrior Volleyball Club sweatshirt to me.  Just so you know Karalee - I wore if for the rest of the day at Linda's tournament. Thank you so much!

The Easter Bunny left me a few albums and CDs.....

First - I have to say that our family "Easter Egg Hunt" was one of our very best in a long time! Paul came out with a genius idea for egg prizes and Ayden joined us from BYU via web cam. I walked around the backyard with my lap top and he would help Leo and Linda find the eggs with clever clues. It was seriously hilarious - and wonderful at the same time. Oh and HUGE bonus for Leo - he found his old debit card under our deck!! Can you believe that kid?! Sheesh!

Seeing the colorful eggs in beautiful natural settings gave me the idea to take a few pictures of the albums and CDs that I are going out to clients this week.....

I'm in love with one of my clients!

It's true!!  Isn't he handsome?! Love you Paulie!

Just goofing around with my new LensBaby Fisheye

Soos Creek takes 2nd Place in Stake Tournament!

I am so impressed with our Soos Creek YM basketball team this year! My son, Leo #5, and husband Paul (the coach) have had such a great time!  Last week they had a team party over here and played about 4 hours of basketball on our sport court.  Good luck to Maplewood Heights and Soos Creek in the Reigonal basketball tournement!



Paul's men's team took 1st place in their stake tournament and our Soos Creek YW also took 1st place! Woo Hoo!!

Top Ten Tips for WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) Conference

1. Wichcraft http://wichcraftnyc.com/ (the restaurant) best breakfast deal in MGM! $6 gets you your choice of 3 items (coffee, fresh squeezed OJ, banana/chocolate muffin, croissant, yogurt with granola, fresh fruit). They even went out of their way to make me a foamed hot chocolate as a substitute for the coffee. Everything was so good – I picked up my bag of breakfast goodies EVERY single morning.
2. 
   
   Get out of the hotel during the day at least once! Sheesh – with so many classes and events to attend, you hardly have time to leave the convention center. However, I did a morning run and it was so refreshing to get out into the air (even the cold air). This leads to my next tip….
3. 
   
   Go on a photography run! This was so much fun, cleared my mind and got my creative juices flowing. After hours and hours of lectures and classes on photography – it was refreshing to just take pictures for the fun of it. This was a great way to start my day and gave me the energy and inspiration I needed for the next 16 hours!
4. 
   
   Bring a refillable water bottle and your favorite water flavor packets. WPPI was fabulous about having water stations outside the classrooms with ice cold water. It was perfect for me to fill up my water bottle and carry around to all the events.
5. 
   
   Bring a couple of power bars…..it seems you never have time to stop for lunch and the lunch venues are REALLY crowded. The time we had lunch we waited over an hour for our food – time that could be better spent in the trade show or at a class.
6. 
   
   Find WPPI buddies to go with. This way you can share transportation, hotel rooms, meals,notes on classes, trade show treats, new friends and party invitations!
7. 
   
   Set up your “meet-ups” with friends BEFORE you go to WPPI. With over 10,000 photographers and so much going on, it is hard to figure where, when and how you are going to meet.
8. 
   
   Don’t be shy! There are so many cool people to meet here. We would just strike up conversations while waiting in line for classes, waiting in line for food, or we would ask to share tables. We met photographers from all over the world, including South Africa!!
9. 
   
   Bring a notebook, pens and your business cards. I was actually really surprised by how many people didn’t bring something to write notes in. We had also heard not to bring your laptop – we can second this now, we never, ever had time to use it.
10. Be yourself and be comfortable. Okay, this one is probably just for me. I thought I would try to impress by dressing up a bit and wearing my “cute” sandals. That was fine…..but the second day I was wearing my U2 concert shirt and my comfy, custom (thanks to my son Leo) Chuck Taylors. I felt great and had a fabulous time. Go for comfort – you’ll last longer and be more enjoyable to be around..

And because every post needs a picture.  Here's one of  Kim and I from our friend's at LensBaby.

We bought our new Lensbaby with the Fish Eye Lens so that we can share (another benefit of going with buddies to WPPI!)

Morning Run with Canon 5D Camera on Vegas Strip

WPPI Conference, Las Vegas
Morning Run with Canon 5D Camera on Vegas Strip
I got the idea take pictures on my run from the the movie "Yes Man" Not the greatest movie - but I LOVED the photography running club - what a hilarious and fun idea! So I gave it a try and brought my camera and had SOOOOOOOOOO much fun! It's fast, and fun - no time to over- anaylize a shot. I can't wait to put together a Photography Running Club when I get back in Seattle!

Updating her Professional Head Shots at Gas Works Park

I met Linda a little over a year ago at a Crave/Ladies Who Launch networking event.  One of the activities at this event was to partner up and share your career/life goals. Linda and I partnered and she shared  (and I am paraphrasing) how she wanted to help femal business owners to reach their potential.  Well, here she is, a year later at the Market Director for Ladies Who Launch! And doing a fabulous job I might add!

Ladies Who Launch will have booths 506,509, and 510 at the Northwest Women's Show on March 4 - 7th.

http://www.nwwomensshow.com/

For more information on Ladies Who Launch you can go to:

http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/

You can also find them on Facebook  (Ladies Who Launch Seattle)

Business Head Shots for Lizzie Parker - Modern Dressmaker

I had the pleasure to meet and photograph Lizzie and Angus this morning. When I first arrived, I was welcomed by Angus, an adorable bulldog and official greeter of the store. Lizzie's studio is fresh, fun, and light-filled, the pefect setting for our session. Lizzie's designs are featured in Daily Candy, WWD, Lucky Magazine, InStyle, Seattle Metropolitan, and the CW's Project Green. Now she has fabulous head shots to go with all the press that she is receiving!

Click here to find out more about Lizzie and her designs.

By the time I was ready to leave, Angus was snoring loudly in his bed, proving you can never have too much beauty sleep! :)

Can you think of a better way to start off a new decade? I submit that you cannot!