Meet Hunter Reed!

Hello World! Meet the newest member of our family- Hunter Reed! Hunter was born on February 24th weighing in at 7lbs, 2 oz, and 20.5 inches long! Quite a big boy! Lol. Mareena, Hunter’s Mom, was in labor for 24 hours!! See, never underestimate us petite chicks- we can take what you got and then some! Bring it! Haha. The whole family drove to the hospital that night of Feb 23rd and waited and waited and waited. Then waited. Waited some more. And just because we wanted to see OUR baby pass by with those nurses wearing a cute little blue hat- you guessed it, we waited some more. Finally 1am came, and of the last few troopers there, my mom, grandparents and I decided to leave. Work and lack of energy will do that to you. So finally at 6am, texts and pictures were flying around our phones- Baby Hunter is here!

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and I got to do my first newborn session. And what an experience, lol! Let’s just say Hunter was not feelin’ picture day- at all! I have a feeling if he could talk right now he would have said- get that “bleepin’ ” camera out of my face now!!! Haha. I guess if my Grandma and Mom stripped me naked and put me on a pillow in front of a window, I’d be pretty p-o-ed too. But the show went on, and Hunter, his Grandma and Mom all did a great job. I was able to capture these little gems amidst all the feistiness, lol. Thank you again Hunter for being my first newborn to photograph. Get used to it baby cousin- ‘cause this chick with the camera ain’t goin’ anywhere. I know where you live! Haha! I love you cutie patootie! Here’s my favorites from his session. Happy Tuesday!

Crystal & David- Engagement Session

If any couple knows how to have fun on a shoot, it was definitely Crystal and David. I’ve known Crystal since high school, and the two of them as a couple for quite some time, so having the honor of being requested to shoot their engagement portraits was awesome! Even though the weather wasn’t as great as planned, as Crystal put it, “Oh well, I’ve never gotten things the easy way.” So true for myself as well. I’ve come to learn over time, the best things in life are never obtained the easily. If it’s too easy to get, it’s too easy to lose. That’s my philosophy anyway. So we made do with what Mother Nature gave us, and as any photographer knows, cloudy days make for some great soft light. We headed to my favorite park for some classic couple shots. Then to the most special place for both of them, the Water Wall, where David proposed. I even got a semi-reenactment of the process in order to document how it all went down, lol! From there we headed to Eleanor Tinsley Park for some more casual shots. Crystal and David, I hope you guys had as much fun as I did shooting your pictures. I wish you both a lifetime of love and laughter. I can’t wait to see what you have planned for your wedding in October. Here's some of my favorites. Love you guys!

Mareena's [Micro-Mini] Maternity Session & Baby Shower

This is a particularly special post for me. Mareena, will soon be the newest proud mommy of a baby boy…and she just also happens to be my cousin. :) It was a little surreal sitting there, seeing her open all of her baby gifts and answer the usual questions about how her pregnancy is going, and remembering HER as a baby, and me changing her diapers. Yes, I changed all the cousins’ diapers at least once! Being the oldest, you get to participate in “those kind” of things, haha. I remember her running around with her Baby Bop doll she took EVERYWHERE (she lived for Barney and Friends people), her little giggle and that cute smile she still has today. Now she will be bringing the newest member of our family into this world, and we’re all so excited to meet him and to have a new baby in the family! This past weekend we celebrated her baby shower, so I was happy to be able to get some beautiful pictures of her in a mini-maternity session (seriously, like micro-mini, lol) along with great details of the shower décor and setup. Our Aunt Sandy has such a beautiful home which made for some great shots with everything set up. It was a great day with family and friends, so now we’re all playing the waiting game. Any day now! Mareena, I can’t wait to see the amazing mom I know you’re going to be! This little guy is going to be loved so much it’s insane. I mean c’mon, you know our family, lol. As you begin this new chapter in your life, always remember that you are a beautiful, capable, strong young woman, and that little boy is going to see that every day. We love you!! Here’s some of your pictures that are my favorites…

Oh the Places To Go!!

One more hi-5 for 2010! So far it's looking like a big travel year, which is ALWAYS all right by me! First up this year is Seattle in April! Here's a few reasons to be excited about this city:

1) The birthplace of grunge [music]
2) Home to tv's hottest surgeons (Grey's Anatomy anyone?)
3) Hot vampires and werewolves roaming around a small little town by the name of Forks! (yeah, it's real people!)

Traveling, whether it be a couple hours away or 1,000 miles away is absolutely one of my favorite things in the universe! I can't even begin to tell you how psyched I get looking for plane tickets. Going to my usual ticket search engines, plugging in my dates and destinations, push "search"....then watch and hope in excitement as all the best deals are laid out right there on the screen for me. Love it! I do have to say though, one traveling fault I have is always, always over-packing. Seriously. No matter how much I try to save space/pack light, it just doesn't happen. I just always seem to fall victim of the "well, what if I need it?" mindset, hence me having to sit on my suitcase to zip it up. Oh well, at least I always have plenty of clothing options when I'm globe hopping. So while I've been ticket and activity hunting, I found these images that got me all inspired and excited!





*oops, how did that get in there? ;)

Clarissa’s XV Portrait Session

Right after Christmas I had the opportunity to shoot my first XV (Quinceañera) session. A little intimidated at first, due to the formal nature, I was so happy when she said she wanted some casual pictures done as well. Now we’re talkin’! I wanted her to have some unique formal portraits as well, but I have to say I was more revved up for her casual session, lol. She did great though for her formals, given the nerves and seeing as how it was freezing that day. Her casual session was done at my favorite graffiti wall which has a beautiful park right across the street with these amazing old trees that have tons of branches just laying on the ground, begging to be climbed and posed on, haha! Overall, we had 2 great days of shooting and I’m so glad she liked her pictures! Here are some of my favorites. Feliz Quince Años Clarissa!

Puppy Lovin'!

Happy 2010 everyone! Yes, I know it’s a little late, but hey, it’s still January and I think you’re able to say it all month right? Anyway, so far I have to say this year is off to a pretty okay start. I need to make a resolution list again. It’s actually kinda cool to scratch things off as the year goes on and see what you’re actually accomplishing. One big (well, little for “now”) beginning to the new year is my new puppy Ray! Lol, my little lady killer. Don’t be fooled by that innocent face with handsome gray eyes though. He’s still 1000% puppy, so that means if there’s trouble to be found, he’s probably already shredded it. I named Ray after the great Ray Charles. I don’t know, it just seemed to fit him for some reason. I tend to look to music/musicians/lyrics/etc. for a lot of inspiration both personally and creatively, so needless to say, I was pretty sure I’d find him a good name with all the greatness out there, and sure enough I did. So here’s a few of Ray in all his puppy glory. I’m sure he’ll be featured more as he continues to grow, but for now, here’s a few from his first photo shoot.