Squamish, BC

What's better than stressing about the economy? Traveling of course! I've gotten to take two little trips lately that were both wonderful. They couldn't have been more different. First I spent three days climbing in beautiful Canada before flying out to New York City for a week. It was my first time to Squamish and it was very nice of Phil to show me around and take me climbing. Here is 'The Chief', one of the largest granite rocks in Canada (surrounded by kite boarders taking advantage of a town named 'mother of wind') :


We hiked to top of him for an incredible view of the area:


Then naturally, we climbed him. All 700 meters of him. In 15 pitches. It was amazing. I learned how to slab climb, multi-pitch, wrap down and much more. I now want a t-shirt saying, 'I heart slab'. My last climb of the trip I anchored myself at the top so I could photograph Phil climbing it.

The weather was perfect and I highly enjoyed relaxing and pushing my body while soaking up the wilderness. Then I jumped on a plane to soak up the concrete jungle...

Cheese Festival!

If there was ever a festival for me it would be a cheese festival. So when I heard of the very thing happening at Pike Place Market this weekend, I was very excited. I was in heaven as I sampled as many of the 200 kinds of cheeses that I could. There were soft, stinky cheeses as well as hard, salty ones. And I think for the first time in my life I was 'cheesed-out'. And at that moment, there was the wine garden beckoning me inside. I tasted delicious wines from around the world and soaked in a rare sunny day in Seattle. A perfect Sunday if you ask me.

Tulips

So last year on one of those sunny free weekdays I got in the car by myself and drove up north to Skagit Valley to see the tulips. I was too late. Fields of cut or dead tulips just didn't have much magic to them. So when my friend Sahar asked if I wanted to go up this year, I was over it. I'm glad I went however, because this time I had a great model to add to the beauty of the tulips. And it is an amazing sight- it's like the landscape has been swathed with rich red and pink paints creating a sea of shocking color. The school bus is my favorite. Sahar thinks it was put there just to make photographers flock to it. :)

First Fashion Shoot

When a friend called this week looking for photos of her clothing designs and needed them asap, I was excited to help out. We packed the truck with outfits and accessories and headed to Georgetown for our first location. The old brick buildings and train tracks made for some great backdrops. The next location was unknown, but we knew we wanted a sleek, modern look so we headed downtown. At the random corner of 3rd and Spring we found it- a dark marble wall with stark birch trees. After causing some heads to turn, we headed to our last location- Discovery Park. The light was perfect and I'm very happy with the results. Who knew editorial fashion could be so much fun?!

Bored photographers

So what do three young photographers do on a lazy Friday afternoon when the economy is slow and we all have the day off? Take silly portraits of each other of course! Mars, Dylan and I set up three flashes in Dylan's dining room and went to town with props and crazy hair. It definitely got the creative juices flowing... as well as our real passion for modeling. Check out my favs:

Have a Heart for Kids Day

I'm late in posting this, but better late than never. Every year I get to photograph the Children's Alliance's Have A Heart For Kids Day. It's a march on the capital and a rally for kids. This year was especially wonderful because it didn't rain on us! It was a beautiful, cold and sunny day. More than 300 hundred people came out to rally and to deliver the message to lawmakers that kids are counting on them. It's a great opportunity to get cute kid shots and the event really makes a difference here in Washington. Check out my favorite pix and the good work that the Children's Alliance does. www.childrensalliance.org

Put on your hard hat

So I dont' think I can claim 'still adjusting after Thailand' anymore. It's time to move on. Things have definitely been slow since my return, as I'm sure we're all experiencing. So I encourage you to push me to shoot and get creative.

Recently I went to shoot my friend Nick's job site. I love job sites. The smell of sawdust and the sound of drilling and pounding remind me of my childhood spent on my dad's sites. Nick is managing the entire construction of a beautiful home on Lake Washington. It has everything: heated floors, a pool, infinity hot tub and much more. The house is in the middle stage and the insulation was being installed the day I went. Here are my favorite shots:


Stay tuned for shots of the finished house in Sept. And if anyone you know needs an incredible project manager Nick is your man!