my friend becky

i have so much to say. becky and i had been talking. we do that a lot. and scheming. we had ideas---really good ones. i had shots, visions, magic just waiting for its chance to happen---

but in the end, there was only a little over 20 minutes minus driving time to pull it off. that afternoon martin had to be somewhere with the car---but becky's cute pregnant tummy was growing every day and we wanted to get the shoot in before she was "showing."--should i go, should i stay, a now or never moment, and? i grabbed my contax 645 and headed out the door.

me on the phone: "be ready in pajamas, a v-neck shirt, and 'i just woke up,' hair."

becky: (laughter---becky has the best laugh ever--she should have a permanent position as a studio audience member)

"check."

me: "can i borrow your light meter?"

becky: "i'll have it ready."

10 minutes later, there i was rushing into becky's house, ripping that light meter out of her hands. we barricaded the kids out of the kitchen. sawyer started crying. loudly.

me: "look serene."

becky: (serene people don't talk)

sawyer: waaahhhhhhh!!!!

me: "can we use your bedroom?"

becky: "let's go."

we raced upstairs. i checked my watch.

and oh the light.  we only had 10 more minutes, but we had such pretty light.

me: "everybody on the bed!"

the kids were confused, but agreeable.

me: "everybody look here,"

the three wee ones took almost perfect turns looking at me.

becky: (more laughter)

me: "if even one of these turns out, it will be worth it!"

i only had 20 minutes. but i had becky to shoot. i couldn't ask for a prettier soul. or face, while i'm at it. becky and 3 kids who adore her.

i think it turned out pretty well.

p.s. think emotionally in focus. =)

melanie and brett get married on new years day

1.1.11. seattle.

melanie.

brett.

love.

ohhhhhhh.

yeah.

the most awesome wedding, for the most awesome couple on the most awesome day in many many many many moons. when i first talked to melanie on the phone, we clicked right away. i fell in love with her laid back approach. when she described her vision for her wedding as a grand party for all the people she and brett loved most, i knew she was the kind of bride i just had to work with. i feel so grateful that melanie and brett had marty and i out to seattle for their amazing new years day wedding. the power of their connection was moving. the kindess, and yes, all around awesomeness of their family and friends made for an incredible and memorable trip. also, a big special thanks to my super talented  friend kj for second shooting for me that day. see her images here:

courtney and ryan in love in provo

i have to be honest, i've been putting off blogging all week. because you see, down, a post or two  below? i really felt famous there for a day---and all of your super kind, supportive comments (thank you x one million = grateful me)? well i didn't want it to end. but i think i've found the perfect couple to help me move on. i want to hang out with ryan and courtney. and play board games. and feel really funny because courtney laughs easily, and watch the way ryan looks at courtney because i'm creepy like that and i've alwasy been a people watcher, not to mention a sucker for love (obviously).

courtney and ryan drove down from rexburg, id for the occasion, and we all had a grand time.

BALLET WEDDING SHOOT FEATURED ON SNIPPET AND INK

darcie (you probably know her from pink peach cakes, which i haven't blogged about, which is a very severe crime because darcie's cakes are incredible) and i are pretty good pals. i'm married to her brother, our kids get to play and yank toys away from each other, and we have time to talk. and scheme. and plan. it was one such day last fall when we were discussing ideas for a themed wedding shoot. as soon as the word, "ballet," was spoken, both of our eyes lit up, "oooohs," escaped our lips, and we knew we had something good. so we rounded up a crew of all stars, some you may have heard of, some you may not have, but you definitely should change that  (see vendor list at bottom of post), and here is what everyone came up with.

i have to confess that i am not at all responsible for most of the creativity featured here. darcie created our lovely inspiration board that we worked from, among other things (ahem, the cake and chandelier shown in this post). Sarah J Winward of Ea, aka the angel responsible for the flowers, was also heavily involved in the planning stages and styling -  and everyone else, of course worked their incredible magic in their various roles. i was just the lucky one who got to photograph it all.

Some of the images you see below here are digital and some are film. some of the film images, have what are known in the film world as "light leaks," which basically means light touched the film before it was developed, but i don't mind if you don't.

the shoot took place in december in the studio, yes before christmas, but we've all kept quiet about the whole thing as we waited excitedly for it to go up one of the loveliest wedding blogs on the entire world wide web, Snippet and Ink. Today is the day! Please head over and see Kathryn's top picks of the images that she felt told the story best, and leave a comment if you're so inlcined, because you know, its the nice thing to do. =)

Here is the list of the local Utah vendors involved:

photography: Yan Photography

cake: Pink Peach Cakes

dress: Alta Moda Bridal

invitations: Rowley Press

hair and makeup: Versa Artistry

floral arrangements: Ea

location: yan photography studio, provo, ut.

styling: myself, Darcie Sanders of Pink Peach Cakes, and Sarah J. Winward of Ea.

and our gorgeous models shay and randy - it would criminal to leave them unacknowledged.

thank you, thank you, thank you.

cold and bright

i love that winter still tosses us a few of those cold, golden days. on one of them, my friend becky earl (you all know her by now), invited me to an engagement shoot. i almost stayed home, but the chance to shoot only film on a perfectly bright winter day was too much to resist. here are some of the images i got.