Rouse Eye Care Center | Lacey Business
Little known fact about me… I grew up in an optical office. It sounds weird, but my grandfather (and now my uncle) was an optomistrist when I grew up and some of my smallest childhood memories include going into his office and trying on every single pair of glasses he had there. Eye care was always super important in my family since it was the family business.
Fast forward to the beginning of May….
I recently started a program with the Lacey Chamber of Commerce (in which I’m a member) where I donate a series of head shots to another business owner in town every month. The prize is given as part of the scholarship raffle program they have each month at the luncheon and it’s been a great opportunity for me to meet and greet other business owners in my own community.
Deliah Rouse and her husband Dr. Craig Rouse are members of the Lacey Chamber of Commerce and my lucky May winners! I had such a great time meeting these two wonderful people and had an absolute awesome time learning more about their office and services. Deliah gave me a tour of their beautiful office and I had the chance to shoot some pictures of the facility for them – and let me tell you… it is GORGEOUS!!! They have a really great practice going, very reminiscent of the practice my own grandfather had, and it was truly a pleasure to get to know them. I know now that Dr. Rouse is definitely my new optomitrist into the future! They really are really awesome people. I really encourage everyone to check them out!
Rouse Eye Care Center – Lacey, Washington
8160 Freedom Lane NE Suite D
Lacey, WA 98516
Phone: (360) 455-4425
Dr. Craig Rouse and his lovely wife Deliah Rouse
Christabelle & Jeff | Seattle Engagement
I’m just going to get this out of the way. I feel cool by association by just knowing Christabelle and Jeff. Christabelle is fantastically gorgeous, beyond sweet, genuine and very smart. Jeff is a little more quiet and reserved at first, but a gentleman and just an all around nice guy. One of the things that was really important to this couple was incorporating Jeff’s hydroplane with their engagement photos. See, he is a professional hydroplane racer.
Yeah. I know.
It’s super awesome and super cool.
But they really wanted to include the boat in some of their pictures as that is a really important aspect of their life together and I was more than happy to oblige. We met up at their house first and then headed out with the hydroplane towards Seward Park. We were originally scheduled to do their session on Sunday, however because of rain (yeah, rain in Seattle… go figure…), we rescheduled for that Monday. Luckily the weather was ideal and you couldn’t ask for a warmer more diffused sun light. It was fantastic and I was in photographer-heaven; two gorgeous people, a gorgeous location, and gorgeous light. <sigh> It was nice.
But these two made it fun – we tried to keep things playful (although I do think at one point Jeff actually thought I was completely off my rocker) and fun and capture their personalities and fun relationship. They have a very sexy and intense chemistry with one another, so as the sun went down, things got a little sexier and hotter.
Funny thing happened though… Christabelle really liked the engagement session I did last year with another couple. One of her favorite shots was from Kerry Park, on Queen Anne Hill, after dark. It was a total accident that shot ever happened though because where I was going to originally take that couple was closed. For this session though, we did Kerry Park prior to the sun going completely down, but that location I wanted last year? Well, it was open! So I quickly called them on the phone while driving towards the highway, called them back, and went for it. I have to say… I love the results of the rainbow light!
Note: Double click to zoom in closer on the pictures!
First Time Traveling Alone | Seattle Child Photographer
First I have to start out by saying… Julie is 6 months old!! It happens so quickly and it’s amazing how big children get at this stage. She is just learning how to sit up by herself (still falls over often though), loves chewing on her feet, and even has two teeth now!
About 2 weeks ago I tried something I had never done before. I traveled with 2 children, all by myself, on a plane.
It’s not that I hide this fact, but I’ve lived in Washington for so long now, people assume that I’m originally from here. I’m not. I’m actually from New Mexico – born in Truth or Consequences (yes it is a real place) and partially raised in Silver City, New Mexico. In fact, I feel so at home in Silver City that I list it as my hometown as that is pretty much the most familiar place to me – plus the majority of my family lives there/grew up there. I try to get down there once a year, although some years it’s harder to go than others.
But the reason I’m so proud of the fact that I was able to travel with 2 little kids alone is that it is a journey to get from Seattle to the very rural out-of-the-way old-west town of Silver City. First you have the two and a half hour flight to Tucson. Then a three and a half hour drive to Silver City. With travel time, airport time, rental car time, it takes approximately 11 hours to get there – and that is pretty direct. But with 2 small children, and all by myself, it seems like every minute is just that longer!
Life down there has a totally different pace than here in Seattle. Everything is about 5 minutes away and there really is no hurry and no stress about anything. Over the years the town has changed significantly though. When I was a kid the downtown area was just about diserted and the population of the town was primarily ranchers/cowboys, miners with a significant hispanic population. Now days, the art scene has moved out of Sante Fe and Taos and moved south to Silver City and you have a very artsy-hippie kind of scene. The downtown area has become very vibrant with art galleries and shops, organic food markets, and original types of shops. While you still have the original population in the town, these new vibe has created a whole new dynamic in the town. It’s been very interesting to watch this morph over the years.
I enjoy going – and I enjoy coming home afterwards as well. As much as I say that I’m from New Mexico… when I get down there I find myself in this odd-dimension where I don’t quite fit in.
I will say this… I love love love the warm light that they have down there. I get tired of the clouds and blue-colored light we get here in Seattle, so having something different to work with is the best!! Here are a few snapshots from our trip!
I seriously think this is one of the BEST coffee houses I’ve ever been to – anywhere. It’s called Javalina and not only do they make an outstanding cup of coffee there, the place is just absolutely awesome. They have all these toys and books for kids, which makes going and chatting with my family that much better, free wi-fi (about the only place in town with wi-fi to begin with!), and the atmosphere is to die-for. I could spend hours just hanging out there… as it was I hit it up every single day.
Of course, since the light is so yummy, I blackmailed my three year old into a session together. She didn’t want to take a nap… so I told her that if she didn’t want to nap, she had to take pictures with mommy. She is just starting to now mug for the camera, and she was more than happy to take advantage of the “no-nap” opportunity, so I went outside and she gave me about 40 minutes worth of awesome shots. I have so many great ones I have no idea how to choose. But I love this one – she’s kind of a serious and mischievous kid, and I just feel like the look on her face just captures HER.
This is the sunset as we were driving from Lordsburg to Silver City. It really does show the remoteness of the locale when you look and see nothing for hundreds of miles!
I did a senior high-school session with my cousin while there. I captured one of my most favorite photos EVER with her – so I’m excited to share that once Steve processes her photos! So stay tuned for that in the near future!
Featuring: Jen Williams | Seattle Boudoir Photographer
A couple of weeks ago my good friend, Jen Williams, was in town to take the Jesh de Rox workshop in downtown Seattle. Jen and I met a little over a year ago and quickly developed a great and friendly relationship. Like myself, Jen is a boudoir photographer based in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, but is relocating to Vancouver, British Columbia this year. I’m so excited to have her closer to me soon! We bond talking about all sorts of things, but both of us have boudoir specialities, which gives us a really unique perspective at times.
I have to admit that boudoir is hot right now. Every photographer wants to be a boudoir photographer, but not all do it well. Jen definitely does it well though and is always a constant inspiration to me. We bounce ideas and thoughts around, we are able to commiserate with one another when things are tough, and we laugh a lot… because a lot of our conversations are probably pretty inappropriate for polite company!
She did a series of headshots for me, plus she took some amazing photos of me with my little baby girl Julie, when we were out just spending the afternoon together. We grabbed some lunch down by Pike Place Market and then took a walk along the waterfront, stopped at Myrtle Edwards Park and then headed to the airport when she had to leave. All in all, a pretty good day.
Steve’s Corner; Transplanting a moment
There is a lot of things I could do when it comes to processing photos and laying out albums.
That doesn’t mean I ever do it.
I want Whimsical photos and albums to be something the client cherishes for a lifetime. I want them (photos and albums) to be but a glimpse into the clients life, not to invade and transform them into something that they are not, or to create a moment that never happened. That is the reason I have set down strict rules and guidelines on myself to follow.
Things like pimples and stretch lines; I’ll gladly take those out. They don’t represent you in the slightest, so I’ll gladly remove them and never say a word about it. But that slowly flows into the subject about what I can do. Yes, I could remove your extra 20 pounds. If that is your thinking why stop there; I’ll give you a third eye and change your shoe size from a size 6 to a 46.
What I’m getting at is this; I want our photography to be something that captures you, the real you, at the moment we flip out our cameras and start clicking.
But what happens when the moment shared by two lovers on their wedding day happens, just not in the perfect place?
That is a game changer!
Now, to start off with my dopey disclaimer; I have to stress there are dozens of factors that play into the fact that this can be done, and the result came out perfectly seamless. With a lot of work. This particular example took me 15 hours, and it was easy when compared to what it could have been. That should tell you the difficulty of the project which was just one photo.
It all started when Susan returned from Seattle with files of Annie & Peter’s wedding. After processing a bunch and laying them out in their album, I got to the family page (Annie and Peter’s parents, and a group shot of the wedding party) and I hit a stopping point. I wanted to keep the style of the album consistent, so the logical big spread shot would be the two kissing. So after a long search I found the photo:
I loved it; Susan told me a bunch about them, and from what I understood Peter is really funny. So I looked at the photo and imagined that this couple had a lot of these kinds of moments. The problem: Susan and Jocinda (Susan’s 2nd assistant shooter) had a ton of the couple in front of that art piece in front of the Hotel Murano (that green “V” in the back). I had already used photos from that series in the album so I didn’t want to repeat the same old place again.
Where the family had taken their photos were on the top of the building with a view of Mt. Rainier. One photo gave me the idea:
It’s horrible in the area of exposure (you can never get the two to match when the two are so far apart, a duel exposure in the computer is needed) plus the obvious fact there was no kissing. So I had the foreground (the classic laughing/kiss I just needed the mountain, plain with nothing in front of it.) After clicking through dozens of photos I found it:
I had to match the two together. After carefully cutting them out and dozens of global and local adjustment layers later I matched them visually to appear they were shot under the same light:
There is one really obvious clue that doesn’t make the photo look realistic; the direction of the light. The sun is coming from the right on the mountain, and left on Annie’s hair. Well, since flipping the mountain horizontally is out of the question, I will have to flip Annie & Peter. Things that have to change when flipped:
1) The ring. Have to switch hands.
2) Peter’s flower pinned to his tux.
3) Annie’s parting of her hair. Out of the three, this was the hardest.
Through a slew of borrowing parts from different photos and using adjustment layers, you get a final main image:
I had to plan out everything about the final spread before I even got started at the beginning. The final spread in the album:
I like to think that my design alongside Susan’s photography is what makes Whimsical better than the other hundreds of photographers out there. From the moment Susan picks up her camera all the way to me sending the final images to the printer or album company we strive to be better than our competitors. Sometimes its the smallest things. Like this; it seems small until you dissect it and show all the work put in to it.
Kayla’s Boudoir Sneak Peak | Seattle Boudoir
I met up with the gorgeous Kayla on Sunday afternoon to do her boudoir session. All I can say is she is smokin’ hot. And gorgeous. And as sweet as pie. We seriously had a blast shooting together and she was up for anything! So here is a little sneak peak of what more there is to come.
WPPI Workshop Boudoir Album | Las Vegas Boudoir
I’m a little late in blogging this… but I think it’s definitely worth talking about.
At the beginning of March, I packed up my husband and baby, and headed down to Las Vegas for the annual Wedding & Portrait Photographer International convention (WPPI). This convention and trade show is amazing spanning everything the photography industry has to offer. Class selections are outstanding, parties are a blast, the trade show is mind-boggling, and getting to spend time with my friends is just priceless.
About 2 days before leaving, I decided to sign up for a boudoir workshop held by the amazing Jennifer Skog. It was such an honor to meet her in the first place, but to incorporate what she taught me, with what I already do… well… I just feel like it is taking my work to an entirely different level. We shot this session with a real woman (not a professional model – but a former client of Jen’s!) in a beautiful suite at The Palms hotel. Steve and I decided to play with some of the images to show on the blog.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about this workshop was the opportunity to have some one-on-one time posing the model. Usually when doing a workshop, the presenter will pose and light the model, then all the participants will shoot from there – and everyone comes away with amazing images because the presenter did all the hard work! Well, Jen gave us each 15-20 minutes with the model to light and pose her ourselves. That was such a great treat because not only do I feel like I learned a lot that I can already incorporate into my style, I was able to get real-world experience in application right then and there. So. Much. Fun.
Anyway, I love Jen and it was an amazing experience. I had a blast and learned a ton.
NOTE: If you are at all offended by nudity (or you are under 18 years of age)… DO NOT TURN THESE PAGES.
Enjoy!!
Nursery Contest Winner – Madelyn | Auburn Child
And the winner of the nursery contest is…. Madelyn!!
Madelyn is 14 months old and she was an absolute doll! Seriously… look at her face! Mom and Dad were absolutely and totally welcoming and I haven’t had that much fun with a little one in quite a while. Heather (Mom) invited me over to their house on a Sunday afternoon – a rainy, cold, stormy Sunday at that. She had done an incredible job in decorating little Maddie’s room as every single detail was absolutely perfect. I only wish that I had that much energy to do my own girls’ nursery’s! To say I was impressed is a total understatement!
Taking tones of pink, green, white and lavender that were present in the room, Steve did a series of photographs that I think work perfectly together. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, our blog and our entire brand has gone through a re-design recently and we are incorporating our new look across the board. We’ve been working and tweaking our styling over the last year, but for the first time, I feel like all the elements have come together really cohesively! We’ve been adding a lot of textures, overlays and color to our images with our wedding and boudoir work for quite a while, but now we’re incorporating our children/family work as well. I really we’re taking everything to a whole new level!
Thank you Clark family for inviting me into your home. Madelyn is a true blessing; it was an honor to work with all of you!
Jessica & Andy | Seattle Engagement
Puerto Rico. Rincon Beach Resort. Andy and Jessica are getting married there – and taking me with them in June!
This awesome couple met on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2007, while at a party together. They hit it off at the party and went on their first date shortly after. This past New Year’s Eve, Andy popped the question to Jessica right before heading to a party! Neither of these two are originally from Seattle. Jessica grew up in Oregon and moved up here to be with friends and now works as a nurse at Virginia Mason. Andy is originally from Georgia, went to Auburn University and now works for Boeing as an in-flight engineer.
These two are sweet and funny together! Andy is totally the life of the party and the minute he walks into the room, you can see how Jessica just gravitates to him, and him to her. They bring out such a wonderful side in the other person and they love each other so sweetly. I’m honored to be a part of their lives!
We started their engagement session at the Ballard Locks around sunset. It was an absolutely PERFECT day for photos – I couldn’t believe our luck in March. It was still a bit chilly, but that didn’t matter because it was so sunny and gorgeous. Then we moved onto the Seattle Center. Jessica had asked me to stay away from any cliche shots that we might find around Seattle. I don’t do ‘cliche’ well anyway, so it was a perfect request on her part! Well, her eyebrows raised just a bit when I said “Seattle Center.”
But I had a plan…
About 3 weeks prior to our scheduled date, I took my girls up to the Seattle Children’s Museum for the afternoon. I parked and as I was walking to the museum, I passed the Experience Music Project. For those that aren’t from Seattle, the EMP has a strange architecture with lots of reflective, colored panelling. The problem is, I think every single photographer in Seattle has shot some sort of image there. Jessica thought I was a little crazy, but ultimately I think that the shot turned out super romantic and not at all cliche!
Jessica & Andy: Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your wedding. I am so excited to be spending 4 days with you and your families in Puerto Rico – I feel so blessed to share a portion of our lives! Hope you enjoy your album!
Hillory & Troy | Seattle Engagement
I first met Hillory this past January when she asked to meet with me after attending a wedding where I shot the photographs. After an hour of sitting and chatting, I think we both knew. We liked each other… a lot. It was just so easy and natural to be friendly with her. That night she sent me an e-mail saying that they wanted to book their Mexican destination wedding with me. It’s always an honor to be invited to shoot someone’s wedding. But it just floors me when someone invites me to spend 4 days with their family documenting their nuputials in a far-away tropical destination.
This year has been huge in terms of booking destination weddings – I currently have 3 on the books!
Their wedding is next January, on the Isla Mujeres, but we did their engagement session two weeks ago here in Seattle. This way we could prepare their save-the-date cards, their engagement guest book, and so they have some nice photos for their wedding preparation.
Hillory and Troy met one another at paramedic school and both work full time as paramedics now, although for different fire departments. I had no idea that Troy wasn’t so keen on pictures until after the session was over. But he was totally game for anything and everything! Both are fun to be around and conversation was totally easy. When we were planning I asked Hillory what she was looking for in a final product and she said she wanted light, fun, happy, smiley, and love-y and something that incorporated cherry blossoms and water. Can do.
Since the cherry blossoms bloomed early this year, I choose one of my most favorite places to view the gorgeous trees – the Quad at the University of Washington. I spent 5 years walking on that campus and every spring I would spread a blanket on a warm day, in the grass, and try and study (but usually ended up falling asleep). After we were done there, we walked down to south campus and rented a canoe to take out into the Arboretum. The sun was gorgeous that day and perfect for some photos.
Hillory and Troy, in addition to save the date cards, also chose for us to do a small 8×8 engagement guest book. This book has a photo on the right side and then open space on the left side for guests and friends to sign at the wedding. This is the perfect way to display the engagement images at the wedding and then also a perfect keepsake of their engagement time!
Hillory & Troy: Thank you again for such a wonderful day! I had a blast with the both of you and I’m so excited about your wedding!