Anchorage Wedding Fair

Sunday I stepped into a ballroom to set up a 10x10 curtained space with the essence of me and my photography. I had spent countless hours making decisions and changing my mind and fretting over what the day would be like. It was the Anchorage Wedding Fair ... my first wedding fair. If you saw me there and stopped by to say hello and talk to me. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! You have no idea how much it meant to me that you made eye contact and answered, "When are you getting married?" for what I am sure was the 100th time that day. And if you were one of the handful of people that stopped long enough to sit in my pink chair... you made my day and I want to buy you loads of chocolate. But if you were the girls that asked me to take a photo with your iphone of you in my pink chair... you bring tears to my eyes and I want you to be my new best friends.

Thanks to all the amazing women that I met. I can't wait to hear about your wedding!

Here is my booth...




Don't you just love the rug?!

Samples

With the Anchorage Wedding Fair last weekend, I have been busy getting some projects finished up and printed to show off. I am so excited about how these turned out.

This first one is a mini 4x4 album printed on photographic paper, mounted beautifully, and bound with leather. The bride album that I offer in my collections is the larger 10x10 version of this book. This little 4x4 album is an exact copy of the bride's album but is perfect to add to a collection as a parent gift.


They even come with a stylish cloth slip cover.




I created this book from Liz and Jordan's Engagement Session. I designed it as a guestbook that they will use in place of a traditional guestbook at the wedding. Guests can write notes and sign the white spaces around the couple's amazing photos. Then the guestbook becomes a treasure of photos and notes from guests. I was able to show this sample to Liz at the Wedding Fair yesterday, and she was so excited about it that she kept sending friends and family by the booth to see it.



These books have a hinged binding so that they lay flat.




Printed on gorgeous heavy paper, the images look amazing.


This album has a custom designed cover.

Ahhh, Alaska

My first snow machining (snowmobiling to everyone outside of Alaska) trip in a very long time... and it was wonderful. Despite getting stuck a number of times and fighting an albatross of a sled behind my machine, it was a spectacular day. I had quite a bit of down time to look around and take photos while my riding partner rode ahead to find the easiest way to our destination.



Getting ready to head out of the parking lot.



The albatross that followed me, got me stuck again and again, and now lives under the cabin in the woods.





Denali (aka Mt. McKinley) out in full that day.



Checking to make sure I am still there. Sometimes I wasn't...



The first time I was stuck. Note the depth of the snow... it got much deeper.



This one's for you, Wade.



This is where I called my little brother to let him know where I was. Just so he wouldn't worry, of course. ;-) Not a bad view for the 15 minutes I spent there.



We had just got me out of another hole when I spotted this... no time for digging when you have beautiful light, like this!



And then I turned around to see this... and had to put the toys away to help.



The sun was starting to set about the time we made it to the cabin. You can see the last blush of sunset on the mountains.





We stopped at the cabin for about 30 minutes to unload, eat some lunch, and write in the cabin journal.



We were about half way back to the truck and stopped for one last shot of the mountains. A beautiful end to an amazing day. I love Alaska!

Weddings on My Mind

The Anchorage Wedding Fair is coming January 24th and I have been busily preparing for my debut. I am looking forward to talking to all of the excited brides of 2010. If you are in the area I hope you drop by my booth to say hi.

Winds of Change

A couple of times each winter the winds start howling down the Susitna Valley and blast us for a few days. Last weekend was one of those blustery occasions. You might remember a few weeks ago when my front yard looked like a frosted fairyland. Well, it isn't anymore.

Before


After




It looked like the trees had been at war with one another with all of carnage in my yard. We had 4 tree casualties, one in critical condition, and several severely injured. I do believe that the Ents are on the march again. (for all my Tolkien friends)

Here is one of the casualties...


Before


After the wind blew the top right off the bird feeder... and it isn't light either.



On a positive note: We had 4 inches of fluffy white snow today. It covered the dismal scene quite nicely.

Sanford Family

On a chilly afternoon I ventured to Matanuska River Park near Palmer with the Sanford family. Maybe chilly is too mild of word. It was cold! But it was a beautiful. We had to work quickly because we were all starting to freeze. I even had to take a break to run to may car and thaw out my fingers because I wasn't sure I was actually pushing my focus button. The images turned out great, thanks to the adventurous clan. Thanks, Sanfords, for risking your digits for the shoot. And for a fantastic post-Thanksgiving feast.

Here are a few favorites. Click here for the entire slideshow.

Christmas Party with Santa

Before the Christmas season gets too far behind us, I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite shoots of December. I spent the evening with Santa... Santa Steve and Elf Stephanie. They were amazing with the kids and adults.

Karla Delong of Karla Delong Weddings coordinated the event for KLEBS,and did an awesome job juggling all the details. Jan Prescott's Alaska Dream Catering did a fantastic job with adult and kid-friendly food. And we were all entertained by the talented Joe and Lona D'entrone, All in all a wonderful Christmas party.

Here a peak at the fun we had.

Happy New Year!

It is just crazy to me that 10 years ago we were worried about Y2K and welcoming in the new millennium. But here we are at the starting line of our 2010 journey. Alaska welcomed the new year in at chilly below zero temperatures. But the coldness allowed for a crisp clear day. I took a drive that I have taken many a new year day, up to Hatcher Pass. It was nice to sit in my warm car and gaze at the beautiful, shining world and think about the past year and dream about the future. Here was my view on New Year's Day at noon. Not a bad view with which to ponder life.


Looking back at 2009.
This was such an amazing travel year that took me through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Brazil, Alabama, California, Idaho, Montana, England, and landing back in Alaska after a 3 year departure. In 2009 I walked on perfectly wind-shaped sand dunes, touched ancient cactus, hiked through the jungle in search of monkeys, picked tropical fruit, swam in the Amazon, gazed at the perfect shade of red ever to adorn a mountain in Sedona, drove thousands of highway miles pulling a 23 foot camper trailer, had high tea at Princess Di's house, took an elevator deep inside Carlsbad caverns for a spectacular site, saw the Rosetta stone and several mummies, wore a beautiful bridesmaid dress for a dear friend, toured the home of Henry the VIII and his unfortunate wives, photographed an uneasy volcano at 2am, soaked in original paintings by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Monet, and picked blueberries with an incredible view... just to name a few.

The biggest change in my world this year is that I get paid to use my camera! Starting my own business has been an amazing journey of learning and growing. So I must include in my review of the year... photographing blushing brides and handsome grooms, stylish high school seniors, sweet babies, and fantastic families.

However, with all of my travels and experiences this year, I cherish the time I spent with my family and friends, old and new. The many, many games of Hand and Foot, stories, shopping, hiking, laughing, sledding, talking, eating, crying, swimming, photographing, listening, learning and sharing. My life is rich because of you. Thank you for sharing your life with me.

Happy New Year!