On the Run

The last two weeks have been racing by and I need to blog for you. I have several posts brewing. Including The project, another wedding shoot, some great Alaska bonfire time, a new to me car, and wearing a bridesmaid dress.

I am processing Luke and Mayerly's wedding photos in between other events, as well. This is a Thank You card I worked up for them. I like how it turned out. What do you think?

Luke and Mayerly Fischer

Outdoor weddings in Alaska can be tricky.

There is always the obvious chance of rain. Then you can't forget the ever present mosquito. It could turn cold or be 80 degrees. So we all held our breath after a very soggy rehearsal on Friday night. Saturday threatened rain, and some liquid sunshine fell. But it was only brief showers and beautiful clouds. The day was awesome thanks to the work of Karla of Karla Delong Weddings, and the ever-willing Fischer clan that put up the giant blue and white striped tent.

Luke and Mayerly were so relaxed. My favorite part of the day was when I had them all to myself for portraits. It was fun to see their easy smiles and joyful laughter.

Here is a sneak peak of the day and the link for the slide show!

THE Project - Part 2

Here are a few long-awaited photos of the deck project that so many of you have been clambering to see. Just today the joists starting going up. I obviously need to catch up on this project for you. Enjoy... and yes, the wedding photos will be coming soon. It takes awhile to process that many images!

Website Update

It was 80 degrees here in Alaska today. And it was wonderful! The only thing that could have made it better would have been if I had spent the day camping or at least enjoying the outdoors with friends.

As you might have noticed, I am slowly transforming this blog into my photography blog. I tried to keep up with two blogs, but just couldn't make it happen. So this will be my main blog. I will attempt to include bits of my life and photography all wrapped together. Which, in reality, are quite hard to separate anyway.

I spent a little time working on my website today. It needed a little tweaking and a few added pages. Check out my changes.

Today's photo is in honor of the big wedding I have the honor of photographing this weekend. A little wedding inspiration.

Luke and Mayerly

Luke and Mayerly are two of the most kind-hearted, generous people I know. I watched them grow up and now have the honor of photographing their wedding next weekend. In anticipation of Luke and Mayerly's wedding, Marie (my second shooter) and I went out for a shoot with Luke and Mayerly. They took us to the home that Luke has been building for them. They looked great in the truly Alaskan surroundings and their future home.






Here is Luke and Mayerly's slideshow.

PS Awesome job, Marie! The top right one is Marie's and I LOVE it!

Newborn Shoot

A little over a week ago I had the honor of meeting little Jordan. She was kind enough to let me hold her and introduce myself before I pulled out my camera. She is a beautiful baby and I am so happy for my dear friends. Thanks for letting me photograph your sweet one!

Her slide show is here.

Morgan's Wedding Shower

Last weekend I had the honor of photographing the lovely Morgan's wedding shower. It was the most beautiful wedding shower ever. Here are a few photos to tease you. I have put up a slideshow of images from the afternoon. Click Here to see the slide show. You want to go, it is worth it!



What a view!


The most delicious lemon cake I have ever tasted!

THE Project

Here is a fun slide show I created with a new piece of software I just got. It was a good excuse to learn my new program.

Hope you enjoy the transformation. There will be more to come as the new deck gets added on.

Alaska in Summer

For those who have never been to Alaska in summer, it is akin to a spiritual experience. I am claiming this as my excuse to not blogging lately. The weather has been simply divine and I am having a very hard time staying indoors. This makes many things take a back seat to the heavenly scents that blow through the trees.

Although there is much that is to savor, we have been working on THE project around here. Removing and replacing our very large deck. It had been showing its age and started to become a health hazard as more and more boards rotted through. I do have a progression of photos of its demise, but they are yet to be uploaded to the computer. Maybe tomorrow... it is suppose to rain.

Back in the USA

What a great adventure the last two weeks have been. A fantastic way to spend a birthday, but I am glad to be home. Here is a little slideshow of some of my favorite photos of the trip.

Still Here

I haven't blogged in a few days. Amy showed up on Thursday and Lorrie left this morning. We had tea at Kensington Gardens, saw Wicked the musical, found a normal shopping area, went to the British Museum, heard Vivaldi at St Martins-on-the-Green, and lots more. Just a few more days.

The Tower of London

Today we spent 5 hours at the Tower of London. I think I am starting to pick up on the British history and line of kings. Our guide was Fell, today. He was a Yoeman Warder and had a fantastic sense of humor. Wish I could share his photo with you on this post, but no way to get it to you yet.

Amy comes tomorrow morning.

PS Sarah, I saw where 3 of the 6 wives' were buried and thought of you all day. Glad to hear you are still in Wasilla ;-) I will know where to find you with your London treasure I picked up for you.

Oxford

We spent the day in Oxford... so much history is such a small area. Time is a bookstore, dinner in a pub, a lovely guide named Charles that taught us all about Oxford and British history, evensong at Christ Church College chapel. One lovely day!

Across the Pond

So things never quite work out like you plan. Murphy's law is in effect especially in the case of travel. I made it to Chicago with no problem. But the next morning when I was checking in for my flight at 7am, I was informed that it had been canceled and I was rescheduled for the 5pm flight. There went my hopes of flying during the day and arriving at night. Then after a phone conference with Lorrie, who had received a 4am call about the cancellation which I had missed, we discovered that we were no longer seated next to each other. At one point, just before the flight we thought we had fixed the seat arrangement only to find stubborn neighbors that would not be persuaded to change with us. So I sat with a young mom, pinned in my bulkhead seat by a bassinet and Lorrie with a grumpy woman 10 rows back.

We arrived at 6am, stood in a very long customs line, and then took a bus to the hotel we had booked and paid for... but which we only spend 3 short hours in... enough to shower and re-group. The tube took us to our stop and we found our hotel with no problem. The room... 5th floor with no elevator. So we are getting good exercise. We headed out to find a meal and then to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. On our subway ride home it was all we could do to keep our eyes open. We bought sandwiches at the train station and ate them in our room to the BBC and promptly fell asleep with the tv on and still in our clothes. An hour or so later we woke and really went to bed... I think it was 9pm.

This morning we let ourselves sleep in before heading to the British Gallery and Westminster Abby. We had some yummy fish and chips this evening... with terrible service. But here we are back at the hotel and thinking about heading to bed.

More to come...

London

I am going to London for a birthday party! Mine ;-) Two dear friends are meeting me over there. Many people have asked me what my plan for the trip is... I tell them that I have an airline ticket and hotel reservations. That is my plan so far. I will attempt to catch up on my guide book reading on the very long flight from Chicago to London. Then I might have a little more detail in my plan.

I have a layover in Chicago tomorrow and get to spend a little time with my cousin and her husband there. Then across the pond on Saturday with my good friend, Lorrie. I will try to blog while I am over there, but I can't guarantee any photos because I am not taking my computer.

And because it is always nice to add a photo. Here is Tills. I took the fasted senior photos ever yesterday. He was awesome.

A Little Photography

I had a little photo adventure with some of the senior girls last weekend. Here is a shot from the coffee shop when we hung out afterward. And a couple of demo shots that turned out fun.

Launched

I am excited to announce that my website is done! I have spent countless hours in the last four weeks building my website and officially launched the site last Thursday. I am very happy with the results. Check out my labor of love at www.carrielambing.com.



Many thanks goes out to my site testers who helped me work out the bugs. Thanks for making me look so good.

Prom

Meet some of 'my girls". These beautiful ladies became my girls when they were little crazy 6th graders. I have had the honor of being a part of their lives for 7 years. It blows my mind that this weekend was their senior prom. After teaching a 3 hour photography class Saturday afternoon, I ran over to grab a few shots before the handsome boys with corsages swept them out the door. What fun to be a little part of that fun day. I love you guys and I am so proud of you!

The Ryans

Last Sunday I had the honor of taking the Ryans family photo. It isn't very often that they are all together, so it fun to be a part of the celebration. I was so impressed with their great attitudes for our shoot. It it made it a fantastic afternoon and a blast to do my job. I have to add a shout out of thanks to Jeff and Luanna for being my crew. I couldn't have done it without you guys.

I really love how this shot turned out.


The guys wanted a 'band' shot. Little Elise really wanted in on it.


I think Will suggested this shot so that they could stay warm.


The new treehouse was a perfect outdoor spot for the formal shot.


So many blue eyes and beautiful smiles.



All the girls


Sisters. And they really will sing the song for you if you ask.

Thanks Ryan Family! I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Easter

From my mom's chickens to you... hand-dyed by God this Easter just for us.





I hope you had a blessed day!

He is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Home

I made it through selling my car, packing and shipping boxes, past the volcano and landed safely in the Last Frontier.

Yesterday I:
~ was surrounded by loads of wonderful friends that I have missed dearly
~ gasped at the stunning beauty of the snow covered mountains
~ savored the long twilight at 9:30pm
~ ate mac and cheese with one of my favorite people
~ was dwarfed by a 140lb great dane that thinks he is a pup
~ had wonderful coffee at my favorite coffee shop in the world... yep, I said world and that is a lot coming from me
~ remembered all the reasons that I moved back to Alaska

It is good to be home.
(and I do know that reality is going to be a bummer in about 2 weeks)

Going North

I have been in Boise for a week. This is only a temporary stop on my way to Alaska. It has been a busy week of hanging out with kids, catching up with friends, packing and mailing boxes, and selling my car. I don't have a flight to Alaska yet, but I am planning to be up there by Monday. I have been making plans for some digital photography classes in Wasilla in April. Let me know if you are interested. Now if the volcano will calm down enough to let the flights resume like normal.

I did get to do a fun little shoot with these cuties yesterday.