And the winner is...

 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our raffle this month, by donating or sharing with friends! Every little bit brings Cat closer to reaching her goal - a chance at a life saving surgery and getting to live her life more fully.

Please continue to follow her journey on Facebook. Share it with everyone so she can reach her goal, and stop by to offer some encouragement. She has been in the hospital for a month now, away from her daughter and friends, on a visit that was only supposed to last a few days. As a mother, I can only imagine the pain of being away from my baby a whole month. So let's send some love her way!

Now, on to the excitement!

We have three prizes up for grabs:

One grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! (Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.)

Two secondary prizes: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

Without further ado, our randomly chosen winners:

Grand prize: Keisha Reis

Secondary prizes:  Brie Chelton and Chrysoula Tsavelas

To everyone who participated, a heartfelt THANK YOU.  I was so nervous picking the numbers tonight and made my husband do it since I truly wish I could issue a prize to each and every person.  Congrats again to the winners - I'll be in touch!

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a little glam

A bit of glam to share with you today.  I love doing individual portraits, and this was an especially fun session. I can't believe I'm just now blogging it!

 

 Meet my wonderful friend, Brie!  We took a bit of time out of her visit from Oregon to make some portraits that highlight every little bit of her beauty. 

Personally, I think everyone deserves to see themselves in this way and I love capturing it for people.  I myself certainly need some photographic reminders after a long day (or week) in which I may or may not have made it out of jammies, let alone gotten to brush my hair. Sometimes we get lost in ourselves and forget that the beauty is there all the time, no matter what. :O)  Hey, well I did say that these are some of my favorite kinds of sessions! 


P.S.  If you haven't entered the raffle yet, make sure you do before the end of the week! It's for a great cause, and you, too, could enjoy a relaxing afternoon just feeling beautiful and have portraits to show for it. :O)

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A raffle like no other!

**A big post today! Please take the time to read it through, because at the end there is a great opportunity for everyone!**


For most moms, life with a baby is busy, exhausting, and full of little gripes like, 'Augh! Another tantrum leaving the park today!' Or, 'Oh man, going on a walk with a toddler is torturously slow.' Few of us take the time to really consider what a treat it is to have the ability to experience all the ups and downs of keeping up with a child.

I'd like like to introduce you to my dear friend, Catherine. She is an amazing mom and wishes only to have the chance to enjoy the wondrous bits of life that most moms cherish without a second thought. But with Sickle Cell Anemia and Pulmonary Hypertension, the cards are stacked against her. She has been on constant oxygen since the birth of her daughter, Ava, 17 months ago, and has made it through many difficult trials including coma, lung collapse, and extended hospital stays far from home. All the while she meets life with enthusiasm, and stays strong to be there for her daughter as she grows.

If you have never had watch your child learn to walk and wish you could hold her finger while she explores her new found talents, consider yourself lucky. If you've never had to wish you could twirl your child through the air or explain to her why you can't pick her up, consider yourself lucky. If you can make it through an entire book and groan about how many times you have to read it again, consider yourself lucky. If you have never sat in a hospital bed and hoped your baby would remember you when you come home, consider yourself lucky. If you have never had to pray that your child will have you by her side at her birthday this year and next, then you are truly lucky.

All you amazingly lucky people, this is where you come in! Catherine is blessed with wonderful family, friends, and doctors and has a chance at a life-changing surgery this summer, but she needs help getting there. A fundraiser has been set up to gather the funds to get her across the country where doctors are waiting to evaluate her candidacy.

I will be raffling off one complete portrait session, a $650 value!

Don't worry, if you aren't in the Pacific Northwest, since there will be secondary prizes that can be shipped anywhere. Each entry is $10, and you may enter as many times as you'd like.  Be sure to pass the word on, since the more entries I receive, the more prizes I will add to the pot!   It's a win-win situation, all around!

How to enter:  Please use the button on the top of this blog to purchase tickets. They are $10 a piece and you may enter as many times as you'd like. Each one brings you closer to winning, and brings Catherine closer to realizing her cross country trip and freedom from oxygen tanks! It's win-win. :0). 

As more raffle tickets are purchased, I will add more secondary prizes, so keep sharing with your friends all over the country!

I am very excited to have this raffle to offer my clients, fans and friends, so please share as much as you can! The more the merrier! (You will find more details below.)

You can get to know Catherine better and follow along on her journey here on her San Diego or Bust! page. Words of encouragement are always welcome!

And Cat, I plan for this to be you and Ava next summer- one more dream come true:

               (Portrait by Alta Dawne Photography)

Details: 

Grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.

Secondary prize: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

The raffle begins today and will last through June 1st at 9pm Seattle time. All proceeds will benefit San Diego or Bust. Portrait session may be redeemed in the greater Seattle, Portland, and Corvallis areas. Secondary prizes will be shipped worldwide. Prizes may not be redeemed for cash. If winner cannot redeem grand prize, winner may choose from the secondary prizes and a new grand prize winner will be chosen.

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Miss Elodie

Don't you think Elodie is just the sweetest name? It's a perfect fit for this little darling.

Elodie's portraits were nice and laid back (my favorite kind!) since her mama just happens to be a photographer.

We missed out on her true newborn portraits since she surprised her mama a few weeks early. It made for a fun session, though, since she was the size of a newborn but interacted like a 4 week old. 

Jen, congratulations! You have certainly found yourself a keeper.

P.S. Be sure to pop over to Elodie's page to check out the rest of the images in her slideshow!

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Sweet peek - Isla

So excited to share this sneak peek with you!  So excited, in fact that I just had to add in a few extra images because this new family is just so flippin cute.



If you have ever welcomed a new baby into your family, you'll remember this feeling so well.  Just staring down at that little one, enamored with every feature, wondering how it could be possible that just a few days earlier you had never even met.



And this moment... newborns are so impossibly small and perfect.


Thank you, Jennifer and Jonathan! It was such a privilege to visit during these most precious newborn days, so that you can remember them forever.

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The Ice Storm

I never saw a wild thing 
sorry for itself. 
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough 
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

David Herbert Lawrence.

 

The ice storm was beautiful and terrible. It crippled our trees and set our region at a stand still- cold, immobile, and in awe at the kind of natural acts we so rarely see here.

All night we listened helplessly to the crash of trees as the weight of the ice snapped them in half and ripped them apart, branch by branch.  The scene the next morning was unbelievable. Our hearts ached for the trees, in disbelief that nature would do this to her own. 

The roads still look like this, lined with destruction no one will ever finish clearing. I wonder how long it will be before we no longer notice it there, no longer notice the roads lined with scattered pieces of trees, and forget how the proudest once stood, whole and flourishing.

The destruction is in every direction - undeniable and overwhelming.  And yet, it's not the way of nature to linger on it as we do. There's no pity in storms, no sorrow in the destruction they leave. Leaves will bud out this spring, proud and unaware of the winter's cruelty. Trees will not ache for their lost limbs or fallen neighbors. Those that do not make it become part of the earth again and nourish the saplings that will replace them.

The ones that survive will continue to stand strong, no matter the weather, and stretch their branches towards the sky.

 

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Tidbit #9

Editing a most beautiful, rewarding (pitch dark) birth tonight. The genuine strength, energy, and love at a birth are amazing to witness.  Births are truly my favorite thing to photograph.

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Tidbit #5

This afternoon Dave came home on lunch and rocked Lia to sleep.

Then again tonight, completely out of our routine, I did the same.

I sang this.
And this.
(As usual.)

Her little head kept popping up, swaying a little more each time, dropping down a little heavier each time.

I hope that little head will forever fit so perfectly in the nook of my collarbone, my cheek resting gently on her sweet, silky hair.

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Memories and Tidbits

You may have seen this circulating around over the past few days: Portraits Are More Than Paper

It hits home for a lot of us. We take pictures out of habit, in hopes that we might ever get them up on Facebook, or even into albums and scrapbooks. But what happens when they are all we have left of someone we love?  The simplest snapshot takes on new meaning when someone in it is no longer with us.

I just came across the picture above - a little selfie I took in August with my point and shoot. I love this moment. Our days are so full that even though I might remember feeling this way, I doubt I could ever recall the moment without a photograph, and certainly Lillia never will.

It's not about getting your portraits done. Its about existing in living memory. Sure, not every moment needs a camera - but the sweetest moments need memories. We don't pass down spoken memories as societies used to, so it only makes sense that there is a shift in the way we maintain our history. A picture is one of many simple ways to do just that.

It doesn't matter how you capture your memories - just do it. Jot down your favorite moments of that day. Take a snapshot with your phone. HAND YOUR CAMERA OFF TO SOMEONE so that you are in a picture. Guess what? Your family loves you for who you are, and if you're avoiding the camera, you're depriving them of preserving memories they love.

That one letter has spurred a memory revolution - feel free to join in any way you would like. What am I doing to make sure my girls remember our beautiful, imperfect life?

I've started a 366 Tidbits Project.  (Yes, indeedy! It's a leap year!)

I'll be jotting down one tidbit each day and posting it here (informally, and not necessarily with a picture - gotta keep it simple, people!). I haven't kept up on the girls' monthly letters, and I feel their memories melting together and drifting away, which I hate.

So check back here for 366 days of tidbits - things I noticed, something quirky about my day, something that inspired me or made me giggle. It coincides nicely with my second project 365 that I started in October (which you can view here).  Hopefully through this, the girls will get to know the me they loved before they were old enough to really remember. 

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SWEET!

(cupcakes by: Trophy Cupcakes (omgsogood), decorative wrappers by: Bella Cupcake Couture)

Tomorrow I will be joining the live audience at the CreativeLIVE studio for a holiday cupcake and cookie decorating class. I couldn't be more excited! If you haven't heard of CreativeLIVE, run -do not walk- to their website. They offer amazing courses (most often about photography, but creativity has no limits!) that are FREE when viewed live, and are offered at an amazing price as downloads. It's a world wide classroom at its finest.

So you can imagine how stoked I am to get to learn about delicious decorations in this amazing manner! I love baking, but let's just say I lean towards unfinished cookies and cakes with messy toppings, because I can never get icing just right. I cannot wait to learn!

I hope you'll join me in the morning by tuning in LIVE, and if you can't make it, I'm sure the class will be more than worth purchasing the download.

P.S. If you know me even a little, you will know just how bad my sweet tooth can be! Don't get your hopes up that any finished delicacies will actually make it out of my kitchen, unless it's to pose for a portrait!

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Reflecting

One thing I love about photography is that it may be cold outside and ready to snow, but I can lose myself in an image and just like that, it's summer again. For a moment, Bella is newly three, the sun is bright, laughter is everywhere, and the air smells of grass and dandelions.



And then, back to my hot chocolate and dark cozy windows and I trudge nostalgically through a year of family photos. :O)

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Golden

Boy, do I have a great sneak peek for you tonight!

This was a session thrice rescheduled, and we were so lucky to catch one of the last days of beautiful evening sunlight. My favorites are below - I couldn't help but share a few more than usual!

What a family! Ashwin is the perfect mixture of sweet, goofy, and energetic. He was all over the place exploring the park.

Such a gorgeous evening, and such a delightful time spent with friends! We also did a few head shots during this session for Tara's business, Startup Recroot, so there's more to come!

P.S. My parents moved cross country to join us here and my schedule gets busier every day! I'm working on posts left and right and can't wait to share some of this year's favorite client slideshows with you soon.  :O)

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A bit on hair

I'm not really big on doing hair. Bella didn't need a hair cut until she was two, and I started trimming it mostly to keep it from tangling and hanging in her eyes. After her third birthday I gave her bangs, which I trimmed again this week (but they seem so plain). I think next time I will try to go for this look again, which she had in April. It is the perfect shape.

And don't mind Bella. She was burning up with 103 degree fever this day, but thoroughly enjoying a movie in her new birthday dress.

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April

One I found of Bella from April.  I'm chipping away at our family photos, little by little.

I also have some great sessions to share. Time to get blogging!

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Sweet evening

 Tonight I had a wonderful evening out on the town with several other photographers ... cupcakes and great company! What a winning combination! This was our view as the sun set lower and lower over the Olympics.

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The sound

A visit to the sound. Such a beautiful day, and well worth the drive. The clouds lifted and the Olymics came out to enjoy the sunlight. I wish we could have stayed til sunset.

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Flying High

Sommmmebody turned two last week!

Here's her sneak peek. She gets more and more beautiful every time I see her!

Can't wait to share the highlights of her birthday party! TWO cupcakes for one adorable two-year-old. :O)

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An oldie

An oldie but goodie. Lillia was three days old.

 

Today was a day full of disappointments and toe stubbing and missed naps and all sorts of rain clouds (even real ones that pour rain).  In the end it all worked out, but in the thick of it that's when I need an image like this on every wall of the house. Because they really are that wonderful, and Bella still dotes on Lia as she has from day one. Lia couldn't have picked a better big sister.

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A very good morning

Oh my goodness, there is so much I could say about what an amazing time I had with this family last week.  They invited me into their home on a very special day and fully embraced capturing the beautiful, everyday moments. I love this image so much!

 

Pancake mornings are a favorite tradition of ours, too, and this moment is exactly why.  More soon!

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One more

I fell in love with this image the first moment I saw it.

I've finally finished this session, so no more swing portraits for a bit... unless you want to invite me over to your swing set!

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