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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On experience and permanence

(The view from my parents' street - processed by my dad.)

My dad and I were walking up his driveway after running down the street to catch the last bit of a beautiful sunset. The driver of the Fed-Ex truck that was backing out stopped to say with relief, Oh, thank goodness someone's got their camera! What a beautiful sunset!  And it occurred to me then, what strange things technology has done to us.  We panic at the thought of losing a memory forever. Even if it's the grainiest phone snapshot and we never again look at it, just the fact that it exists is enough. Someone somewhere has the memory permanently stored, and with that knowledge, we can go back to enjoying our view. Or even turn away from it.

Our winters here are so long. Not the harsh, beating coldness of most northern winters. It's dark, dull, unrelenting gloom.  When we have crisp, clear days, they are treasures that inspire us to make it through the strings of dreary weeks.  I can certainly identify with that overwhelming pull to capture them forever. Some days I long for proof that the sun ever graced my views.

(Taken with my phone, as I stuck my knee in a pile of leafy muddy guck.)

Earlier this week, I ran up and down a few blocks in Seattle trying to get a better vantage point of this amazing sunset.  I wanted to shout, Look! Don't you see it? to every person on the street. Wild eyed and running around, I was snapping phone shots left and right. After I acknowledged my own ridiculousness, and decided to hop in my car and just enjoy it, I passed the Pike Place Market sign, illuminated from behind by these same stunning golden clouds. That was the view I had imagined in my head all along.

In the 1.5 second glimpse I had of the amazing view, all I could think was, "Thank God there are tourists here. Someone will have taken a picture."

P.S. You can bet I was thrilled to see a private plane soaring across the view above. Surely that was their best flight ever.

P.P.S. Who's getting up to see the lunar eclipse in the morning? I'll be waking up my 3 year old to watch with me if the skies stay clear!

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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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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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An Easter Bride

On Easter weekend, I had the privilege of working with Liz of Liz de Puydt Photography, to assist her at her brother Brian's wedding. It just so happens that the bride is also a friend of mine!

You may remember this darling couple from their Holiday Mini Session last fall. Well, Lauren was an absolutely radiant bride.

How do I even begin to describe what a heartfelt wedding this was? Their happiness was infused in every little detail, from the handmade decorations (and her tiara!) to childhood slideshows (yes, I turn to mush around old family photos) and even the toasts that had me laughing so hard I could barely see through my camera.

We had a lucky streak of good weather - an unusual sunny April day. We headed to the Waterfall Garden Park in Pioneer Square for Brian and Lauren's first look.

A few more fun sessions in the alley and then back inside to warm up (literally!) for the big event. Lauren had the most doting bridesmaids cheering her on all day.

Liz's son was the ring bearer, and he rode his skateboard down the aisle. How awesome is that! I kid you not, this was an amazing day with laughter and happiness tucked into every corner.

Lauren and Brian, thank you so much for choosing me to take part in your wedding. It was an absolute treat to witness your families celebrating the beginning of your life together.


Venue - Hotel 1000
Coordinator - Shannon Hernandez
Florals - Onica Hanby

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Love becomes art

I have to chime in about this fun new fad taking over the world.


{photo © Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com}

Love Padlocks!

I think I need to roam around a bit more and see if I can find any in Seattle.

Take a look at love padlocks around the world. I love makes beautiful art.

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Sweet sunlight

Need a little more sunshine to round out this gorgeous day?

This was one of my favorite sessions of 2010. What can I say? The stars aligned; the weather was beautiful and Georgetown is funky and colorful. You may perhaps recognize this family from my public service announcement on How to make a sleepy baby smile or if you follow me on Facebook. It seems like yesterday I was attending her birth.

Haydee was definitely a sleepy bug this afternoon!

I feel so lucky to watch her grow up. She and Lillia are only three weeks apart, and you could not find two more different babies.

I love this moment. Few things are sweeter than little girls with their daddies.

And I'm telling you, their neighborhood is AWESOME! I mean, where else would you find a mural like this in an alley?

Ronnie bundled Haydee up for the walk home and wore her in the Moby Wrap. Personally, I love wearing my girls. It's such a short time when they are small and cuddly, and it makes life so much easier. I can never get enough photos of me wearing my girls. In fact, I have been known to force people to take my picture on occasion.

Haydee went through quite a lot to make it into this world, and I'm so glad she picked Ronnie and Greg to be her parents. Hope you're out enjoying the sun today, little one!

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Sunrise in Kent

A bit of local beauty to start your morning:

This was the view from my front window two mornings ago. Sunrise is my favorite time of day, though I find I rarely ever want to be awake for it anymore. A view like this is a nice trade off for the mornings Lillia wakes me up early - a little treat before the clouds roll in for the day.

Hopefully you will get to enjoy something spectacular this weekend as well!

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A girl walked into a bar...

Oh yes I did.

Unfortunately, because it was a cozy little bar and I was fifteen minutes late because I don't know my right from my left (true story), I swear every person turned towards me for evaluation as I realized there were no seats left, found a spot at the bar and clung to the counter for dear life.

I was a nervous disaster for the first 45 minutes.

Alone! At a bar! With a cool jazz band! And amazing women! And no clue how I would meet any of them. Sure I'm loud once I'm in a group of people I know, but in a room full of strangers (awesome strangers - so much worse!) I would rather be invisible and hide in a corner (preferably behind my invisible camera). Lucky for me, there were no corners left and Karen took her place on stage to read with the band.

Then I had to pee, realized in the bathroom I had an unzipped pocket and no phone, darted out of the bar (hoping Karen wouldn't take it personally), found my phone, came back in, met Darrah, and found that I was still just me and had nothing to fear.

It's very hard to know who you are when you go out alone after years of being in the company of little clingy beings, taking a break only to go out and work. I was on an artist date with myself, struggling to remember what we had in common. And then Karen started talking about confidence and how she got tired of trying to be someone else (I'd get sick of putting product in my hair for 30 years, too...)- not even the person people expected her to be, just the person she thought people expected her to be. The only person making her be someone else was... herself.

I don't mind being alone, so why was I panicked that everyone else would consider me socially inept? The bartender asked which beer I would like, kindly warned me that my choice was bitter, so I laughed and said, It won't matter! It didn't. It all tastes like crap to me and I just wanted something to sip. It was perfect.

It didn't matter when I started taking pictures of the floor. It didn't matter when I smiled at different parts of Karen's book than everyone else. It didn't matter that Karen moved to the music like it was in her soul and I was stiffly leaning against the bar shoveling cheesecake into my mouth. No one there expected me to groove with the music, that's just what I thought people would expect of me. That's not me. I appreciate music by watching the artful way the mechanics of the instruments become music. I appreciate the great company by watching candlelit bubbles rise in a glass. I appreciate Karen's sweet, confident readings with a piece of chocolate cheesecake.

If you haven't already gotten your copy of Karen Walrond's The Beauty of Different, go now. Do it. And then put it on your life list to meet her, because her view on life will improve yours. In the mean time, follow Karen's blog, Chookooloonks because it will put a little more wonder into your day, and that's never a bad thing.

P.S. If you're a Seattle local, definitely cut out some time to see the Jason Parker Quartet. They are fantastic.

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A night on the town

Sometimes it's nice living near a big city.

Sunday night you'll find me at Lucid Jazz Bar in the University District listening to the Jason Parker Quartet and Karen Walrond herself reading from The Beauty of Different. If you haven't checked out this book, please do. It's amazing on so many levels. It's more than just photography and words. It's inspiration to celebrate the beauty in everyone.

There are moments in my day when I just stop what I'm doing to soak up a stranger who fascinates me with their unique beauty. I can't help but notice it in everyone I meet and it's what inspires me in photography. To see such a artful publication centered on this feeling gives me the warm fuzzies. To celebrate it in such stellar company (Darrah, I can't wait to meet you!) makes me giddy.

And the prospect of an artistic evening without kids around is positively thrilling.

Evidently, I need to get out more.

If you're local, I can't wait to see you there!

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a little advice

I'm headed out of town for the weekend and can be reached by phone if necessary. Regularly scheduled sporadic posting will resume upon my return. I have a fantastic sunset session that I can't wait to share, and of course photos of the family I will be visiting this weekend!

In the mean time, my dear friends Ronnie and Greg will demonstrate how to get a sleepy baby to smile for family photos:

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