I did not know this.

Here's a little piece of trivial information that I've never noticed before. My friend Thomas sent me this and I can't believe it's taken me this long to notice this. If you've ever rented a car and you go to fill it up with gas and you don't know which side the gas tank is on, all you have to do is look at the dash. You'll notice a little icon of a gas tank right where your fuel guage is located. That icon will have the nozzle either on the left or the right which designates which side of the vehicle the gas tank is located. Pretty cool huh!?

Diana & Rich

Whoa, it's been a while since I've been back here. It's peak season and things are rolling along at lightning pace. I'm thinking this wedding below was worth the wait though. Diana & Rich are simply amazing people. The three of us hit it off the minute we met and their wedding at the Phoenician a few weeks ago was nothing short of spectacular. They are both such genuine and down-to-earth people and after spending the day with them, they're one of those couples that I just say to myself - they deserve each other. See if you don't agree after watching this abbreviated account of their day.

In mourning!

Okay I know it's been some time since I've posted but recently I've been in mourning. Yes, I have lost something near and dear to my heart and I've been forced to move on. I actually left my iPod on the plane last Sunday on a flight back from San Diego to Phoenix. While not tragic on the grand scheme of life, I did have that little baby for more than 2 years and we definitely shared some good songs together. I called lost and found at Southwest Airlines but they have reported no lonely iPods desperately seeking their rightful owner. I ended up ordering a new one, and while it's just not the same, we shall start new memories together. Creating memorable moments as we traverse down that unforgiving path called life.

I only hope that whoever found that old dear friend of mine will treat it with the respect, love and devotion that it so deserves. Sure my music selection may not serve their every need and desire, but gosh darn it, we had something very special and meaningful. I hope they're able to cherish those songs and wedding photos and add to it rather than to delete and store over it. Good bye my first iPod!!

BTW, the photo in my new iPod is the gorgeous Kristine Goto whose wedding slideshow you'll find in the 04.04.07 posting on my blog.

Tag, I'm it!

Okay so it seems I've been blog-tagged by the wonderfully talented (and new mommy by the way) Heather Crabtree at Outstanding Occasions. As I understand it I'm supposed to confess to 8 things people don't know about me. Here it goes:

1. If I wasn't a photographer I would love to be a DJ, psychologist or comedian.

2. My high school aptitude tests showed I should have been a diesel mechanic (huh?).

3. I went to college when I was 6 to learn how to pronounce my R's.

4. In my first job out of college I was a licensed private investigator (for real!).

5. I've owned my own business for 11 years. When I first started my business it was out of my house and at the time I lived on Anderson Drive.

6. I can waterski slalom (on one ski).

7. If I was a girl my parents would have named me Jennifer.

8. I have almost died 3 times in my life. I almost drowned at a lake when I was 4. A bad car accident at 16, and a full blown allergic reaction to some grass pesticide at a park once.

Okay, now I guess I have to pick several others to tag for this game. As soon as I pick them I'll post their links.

Stephanie & Chip Wedding Slideshow

Okay, remember last month I promised you a peak at Stephanie & Chip's wedding? Well, here is small taste of it. Now, you're going to see an image of a hair comb which, off hand kind of seems weird, but it played a big role during the day. For a while it was misplaced which was a major bummer because it was really needed to keep Stephanie's veil in place. It was finally found just in time.

One more point I want to make about this. All the images of Stephanie up until the comb shot were taken when it was still lost. She was VERY concerned that the comb would not turn up - BUT she was such a trooper. She didn't let it spoil the emotions, enjoyment and excitement of her wedding day. She just stayed in the moment (and maybe prayed a lot too) which was great because I was able to capture her gorgeous smile and infectious laugh.

Brides - try not to let the small stuff get to you on your wedding day!! I've seen a lot of seemingly catastrophic things go wrong on a wedding day and EVERY single one of those weddings turned out totally fine. Just try to stay in the moment, breathe deep and know everything will be fine. I know - easy for me to say, right?!!

ENJOY!

Okay, I'll come clean - I saw that last Wednesday was going to be 116 degress in Phoenix and I bailed to Flagstaff on Monday. I've been hiding here ever since, and I am so glad I did. Wow, has it been hot in the Valley. Well, even here in Flagstaff it's been a bit hot but nothing like that. Today in fact, it rained and as I sit here right now it's about 66 degrees - now that's cool!!


This is the first time I've made it to the 4th of July Parade here. This is Americana at its best!



That's the Mayor of Flagstaff - Joe Donaldson, above, way to get in the spirit Mayor Joe!!

Yes!

I can't remember the last time I paid less than $3 a gallon! Of course, this was with that 10 cents/gallon discount at Safeway but hey, whatever it takes right? 2.99 is mighty fine in my book. It's all a matter of perspective I guess. It wasn't that long ago that $3 a gallon seemed utterly upsurd - here in the States anyway. Look at us now, excited that it's that low.

Cat Scan

Okay, I'm not really a cat person, but this weekend my roomate was in charge of watching his brother's two felines. It's been exciting to say the least. They really stick together like two peas in a pod. I didn't know cats did that. I thought they were way too independent. Well, I must admit they are kinda fun to have - for a while. I'm a huge dog lover though. I'd get one but these days I'm gone a little too much.

Stephanie & Chip

Wow, what a great wedding in showlow last Saturday. Stephanie & Chip could not have scripted a better day for their wedding at Torreon in Northern Arizona. We had so much fun and what a great couple they make - don't you think? They're still on their honeymoon so I'll post more when they get back and have the opportunity to be the first to see their awesome images. Stephanie & Chip - God Bless and I wish you both the best.

Kim, Chris & Ty

This week I got the opportunity to do an E-Session with Kim, Chris & there dog Ty at the Boojum Tree. We got up super early so it was nice and cool. Okay, I'm totally lying - we started about 9 am and it was still pretty darn hot. But that didn't stop us from having a great time. I think even Ty had a good time, except he kept thinking we were going to leave him there every time Kim or Chris tied him down. I think we got some great moments - see for yourself. Thanks Kim, Chris & Ty, can't wait for the BIG day!

Amanda & Erik's Road Trip E-Session

Wow, is it ever fun to get away from the Valley and do a shoot in the cooler parts of the state. The Saturday before last that's exactly what Amanda & Erik did for their engagement session. We headed up to Sedona and it was about as perfect as it gets. A slight overcast gave us perfect temp's to romp around all over the place up there. We're heading over to San Diego for their wedding next year and I cannot wait.

There's a slideshow of their adventure in the "slideshow" section of my main website that's worth a look.

Reality heat index

I know the weatherman only said it was officially around 107 degrees in Phoenix today, but my car dash said otherwise - more like 115!! And this was after I was driving around for a while, not just parked in the sun. Wow, I wonder how everyone got by around here in the late 1800's without A/C? I hate to imagine what that was like.

Outside the Box

Once a week I get up around 5 am to get to a business networking meeting by 7 am - where I've met a lot of really cool people by the way – and often the traffic gets way backed up even at that hour. I'll approach a light where I want to make a left and there will be like 15 or 20 cars wanting to make a left. So what I do is take a right, go down half a block and make a U turn and on I go.

I got to thinking about that process the other day. I think sometimes life is like that. The quickest way to get where you want to go is by heading the exact opposite direction for just a bit. Or maybe it's just thinking outside the box a bit. I sometimes feel like I've got blinders on and I always do what I've always done the same old way. I really want to start thinking about doing things in new ways. Better ways, with better results.

Jeff

Can you?

Henry Ford said,

"Whether you think you can or can't, you're probably right."

Think about that!! It's become a way of life for me lately. I want it to be the way I live the rest of my life.

BTW, I took this photo at Sunset Crater in Arizona. It's a fascinating place to check out if you get the chance.

Fun with Furniture

I've been in the process of giving my office a total makeover. It's been fun transforming it into something I LOVE to be in. So I bought this simple 4 drawer file cabinet and while it doesn't exactly match all the other wood in my office - I think it works and looks nice.

Well, I unpack it out of the box and this baby consists of 41 different pieces of wood. Talk about "assembly required" ! This was a two hour process and I'll be honest, I'm really not that good at assembling things - in fact I hate it. I always tend to put things on backwards and not find out until 8 steps later.



I think I actually did it right this time without any screw-ups.


I thought is was funny that the label states "Inspiring Creativity". I sure hope it does for me!

Chantell

Okay, I know in my last blog entry I just said I don't do many senior sessions but yet here's another one. These shots are actually of my niece Chantell who wanted some fashion and some personality type shots for her senior portraits. I have been photographing Chantell since her birth and I can't believe what a beautiful and intelligent young woman she has grown up to be. I am so proud of her. We got some totally cool stuff.






I love this one. This was done all in-camera, the only Photoshop done here was turning it B&W!

A rare shot

I don't do many senior portraits, mainly because I don't like to do the conventional shots most studios do, however I did get the opportunity to shoot the senior portraits for all of the Klein boys. I share office space with Steve Klein (he's in the back and I coaxed him into jumping in a shot with Kyle & Konner - who are twins BTW) and I actually photographed his other 2 sons Tyler and Bret who are both now at U of A.

Kyle and Konner are total hams - which they get from their dad - and also a total blast to photograph. Studio shoots are so much fun because there's no pressure and we can all have fun with it. Here's a couple more.

A shot while driving

Okay, sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been positively swamped lately. However, I did manage to get a haircut yesterday. I was actually really happy about it because now my faith is restored in my haircutter again. See last time she cut my hair (the result of which you can see in my profile photo) she got so carried away in the story she was talking about (she went to Egypt no less) that she took the clippers and went all the way across the top of my head! Major fly-by buzz. No biggy I thought. It grew back of course. But I'm liking my latest cut much better. She's been cutting my hair for 6 years and I love her to death - thanks Magda!

Jennifer & Aaron

I had another great E-session last Saturday with Jennifer & Aaron. We went to the ASU campus which is where Aaron proposed to Jennifer (at the building in the background of the last photo to be exact). In fact, when we got there, there was actually a wedding going on right in front of Old Main which was kind of funny. We walked around and got some fun shots around the campus.












By the way, I told Jen she kind of had this "Jodie Foster" thing going on. Do you agree?

What a week!

Wow, what a week and what a great group of inspiring photographers! As you can see in the photo it was all serious business and no play - ha!

I had such a great time and learned so much. It was so interesting because while we all have so many different styles, we all have one goal - to tell a story. And just like every couple is different, every wedding day story is unique.

That is the number one reason I love my job so much. I get to document so many different stories. That's exactly what inspired me to go into photojournalism back in college. I actually entered college studying to be a computer systems analyst. That lasted 1 semester.

Can you find me in the photo?

Atlanta this week

I'm in Atlanta this week for a workshop with a group of 23 other photographers from all over the US and Canada. I try to attend at least one workshop a year to keep on top of my craft as well as share and learn from other photographers all over the world.

This workshop (put on by LaCour whom I totally respect as masters at the art of wedding photojournalism) is centered on Storytelling through images - which is what I constantly strive to achieve at every wedding I document.
A wedding day is truly a day filled with story-telling moments centered around relationships. Relationships between family and friends and especially new family and new friends.

Capturing those moments forever is enharently building the foundations of a family legacy. Okay, that may sound like something reserved for the Kennedy's or Rockefeller's but when you're showing your own wedding album to your grandchildren - it won't feel any less important – I guarantee it!

Kristine & Mark

Well, I finally got to document my first Buddhist wedding last Saturday. Can I just say that it was one of the coolest ceremonies I've ever been to. Maybe that's also because Kristine & Mark are one of the coolest couples around as well. See for yourself.

By the way they too decided to see each other before their ceremony so we captured a TON of great images. I love when that happens.

Great Read

How cool is this. My friend Eleanor whom I went to college with some years ago is now a published author. She wrote a Novella - a book less than 200 pages (although this one sqeeks in a little more than 200) called Chasing the Ferryman. I totally enjoyed reading it. It's a true page turner and keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. It caused me to reflect about my own views on siblings (I have one older sister), relationships, death, success, happiness, commitment and being true to yourself.

Way to go Eleanor!

Share Selectively

My friend Dale Prost sent me this little insightful piece of info about leveraging yourself which I have found to be so true throughout my life.

The Law of Leverage –
You're less likely to fail when you've told others you will succeed.

Sharing your goals and dreams with the right people can mean the difference between achieving 90% of your goals, and excelling to 100%. There is huge potential for the people you surround yourself with to either STOKE your dreams, or SOAK your dreams. That's why it is so important to identify the RIGHT people to share your personal and professional goals with. This is critical in the Law of Leveraging. Who you surround yourself with can directly affect the level of success in your goals.

I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by so many "dream-stokers" in my life these days. There's been times in my life when I haven't been able to say that. It can really stunt your personal and professional growth.

Are you sharing your dreams with the right people?

Thanks Dale!

Beatriz & Mark

One thing I really love about weddings at Tempe Mission Palms is walking along Mill Avenue and just having fun during a wedding shoot. It's an absolute blast. At last Saturday's wedding Beatriz & Mark decided to see each other before their ceremony (which I TOTALLY enjoy!!) so we walked along Mill Ave. and got so many awesome shots.

Gee, thanks a lot!

I thought this was a crack up. My Sears renewal card came in the mail
the other day and along with it this great coupon for $10 off any
purchase if I use the card. I think to myself - cool I'll go get some
new Levi's. Not so fast. After reading the fine print I see Levi's are
on the "not included" list. Along with basically everything else they
sell.Gottalovit!

Great Engagement Session

I had an awesome Saturday. I got to shoot an engagement session with Tracie and Jason and we had a blast. They were so much fun and I think it shows in the images. Thanks guys!!