I cannot believe it has been two weeks since my last post. Life has been a whirl wind of events lately and I have been spending my days running in several different directions at the same time. Between my photography, a new baby, kids homework, visitors, work outs, house cleaning, ex-cetera ex-cetera, I have not had a minute to sit down. So please bear with me as I try to grab hold of the reins and slow this ride down a little. My short term goal is to strive to be a better more personal blogger. After all the main reason I started this blog was so people could not only get to see my most recent work but for people to get to know me. When someone hires me to shoot a wedding or capture their special family moments I want them to not only love my work but I want them to connect with me. So today I am going to let you in on a little secret you may not have know. I don’t know for sure, and have no way of proving this for certain but I think I might just be Martha Stewart’s distant cousin twice removed. This would be the only logical reason to explain how I just finished making the worlds most prettiest, most yummiest peach and apple pies. These pies are so pretty, and so yummy that there just has to be a little Martha Stewart blood running through these veins. Well that and my mother’s award winning secret pie crust recipe. Well truth be told it has never actually won an actual award, however that is only because we have never entered it in the worlds most prettiest most yummiest pie contest. Because if we entered these pies in the worlds most prettiest most yummiest pie contest, my mother’s secret pie crust recipe, and my Martha Stewart blood lines would be sweeping the nation and snatching up awards at bake offs world wide. A picture is worth a thousand words so feast your eyes on these babies. Wait you might want to grab a napkin first to whip up all that drool that will be dripping from the corners of your mouth.
Being the next best thing to Martha Stewart is dirty work but someone has to do it…
Having the world’s cutest assistant doesn’t hurt either!
Lip smakin delicious!
After a year of emailing back and forth I was so excited to finally meet Jabbar and Kayatana! They had spent the last year planning the perfect Hawaiian wedding, and that is just what it was…..perfect. From the pillows that they hand sewed for all their guests to the flower she wore in her hair, Kayatana planned the perfect day. I was told by a close friend that she was a perfectionist and she lived up to her reputation. Not one little detail was missed. She just might be the most organized bride I had ever met. It obviously pays to be organized because while most brides are running around behind schedule in a frantic mess Kayatana was relaxed and peaceful. Everything was running so smooth that we had plenty of time to sit back and chat and she told me all about her romance with Jabbar. How they met at a conference in Texas and how they now work just one floor apart for the same company. It was a perfect fairy tail and now they were going to have a prefect fairy tail wedding. You are an amazing couple with fabulous friends and family and I thank you for letting me be part of your day. Here is a little sneak peek of what is yet to come.
I know that I have said it before but women who support their military men should be up on pedestal. We are all well aware of the sacrifices our men and women of duty make for us while they are deployed and away from all who love them but I do not think we give enough credit to the loved ones that are left behind. It takes a strong women to be married to a military man. It never ceases to amaze me how these militray wives can put on a brave face as they send their husbands off to far away places knowing they are going to be in the face of danger. How they are crying inside but they still pull up their boot straps and take up their own battle on the home front. The bills do not stop coming, the cars do not stop breaking down, the grass does not stop growing, the dinner still needs to be made, the circus we call life still goes on and they do it all. Not only do they do it all but they do it with poise and dignity. They do it because they have to. They do it like no one else can.
When my good friend told me that her husband was due to leave for another year long deployment I shook my head in disbelief. Again? Really? Didn’t he just get back from his last 15 month deployment? He literally had been home for a short 18 months and now he is off for another year. I seriously do not know how she does it. She is a better women then I. I would be stomping my feet and whining and well pretty much throw an all out temper tantrum that would put most three years olds to shame. It takes a strong kind of love to survive that much time apart. And a love like that needs to be celebrated. So a few weeks before he left I got the honor of capturing that love on camera. It makes me sad to look at these pictures knowing that there are many miles separating my friend from her husband but it also makes me happy to know that such a love exists. In a world where divorce has become a common household word there is a love that goes the distance.
I met with Alison a few months back and automatically fell in love with her sweet personality! She told me all about her fiance and he upcoming wedding plans and I am so excited to be a part of it. Last night I got the pleasure of meeting her handsome future husband and had some fun shooting engagement pictures. Jarred pretended to be shy in front of the camera but Alison and I think he might of even enjoyed it just a little bit, even though he may never admit it out loud. Thanks for being such a great sport Jarred, and Alison, well your just gorgeous so you make my job to easy. Alison and Jarred have been dating three years, and are excited about taking that next big step in life. Jarred told me that it was love at first site for him but Alison took a little more convincing. He shmoozed her with flowers thinking that would surly win her over, but Alison made him work a little harder then that to become her one and only. Jarred eventually got ahold of her heart, and in a few short weeks they will become Mr and Mrs and I could not be happier for them! Here are a few of my favorite shots from our shoot. Congrats Alison and Jarred! I hope you love your pictures and I cannot wait to see you in your wedding dress.
Sorry I have been MIA for the past few days but I have been busy snuggling my baby girl. Aven Kennedy Turner made her way into the world on August 3, 2009. She was a whole 6lbs 2oz of pure precious. I can not even put into words what a blessing she is to our family. I never thought I would be a mother of five but I cannot imagine my life without these five little personalities in it. Everyone tells me my babies are not normal because they are so content, they never cry, and they pretty much sleep through the night from birth. I thought I was really pushing my luck with a fifth child and was sure that this would be the one who had colic and made me endure many sleepless nights. However I must have a horseshoe in places I will not mention because we have another perfect baby. The only time I have even heard her cry is during her bath. If bath time is her only complaint then I consider myself one lucky mommy. Another bonus of having 5 children is that labor was a cake walk. I labored for a whopping two hours, and strained myself through one push before Aven made her grand entrance. I felt so good that I was back shooting a wedding just 2 days after I was discharged. I don’t think I have even sat down since I left the hospital. Not because I have a new born, because like I said she is an angel, but because I am in the middle of wedding season and I had to hit the ground running! Aven is 12 days old today and of course we have already had the first of MANY photo shoots. She slept through the whole thing and was her perfect little self! Here are some of my most favorite pictures of my precious little Aven!
It makes my heart smile when two of the sweetest people on the planet become one. Lani and Daniel and all their family celebrated this union on August 7th and I was honored to be there to capture it. Starting with a beach front ceremony and ending with a splash in the ocean I had so much fun with this couple in front of my camera. A special thanks also goes out to Irene Frankhouse for shooting this wedding with me. I had just given birth 4 days before so Irene stepped in and covered most of the events while I just came and went though out the day. Lani and Daniel I hope you are having the time of your lives on your honeymoon in Maui, and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!
Can I just say that I love my job! Last night I got to spend the evening with one of the greatest families EVER! Tari and her family come from Texas to Hawaii once a year to visit her mother. We had set up a family photo shoot however her husband had to fly home early for business so it was just her and her two fantastic kids. I can not say enough great things about these two sweethearts! We had so much fun! We started at the train station and then ended our session at the beach. Their outfits were so fun I could not snap enough shots! I was giddy with excitement over this shoot and could not wait to get home and start editing. The best part if they will be back next year so I may have the privilege of getting them in front of the camera again! So lets give a big Mahalo and Aloha to the Jacobs family for being so fabulous! Here are a few of my most favorite shots!
A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of being a second shooter for the amazing Nathan Nowack. He is a photographer from Redondo Beach, CA and was here shooting a destination wedding. Brad and Elyse said their I Do’s in the courtyard of the beautiful Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. I was in charge of the detail shots and the boys! Check out this gorgeous bride and groom as well as some of the fun details form the day!
The Dress and shoes!
The bouquet
The Groom
The boys!
Elyse sneaking a peek at Brad for the first time…
Brad taking in his gorgeous bride…
The Rings
As soon as I saw that little plus sign on that little stick that confirmed we had indeed been blessed with a fifth child I told myself that I was finally going to bite the bullet and get some professional maternity pictures done. However, when my belly started to grow and grow, and then my rear decided it would be fun to go into competition with my belly I started to change my mind. Combined with the fact that the camera adds ten pound I decided the last place I needed to be found was in front of it. Yes people always tell me I have an excuse because I am pregnant, but it does not make you feel any better when you squeeze into a pair of maternity pants and then have to give up your right to breath for the rest of the day. So I told my good friend Irene of Irene Frankhouse Photography that maternity photos were out of the question and she pinned me to the ground and started twisting my arm until I screamed uncle. I was wincing in pain from all the twisting and finally raised my white towel and gave in. You would think I would be upset with her for being so rough on the fat girl but all I can do is thank her because the pictures turned out better then I could have imagined. I thought that she may have used a magic wand but I think she is just the fabulous at what she does! Here are my favorites!
Last week I spent a great evening at Ko Olina beach with the Ganiko Ohana. The sunset was gorgeous and the waves were huge! Terry works with my husband so kudos to Ben for booking this session and allowing me to spend a wonderful evening getting to know Terry and his ohana. I loved watching the dynamics of this family. The kids are all 5 years apart but they shared a bond that you do not get the pleasure of witnessing allot these days. Big brother is going off to college next year so his younger sister made sure she got some pics of just the two of them. It made my heart smile. Thanks so much for being such great sports. I hope you enjoy your pictures! Here is a sneak peek of what’s yet to come!
