Seattle family photo session in Bend Oregon.

This week I had the pleasure of capturing my first Seattle family. They were down for a vacation at the Sunriver Resort. They spent the day in Bend. Their day began with coffee with me and then off to a picturesque location to capture these photos.

Thanks Clark family, it was fun meeting you and capturing your beauty. 
All the best with the move!


Jill

A story of two special brothers...

When I am invited to photograph a family I try to meet with them before the actual photo session. I so enjoy getting a feel for each family member in the comfort of their home environment. A person's home can tell you a lot about a person and especially their personality.
During this visit it is always fun connecting with the children through playing and chatting. This is really a benefit on the day of the photo session. Kids have to be comfortable with a new person, especially one hiding their face with a big black camera, to enable them to be at ease and be themselves on the other side of my lens.
This week I finally got the pleasure of photographing a very special family. We meet 4 weeks ago and weekly we kept having to delay the photo session because of the abnormally cold weather here in Bend OR.
During my visit to their home I was instantly drawn to two little smiley boys, Boone who is almost 2 years old and Chance who is 9 months old. Their liveliness and energy was uplifting.
Boone and Chance's parents, Carolyn and Jeff shared with me their story of how they adopted Boone at birth. Finally they were parents to a beautiful boy. Their world even became more perfect when Boone's birth mother called months later to say she was pregnant and would they adopt Boone's brother. Today both boys have each other, a beautiful home environment and even more special, a Mom and Dad who are so in love with them.

The photos below are just some of what I got to capture this week at their home.

Thanks Jeff, Carolyn, Boone and Chance for showing me your beautiful souls!

Photographing Little People...

It is such a precious thing to have beautiful photos of your beautiful children.
This week I photographed a little brother and sister. They were so excited to be in nature and were perfect little people for me to capture.

The highlight was a field of dandelions  - so many to be blown! Growing up in New Zealand we called them fairy blowers.

Thank you
Ethan and Erica

Monica - through my lens.

Every town has their familiar faces. In the 10 years I have lived in Bend Oregon there has been one person who always catches my eye on the streets of Bend.
Frank was his name and has many stories to share - who knows what is true or not. He is known for his beaten up convertible, his dogs and cat, his performing on the streets with his guitar and his willingness to chat with you.
Some would say why did you photograph him, how could you....

Well it so happened I recently walked out of a coffee shop and there was Frank - well actually no longer Frank dressed in baggy mens discolored clothes but now Monica dressed in a bright seductive outfit. Of course I had to ask him what happened.. He gave me his story which I shall not dive into.

While chatting with him I started to imagine what I could capture with my camera. It wasn't until last week that I did actually capture Monica early on a sunny morning outside the same coffee shop. It was not the easiest photo shoot but you do get a good sense of his soul.
Monica is certainly turning heads in Bend Oregon and she truly is one of a kind.
Fortunately Bend is a pretty safe town for such a character to be on the streets.
I look at her/he as being a lost soul in many ways, I could truly feel this through my lens.
One might say he is looking for attention.  I am sure he is doing just that but the question is why is he?
What I love about photography is through my camera I get to see different individuals who are having their own experience here on this earth. Everyones experience is unique and perfect for that person. I choose not to judge others because they are different or do things differently.
Capturing Monica through my lens reminded me the importance of that.

Jill