High contrast closeup of red haired girl with unique ring

Lights… Camera… Action!

Light.

It’s every photographer’s strongest asset.  Natural light is beautiful, especially on warm sunny evenings or in the open shade.  But sometimes, natural light just does funny things.  Blue skies blow out white in order to properly expose your subject, harsh shadows create weird lines on faces, the list goes on.  And sometimes, natural light just isn’t available.  Dark reception halls and churches, or your front room on an evening, can be too dark for exceptional photography.  

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Tulip fields - Roozengaarde

Tulips Tulips Tulips!

If you’re from the general Seattle area, chances are good that you’ve heard of the Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon, and the Roozengaarde display garden.  Mike and I have managed to go up to the festival every year since we bought our house in Marysville – I even went a couple weeks after having my gallbladder removed while toting around a two-month old.  Yup, I’m dedicated to gawking at flowers.  This year, the nice weather aligned perfectly to get some nice sunshine on the weekend.  Since my family was coming up anyway so I could do my step-brother’s senior photos, we decided to go up north on Sunday and introduce more of my family to the craziness that is Mt. Vernon on a sunny spring day.

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Guy Senior photo in Mt. Vernon, WA

Ty – Senior photos in Marysville

This weekend my family came up so that I could take my step-brother’s senior photos. It’s not every session where I get to go help shop for the clothes that they’ll be wearing while I photograph them, so this weekend was a little extra fun. Here’s some of my favorites from the afternoon out at Jenning’s Park.  BONUS: I even got him to pose for me the next day while we were out at the tulip fields in Mt. Vernon, and surprised his mom!  Woot!

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Senior guy in Everett, WA

Josh – Class of 2014

Earlier this week we had a quick glimpse of what spring is always like in the movies.  It was rain-free, only mildly chilly, and lots of flowers filled the trees as I drove through town.  Of course spring is rarely that wonderful here in the greater Seattle area.  Heck – it’s generally miserable throughout most of the Pacific Northwest.  But, we had a couple days… so naturally, the photographer in me pounced on the opportunity, and I got everything set up to meet up with Josh for his senior photos.  We started off at Jennings Park in Marysville, and then headed into downtown Everett where we were graced with an amazing sunset!  Overall, it was a great evening.  I wish all guys were as fun to work with!

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Volunteer Park Conservatory Engagement – Julia & Tracy

This afternoon, Mike and I headed down to Seattle from Marysville for an engagement photography session.  It was rainy and nasty outside, but that was no big deal because we knew we’d be inside.  We were heading to the Volunteer Park Conservatory up on Capitol Hill to meet our bride and groom to be.  It was super humid inside, and crowded (guess a rainy Sunday in Seattle is a good day to go look at tropical flowers!).  But we still had a great time with Julia and Tracy.  They were even good enough sports to let me drag them out in the rain for a few fun umbrella photos at the end of out session.

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BBQ, Bingo, Beer & Batman – SWG’s March Meeting

As you probably know, we’re proud card-carrying members of the Snohomish Wedding Guild (well, we would be if they had membership cards, anyway).  Every couple months we get together to talk shop, eat good food, and escape our toddlers.  Maybe that last part is just me.  We were the featured photographers at the event, which means you get another sneek peak at what we crazy wedding types do when we aren’t at your events.

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Dairyland Open House

Listen up, kids!  There’s a new Snohomish wedding venue that you’ve just got to check out!  It’s called Dairyland, and it’s the newest venue from John and Amee – owners of Woodland Meadow Farms (King 5’s Best of Western WA Winner for best wedding venue for 2013!).  The venue is just a hop, skip and a jump away from us here in Marysville, and is easy access from Everett, Monroe, and just a quick trip up I-5 from Seattle.

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Allison & Rob

There’s something magical about a snowflake, so when it started to snow on Saturday, I just knew that I had to talk my bride and groom for the day into going outside to take a couple photos in it.  Luckily, Allison and Rob are awesome, and they were more than happy to make a quick dash outside in order to let me capture the magic.  There wasn’t anything sticking to the ground, and there wasn’t a ton of snow coming down either… but you can see the flakes kissing their hair and floating through the air, and I love it.  It isn’t every day you get a snowy wedding day in Everett, WA!

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