Minimalism is key. Film shooting is so much more about capturing a moment than digital is. Digital photography allows you the ability to shoot, shoot, shoot. All day long you could be snapping photos and filling up a memory card. But film makes you slow it down, it makes you value the precious frames on that roll. The camera that I took this photo with only has 10 shots per roll.
My memory cards for my DSLR all hold roughly 500 images per card to put that in perspective.
I love the simplicity of a seamless backdrop. And there’s something about a close up portrait that speaks to me as well. We can tell so much about someone from their appearance, but at the same learn nothing at all.
Today I’m thinking a lot about the things/people that inspire us. The reasons we push ourselves to aspire to greater things. Good friends and good company make a world of difference. Especially when your friends go on adventures with you…
Real Art Tacoma All Ages Music Venue
I only got to catch the tail end of this show but I made it just in time to see my buddies in Grenades take stage. I’ve been watching these guys make music in one band or another for the past 14 years and I’ve been photographing them for almost as long.
Vendetta Red has come out of hiding a few times in the past few years after going on a break in 2006. This was my first time seeing them since catching a wild show of theirs in Bremerton in the mid-2000s.
Love is in the Winter air.
Max and Olivia were referred to me by some good friends of mine, so I knew that they would be fun to work with right from the start. Our plan for this shoot was to meet up at Capitol Cider off of Pike and Broadway in Seattle, WA. This particular bar is where these two met and they wanted to try and capture something there. The ciderhouse is small yet intimate. There’s great paintings everywhere you look and a massive list of different ciders to choose from.
After enjoying a cider or two (gotta stay warm on these cold days!) we made our way downtown and finished our shoot at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Belltown. The sun was getting ready to set and the Olympic Mountains were looking especially radiant. All of those things and more make for some fun shooting!
I had a great time getting to better know these two. That’s one of the biggest bonuses of shooting engagements. You get to know your clients before you shoot their wedding. It just makes everything run more smoothly in the future and develops a rapport with your couples. I highly encourage anyone who is on the fence about engagement photos to dive in and do it! It’s fun!
Take a look:
Ahhhh the Holidays. I don’t know about you but it’s been frying my brain this year. I can’t wrap my head around so much stuff going on at once but at the same time I am digging the weather, the gift giving, the celebrating and the food! Christmas is only two days away and I am excited to be able to spend it with the ones I love. And that’s exactly why I rushed to get this session on my blog! Vanessa and Kyle were a fantastic couple to work with and I am thrilled that they wanted to work with me. We worked together on developing the idea of a tree farm engagement session because it seemed like a really fun location to shoot in and I wanted to work around an activity (such as choosing a fresh Christmas tree and decorating it while in the field).
Vanessa is a Kitsap expatriate like myself, so we share many mutual friends and acquaintances. I met Kyle over the summer while working a photo booth at a friend’s wedding. She’s a barista. He’s an actor. We chose to set our sights on a tree farm in Seabeck, WA. We wanted to decorate a tree (and buy a fresh wreath!) and also have some more opportunities to explore the Hood Canal area.
I really enjoyed shooting this session. I love Vanessa’s eclectic style and Kyle’s sense of humor and their playfulness really added a lot to the shoot. And best of all these two are so genuine, their interactions with each other are so real and down to earth. One of my favorite qualities in a person or a couple.
Enjoy!
