Faith, Hope, Love

My blog has officially moved!

2009-12-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

Check out my new blog at:

www.joshnewtonblog.com

its comPLETEly more epic over there, trust me! =)

Is twitter useful or just annoying?

2009-09-01T02:25:00.000-07:00

So, my good friend Bobby Earle (and AMAZING photographer that I love and adore who is married to someone much more lovable and adorable ;)) recently blogged about twitter, and I found his blog rather interesting. His main thoughts pointing out the benefits of Twitter were thus:

A couple weeks ago, Tim Nosenzo helped me out big timeby responding to something I posted on twitter. I had been looking for a very hard to find lens for about 6 weeks. Because of my twitter updates on the matter, Tim kept his eye open for the lens and emailed me when he found one. Long story short, I got the lens!!
Another time, I was headed out to Australia. I asked if anyone knew of a place within five hours of Sydney where I could find wild Kangaroos. I got a ton of awesome recommendations, but my friend, Steph (from New Zealand), responded and told me about Morriset hospital with thousandsof wild kangaroos! It was a dream come true for me (spent every day in Oz at that hospital - one of the best experiences of my life!)
My friend and fellow photographer, Luke, lives out in Australia (if you've never heard of it, it's a small island off the coast of New Zealand - that's for my Kiwi friends :P ). It'd bereally expensive for me to text him all the way out in Oz. We catch up all the time on there - and then mutual pals likeAmanda in Canada or Bob in England can freely join in on our chats to each other - almost like free group texting! It's so valuable for this feature alone.

His philosopher friend Garrett Miller (also a bud of mine) wrote a blog in response and here's what he said:

Bobby's benefits are genuine fruits of Twitter and worth acknowledging as such, but
Bobby's benefits ought to be recognized as valuable largely because of their usefulness to Bobby and
that Bobby's benefits depend strongly on his popularity.

What do you think? It'd be beneficial to read both blogs, they're full of really good info!

ps here's a taste of my sense of humor (i.e. I LOVE these girls' sense of humor and thought this was hilarious!! they saw me doing a *real* prego shoot with a couple, Alice and Bryan, and they thought it'd be funny to recreate ;) little did they know I love facebook and (now) blogging)

Photoshoot with Amie

2009-08-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

This shoot was a lot of fun for many reasons, but the main one was that we didn't have an agenda or anything we "had" to do - we just wanted to shoot for the fun of it and let creativity take its course. What also made it fun was that over the course of the 12 hour day, there were lots of funny/silly moments where we could do nothing but laugh - for a while. It made me think of this quote...

"Portraits often speak more about the photographer than the subject. Think of the person you're photographing as a canvas onto whom you project yourself. A great portrait tells the world about yourself as much - if not more - than the person you're actually photographing."

I think it perfectly describes why I like doing photography - its an outlet for my creative, fun, artistic side of my brain... but there is a lot of technical thought that's required to make a good photograph, and thats the chemistry major side of me. Also, its an absolute blast and I thoroughly enjoy all the people I get to meet and work with, and thats my love of people coming out.

I think my favorite one from this series is one above. For me it represents completely letting go of everything and just enjoying the moment for what it is. I think if I were to have a goal in photography, it'd be that =)

And when I get to work with people that are as passionate for what they do as I am about photography, way cool things are possible =) So, thanks Tess, Katrina, and Amie. I love my friends and the awesome people in my life! Can't wait for the next one!

check out all the full res pictures here!

Interview with Israel Johnson

2009-08-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

The other day I was interviewed by Israel Johnson and I thought it'd be kind of fun to share it with everyone!

Tell me about yourself and your business

I started my business in 2006 with zero photography training or background. My dad made our sauna into a dark room growing up and he has always loved photography, so thats probably where i got my exposure to it (no pun intended ;)). He made huge prints and put them up in our house, gave them to family as gifts, and always had a good eye. I have always loved good photography and it always inspired and captivated me, but only when I saw the business aspect of it did I become interested. I absolutely love people and when I saw I could combine my passion and energy with something that I loved doing and could support me, I instantly jumped on that train.

How did you get started?

I got started by meeting a select few who were really inspiring to me and told me I had a real talent and gift, so I went for it!

What was your greatest challenge in starting your business?

The hardest part has been doing the whole "business" aspect of things. Paperwork, money, taxes, bills, what to spend on fun, what to buy for equipment, etc.

What are you excited about at this current moment?

More and more, I've found that people are a lot more excited to have me photograph them and thats been a lot of fun. They find real value in my work and are stoked with what I can give them.

What have you found most effective for finding new clients? What marketing/promotional strategies work best for you?

I am all word of mouth and word of mouse. I do some marketing but its all pretty simple. I like it when my work speaks for it self and when people can be around me, see how I shoot and interact with them, and then be able to recommend me. Thats the best way to get clients that I get along with and that get along with me - they know what to expect and they know what they're getting when they hire me. I use facebook, my website, and my blog (not really my blog... but I try!) to connect me with my clients, as they love being able to share their images with everyone.

How is changing technology affecting your business?

Changing technology just improves my ability/ease in editing photos, getting my work to my clients, and getting exposure. It hasn't hindered my ability to improve in a business sense, it usually just adds to my business and gives me a little bit more of an edge.

What do you/your company look for when considering hiring someone as staff? As an independent contractor (IC)?

I don't hire "staff" because that involves a completely new business license, getting insurance for my employees, paying taxes for them and making sure they're reported... but I do have plenty of independent contractors. I definitely recommend hiring people that are better at doing parts of your business that take the photographer a lot of time. Editing, making albums, booking travel, working out expenses and contracts - all that is better for someone else to do. Its obviously harder to do that if you don't have a lot of income to spend on independent contractors, but its good to focus on what you do best - shooting and providing a rockin' experience for your clients.

Do you recommend using agents or representatives?

I am going to be bringing on a full time manager, but a lot of details still remain to be worked out. I think its a brilliant idea and more photographers should pursue it - I love outsourcing and I think its essential in succeeding in the business world.

What advice do you have for a student desiring to enter the business world?

Photograph tons. Get your work out. Do some stuff for free (or for a meal or something!), provide a good service and make your clients feel relaxed and that the photography experience was a lot of fun. Do photography because you absolutely love it and you couldn't do anything else. Do photography because its your passion, not because it could make you money or give you status. Be creative and do crazy stuff - don't ever let yourself get stuck in a routine. BE YOURSELF! =)

Free Website!

2009-07-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

So my really good friend and colleague, David Jay, announced recently that he is making a FREE version of Showit Sites! It's not the full version that I used to create my website www.joshnewton.com but there are MANY rad things about it. You can publish 5 pages, host 30MB of data, get a free vanity URL... its brilliant.

I couldn't be happier with a program, its honestly changed my business a TON. I've been able to update my website whenever I want and I built it in only a couple hours. If you haven't seen this amazing piece of wonder yet, go to http://showitfast.com/ and check it out =)

Rock on!

Cambodia Update =)

2009-06-01T01:19:00.000-07:00

Travels and thoughts in Cambodia

Life here is really slow and it's wonderful. Sometimes it makes me think that this is the way life is supposed to be lived. Just expanding Jesus' kingdom and loving the people around us. The people who support this children's center are wonderful and they allow for that to happen. I hope they know how much their gifts are appreciated and what they are providing. The kids don't have to work nearly as hard to eat or get water here and they appreciate what they've been given. They are truly thankful at every meal for what's been provided to them and they are so diligent and responsible with their time and resources. How many things do we do every day that are pointless and have no eternal impact? When everything that's fruitless in life is done away with and all that exists is living for Jesus, it's amazing what happens and what you look forward to. We pray and read scripture multiple times per day - and even though I can't understand the language - I absolutely love it. I am also convicted in that I should be doing at least that in my own life, and I'm thankful I get to witness these kids' faith.

I want to do great and big things, but I've learned that God doesn't function within our time frame. God does not view time as a crutch and I need to be more patient. I need to fill my entire life with Him and that needs to be first. The love that these kids have for Jesus and for each other is astounding. They are so full of passion for Christ and they love Him with their whole being and hold nothing back. And God is rewarding them greatly - He is using them in a vivid and powerful way, it's awesome to see. Yesterday a 15 year old and an 18 year old taught a whole town about Noah's ark and a verse out of Proverbs. They were singing and dancing with the kids, it almost brought tears to my eyes. The kids were laughing and enjoyed it so much. They also got to color a picture with crayons and take it home, it was really great to see those two kids lead.

It's so neat to see what the Pastor and leaders are equipping these kids to do and I know they are going to go far in this life. I pray that these kids grow up to become strong leaders and mighty warriors. That they spread the Gospel far and they never forget what they learned here no matter what happens. That they bring His name glory and continue His work. Each kid is equipped to teach the Bible, lead worship, pray for their peers and family, and are also given chores so that they learn valuable life skills. They take turns cleaning, cooking the food, repairing the well, washing clothes, and other chores. The older ones instruct the younger ones in school, teaching, and also help in running the center.

There have been a lot of new experiences here, that's for sure. I got to take a dirt bike out to some far off village and it was crazy to see how these people lived and what they did to survive. The government here is very corrupt and at any point they can just kick people off their land and sell it to some Chinese or Korean businessman. That had happened to this family so they moved to a new part of the "little jungle" and had to clear acres upon acres of land just so that they could grow one rice crop a year to survive. The government here is supposedly a democracy, but if you don't vote for the Peoples Party of Cambodia, your town isn't given any help from the government.

On a lighter note, the pastor has had us try so many weird things as well. Fried locusts, boiled half grown baby ducks (still in the egg), different leaves, plants, and berries... All of which made me want to puke on the spot. But it would have been rude not to eat them, so I had to eat everything he gave me and pretend that I liked it! Yikes. The kids here love their games - chess, checkers, basketball, soccer, volleyball, domino's... everywhere one of these games are happening if you want to join in. Today was extra interesting because we couldn't use the water in the "showers" because we had run out of water, so I showered outside next to a well while only wearing a sarong. Awesome. I also washed all my clothes by hand today, that was somewhat fun :p

Today was also somewhat hard. Witchcraft is used frequently in Cambodia and one of the girls parents had gone to one and made sacrifices to demons. This made the girl vulnerable to attack and has suffered many attacks from demons since. There was an attack last night and she was screaming and yelling - it sounded like she was being tortured. It woke most people up and it took a couple hours last night and also a lot of prayer this morning to help the girl get rid of it and also not feel guilty. This doesn't exist in the US and it's interesting to be part of a community that's used to it as a normal experience.

There is so much love, hope, and laughter here, however, and these kids have joy written all over their faces. I am so blessed to be here and to photograph them, nothing could be more fulfilling and I'm thankful for the opportunity.

Bridesmaid Photoshoot

2009-04-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of my friends (who of course all happen to be bridesmaids) decided it would be awesome to do a photoshoot before their wedding, and it turned out GREAT! I honestly had so much fun with this group of girls - they were all hilarious together and I thoroughly enjoyed photographing them =) I went over to their dorm yesterday to look over all the photos with them and there were definitely a lot of funny moments. Be sure to check out the rest of them at my gallery!

San Diego, Bobby and Lindsay Earle, Dylan and Kelli Mayer

2009-04-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

So on Monday night I decided to take a trip to San Diego and I absolutely love it down here! I love being able to visit all my amazing friends down here and SD never fails to come through.

The last few times I've been down here I always spend the night at Bobby and Lindsay's house and also at Dylan and Kelli Mayer's house. They are the kindest people that a person could ask for and I am so blessed to have met them! All of them have become some of my closest friends this last year and if any of you get the chance to meet them, I definitely would. Bobby has taught me tons of MMA moves and Dylan is a part time employee for Josh Newton Photography!

Bobby's house is always a huge breath of fresh air and I always feel so comfortable and relaxed here. I've gotten a lot of work done, which most of you guys will love because I've finished 6 weddings and a lot of engagement shoots! But last night was truly phenomenal - not only did we get Chick-fil-a (my favorite restaurant), but we ate there for a couple hours and I have to admit, I haven't laughed that hard in a REALLY long time. My good friend Jennifer and Bobby's friend Garrett met us there and I couldn't have had a better night =) Then to close the night off, Bobby's dog Remmy fell asleep on me and it was the cutest thing ever!! Check out this blog to see pictures

And today I got to go to Dylans baseball game, it was sweet! I've never been a huge fan of baseball as a sport... but I grew some appreciation for it today. Dylan and I got to throw the ball around for a while and I'm not sure why, but thats what of the greatest and most fun things to do!

Stoked to photograph a wedding this weekend, be looking for pictures on facebook! Until next time~

The Vespa Experiment

2009-04-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

The VESPA Experiment - Three Vespas and the truth

I have the most AMAZING opportunity to travel on Vespas from San Diego to San Francisco, and I couldn't be more excited about it!! For two weeks we'll just have the back roads and the ocean keeping us company. Jason Reeves, Brendan James, and Amber Rubarth are three incredibly talented artists and I've been blessed to have had the chance to work a lot with them.

We're only bringing Vespas, a guitar and small piano, and my camera =) We're going to be camping out wherever we can find a place to put up a couple tents, having concerts in the woods and on top of mountains, and we're going to have a blast. Not only am I excited to listen to awesome music for 2 weeks every day, I'm excited for what the trip stands for. I'm going to be updating a lot more in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.

Rock on!!

iPhone 3.0 update - can't WAIT!! =)

2009-03-24T02:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to iJustine, here are some of the RAD new things that the iPhone 3.0 update will have!! It will seriously change my feelings for my iPhone... as if I couldn't love it more.

Enjoy!! Here they are:

• COPY AND PASTE!!!! You double tap on a piece of text and it will automatically place a bubble above it with the option to cut, copy or paste the current selection. To bring up the paste option, you just have to double tap again. To make a bigger selection of text, double tap and then drag where you’d like the text to end. You can also drag this text around. To undo a paste, just shake your phone!

• You can now send more than one photo by copying and pasting them into the Mail app.
• Use landscape (wide keyboard mode) in applications SMS, notepad, mail etc.
• New message app supports MMS! (Really, it’s about time) Send and receive photos through the network.
• Voice memos that you can record edit, share and email directly from the app
• New calendar support! gcal! Subscriptions, .ics format, exchange
• Stock app added news and more details.
• SEARCH IN MAIL!!! finally! ..and other applications: Contacts, notes, calendar, iPod
• New Spotlight home screen that will let you search all of your applications.
• YouTube improvements!! ratings, subscriptions and profiles!
• Notes sync with iTunes, Shake to shuffle, WiFi auto-login, Stereo Bluetooth, parental controls, call log, iTunes account creation, anti-phishing, meeting invitations and more.

Recording with Colbie Caillat

2009-03-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I got a chance to go with Colbie Caillat to her recording studio! She's been there every day for the last couple weeks and has a couple more to go! I can't even begin to tell you how AWESOME her new CD is going to be... I can't wait for it to be released!

Colbie is one of the sweetest people I've met and I'm so glad that we're friends. I have a LOT of respect for her and she has so much character as a person and artist! I got to show her some of the photos we took in Kauai and they looked so cool printed out! Its always SO much fun to get my digital photos printed huge and see what they look like because its not that often I get to do that!

Anyway, she recorded a couple songs yesterday and I got to hang out there all day =) I had a BLAST - the place didn't give me much light to work with but I still got some cool shots to show you guys. Enjoy!

Phoenix Suns Game!

2009-02-03T15:20:00.001-08:00

Last week I got the chance to go to Phoenix for a couple days to do some corporate/commercial photography for a company called ISS Facility Services. They are a huge company and are in all 50 states and also 50 different countries. I've loved doing work for them and I always look forward to traveling to their shoots! This one was especially fun because I got a photo pass to take some fun shots of my own ;) They had their own suite and it was a blast!

Kauai and Colbie Caillat

2009-01-12T13:29:00.001-08:00

Right now I feel like the luckiest guy in the world! A couple of weeks ago Colbie Caillat and I were talking and we realized we were going to be in Hawaii at the same time! I was shooting a wedding in Maui and so when she offered to let me stay at her beach house, of course I agreed to stop by!! She's writing her new CD here and it couldn't be more fun. One of my favorite things about being here so far is that I've gotten to listen to her just walk around the house singing to herself and let me tell you... she has an a-m-a-z-i-n-g voice. I've gotten a preview of some of the new stuff and its going to be sweet! Anyway here are a couple shots from yesterday, enjoy!!

Everyone wonders what stars do in their spare time... well here's what we've been doing! Listening to you tube, downloading MXC and Grey's Anatomy, watching funny shows, singing, writing new songs... pretty sick.

The beach house we're staying at is AWESOME!! This was taken from the front porch... and yesterday it was all rainy but today there isn't a cloud in the sky!! I went for a run this morning and it was awesome. I'll put up some pics tomorrow of the mountains so you can see them!! (there are SO many more behind the ones you can see and they're gorgeous!)

College Senior Photoshoot with Rachel!

2008-10-08T23:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of my very best friends, Rachel Mertensmeyer =) We have known each other for a couple years now and she is a great girl! She's smart, witty, personable, and very fun to be with! She can't help but smile and laugh but we were able to get some serious ones in there too =P When she asked me to do her college senior portraits I couldn't have been more excited! We toured around downtown Santa Barbara today and had a blast. As a thank you she awesomely took Dylan Mayer and I to dinner at Palazzios afterwards and we had a great time together! Check out some of Dylan's pics at www.dylanmayerphotography.blogspot.com - he ROCKS and I'm so stoked to be working with him! He's shooting a wedding this weekend and is going to get some killer shots. Enjoy!

Alice and Bryan E-shoot in SB =D

2008-10-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Alice and Bryan are a rad couple =) I have gotten to know the Bohlinger family over the last couple years and they are very dear to my heart... and I could not have been more excited when I got asked to shoot their wedding! I've known these two for a while and I they are great people and awesome friends. Their wedding is November 30, I can't wait!!

Britni and Tim E-shoot!

2008-10-02T17:14:00.001-07:00

Here is my most recent engagement shoot =) Britni, Tim and I all went to high school together and it worked out that we could meet up in Huntington beach for some sweet shots! We ate at BJ's after and it was amazing... I had my first pizooki (YUM) there EVER and I could not believe what I was eating. So good. Thanks Britni and Tim, you guys rock!!

My new bike =)

2008-10-02T13:05:00.001-07:00

So in the last couple years I've been a very proud owner of a 2003 Vespa ET4 and have loved having it around Santa Barbara! But... I've ridden a good amount of bikes, also. A dirt bike in Mexico, a BMW 750 in Hawaii for a week, a Harley for a couple days, and then a couple bikes in Peru. I just wasn't able to take it anymore after going to the Ducati shop for the 4th time this year so I just went ahead and bought one =) It is by far one of the best purchases I've made... ever. So thrilling and I love being so free on the road. It has the comfort of a cruiser but the speed and handling of a crotch rocket. Pair that with its 80 horsepower, 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds, ability to hit 55 in first gear, and the wonderfully beautiful aesthetics and prestige that only a Ducati has, and yes I'm in love.

Meet Annabelle Ducati =)

Chelsea and Aaron!!

2008-06-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to go up to my home, Alaska, and shoot the coolest wedding! It was a two hour drive north to Victory Bible Camp, and it was gorgeous the whole way there =) There were a couple glaciers, huge valleys, vast forests and absolutely no cell phone service! ;)

The wedding itself was beautiful, also - on the day of the wedding it was pouring rain until literally 20 minutes before the ceremony! The clouds broke and the mountains and sun rolled in, just to say hi for a couple hours! I had a really good time with some old friends, and made some new ones along the way! Enjoy the pictures and the slideshow at the very end. Take care, and until next time!!

Photoshoots, Disneyland, and Lizards Mouth!

2008-05-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hey all!! Another little update =) Before I left for Seattle and Alaska, I had some fun in Santa Barbara and LA with some of my friends! Here's the pictures I've been promising...

The following is Janelle Bosko! She's the co-director of Wonderfully Made and lives with 4 other awesome girls at the "yellow castle" =P I helped them move some stuff around and she expressed interest in learning about wedding photography! She's shooting her sisters wedding in the fall and wanted to know some tips. She'll actually be shooting with me this weekend at Brandon and Katie's Wedding, it'll be sweet!

We went around SB for an hour or so and had a little photoshoot in a couple different music stores =)

THEN I got to go to Disneyland with my best friends Michael, Aly, Korie and my bro Tim! We had a BLAST!! Disneyland is all about who you go with, and these guys definitely know how to have a good time =)

We were all anticipating the new Indy movie coming out so we of course had to go on the ride a couple times... SO much fun!! (except when Korie was driving... ;))

The Matterhorn was by far one of my favs growing up, and what do you know it still is!!

(What is Michael doing??)

Tim and Korie watching the parade, Korie having the best view out of anyone!

Tower of TERROR!! I had never been to this part of the park before... and MAN did I love this ride. Korie and Tim did too, obviously, as they are both clapping =D

That night I picked up my friend Adrienne at LAX and we went ALL around Santa Barbara that weekend!! We went sailing, watched a couple movies, saw the downtown, and went rock climbing at Lizards mouth! We didn't solve any puzzles... really, but we still had fun.

The fog was SICK!!

The *classic* Michael Thompson pose - he LOVES doing this look and I swear I have like 20 pictures of him with this face. Hmm...

Adrienne doing an amazing job recreating the face...

I'm stuck!

I'll post more up on facebook, so look for them there! Ciao for now!!

Seattle, Pikes Market, and Alaska!!

2008-05-25T14:33:00.001-07:00

I JUST got back from a wedding at Victory Bible Camp in Alaska, but I had to tell you guys about my last week =) Firstly, I had an amazing couple of days in Santa Barbara! I got to hang out with some amazing friends and Eric and I got to ride our vespas all around with Arisa and Kaela! After a BBQ, we went hot tubbing at the famous Santa Clause Lane and then watched the season finale of "The Office"... which was full of laughs. I seriously love that show...

I then left to Seattle for a couple days! My friends Kelsey Voetmann and Lauren Kuehl are both living there at the moment and I had a BLAST! Kelsey's dad is an amazing businessman and artist, and he completely designed this house! I was in love with the architecture and design, I couldn't get enough of it!

Everything down to the lighting fixtures were so rad... I actually went around their whole house and took pictures I was so stoked about it!

The first night we were there, Kelsey had a whole bunch of her friends over and we made a huge dinner! It was yum-MAY and we had a lot of fun =) We cranked the music up and went for it!

She'll probably be mad at me for posting this, but this is Lauren getting all ready for the dinner party =P "Stop taking pictures of me!!"

Soooo they live RIGHT on the waterfront... which is amazing. We got so many sweet sunsets, and the first night there was quite the view! RAD!

So... Lauren is quite the little prankster, and I decided to douse her with a little cool whip. Little did I know that she has NO reservations in getting someone back (with extreme intensity, too!) and she didn't give up until my face (and hair) was covered. Luckily she had some hidden ninja moves and got away...

Yes, we found a zebra... skin. Its real, and it kind of stunk. But we chased people around in it for a while =P We were waiting to play hide and seek in the whole house and got a little bored!

Pikes Market! Kels took me down here one day and we got lots of little goodies =) We had some really good coffee and a Russian lunch thing! I'm not even going to try to spell it... It was yummy though =)

Kelsey and I!

I had taken Kels and Lo out for a photoshoot during our last year at Westmont, and they took me out to dinner as a thank you =) We met up with one of their friends who is a pro dirt bike rider! She was cool and hopefully I'll be able to take some shots for her this summer! Lo and I also walked down to the town and watched "Prince Caspian" - it was in the daintiest little theatre, and we paid 4 bucks each, it was sweet!

Sunset on my last day there! We saw a bunch of whales out in the water too, that was so cool! I wanted to take a canoe out and say hi but we voted against it.

A lot of my family lives in Seattle, also, and my Aunt Julie has 3 adorable kids!! I got to play WII with them... and wow did they kick my butt at WII Tennis. It was a lot of fun though, and it was really good to see all of them! Here are some pictures of their newest born, Henry =)

I then went up to Alaska on Wednesday, and its definitely good to be back =) I love the weather, the air, the light, and the mountains! Its always amazing to be home... and my mom even had fresh chocolate chip cookies sitting by my bed when I got home from the airport!! MMM! This is a sunset over Anchorage... and this is the view from my "office" up here =) You can see the downtown buildings in the right, I love it up here!

What is WICKED SICK about this next picture is... well two things!! One, its taken at 2:30 in the morning, so for all you non-Alaskans reading this, this is what Alaska looks like all night! The sun is setting about 11:30pm right now and rising at about 4am. =P The second rad thing about this photo is thats Denali Mountain!! Its about 6.5 hours away and its the tallest mountain in North America (tallest climb in the world if you count from sea level!). Its in Denali National Park, one of my most favorite places in the world =)

I have a ton more photos coming... I am really excited to show you all my stuff from the wedding this weekend! I went out shooting with my good friend Garret Floyd for a couple hours after the rehearsal and we got some KILLER shots! Until next time...

peace!

Hannah and Drew

2008-05-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

This was SUCH a fun engagement shoot =) I've known these two for a while and I was lucky to get to know them at Jane and Luke's wedding! We woke up super early for some sun rise shots and then we made our way to Summerland Beach Cafe (an amazing place!) and got some breakfast =) It was really awesome getting to know them both a little better and I am SO excited for their wedding this fall! Its going to be in Texas and those Texans know how to throw a good party ;) Here are some of my favs and a slideshow!

Insane couple of months!

2008-04-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Well, with the advice of a couple of my really good friends... I'm going to start blogging a whole lot more =) I feel like I can relate to Bobby's feelings of "who exactly is going to be reading this?? =P But I want to have a really good way to communicate to a lot of people whats going on in my life! (not everyone is on facebook, I guess =P) And this one is going to be a beast of a blog, so prepare yourselves!

So... where to start?? well as many of you know, I got the chance to go to europe! but right before I left I had two photoshoots for ISS Facility Services - one in San Francisco and another in Pheonix. I met up with my friend Josh Gruetzmacher in San Fran and we got some sick shots for them =)

Here's Josh shootin the bridge~

I actually ended up hanging out the back of a car getting pictures of their van driving down, but I got some rad shots too =)

So two days after Phoenix, I left to Frankfurt! I had no idea what I was going to be doing, where I was going to be staying, or what countries I wanted to visit.

I went to Berlin after spending a couple hours in Frankfurt and met up with a guy from Argentina, and he was rad! We split a hostel and went on a tour of Berlin the next day.

I then went to Amsterdam and Brussels, but was meeting up with a friend so I only stayed in both cities for a couple hours each. The train ride to Paris was amazing and I caught a beautiful sunset!

I stayed a couple days in Paris and I loved it =) I feel most at home when I have mountains and the outdoors close by, but Paris was really special. The Eiffel Tower was weird to see - I've seen it in so many movies and pictures... it was sweet to see it in person!!

Paris has so many little shops, cafes, outdoor markets, and bakeries! I ate as much food as I could and loved every part of it =)

After Paris, I went to Versailles, Marseilles, and headed east through Toulons and NIce to Rome. Rome was epic, I got to see all the major sites and I ate some AMAZING Italian food =)

I then made my way up to Zurich, and that was by far my favorite city. I watched the sunrise over the alps and went through so many amazing communities just sitting on the waters edge with mountains in their backyard. Zurich was by far one of my favorite cities, I'm really excited to go back =)

Zurich at night was beautiful, and I went out to some amazing restaurants here. I actually met up with a girl from Zurich, Fabienne Mayer, and she was awesome! She bought me roasted chestnuts and a ton of Swiss chocolate!

I stopped in Innsbruck for a couple hours, but I then made my way to Venice. I met up with 6 photographers from Sweden there and they were AWEsome! We spent a whole day and a half just walking around shooting random things, and it was a blast.

The weather was FREEZING cold and going on the boats was loads of fun but also quite cold. I was in Venice though, so I didn't mind too much ;)

After Venice, I went to Vienna and Salzburg - both Amazing cities =) Salzburg has this wicked castle right on top of this hill and you can climb to the top of it to get a fantastic view of the whole city. I made it just in time for sunset and it was gorgeous!

Whats funny about my trip to Europe is that I got to go to Hawaii right before I left and also right after! I photographed April and Chris' Wedding in Honolulu and then I got to go to Kauai with my family, my brothers girlfriend Ali Sheffer, and my sisters friend Caroline.

I brought a second shooter with me to shoot April and Chris' wedding, Christie Wilhelms, and we rented a BMW 750 =) it was a blast...

We drove up to the North Shore and made it to Pipeline just in time for Sunset!

The next day was wedding time! This was my first wedding in Hawaii, and I loved it! We got some really cool shots, and I was stoked to be able to photograph it. I got to see a lot of Westmont friends I hadn't seen in a while, good times!!

After the wedding I spent of couple days just relaxing and touring around Oahu, and I got a chance to stay at my good friend Chris Johnsons house!! Christie and I drove up there and we ate the BEST shave ice I've ever had =)

I was stoked on this next shot... I took a long exposure at night and even all the stars showed up! Sweet!

So, on to family vacation! We had so much fun and I had much needed relaxation time =) I hadn't been sleeping at all trying to get work done and I was able to just chill a lot here. We went on a couple hikes, kayaking, to the ocean a lot, and to a couple waterfalls.

This waterfall is that the end of a small hike on the Napali Coast. I have pictures of the Na Pali coast on my last blog when I was in Kauai in November, its one of the most beautiful places I've been! But my dad, brother, Ali, and I went swimming underneath the waterfall and I LOVED it!!

Sunset later that day, and it was phenomenal. After Tim finished his caveman routine... which will hopefully be on youtube soon, he turned back into normal and I got some rad shots of him and Ali over Ke'e beach =)

We also had Easter in Hawaii, but the night before we had some fun with "costumes" and we all came up with names for each other. Good times for sure...

After I got back from Hawaii with my family, I spent a couple days with the Bohlingers and took some pictures of their house in Manhattan Beach because they are putting it on the market =( I'm excited for them to come up to Santa Barbara though, its going to be awesome!! But then I left to Washington with a couple friends to a prayer/worship conference for International Justice Mission and we met some rad people.

We had a candlelit prayer service at each of the memorials (there were over 1000 people that came) on the last night, and it was really neat to be a part of it. I loved learning about IJM and what they're all about.

I actually ended up meeting up with two of my friends from Alaska, Russel and Paul! It was really good to see them and I was totally bummed we didn't get to spend more time together.

Some of my friends I made in DC made a ghost picture... pretty wicked, huh??

Below are my really good friends Jonathan Olinger with Discover the Journey and Brad, from Dispatch, who runs Love Light and Melody. We had a really blessed day - we got to play with kids, listen to Brad's music, and hang out at his house that night.

After I got back from DC, I went to Santa Barbara and just worked for 3 weeks straight on editing photos, uploading every wedding picture I've taken to Pictage, making slideshows, and designing a new website. I've gotten to shoot two amazing weddings, though, one in Livermore (near San Francisco) and another one on Summerland beach.

This is a rad story... so, I was on David Jay's blog the week before my wedding in Livermore and I noticed that he mentioned a guy named Bobby Earle. He had just met him that week and they met up for lunch and had a really good conversation =) So DJ put up a post about them, and I decided to go to their site to check it out. Right away I was blown away by their photography and so I added their blog to my RSS feed in my email. Well, a couple days later I got from their blog that they were going to be in SF over the weekend! So I gave Bobby a call and he said that he and his wife would love to meet up with me... and I was really stoked. I drove up to SF all Saturday morning and met up with my friend John Nelson, who I hadn't seen in a while, so that was really cool =)

Later that night Bobby invited me to stay in his hotel room... which was a LIFE saver, and I could not have been more grateful! We ended up talking until around 2 in the morning, and right away we were all best buds. His wife Lindsey had to get up at 4, so she ended up falling asleep early, but one of her super powers is sleeping through anything... so that worked out well.

The next day we woke up and drove to Livermore and got some Jamba to start the day off right =) We photographed an amazing wedding that day, and here are some shots from that wedding!

We finished at about 10 o'clock that night, and Bobby had been on the phone with his wife for a couple hours because his 5 month year old german shepherd had gotten sick! I had planned on staying in SF for a couple days, but I knew Bobby wanted to get back so we drove all night back to SB. Bobby and Lindsey were such a blessing to me - they totally encapture what a relationship should be and were such an encouragement and inspiration. They are so in love and they've been married 7 years and haven't skipped a beat! I loved talking to Bobby all night on the drive back home and I learned a lot =) I am SO excited to hang out with them more and get to know them better, I know God has amazing plans for them and I'm stoked. When I grow up, I want to be like THEM!! ;)

That morning was actually amazing - I stayed up for the sunrise (we got in at 4:30!) and went out on the pier to get some rad shots of SB!

All last week was filled with lots of Super Mario Smash Brothers (a very good distractor from my friends finals schedules!) and more editing =) I got a chance to go to this swing overlooking a valley in SB, it was soooo beautiful!! (And fun! It felt like I was flying into this valley!!)

I had another wedding the next weekend... but my life has been kind of crazy for the last week so I haven't been able to edit any of those photos. Last Saturday I had my best friends graduation, a birthday party at the beach, a graduation dinner, night out with the friends, and then I had to be in Newport to pick up a friend and meet with a bride.

For those of you that made it to the bottom of this, thanks for reading and I'll be trying to upload a lot more!! Much love~

Sunrise in Kauai

2007-11-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

This was my second to last day in Hawaii, and I woke up around 5:30 to get some sunrise shots =) I loved being out at the beach alone and I spent some much needed time by myself just taking in all the beauty.

It actually poured rain on me near the end, but I loved it. The rain was really warm and although it soaked all my gear I totally had fun.

I'm in Haiti now and my time here has been life altering, I can't wait to tell everyone about it. Talk to you soon!!

Na Pali Coast, Kauai

2007-11-20T21:57:00.000-08:00

I got the chance to go out to Na Pali coast the other day, and it was absolutely breath taking. I don't think my photos represent at all what I was able to see that day, it was sooo sweet =) Its one of my favorite places in the world, and not just because it reminds me of LOST =P I'll be posting more later, can't wait!!

I'm going to be leaving for Haiti in two days, and I'm totally stoked about that. I am SO amped about being able to take photographs of the ministry there, I'll also be posting those as soon as I can ;) Enjoy!!

First Day in Kauai!

2007-11-17T00:00:00.001-08:00

So, as some of you have pointed out, its been over a year since my last post! And as promised, I'm going to start updating my blog a LOT more. Facebook has kind of taken over my blogging, but this is just a much better way to get my newest photos online! So, anyways, yesterday I went out and went shooting just for fun, which was awesome. I can't wait to go to the Na Pali coast and a bunch of other places here, I'll post those as they come =) Here are some fun shots from the first day, enjoy!

Second Wedding in Homer

2006-08-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hey all!! Well this is my last wedding of the summer!! It's kind of sad in a way, but its been a freakin awesome summer for me, so I couldn't be happier. This trip was SO sweet though, because Julie came and helped me out a lot!! We had a blast, and I'll be putting some more pics up later!! Well anywho, enjoy!!

Rush '98

2006-07-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

So, my soccer team pretty much ROCKS!!! I think I could put up about 500 more pictures of them and still feel okay about it. They are totally amazing and they play soccer beautifully!! I look forward to their games EVERY week!! They kick butt and they're totally adorable. We've only lost one game in the last 2 years and we usually score 6 or 8 goals a game ;) I pretty much LOVE them!! I just got my E license and I'll be the offical Rush (old Goldstrikers) 98 coach next summer!

These two pics are of my center mid - Carolyn - she TOTALLY rocks and has amazing dribbling skills - she can see the field as a whole and has a very hard shot.

This is Bridget - she's one of my top forwards - she's extremely fast and really aggressive. She is also so excited to play and is just plain adorable!

There's me and my team warming down!!

Bridget and Stephanie - Steph is probably one of the fastest girls on my team and she attacks non-stop. She has a HUGE kick and just loves life ;) Shes awesome to watch!

This is Hailey, one of my other top forwards - she is CRAZY!! She scored two goals last game and doesn't let ANYone push her around ;) She's also hilarious, I love her

And of course my sister Sarah!! She was another forward but has instead followed her brothers footsteps as a defender! She has a HUGE boot and is reeeeally fast. Go sis!!

Group huddle after winning our game 8-0 ;)

Ps - thanks to my dad for some of these shots!

Fireworks and 4th of July!

2006-07-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I got to hang out with *Miss Anchorage* on the 4th of July!! She wanted to get some head shots for her pagaent - so we took some pics near her house and then went and watched fireworks ;) You rock Steph! And when you get back from Japan, no more insane phone tag =)

I know its about the same composition for each shot (and a couple are just for fun), but I liked a couple of them a lot! Well, enjoy, and peace out ;)

Wedding in Sterling!

2006-06-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

I shot a wedding in sterling the other weekend, it was totally sweet! Here are some of the images =) Check out the full slideshow here!! --> http://www.anchoragephotography.com/ShowIt_Files/LyndiandMichael/index.html

Wedding at the parkstrip =D

2006-05-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

I shot my first summer wedding in Alaska this last Friday and it was a total blast!! The bride, Sarah, was totally awesome and it was so fun hanging out with her! Her and her husband, Victor, were so sweet and they even bought me dinner at Simon's (woo hoo!!) Here's the slideshow, enjoy!!!

Here are some of my favs =)

Lake Eklutna and a moose!

2006-05-15T19:12:00.001-07:00

Summer in the AK!!!

2006-05-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all!! I know its been a while since I've posted, but I wanted to update my LIFE!!! Well, this summer is going to be pretty busy but its gonna ROCK!! I'm shooting wedding photography all summer, getting my coaching license, doing construction and doing all the things Alaska has to offer!

Wedding photography has totally taken off for me and I already have about 6 weddings booked! I'm completely stoked about doin that, I LOVE it!! Speaking of which, here is an engagement that I shot the other weekend --> http://www.anchoragephotography.com/showit%20files/harrietmichael/index.html --> check it out and tell me what you think!!

I shot a beautiful wedding the other weekend, here are some pics!!

Christianna and Kyle

2006-03-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

P03 in Santa Barbara!

2006-02-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

A couple of my friends from Alaska, Ginger (visiting from Virginia) and Lindsey (visiting from Oregon), came to Santa Barbara over the weekend and it was a lot of fun =) Many laughs, lots of poking fun, and plenty of remembering all the good times (with Shrek and Arnold). And what better place than Santa Barbara?? It was great to see them and I had fun taking photos =D

From the sun to the snow, all in one day

2006-02-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

So, also over four day, a bunch of us drove about an hour east to Pine Mountain in search for snow! Well, only in Southern-California can you get the beach and the snowy mountains in the same day. It was a blast and totally reminded me of home!! =)

Four day!!!

2006-02-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

So this weekend was four day for us, we had Monday and Tuesday off!! Movies, pizza, slacking, the beach - could it get any better??

Loser Cruiser baby ;)

Marcy and Em havin a laugh

CPK, that's right...

Pizza Commercial?

A&F models in the making... you know it - Hawaii and Alaska, represent!

Good ol' Paseo Nuevo!

Ashley

2006-02-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Ashley for the photos, it was a fun day for sure!!

The Sun and the Moon =)

2006-02-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

Some sweet shots of sweet Santa Barbara!

April

2006-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Senior picture time ;)

Christianna

2006-02-12T01:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some cool shots from a photoshoot I did the other day, enjoy =)

Just for kicks

2006-02-11T03:53:00.000-08:00

What better way to better spend a day than to play!

(especially if it involves photography =D)

Beginning

2006-02-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Today was sweet =) I got my first two jobs! (and possibly three ;)) I'm going to be shooting a friend's engagement shots and I'm also doing some senior portraits =) I'm pretty amped on that. I'm also shooting for my school newspaper now, so that's pretty tight. Can't wait to post some of those pics up!!

*The above picture was from a random mini photo shoot, thanks to Osborn for being the model ;)

Around campus

2006-02-03T19:19:00.000-08:00

Just some random shots that I took around campus =)

First day with the camera =)

2006-01-16T13:14:00.000-08:00

I JUST got my new camera - the sony R1 - and I had a blast with it this past weekend. I took over 250 shots, mostly just testing out the cameras abilities, but some of the pictures turned out pretty cool. Thanks to Brooke for being my model for the day ;)

Sun Dance

2005-10-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

I went out to the beginning point of the "ranch" yesterday... it was pretty awesome. I got a chance to get some pretty cool shots... I'll post more of them as soon as I have more time! Enjoy...

The City of Fog

2005-10-13T01:45:00.000-07:00

Me and a couple of my friends went to San Franciso this weekend!! It was really awesome... we got to stay in the Urban house in the middle of the city and it rocked. We went to a couple airshows (Blue Angels flew, they're in the picture!), toured around on the buses, went to Pier 39 (got the clam chowder, of course), Ghiradelli Square, China Town (there was a huge parade... looked like the one off of Mulan!), witnessed Jesse Matthews proposing, went extreme shopping, went salsa dancing, had Chinese, Tai, and Indian food, and had many good conversations. The weekend couldn't have been better! Can't wait to go there again! ;)

Moose!

2005-10-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

So Brett sent me a really pretty amazing picture today... I can't even believe he did this. Enjoy!

Surprise outside my room

2005-10-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

a grasshopper decided to take it's residence outside of VK today... i got away with a cool shot of it. i wish i had a better lense so that the entire thing would be in focus... but i like the shot. cheers!!! (click on the pic for a bigger res!)

A new start

2005-09-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am really bad with blogs or anything of the like... but I was inpsired to start one as of late. Well, we'll see how far this goes =) Hope everyone is having a great week, drop me a line if you feel free!

I have posted some of my art on the two links to the right - I'll be updating them as much as possible. They only allow 20mb per month... so I might have to size down some of the pictures or something. Have a great weekend everyone! Cheers!