Aloha Friends

I am off to Hawaii to shoot my last wedding of the year. It is a New Year's Eve Wedding in Maui and I am super excited! My friends Jeremy and Jacki are a gorgeous couple too. Can't wait to share the photos with you when I get back. I will return to the snow on the 3rd. I wish you all a Happy New Year!

A Christmas to Remember...

I had a great time with my family this Christmas. My brother, Jeff, lives out in the country and we had Christmas at his house. My mother and Lori's(my sister-in-law) parents along with Lori's nieces come out to the house early in the morning. I surprised everyone this year by showing up on time:)

We have a small breakfast and I like to tease my nephew, Colby, that he has to wait until we all open all our presents so we can watch him open his. He never seems to think that is a good idea. He gets so anxious to open presents that he starts handing them out to everyone while we are still eating. I so remember when I was a kid and how much I loved opening presents. My brother would always say "Are you ready to Riiiiiiip!" I miss having that feeling at Christmas but it is cool to see that in Colby and the other kids at Christmas.

Here are some photos of my Christmas this year. It was a great time with family! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. Regardless of what you did or did not receive this year remember that you have the gift of Jesus!

I liked seeing Lori's reaction when she opened the family photo I gave them...

This is the Is-Anybody-Watching-Me face...

Ornaments can be so beautiful to photograph...

This photo of my mother and brother is priceless...

Bill and Jan (Lori's parents)

Kaidon...

Kaidon and Candace...

My mother...

The newest addition to this Christmas...



It wouldn't be Christmas without CHOCOLATE!

It was a Picturesque Christmas

Sticking with the true meaning of Christmas I wanted to share with you all what I GAVE for Christmas this year rather then what I received. Here are photos of the framed prints that I gave to my family. I did family portraits for my brother and his family a couple months ago so they could give them out for Christmas gifts. Well, I decided to steal my sister-in-laws idea and I gave them one of the photos as a nicely framed 8x10. I also gave my mom, dad and brother a framed series of three photos of myself that were taken by my amazing photographer friend, Sara Tafoya. So, what did you GIVE for Christmas this year? Leave comments of creative gifts or just fun stories from your holidays! Can't wait to read them!

Christmas Day Sunrise in the Midwest...

Unto us a Savior is born... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I am off to WIchita to celebrate Christmas with my family. I wanted to leave an encouraging post before I get on the road. I hope you all have a blessed Christmas filled with good times with family and friends. Receiving gifts is great but serving others is ten times more enjoyable. Do something special for someone this Christmas Day! Remember... "Christ came to serve, not to be served, and gave His life as a ransom for many." Merry Christmas! (I will share pictures from my Christmas in a couple days)

Christmas Cards for my bloggers

I designed some Christmas cards for all of my friends and wedding vendors. I sent them out via snail mail. Now I am sending my Christmas cards to all of my blog readers. If you are seeing them on here and you received them in your mailbox then you are an extra special friend of mine:) Thank you all. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Remember the true meaning of Christmas this year and celebrate the birth of Christ the Savior!

In Action

Here is a shot of me at a Kansas City Wedding earlier this year at Longview Mansion. I was putting together the slideshow to show at the reception. I always show slideshows of the wedding at the reception. Couples love it when they can see the beautiful photos before they go on their honeymoon. It also adds to the reception as friends and family gather around to talk about the wedding photos that were taken just hours before. Just another added bonus I like to provide for my brides and it separates me from other photographers.

A piece from my fine art side

Here is a new art piece that I just put together and wanted to share it with you all. The photos are metallic prints from macro shots of another art piece that I took a few months ago. They resemble sand dunes but maintain an organic feel as well. Let me know what you think. It's hanging above my bed now and brings life to my room. More wedding stuff to come. I will be showing you a Year In Review very soon so stay tuned.

Photography Workshop in the Spring

I am making plans to have my first photography workshop the first weekend of March 2008. It will be designed to help beginning photographers get the most out of their SLR cameras and to learn some Photoshop tricks. A lot of hands-on teaching where we will be shooting together and learning by doing. I am super excited to do this! Let me know if you are interested and stay tuned for more details.

25 Year Club Dinners for Hallmark

Last week I photographed three dinners for Hallmark. The dinners were a gift and celebration to all the Hallmark employees that have served the company for more then 25 years. They had a total of 6 dinners last week and the three that I shot were at the Weston Hotel. Isn't that amazing that literally hundreds of employees have served for over 25 years with this great company that started back in 1910? It says a lot about how they treat their employees. Every person received a 5x7 of their table. Not the most exciting photos to share with you but here are some cool detail shots I took before hand along with some of the other photographers.

Kenya, Africa with Bob and Dawn

Photographer friends Bob and Dawn Davis just returned from Kenya, Africa with an organization called 410 Bridge. They had an amazing time and put together this slideshow to share with everyone on their blog. It reminds me of the time I went to Haiti years ago and I just had to share it with you all. Trips like this change your life forever and give you and chance to make a difference in others lives as well. What an awesome experience!