LOLA J PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography, refound.

2010-08-06T00:31:00.000-07:00

It was the day I decided to quit Photography that I realized I not only truly loved it, but I needed it.

I had decided I couldn't be better, that I didn't want to put the effort into learning new things nor perfecting the very skill I posessed. I didn't have faith within myself to pull it off. When people would let me know how amazing a certain image I took was, I wouldn't take pride in it. I would just say Thank You and not a word more. I didn't want to boast about my photography or put a 'price' on it because I felt it was sacred to me and if someone, anyone was to ridicule it, I would be petrified. I had decided that I'd rather not deal with the bad that may come so I quit. Just.like.that.

I stopped taking pictures, I stopped putting thought into my images when I would take them, I just stopped. And after awhile I didn't feel anything, nothing wrong that I had quit. Everything was still normal, I didn't feel any turmoil that I had expected. I didn't feel anything. Until I realized that I didn't feel anything. No inspiration, no love for what I did, no gratification. I decided then this was worth more. Feeling the camera in my hands, loving the joy I brought to clients faces, the overwhelming response of gratitude when I showcased their albums. This was it. I was home. And I was never going to leave again.

Parents Photo Faves

2010-05-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Parents Photo Faves

Please vote for Jasmine to be on the cover of Parents magazine!

Sneak Peek :: Valerie & Joseph

2009-07-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

OK, OK. I'm behind. As if I hadn't realized that. I threw in a sneak peek for my camping trip right after 4th of July weekend and here we are, a month before Labor Day weekend and I haven't finished showing the wonderfulness I encountered on my camping trip. I promise as soon as I can, I will!

For now, I'd like to hold you off by showing a wonderful sneak peek of the gorgeous wedding I was able to be apart of this past weekend.

Toodles!

Become A Fan!

2009-07-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

I got suckered into it. Honest.

A client of mine suggested it. I proceeded in telling her I was nowhere near that cool to make one. She laughed.

Then another client of mine also suggested it. Then another.

So here I am, shamelessly promoting myself. :)

I have officially jumped on the bandwagon of Facebook Fan Pages. And to not make me feel ridiculous, become a Fan. ;)

Click Here

And thanks for the support!

Sneak Peek :: Camping & More

2009-07-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful weekend. I love weekends like this. Family, good times, great weather...all you need for camping and for some great fireworks.

Here's a sneak peek of my camping trip as well as a mini-shoot I couldn't resist doing with Gizmo (niece's dog).

Hope everyone had a good 4th!

Faith, Respect

2009-07-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

The other day someone asked me why I believed in God. They themselves did not believe in anything and they said they often wondered why my belief was so strong. I pondered many different ways to answer this...'I just do', 'I was brought up in believing so', 'I have researched other religions and feel most drawn to the Word of the Lord.' But instead I decided to answer with a true honest answer that was a bit selfish but so true and is the root of my beliefs today.

'My grandmother passed away 3 years ago and there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her. She believed in the Lord very much, she said her Holy Rosary everyday and always talked about the Lord to myself and everyone else. Without her wisdom and love and beliefs I would not be the same person I am today. So with that, I believe she is with the Lord and she is happy and she watches over me everyday. I have to believe in the Lord more than ever to know she is well and that she no longer experiences pain but happiness. This is what sparked my belief system so strongly as of late. I have to have belief in the Lord to know she is happy because to just think she is in a coffin somewhere and that's it...I won't believe it, I can't understand it. There is a higher force. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because I believe in the Word of God, the Bible as well. To me, all answers lead to Him. The more I read the Bible, attend church and pray, the more I learn about the Lord and my relationship I have with Him grows. Of course, I have setbacks...who doesn't? I am not saying that because I believe in God, I am the most perfect person and I will do everything right. Sin is what is in between us and our maker. It's a fact of life. I try and pray each day so that I can be a better person and a stronger believe in my faith so that others can see myself and want to follow as well.'

He then said, 'I don't believe in anything. I mean, of course there had to be a God...but what does that mean?'

I asked him, 'How can you believe there is a God and not believe in Him and follow Him?'

He then said, 'My life's been pretty bad. Nothing good has ever happened to me...so why should I believe?'

I told him that I was not a Pastor so I could not give him the correct answer to everything...but I instead said to him, 'A lot of people out there believe they can handle their problems on their own...and a lot of Christian people believe that if they pray about it and hand over their problems to the Lord and believe in Him to take care of it, the turnout is different for them...this is what I believe.'

He then went on to tell me how crazy I sounded and that I was full of it.

I am telling this story for one reason. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I do not make fun of or call people insane for believing in something or someone I do not believe in. Nor should I be ridiculed for my beliefs. I respect you, all I ask is you to respect me. I am offering this story in hopes this sparks an interest in someone who does not believe in God or for someone whose faith has dwindled and is in need of a boost...or for those who have experienced a situation like this.

God Bless You All.

Inspiration...Sure Goes A Long Way!

2009-06-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Jessica Strickland's photos...So much that I get mad at myself that my photos can not be more like hers. There are photographers out there that I love... I love their photos as well as themselves like Melissa Jill...or think they as a person through their blog is so freakin' cool that I don't care if they had not so cool pictures but in fact they do very much so like Jasmine Star...or so FANTABULOUS pictures that I want to drop to the ground everytime I visit their blog...like Jessica Strickland.

I love that there are photographers out there displaying their work, offering tips, helping aspiring photographers such as myself strive for greatness...via their blog. I have never met these lovely ladies in my life but I would be so incredibly honored to do so...which is why I think I'm going to plan a trip to each of their cities just so I can be a 'client' and get my photos taken and be amongst the amazingness of their photography collection. That way I can also say I have met them and rave about how cool they actually are in person. :)

If only I could get the courage to do so...and not seem so stalkerish. ;)

The Puzzle is finally finished!

2009-06-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and thank you for reading my blog. I am so happy to say the puzzle pieces are now back in place and I am moving back to Renton! Not until July, but still it is a major step for me and I am so thrilled that you all have taken this journey with me! I'll be getting back to my photography roots soon, so there will be much to see!

A Sudden Burst of Emotion...

2009-04-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

It was sunny. Finally. Seattle was in much need of sun and little did I know, so did I.

I took Jasmine to Coulon Park to get some sun and to finally be outdoors without a jacket. We walked around the lake and sat at some benches to just have some mother/daughter time and to joke around.

Soon enough, it was time to go but as we were walking through the grass (well, Jasmine was running) I spotted a granddaughter with her grandmother sitting on the grass with a picnic basket and an umbrella over them. The granddaughter was taking photos of her grandmother and they were laughing and having a good time.

Then I felt the tears.

It completely caught me off guard. It has been 3 years since my grandmother's passing and I thought I had dealt with it and moved on already so for tears to come so sudden was definitely surprising. I tried to gather myself and not stare so much at the granddaughters happiness on her face but it was uncontrollable. I called for Jasmine and walked fast. I stopped at a bench and held Jasmine tight and sobbed into her. She held me tight as I held her and afterwards she looked up at me and wiped my face. 'It's okay, Mommy...big girls don't cry'. It's amazing how you tell things to your children and all they do is turn it around back at you and all you can do is accept it.

After driving home with lots of thinking, I have once again realized how short life is, not to sweat the small stuff and to hold on to your loved ones. This is part of the reason I became a photographer. I always took photos and video of my family, on holidays even everyday. I look back at these photos and video all the time. It's great to be remembered of what matters most to you because with jobs and life you can forget these things. Sad to say I lose more of my memory of my grandmother, 'Lola' everyday but am very blessed with the video and photos I have of her to hold onto forever.

Realization...

2009-03-31T21:15:00.001-07:00

I am humbled and extremely surprised at the love and thoughtfulness from what others give to me. And am truly inspired.

After being an avid blog reader of Me Ra Koh, I have been nominated not once, but twice for her Running On Empty Contest for a free ride (or half a free ride) to her Advanced Workshop in Sonoma.

As many of you probably know (or not) I was laid off the end of January and it has been a constant physical and mental struggle ever since. I had so many plans that I actually for once was planning to follow through on (I'm a HUGE procrastinator) and all those dreams were shattered when I received my layoff notice. Although I try not to get down about it, (I know people have it much worse than myself) sometimes I can't help but be saddened and overwhelmed with the huge burden of not being able to provide for my family as before and even worse putting a huge weight on my boyfriend, as he now is the only source of income.

I know many of you can relate to this feeling and I keep my faith in God that He will carry me through to the end. I know I am truly blessed to still have my family and to still be carrying through and I know that the right doors will open for me in the end due to the love and trust I have in Him.

I realize now all the love, trust and belief in me will take me nowhere than the top and I thank all of my family, friends...and YOU for standing by my side, reading my blog where my thoughts are put out for all. I know in due time, it will be my turn.

Cathy and Shannon,
I am more honored than anything to be thought of for this amazing gift. I appreciate your faith in me and even if I don't get chosen, your kindness and generosity will never be forgotten. You both are close to my heart.

Love,
Liza J.

Christmastime :: Jasmine

2009-03-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. The feeling you get around the Holidays, the joy of shopping for your loved ones, the togetherness you feel when you're putting up the Christmas tree. It's truly amazing. Every year I snap some photos of Jasmine around the Christmas tree just to show how big she has grown each and every Christmas. Here are a couple I was able to shoot this time around.

'Till next time!

Babies :: Alfino

2009-03-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

His smile is so bright, his personality so bubbly, full of love and bursting with fun. Yes, I am talking about my nephew. :) For a Christmas present to his mama, I decided to watch him for the day and take the opportunity to do a mini shoot with him so that later I could compile all the photos and put them together for her in a book.

He was all smiles and such a fun loving baby!

Fingers and Toes!!!

He just was starting to be able to touch his toes and have a firm grip so I had to get lots of shots!

All smiles!

In the suit I bought especially for this shoot I planned! Sofie had no clue!

Now who said he wasn't like his daddy? Hahahaha...

Hope you liked your gift Sofie!

Backlog :: Mia turns 1!

2009-02-04T00:39:00.000-08:00

On December 19^th, My beautiful niece, Mia Noelle, finally turned a year old. It was amazing to finally see her turn 1, I haven’t been able to see her a lot during her first year of life but was still very excited to see her and look forward to seeing her more this year. Her beautiful parents, Aimee and my cousin, Rommel, threw her first birthday bash at their place the following Saturday on December 20th.

Due to the crazy snowstorm that ended up hitting Seattle over…and over…and over again (see blog post below), there wasn’t as big as a turnout but that didn’t stop the parents to go all out for Ms. Mia!

The pretty in pink Disney Princess cake…

Mia and fam blow out her candle!

Mia with her beautiful mother, Aimee.

And what 1 year old doesn't like to eat cake?

Here, Alaida, you eat some too...

Now it's all for me!

With the proud parents...

Getting kisses from Daddy...

With Auntie Myka...

On to the games…

Hip,

Hooray!

If you are a Filipino and watch WoWoWee, you know exactly what this game entails. As for myself, I had no clue. Although I am Filipino, I do not watch TFC (The Filipino Channel) therefore had no idea what was going on. After awhile I ended up getting a hang of it and it turned out be very entertaining to watch.

Everyone was having a good time...

Alaida just turned 3 as well...she's such a superstar!

And of course, we have the model, Ms. Kiandra Jade.

AJ never likes taking pictures, but I always seem to catch her. :)

My beautiful goddaughter/niece, Mara...

Alaida waiting for presents...

No need to wait any longer Alaida...Time to open the presents!

Mia can’t wait!

It's okay, Lani, it's just a Toys R' Us Gift Card!

The party was a blast, Aimee & Rommel, and despite the craziness of the storm, it turned out beautiful and we had a great time!

Backlog :: Seattle Snow & Yo Gabba Gabba

2009-02-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

Thud, thud, thud.

My daughter is dancing once again in front of the TV. I look over and she is watching one of her favorite shows on Nickelodeon: Yo Gabba Gabba!

There is an episode called Christmas which I have deemed to be my daughter’s favorite. In the beginning there is a song in which one of the characters, Toodee begins to sing how winter is her favorite season because of ice skating, snow angels and how she likes to throw snow in the air and catch it on her nose.

She obviously was not in Seattle during the weeks in December to experience the craziness my mind went through with all the inches of snow that lined the street in front of my house or the 17 inches that blew over to even double the snow in my driveway in the back.

Nevertheless, as a parent I must take my child outside and experience the white fluff...every.single.day. There was really nothing else better to do. My house was spotless after cleaning it over and over and Jasmine was getting cabin fever since the snow disabled her from going to school. I was NOT going to drive and even though Chris was, he was working and not coming home until 9pm which limited our going out time. The bright side was I could used some photography practice and what better pictures than winter wonderland ones?

The first day the snow was light and was almost all melted away. Me thinking that this was the only time snow would be on the ground, hopped on the opportunity and bundled Jasmine up and went outside. First we went to the park.

Walking back to the house...

She was so fascinated by the sewer drains during our walk back. She stopped at every.single.one! It drove me nuts but soon ended up being really funny.

She wanted to listen to the water, since the snow was melting... Here's her 'listening'.

She was laughing because not only did she stop at sewer drains, she also stopped at houses constantly asking if it was her house. When I would tell her no, she would burst out laughing. When we finally got to our house, she asked again and when I said no just to see what she would say. She yelled, 'No mommy! My house!"

In the driveway before it turned into craziness in just a matter of days...

The start of craziness...after spending some time in the driveway, we were ready to go inside...until it started snowing. I had to get a shot or two! (The other photos from this posting is here.

When snow turns to ice...

I thought this was pretty on a day like this.

See the blue skies? It soon turned to white...

When more snow came...

And I can't do a posting of my daughter without a cameo of her fave toy ever, Baby Sister!

When it started to get really bad, it was at nighttime. Chris, Jasmine and I just so happened to be at my niece, Mia's, first birthday party (to be blogged soon!) and we had drove through the snow to get there. While enjoying the festivities, it started snowing again...and this time it was even harder.

We left early to fight the storm to get back home...it literally was a snowstorm! You couldn't see anything but white. I was so relieved when we finally pulled up to the front of our house, knowing we were safe. Chris went out to measure how much snow had fallen...and it was 17 inches!

The following morning, I peered out the window and saw how much snow had actually fallen. It was bad. Then I looked in the back where my driveway is and saw the horror. From the look of it, it looked like it had added at least 2 additional inches! Stupid ole me decides to go back there to see how much ‘fun’ it would be to try to walk in 17+ inches of snow…and to bring Jasmine with me. It was absolutely insane, especially when Jasmine fell and almost got buried by the snow that fell off a tree nearby.

Jasmine loved it but it just plain freaked me out. After awhile of her playing I decided to take her in the safeness of our house. Yeah, yeah...I'm one of those overprotective crazy moms...Whatever. Besides I was tired of feeling like I was Sasquatch. I just hope that it doesn't get like this again.

This photo was taken during the first day of snow. I ended up framing it and giving it to her Grandma for Christmas. :)

Backlog :: Pumpkin Patch 2008

2009-02-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

I knew when I would have my daughter that I would bring her to a Pumpkin Patch when it came time for Halloween. I’d always wanted to go when I was younger and I just adored the photos of children taken there. I just knew I had to bring my daughter and I have. Since she was born, every year (so just 3 for now) I have brought my daughter to the pumpkin patch at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA. I love this place! Not only do they have a pumpkin patch, they have a corn maze, an indoor restaurant and if you come on the weekends a Harvest Festival during the Fall/Halloween season! They have rides inside for the kids and a train that takes you around the area. It is so much fun and I have not yet gotten tired of it.

Every year, I attend this Festival with Jasmine and her cousin, Giselle with her mom, Pelita. Giselle was born 1 month and 3 days prior to Jasmine, so Pelita and I try our best to go on outings with just the two of them. It has become a tradition. But this year we decided to meet up with some of the other cousins so we could have just a fun outing as a full family (or partial, Chris’s side has a HUGE family as well as me).

Jasmine is usually the odd ball out; she’s very sensitive and likes to do her own thing. So if all the kids want to jump in the hay, Jasmine won’t want to jump…until everyone who looks familiar to her is gone from the area…well by the time that happens we’re all moving on to the next thing. Imagine what this does to me. It drives me insane! She does it to everything, but I guess part of being a mom is to just understand her and realize that is just who she is…but I am secretly praying that it is just a stage and that it hurries up and passes!

Jasmine...

When Jasmine was younger, my older brother, Allan, used to call her Baby Hulky named after The Incredible Hulk because of how chubby she was. We began making a huge joke of it and now when we call her 'Baby Hulky' she puts her fists out and shakes vigorously...it's hilarious!

Jasmine's cousin, Brooklyn..

Brooklyn posing in the Cat stand...

Jasmine's cousin, Breanna, on the Train...

Jasmine with the pumpkins...

Jasmine with Breanna...

Breanna solo...

Here’s the 4 of them, the beautiful cousins: Giselle, Breanna, Jasmine & Brooklyn with daddy holding her up in the back trying to stay unseen.

I love this one, Daddy Carlo & Daughter Brooklyn walking through the patch.

When we were leaving, this amazing light began to show through the trees and fall on the pumpkins. It was amazing.

Till next year! (Well since this is late, till later this year! ;) I know, silly I am.

Backlog :: Seasons...come & go...

2009-01-18T02:17:00.000-08:00

Fall….I love the season. My favorite season. I love the crisp clean air, the beautiful different colored leaves on the ground. I love the photos where there are leaves thrown in the air and everyone is laughing around them having the leaves fall on themselves. Fall to me also means new beginnings. Blame it on grade school or whomever; I feel it’s always a fresh start of a new time, even more so than actual New Years day.

Every year I take my daughter Jasmine to a park or field where there are hundreds of thousands of leaves on the ground. It is the most amazing feeling watching her run around playing with the leaves, being a kid. I love to look at the photos afterwards and compare them to years prior…it’s amazing how quickly they grow up.

These are some of the shots of fall 2008 at the first location:

She had so much fun running through the leaves...but we saw a slide that she just had to slide down on!

The day of Jasmine’s first Fall Festival, I took her to the park near my home for some playtime before getting dressed up in her Halloween costume and heading over to her daycare. It wasn’t that cold outside, just a cool breeze every so often. Thank goodness I always have my camera handy because I would have missed out on a huge photo opportunity.

So...what's your favorite season?

OMG....I'm a Mom.

2009-01-13T13:10:00.001-08:00

I heart the holidays. I especially heart the lights and feel when you go into downtown Seattle. I always make an effort to go into Downtown and stroll around every year during this time; it makes me feel more in the holiday spirit. Last year, I was able to book a room downtown so that I wouldn’t have to worry about excessive traffic and no parking, or I should say expensive parking. It was the best, I so wish I would have been able to do it this year. Unfortunately I ended up not having any time or making any time to go downtown this year and walk around. I do take my Uncle to work sometimes which since he works graveyard I get to see Christmas in Downtown in all of its glory.

One night after dropping Uncle Leo off I decided to take an extended route home which included sightseeing through downtown since I had my daughter with me and she loves Christmas lights. She also loves horses. So as I am driving I spot a horse and carriage, but since there is so much traffic behind me I couldn’t stop long enough for her to be able to see it. I quickly turn at the next corner and going in a complete circle to try to track down this horse for her. Nowhere to be found. I probably drove around downtown for a good 30 minutes before finally deciding to park and walk around to look for it.

As I took my daughter out of the car and walked over to where I usually see the horses parked, I realized ‘Wow, I’m a mom.’ This statement might sound completely stupid but I believe that there is a point when you have your child where you look at your darling little one and all of a sudden realize that you are their parent. They are your life now…and that you’ll drive around downtown for 30 minutes looking for a horse just so that you can see the expression on their face when they see it.

Was there a defining moment for you? Was it when your child was born and the feeling just overcame you? Or maybe when you realized that you have wayyyy too much High School Musical stuff in your house to still consider yourself an adult? Or when you were in the shower and you caught yourself singing Hannah Montana or some random cartoon song? Or when you stood in line for HOURS for the a Nintendo Wii because they just HAD to have it?

Ring a bell? ;)

5203

2009-01-06T00:11:00.000-08:00

Home is definitely where the heart is. That's why when my Mom said to me recently we might be having to move, my heart sunk to the bottom of the earth.

I have lived in this house since birth, I moved out for a bit to start my own life though I always knew the '5203' would always be there to come back to. There are so many memories I have in that home, I wouldn't be able to deal with it being gone...like for real, gone.

Since I am an aspiring photographer and this is a photography blog, I took some photos of my beloved 'home'.

I will always love my home!

Alfredo :: Round 2!

2009-01-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

Since the original post for Alfredo's shoot was so long, I decided to save the rest of the photos I was able to take of his brother and sister for another time. That time is now.

Here is the oldest, Aiyen (Belle):

Isn't she adorable? She loves High School Musical (what girl her age doesn't?) and dances ballet. She is such a princess diva and she has grown into a beautiful young lady. I am so blessed to call her my niece.

This is the middle child, Anton:

Did I tell you he's an actor? He's sooo the middle child always craving for attention. ;)

He is totally in love with Iron Man, Power Rangers, dinosaurs and just plain being a super hero. Oh he's also a rockstar. My mom got him and my other nephew, Dane a guitar complete with an amp. I just seen a video of him rocking out and he is pure comedy!

Some sibling love:

Brotherly love: Anton loves his little bro so much!

The following photo cracks me up! There is something so completely hilarious to me about the fact that Alfredo looks so serene, so calm, so at peace with being a baby. Anton, probably being the middle child, is so in love with Alfredo. He always wants to hold him and touch him and is constantly being in his face...this photo says it all.

Anton's time to shine...

Big sis looking out for little brother.

Mama with her littlest baby:

And lastly, mama with all of her babies!

After looking over this post, it makes me really feel the importance of family...sometimes we all get lost in work and plain everyday stress bypassing others, not really noticing them anymore. It's always good to take time out to reflect on what matters most to us, to be able to prioritize our everyday life so that we can be with the ones we love, ones we cherish the most, our beautiful kids.

Babies :: Alfredo

2009-01-05T00:11:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to finally blog about my nephew Alfredo's shoot! It was so fun to be with the whole Maquiraya clan, with the 3 kids total, Aiyen or 'Belle' as we call her is the oldest, Anton or 'Iron Man' is the middle son and the youngest of course is Alfredo...'Feta'. :)

I haven't really been able to do an actual shoot with them so it was definitely a learning experience and an entertaining one! Although my main reason for the shoot was Alfredo, when there's 2 other kids around...you also need to get them in the photos too! But first we started with Alfredo...

A shot with mom's wedding ring...

Cheryl had a pair of angel wings so we decided how cute would that be to put them on him!

After this, Alfredo got tired of looking cute as an angel so mom put on his Seattle Seahawks football jersey. :)

He lovessss to suck his thumb...

Thank you so much Cheryl for the QT we desperately needed as well as the time with the kids!

New Year, New Beginnings

2008-12-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

It's almost 2009, so I thought I'd at least post a photo or two of my nephew, Alfredo (Feta)'s photoshoot as the last blog post for 2008! Also recap on what 2008 has done for me and what 2009 hopefully will.

This year has been a breakthrough for me, both good and bad. I was finally able to attend a Me Ra Koh workshop, we had all of the family over for Christmas, I had 3 new nephews, lost my childhood home, finally decided to do my photography as a business and I started this blog. I want to enter 2009 with a blessed and thankful heart for all that God has done for me and my family.

As 2008 comes to a close, it's always good to take a moment and look back at what the year has brought us. Is there some things this year that you wish happened but couldn't? Can you even remember your 2008? These are all things that should factor into helping you gear for an even more excited and adventurous 2009!

Here's a sneak peak of Alfredo's photoshoot I was able to do late yesterday. More to come soon as well more blog posts!

First, he's an angel...really.

And second, my what big eyes you have!

Happy New Year everyone! Be safe tonight!

A Very Weird Christmas It Was!!!

2008-12-29T00:49:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was very different than my past Christmases. Instead of bouncing Jasmine from house to house, I instead had to drop her off at her dads this year. Luckily Christmas for my family was moved to another day than the normal so I didn't miss out being with Jasmine. It was just weird dropping her off and not coming inside. Of course, they offered but I didn't feel it was at a good enough point in mine and her dads relationship to spend 'family time' in that way.

Finally the day for my family's Christmas came and it was so much fun! Chris dropped Jasmine off at my house and said a quick Hello before leaving. The awkwardness I felt from the stares of my brothers and sisters after he left was weird...but then we got the party started.

I always love Christmas at my house because it is so much fun with so many people everywhere! It was good to see everyone happy and together. The kids got a bunch of presents. As usual, we did Secret Santa and of course some family didn't get what they wanted. But it was a very fun filled event!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:23:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all! I hope all of you have a wonderful and blessed holiday. May this Christmas show all you are blessed for and share the love you receive with others. Here's a little treat for all of you that I received from my cousin, Cathy. Thanks Cat!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Still Snowed In...Part I

2008-12-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

So Seattle has been hit with a huge snowstorm. Usually I love snow, I hope for it every year and even stare outside the window as its falling. But this is ridiculous. I've had to work from home for the past 2 weeks with this last week being because of snow and ice and I want to go back to the office! Sounds so weird especially if you know me, but I seriously miss my desk and co-workers. Arrrgghhh!

To try and make light of my weird situation, (because who wants to go to back to work?) I thought I'd post some photos I took of Jasmine when our first snow hit and I was unable to go to work because the snow quickly turned to ice. Luckily these photos are of when it was just snowing so it wasn't too much or slippery.

Will post more photos soon of more snow!

Snowed in...but a Sneak Peek!

2008-12-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

Since my wonderful family reads my blog, I am unable to blog the full session until after Christmas since it is going to be apart of a wonderful Christmas present for someone!

I can't wait to be able to blog the rest and of course what the finished product looked like!

Happy Monday!

What's in a Burger?

2008-12-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

The other night Marky came over to help Chris work on the recording studio that Chris has been putting together in the garage which has also been driving me nuts! I never knew that after giving him permission to make this studio of his that he would end up trying to enlist my help!

After a couple of hours of myself hanging out with Jessica in the warmth of the house, the guys came in exhausted as usual and plopped themselves on the couch. I squealed with excitement after hearing that it was finally done. Thank GOD! It had been so exhausting and life wrenching, to hear it done was relieving.

Chris and Marky began to flip through channels as I repeatedly ask Chris what he was going to cook. After all, he did defrost some meat already! (By the way, Chris is the cook of the house...not ME!) After countless attempts to make him get up and make some food and failing at doing so, Marky brought up Dick's.

Here's the skinny on Dick's. Dick's is a burger joint that I think the only place I could probably compare it to is In and Out Burger. It is located only in Washington, particularly Seattle. They have 5 locations, the ones closest to myself are Capitol Hill and Queen Anne. They have the best tartar sauce, fries, burgers, shakes! Let's just say I've been there a lot and no, I have not got sick of it...not once.

So Marky mentions Dick's and Jessica and I immediately perk up saying definitely yes we wanted that. Mind you, it's 12:00 in the morning. Dick's closes at 2:00 am. It takes a good half hour to 45 mintues to get there since I live in Renton. And now Marky is stalling. He says it's because he's trying to figure out if it's worth it...even though we thought it was simply because although Jessica and I agreed that's what we wanted, we insisted that he drive. He all of a sudden wants to finish what he's doing on the computer...then he has to finish what he's watching on T.V. Then when it hits 1:15, he all of a sudden jumps up and decides that now is the time to drive there.

We all pile into the car, me thinking that we were not going to get there in time. Well, little did I know that Marky is a high speeding maniac driver and zooms there to get us there at 1:35. To add to it, Marky is repeatedly asking, 'Is this worth it? Oh my goodness, I can't believe we're driving here. It better be worth it.' As we ate in the car it became 2:00 and multiple people were still coming but they were closed. It was insane to see people banging on the windows trying to get the workers attention only to get brushed off and told the obvious which was that they were closed and they were not going to serve them.

As we drove home, there was no question...It was totally worth it.

Me Ra Koh Seattle Workshop 2008

2008-12-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

In Fall 2006 I was researching everything that had to deal with Photography, especially Seattle photography. I was led by Google to the website of Me Ra Koh. Falling in love with her bio, I googled as much information I could on her. I landed on her blog and have been an avid reader ever since.

Me Ra Koh, around the same time I found her blog, was just beginning to blog and was giving out great tips for moms to capture their children through photography and to understand what they were doing with this difficult contraption called a Digital SLR. Soon enough she put all these useful tips together and started her first workshop as well as a Parents Guide to Photographing Your Kids DVD set.

I remember being so excited at the blog posting. $300? Who could beat that? Well, no one could and I couldn't afford it. As more workshop postings went up, the higher the price got and the more women being turned on to her blog, I felt I was never going to be able to attend one of these amazing workshops...

Until I received an email alert on my cell phone while waiting for Jessica to get off work from Bellevue Square. It was a regular evening. Marky and I were in the car waiting for Jessica while Jasmine moved from her car seat to the drivers seat and back again. As Jessica came down the stairs and got into the car, my phone went off.

I usually never look at my phone if an email alert goes off. I don't do enough business or communicate with that many people by email to make it a neccessity to check. But I did this evening. As I grabbed my phone while trying to reverse out of my parking spot, I stopped abruptly because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. An email. From Me Ra. About a workshop. This coming workshop. The Seattle workshop. I opened the email to read that I was going to the Seattle Workshop. I didn't know why. I didn't care. I didn't believe it. I threw the phone at Marky so that he could double check what I was seeing as I started to drive home. He confirmed it. My name was listed.

I ended up finding out it was a gift (which I can not yet disclose) and I was EXTREMELY happy...like bouncing off the walls, stars bouncing off of me kind of happy. Until it sunk in. I continued to tell myself all week that I was going, like for real going to Me Ra's workshop. I was perfectly fine until that day came.

I was super super super nervous. Not because of seeing Me Ra, I had met her previously and she is so freakin' superbly nice that it is absolutely impossible to be intimidated by her, but because I haven't been around a new group of people that have the same passion as I, like EVER. I didn't know how it was going to go. I just continued to whisper to God and thought of my dream. My one and only dream of becoming a Professional Photographer. To be along one of the greats...or at least know them. :)

Needless to say...this weekend was AWESOME. I learned so much, met so many wonderful, amazing people and built friendships. I am so grateful to Me Ra & Brian...THANK YOU BOTH SOOOO MUCH!

Day One we were taught so much and were able to apply what we learned to a Mom & Baby Photoshoot! It was amazing to see Me Ra in action as we all paid close attention at how she got things done.

All the babies were so adorable! Did I mention one of them was my nephew, Alfino? ;) It was absolutely hilarious to have Alfino be next to the other babies who were 6 months and 8 months. He was almost the same size if not bigger! For those of you who do not keep up with my blog, my wonderful nephew is only 3 months and is HUGE!

Here's Alfino:

Here's an example...

I feel as if I could possibly host a game show. 'There are three babies featured in this photo, one is 3 months, 6 months, and 8 months. Can you tell which is which?'

As we disbursed into our own groups, I was blessed to be with Naomi. An absolutely adorable chubby baby who is featured on the left in the above photo. She was a pleasure to work with and her mom was so in love with her! You could see it all over her face when she would look at her. A mother's love. :)

Here are some of the shots I was able to take during our time on the stairs:

Then we moved into the room:

I love the gentleness of the moms hand on her baby while she looks up in absolute adoration of her mom.

Every baby needs a foot shot!

My personal FAV:

On the bed:

I love taking pictures of photographers taking pictures. This one is of Bree.

Me Ra soon came in and told us to take our baby and our shooting in the bathroom. What are we to do in the bathroom? I thought. With the amazing minds of my group, this is what we ended up doing:

Isn't that amazing? I loved it! It turned out we were able to capture some great images!

Yes, she is eating the faucet. And No we are not crazy photographers that just let babies eat the faucet...her mother was watching the entire time. The faucet was clean also. :)

On to the bathtub!

And again...her mom was in the bathtub with her!!! :)

After the shoot with Naomi, a lot of the other teams were not finished yet which gave me some leeway to go and shoot other babies.

Here is one of the photographers shooting Alfino:

Afterwards, we were all summoned to go downstairs but I wanted to steal some shots with Fino since I was trying out one of Me Ra's Canon 'L' lenses. Everything was still a hustle and bustle so I took some quick shots of Fino in the bathtub.

My fav:

And of course some shots with Mom:

Afterwards we went downstairs where things were still a hustle and bustle. The moms and babies were not yet finished getting taken pictures of...so here we went again!

Ali:

Turns out Naomi and Ali were friends!

Sofie with Alfino:

I must say that this whole weekend was a great experience and I am truly excited to start this photography journey with all the beautiful amazing ladies I have met. I have so much adoration and appreciation for Me Ra & Brian for their amazing skill and talent to teach others. To all the ladies: Let's take what we've learned and apply ourselves! I can't wait to see where we all go! I hope to see everyone again in April! Yeah!!!!

This journey of ours is just beginning...Stay Tuned.

To get great tips on photographing your children, visit Me Ra's blog or just purchase her DVD's at this site: Refuse to Say Cheese

Slingo

2008-12-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl I would sit down at the table with my Uncle Leo while he pulled out a quarter to scratch at these pieces of paper he would purchase at the store. I didn't really understood why he did it, all I really know is that sometimes after the scratching of the paper there were sometimes a curse word or two and sometimes even a jump with a hoot and a holler.

Now I know those pieces of paper were none other than Washington Lottery's Scratch Tickets. Over time I have purchased a few until I met my friend Melinda. Like Uncle Leo was the King of Scratch Tickets, she was the Queen...by far. When I would see her (which used to be everyday) she would pull out at least 5 scratch tickets and we would sit there scratching them together and while Uncle Leo preferred whatever kind of scratch ticket that came his way (he would even buy the $20 kind!) Melinda preferred just one. Slingo.

Slingo changes their color of their scratch tickets every so often so at the time I believe they were yellow. Then they changed to blue. Now they are green. And I buy at least one every time I'm at the store. No matter what it is. I will have $40 only, go inside the gas station with every intention in the world to purchase just gas and end up spending $37 on gas instead while with the other $3 purchasing a Slingo. I have since given up this craziness but without me even knowing it I turned Chris onto these addictive little cards of green.

I was on my way home from an important dinner when I received a call from Chris basically telling me to hurry up because my nephew, Marky and his girlfriend, Jessica had arrived and they were waiting for me. I ended up not really caring that they were and decided to stop at Fred Meyer. Afterwards I get home and Marky's car is not there. Since Marky usually always ends up spending the night everytime he comes over, I was surprised that he was no longer there. Or so I thought.

I walked inside my house to discover that Jessica was there with my daughter Jasmine. I asked her where Chris was which resulted in me calling Chris for myself. He informed me he was with Marky...buying scratch tickets. Now me being me felt extremely surprised at this and automatically came to the assumption that he had to be lying. I mean, what guy leaves to just buy scratch tickets? Little did I know what was soon to come.

Chris and Marky walk in the door and before I even get to let Chris know that I think he is lying, Marky pulls out an EXTREMELY thick wad of ... Slingos. I couldn't absolutely believe what I was seeing...or hearing. The fact that they spent $90 on the entire roll of Slingos at the convenient store sounded ridiculous. stupid. unbelievable. BUT it was true. They had purchased 30 Slingos with the high hopes of winning more than what they had spent.

Now if I wasn't so mad at the time I would have taken a picture of it just to prove to you how stupid these two are. But I don't have a picture because I was so much in disbelief all I could really do was yell. And yell some more. After the yelling, I ended up being talked into scratching with them. That is really what someone should have got a picture of. Marky, Chris, Jessica and I scratching 30 Slingos all in hopes of winning something. But we didn't. We won $44. That's it. And can you believe they had the nerve to ask me if they should just use the $44 to buy more after they had just lost so much already? Yes, yes they did. And although I do not have a picture of the stack, I have a picture of all the losing tickets and the amount of scratch ticket dust that was left on my kitchen island.

And just in case you are a Slingo addict or maybe just a Scratch Ticket addict, here's a link to let you know how many cash prizes are still available on each scratch ticket out there.

WA State Lottery

Happy Scratching! :)

Backlog

2008-12-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

This is one word that has been in play at my job since the middle of the year. We have such a backlog our heads are spinning. And now they're planning layoffs. But we still have a backlog. So why layoffs? Because they like to see our heads spin much faster.

I, too in my life have a backlog. A long ridiculous list of things I need to start, blog and just do. I feel like life is living and I'm running so fast I can barely keep up with it. Especially now that Christmas is here, the overtime my crazy job is giving me and of course, life, I am officially backlogged.

I have 5 kazillion different things to post and I feel like I can't sit at the computer long enough in order to post them! Things would be so much easier if I was not as much as a perfectionist as I have came to be but since I am, my lovely blog readers must wait...but I will leave you with this little cutie who just so happens to be my godson, CJ, whose birthday I photographed...in August. Yes, I told you I had a backlog!

And of course of my oh-so-adorable nephews, Fino & Feta, at Feta's Baptism in October, which I have promised to blog light years ago. I hope after seeing these two cuties, you will forgive me and just wait with anticipation until I am out of my backlog and post the entire thing.

Happy Holidays for now...
Don't let the economy get you down. Be thankful for what you have, have fun shopping and remember it's not how big the present or how extravagant but the thought that counts!
And don't let your backlog become you. I know everyone of you needs to organize something! :)

The Best Thing EVER!

2008-12-04T15:27:00.001-08:00

VuPoint Solutions Slide and Negative Converter.

Yes everyone, they have made a negative scanner and it’s at the very low cost of $99.99.

I have kept and stored away all of my negatives from my film days. Practically everyone I knew would throw their negatives away, but I always kept mine…and boy am I glad I did! This nifty little device lets you scan your precious film negatives as a digital image onto your PC. Oh, it’s only available for PC Users…so take that Mac! :)

I received one as an early Christmas present from my oh-so-wonderful nephew, Marky. He told me he was going to wrap it and make me wait until Christmas to open it. I said ‘Screw that, I want it now!’ And he so happily handed it over. Thank you Marky!!!!

I recently inherited all of the old photos of my family from my Mom. Since I was the only girl of hers that is also on the Roberson side, it was only right to pass it on to me. I remember going through them and after film package after package there were countless negatives. I made a mental note to myself to take the negatives to my local film developer…knowing that I probably would never end up doing so. And then I received this great wonderful gift!

It is super easy to hook up and it comes with a program CD which is basically like a Photoshop for Negatives and Slides. Oh that’s another thing. It also scans slides. :) I put my negative in the little contraption it comes with and popped it in…and Walla! There it was! I was so stupid excited I could barely contain myself. Chris came upstairs to check up on me when he heard me begin to squeal with glee. I did two negatives that night and am looking forward to doing more soon!

Here's some additional info (the actual printed description):

Take all those old 35mm slides and film negatives out of storage and share them with family and friends. This film scanner makes it easy. Simply load negatives or slides into this compact scanner to transfer to digital files. Once scanned, share them and save them. Scans images at 5.0 mega pixel quality. Auto color balance and exposure. Films color, monochrome film and mounted slides. Built-in back light. 2.0 USB interface. Outputs to JPG or TIF formats. Compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP. (Converter is not compatible with MacIntosh computers.)

And the beauty itself...

You can purchase this amazing device at these following retailers (links provided):
Macy’s
Bed Bath & Beyond
Target : On sale at Target for the low price of $88.00!

Happy Scanning!

Thankful...

2008-11-26T23:29:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season to where you get to sit down and think about everything in which you are thankful for and this time around is no exception. With all the craziness of the economy, banks going bankrupt and being bought out, auto makers needing 'help' and of course the war yet still going on. Through these hard times, we truly need to take a moment and be greatful for all the wonderful things and people we have. So here goes mine...

I am THANKFUL for...

#1. My wonderful Family: The fact that I have such a big one and although I sometimes whimper and complain that I have to go to so many houses on Thanksgiving or buy so many Christmas presents...I have to at least be thankful that I in fact have a place to go to. A place that awaits me full of people whom I love and cherish...and Yes, even be thankful for the extremely long Christmas list I have, because this means I have many people whom I love and want to show my love and appreciation for them with a gift.

#2: My brand new nephews: I've had 3 this year. =) Alfredo, Alfino and Gavin. I am extremely thankful that you all have came out healthy and are wonderful nephews...so far. ;)

#3: My gorgeous daughter: She takes my breath away everytime. I am so happy and blessed that she is apart of my life, giving me more reason to go for what I love and dream so that I can show her she can do it too.

#4: My Uncle Leo: He has shown me love like no other and raised me since I was a baby. I am thankful for his love, support and overwhelming generosity. Thank you. I love you.

#5: My loving partner, Chris: He has stuck by my side through every pitfall, mishap and struggle. He may not be perfect by any means but he's still the one who's shoulder I can cry on, who picks me up when I'm down, always with an extended hand. He encourages me in ways I can not encourage myself and he supports me like no other. Thank you Chris, for loving me unconditionally and sticking with me through the stupid parts of life. I am truly thankful for who you are and of our relationship. Thank Goodness for no more Army! I don't know what I'd do if you were to go to Iraq again!

#6: Seattle: I love my city, yes I do! I think it's beautiful even if it's pouring raining and everyone else is complaining about it. I wouldn't have it any other way! I love the clean air, the green trees and the wonderful skyline.

#7: Dreams, Goals and Aspirations: To be able to, to have the chance to, to have the option.

#8: Ones that look up to you as a true Inspiration: Because those are the ones that make life worth living.

#9: Friends: The ones that never left and the ones that did but came back. Truly I am blessed with all the support and love you have all shown me.

#10: Photography Blogs: They give me inspiration to succeed and lots of learning tips as well! =) My favs: Jasmine Star, Jessica Claire, Me Ra Koh, Melissa Jill and Jessica Strickland...among many others!

#11: The Almighty: My powerful and loving, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I thank him for every breath I take, every wonderful thing and every horrible thing...because horrible things make you realize just how truly blessed you really are.

And lastly...
#12: Our new President: Now who can't be thankful for that? :)

...May this Thanksgiving show all in which you are truly THANKFUL for!

Congratulations to OBAMA!

2008-11-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

I would like to say that I am more than thrilled that Obama won...I am even more thrilled at the fact at how much he won by! 'CHANGE'...AMEN to that!

Watching the news the whole time! We couldn't take our eyes off the screen!

Allan and Jasmine after finding out Obama was voted President!!!! YIPPEE!

It's official...I'm a slacker! and Halloween Photos =)

2008-11-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

This blog is taking up more time than I originally thought it would...and I obviously haven't been posting enough posts with everything that has gone on!
Well first things first...some Halloween photos. =)
I took some photos of Alfino in his two, yes two everyone, halloween costumes which his mama bought him. Talk about indecisive! (Hehe, although I do this, I think, every year.)

First off, he's a Monkey! =)

My daughter is in love with Dora the Explorer...which sad to say, is absolutely all my fault! I used to put her in her 'Jumperoo' and have her watch the Halloween episode because I thought that it was sooo cute. Horrible mistake! ;) Eventually it caught on a little too well and now my daughter can't seem to outgrow it. So Dora has baby sister and baby brother twins and my daughter has fallen madly in love with 'Baby Sister'. She carries her around everywhere! So it was only right to have 'Baby Huno' (which is what Jasmine calls Alfino) to take a picture with him.

Sofie's baby theme for Alfino was centered around animals, jungle and safari. So he has tons and tons of stuffed jungle animals and even a decked out safari hat!

Peaceful, sleeping Fino with one of his buddies just 'hangin' around. =)

And of course Sofie had to put a 'Palm tree' which is her favorite.

Next...is...FOOTBALL TIME!

And a little bit closer....

Soon enough Alfino got tired of taking photos. I brought him to his 'changing station' and layed him on his tummy to see if he'd be more happier...he was...for a millisecond. This shot ended up being my favorite! I put on his 'football helmet' but he was getting so mad with it being wrapped around his face, so I decided to just plop it on his head like a hat...and this is what I got.

DOPEY! I love it! He's a little dwarf...and looks so happy...even though right after I took this he started screaming at me to pick him up. =)

So on the actual night of Halloween, I took Jasmine to her grandma's house and met up with her other cousins. This year Jasmine was a mermaid after a long decision changing her from Batgirl...which she loved but didn't love as much as being a mermaid...I think. ;)

Her costume, 'Mermaid'...not Little Mermaid either! It drove me insane, how many people called her Ariel that night. Which probably sounds so incredibly stupid of me, but the reason is, is #1 does being a mermaid have to mean that it's Ariel? #2, Jasmine hasn't even seen Little Mermaid so when people said what a cute Ariel, she would reply that she was 'Marianna', who is a mermaid from Dora the Explorer which if anyone, who she was trying to be! Don't mind me with my weird Mommy worries. =)

I adored her tiara that came with her costume...I just love the seashell detail! Apparently so did Jasmine!

She wanted to take so many pictures with it! She ended up doing so but I'll only post the one of many. =)

Jasmine with her cousin, Giselle, who was only born a month and 3 days before her, as Tinkerbell.

Hardest thing to ever do...try to pose 3 kids under the age of 3 who are tired and all they want to do is eat candy! So this is the most of what any of us trying to take photos got. =)

Later on that night...

Jasmine and I went to visit her other Grandma (my mom) at work since she had to work early that night and was unable to see the wonderful costume she bought her. Jasmine was totally cooperative with her...wonder why? ;)

Afterwards we headed to my mom's house, although no one was there, I decided to take a break from all of Halloween to warm up and mellow out...but was greeted by this.

It's okay, Jasmine! It's only Uncle Allan and Auntie Sofie, Alfino's parents! =) (It's okay everyone. That gun is a lighter.)

Jasmine praying Sofie won't hurt her...she won't! ;)

So after this humungous blog posting that has been due for quite some time, this is how I spent my Halloween this year. What did you do? ;)

To be continued...

2008-10-28T14:30:00.001-07:00

I am editing photos from my wonderful nephew/godson, Alfredo's, baptism that took place this last Sunday. It was an amazing event...I just love baptisms. =) It symbolizes so much, it is an amazing feeling to witness. I was unable to take photos of him while he was getting baptized though, because silly 'ol me totally forgot that since I was a Godparent that I had to stand on the other side and hold onto his head while they put the holy water over him. What was I thinking!? I was standing there unable to move holding him while thinking in my mind, 'Why didn't I hand over my camera to someone else that could take pictures of this defining moment of my nephew's life?'

Which brings me to my next point.

The tough thing about being the 'go-to' family photographer at these kinds of events when your role is so much more than that...how do you get a photo of yourself as a 'Godparent'? You hand over your camera to someone else, that's how. Prior to handing it over though, you adjust your settings on your SLR so that you already know that the photos are still going to come out pretty good. Or not. Which is why if your family appoints you as the 'picture-taker' then you need to bring a back up point-and-shoot just in case for these type of instances. Which I did. ;)
So hopefully some photos tomorrow! (If I don't fall asleep on my keyboard again while in the process of uploading.) :)

See you all tomorrow and Happy Tuesday!

Starring : Alfino!

2008-10-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

FYI: This post has a bunch of photos and you may be overwhelmed with the cuteness factor of them. =)

Ok, ok, as if you haven't noticed already I'm sort of infatuated with my nephew, Alfino. Although I had two nephews born within a month of each other I have grown closer to Alfino simply because I see him more often...which gives me bunches of photography practice. =) Alfredo's baptism is this Sunday so I will be posting more photos of him as well. =)

While I went to visit my Mom and Uncle the other day, my brother, Allan and girlfriend, Sofie also brought Alfino over to spend some time with Grandma. Alfino loves laying down so I decided to take this opportunity to try out my new lens I just got. He looked so adorable in the blue he had on and although I was told by Sofie that Allan did not like what he had on simply because his blues he had on did not match, I shot away anyways. He just looked so peaceful and besides Allan was sleeping so how would he know if I shot some photos of Fino? ;)

I absolutely love how unbelievably chubby he is! I adore super chunky babies! I'm totally in love with him! Look at his double chin...hehe.

A black and white photo...he looks so peaceful.

My favorite shot!

Some more of him just laying around...he seems to be in love with the camera!

His big 'ol head. =)

My, what big eyes you have!

Sofie's favorite!

And finally Mama Sofie couldn't resist but join in on the action!

And Grandma too!

And finally another shot with Mama...

A very tired Alfino with Auntie Shakti.

Happy Friday!

Meet Myka!

2008-10-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful privilege of photographing Myka for her Senior photos on Sunday. She came in knowing exactly what she wanted and ended up with what she never knew she wanted!

She got a little bit cold and we tried with the jacket on...she liked having the jacket on.

One on the bridge...

And a little bit closer...

Then it was time for an outfit change as well as a location change too!

She loved this headshot!

And what she went with for her yearbook....

Myka, You are amazing! Can't wait until your cap and gown photos! ;)

Seniors : Myka

2008-10-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to shoot Myka for her Senior pictures! I must say that it is sort of weird that not that long ago (well maybe a long time ago) I was taking MY senior pictures! Nevertheless, here's a photo until I upload all the rest. ;)

Happy Sunday! =)

Meet Alfredo & Alfino!

2008-10-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

Meet Alfino 'Baby Monka'

Meet my wonderful nephew, the newest addition to the family, Alfino Angelo Roberson! He's an angel. =) He was born on August 25th (I know I'm really late) and he was 10 lbs. 5 oz.!!!

To add to my excitement and happiness, another nephew of mine was born one month prior on July 22nd, Alfredo Gabriel Maquiraya! I am so overcome with joy when speaking of both of them because we haven't had a new baby in our family for awhile and now we have 2!

Meet Alfredo...Baby Feta =)

I was so excited when my brother, Alfred, father of Alfredo, asked me if I could be Alfredo's godmom! I happily accepted and will be attending his wonderful baptism two weeks from now. =)

Here is an image I was able to capture between Alfino and his father (my brother) Allan.
Will post more later as well as photos from Alfredo's baptism!

Bath Time Fun!!!

2008-10-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Jasmine, LOVES baths. I mean LOVES like absolutely gets excited, squealing...the whole 9. So I decided to finally take this opportunity to get photos of her in the bath, doing one of the things that she loves to do...while I still can and while she is still a 'baby'.
She totally turned it up full notch as soon as I took the camera out. I couldn't believe some of the poses she was giving me! Thankfully my camera did not get wet while shooting her, so I am so happy for that!
So here is a couple of shots I was able to take of her without getting myself too wet.

I obviously wasn't able to get the image I had in my mind across with getting the Johnson's shampoo more in focus but it's okay. I'm learning. ;)

I know, I know...she has a lot of bath toys. What can I say? I'm a compulsive buyer as well as have an addiction others have called the 'Target disease'. Yes, I am one of many. ;)

I decided to take a different approach and put this one in black and white.

I started to take more close-ups of her face since she loves to go as low as possible into the water without having the water go into her mouth or eyes. It's one of her 'traits' that I can only think of looking back on when she's older!

I had to get one of her smiling! She's such a cheese-ball!

This photo makes my heart melt....

The image below I honestly have no idea how I got. I am so drawn to this image and I'm not sure if it is because of the image itself or her facial expression...but I am. And now I am sharing it with you all. =)

Till next time!

A Change of Ways...

2008-09-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

The sun is out. Pretty beautiful sight to see. Then out of nowhere the clouds come in and it's raining...first very lightly and then flat out storm. That's how I feel my life has gone lately. I know this is a Photography blog but it's also my own personal blog where I can let my creativeness be seen as well as my true self.

I've currently moved back to Seattle and am parted with my daughter. I do still see her...but all I do is wonder how did it get like this? I am a grown adult and am currently living with my mother and uncle. Different things have happened recently to make me come to this point.

I am a follower of God and I do believe in forgiving. Which is why I am definitely giving it a try....which is definitely a different change of ways...

Retirement brings Love!

2008-07-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have a coworker who is the funniest lady I believe I have ever met. She is elderly but also full of life and extremely adventurous. She is always telling stories about her children and how she used to date when she was younger and how she would never use an online dating service today had she been divorced.

The stories I love to hear the most are the ones about her and her husband, their vacations together, the road trips they take, their daily lives and best of all, their love (which she doesn’t realize is very rare). She is never sappy and overdramatic, she just tells the story and with pure genius, she makes everyone laugh every single time. The sad thing is, soon I will be unable to hear her stories because she has put in the paperwork for the decision to retire. Although very sad about her decision, she once again puts a smile on everyone’s face and her own with a story.

Yesterday, I asked her how she felt about retiring and she said, “You know what, Liza? I don’t know what I feel about it yet. I really didn’t think I wanted to because it is going to be weird for awhile plus there are a lot of things that are undecided right now and won’t be finalized until I see what the outcome is of other things. Sometimes you just go to go with the flow.” I let her know that I understood what she was saying and I said to her that she must be planning tons of traveling now. She said, “ I do not want to use up all my time for traveling, because then soon I’ll be tired of it. I want to be happy while I’m traveling not travel just to since I have time. ‘ So then I asked her if her husband was retired. She then said, ‘He retired three years ago and he’s apart of the reason why I am retiring now. He wants me home, he begs me to stay home when I wake up in the morning and leave to work. But I continued to go to work because there are some things you just don’t know about…like finances. I mean right now, we’re okay but the way things are going with the economy who knows if we always will be ? I tell him that all the time and you know what he tells me Liza?' I looked at her waiting for her to say, she takes a deep breath and then says, ‘He says he made a promise to my mother and my father that he would take care of me till death do us part the day he said ‘I do’ and he said, and I always will. I will never break that promise I made to you and your family. I will take care of you until the day we die.' And then she started laughing saying, ‘Ok, then I guess I will retire if it means that much to you! Hahahahaha!’ I began to laugh as well telling her it was sweet. While she walked back to her desk, then did I realize just how sweet it truly was.

People get married, sometimes divorced but the true loves of our lives, the ones who stay forever make a promise that they will actually never break. To love us for who we were, who we are, and and who we will become. Now that’s love.

Dreams, Goals...Parties???

2008-07-13T11:23:00.001-07:00

The past couple weeks have went by in a whirlwind. It's as if someone said, 'Summer' and then the world began going at super speed. Every single weekend there is a party or a get together that we just 'have' to go to and then I get stuck at work about to fall asleep because the lack of it I've been getting due to all these exhausting activities.

I'm not fully complaining though...apart of the reason of my speedy summer is due to the fact that I am receiving two new nephews very soon! One in late July and the other in late August (or early depending on whether she can truly last that long!) I am so excited to welcome in these new bundles of joy and see how they look like!

Another reason as to why my head is spinning at full speed is because I took a vow to spend more time with my brothers and sisters from my dad's side of the family. A huge tragedy happened 2-3 weeks ago which brought all of us together again ( well, most of us anyway) and spending time with them was so much fun...we bonded. It made me think why don't I make the extra effort all the time to do this? Yes, they do all live in Anacortes/Mt. Vernon which is roughly 1 1/2 hour drive from Renton...but seriously though? And soaring gas prices really shouldn't factor into this equation either...I mean, they're my family! So with all this effort and time I am putting in, I am receiving a great gift in the end: special and much needed time with my family that I don't see that often but which who I love so dearly.

So with that said...I am experiencing 'life' this summer, although I need to focus more so on my hopefully soon to be photography career-I am not. The life which surrounds me is so far important than that right now. Dreams and goals...sad to say, must be put on hold.

...Although I'm sure that sooner or later, everything will fall into place...and I will be exactly where I want to be.

Happy 4th and a few photos...

2008-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope everyone kept it safe...

Just wanted to show some photos I was able to take at my nephew's birthday party. Will be posting some 4th pictures soon as well!

Fun at the park!

Happy Grandpa!

Jasmine with her Goddaddy, Jason.

And of course, last but not least...one of the birthday boys, Dennis!

Storm is brewing...

2008-07-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

I feel something is not right. I don't want to assume. But something is definitely bothering me.

On the upside, I have a photoshoot tonight!

A New Blog...A New Day

2008-06-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

As I am starting out this new blog, I started to wonder about what sort of topics I would be posting on. I finally ruled out a lot of things and came down to just one...life. Just my life in general, the photo sessions I book, the everyday ordeal of dealing with a 3 year old girl, and bustling around in this busy life called a working mom trying to fulfill her dream...while also being 'Super' niece, daughter, girlfriend and friend. Whew! That is a lot of work! ;)

One of the things that is definitely going to be mentioned a lot more than just once is my daughter, Jasmine. While I'm trying to find myself in this photography world and find my way around it, she is always a great source of practice! I take so many photos of her not only because I need the practice and experience, but I also need to document her life. I need to be able to look back and think, 'OMG, that was her favorite toy! Where is that thing?' I know we all try to contain the memories and try our best to remember everything but as for me, ever since I gave birth I've been hit with post-birth amnesia! I used to pride myself on being able to remember everything, I had photographic memory. Now, if you were to ask me what I did while I was at work on Monday, I wouldn't have a clue as to what to tell you. I'd most likely just guess and hope that's what really happened! Thank goodness this only happens sometimes, but it is a drastic change from my picture perfect memory before.

Becoming a mom was very different than what I had always pictured...I became a mom earlier than planned and everything has flown by since! I sometimes look at my daughter in absolute disbelief that she's mine and that my sole and only purpose in life is to protect her, comfort her, provide for her, teach her. It is absolutely amazing how fast time has passed since the day she was born and everyday I believe that she is my own mini-miracle.

I love her to pieces and wouldn't have it any other way!

Meet my Princess Jasmine in Shining Beauty. =)

Happy Birthday JJ and Dennis!

2008-06-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

My wonderful nephews, JJ (short for Joseph Joel) and Dennis are turning 5 and 7 years old and their birthday party is tomorrow! I seriously am in disbelief on how fast time has passed and how old my nephews are!

I am sure to be posting up some photos from their shindig tomorrow!

Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-06-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

A mere 8 years ago, Steven Curtis Chapman along with some of Christian music’s biggest names came out to Redmond, WA for the Luis Palau festival. A bunch of people from my church were getting everyone to go and it sounded as if it would be a lot of fun so I went. There were lots of great food and a lot of great music. I was able to listen and watch performances by Cece Winans, The Katinas and of course, Steven Curtis Chapman. He was the headliner of the show, he even brought Luis Palau out with him and they sang together.

Mind you, I am not a major Steven Curtis Chapman fan. I would not list him as a favorite artist, or would any of his songs be on a Top 10 list of mine, but the feeling that I got while watching him perform…he is truly inspirational.

A couple weeks ago, I was doing my daily run of blogs to read on my bookmarks and came across Kenny Kim’s blog. There it read ‘Send a prayer for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family’, I was then surprised when I read that his adopted daughter had passed away. I felt overcome with sadness thinking that this family doesn’t deserve this. He encourages people to believe and walk with Jesus…why him? Why his family? A lot of questions such as these surround ourselves with a passing…may that be of a loved one or even a stranger such as this time. I still was unable to believe what I was reading and was soon filled with sorrow that this family was going through such a painful loss. I began to pray and still do. My prayers still go out to this great Christian singer and his family.

Steven,
My prayers go out to you and your family. I pray that the Lord weep with you and strengthen you at this time. I know you will find strength from this and we all will soon be hearing it in a tear jerking, life rejoicing melody in rememberance of your precious little girl.

Photography and Dennis...one in the same!

2008-06-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

So…a couple days ago, I began to think about my dreams and goals in life. I started to think about how much I loved Photography, how it made me feel when I clicked just at the right time for just the right shot. How many butterflies would come and go when I would show off the photos I took awaiting other's opinion…but then I thought…when is the first time I felt that feeling? I mean, I have been taking pictures for practically forever, documenting every event, every relationship… but when did I begin to get that ‘feeling’? And then I remembered. I was searching through some old photos when it struck me.

I received a Canon EOS Rebel SLR from my mom after she had coaxed my brother out of selling it. Since I wanted a new camera and this one was huge, I went for it and bought packages of film from Costco. I remember going crazy taking as many photos as I could. My cousin, Cathy, knew I had my new special camera so we took it out for a spin at the Japanese Gardens by University of Washington. There I remembered thinking, ‘This is really great!’ The more photos I took the more hungry for the camera I became and at the perfect time…my nephew Dennis was 1 year old and the cutest thing EVER…and loved being in front of the camera. Below is one of the images I was able to take of him on the porch at my mom’s house.

When this photo was printed, that is when I knew. This was when I got the ‘feeling’. The feeling that I knew in my mind that this was going to change my life, that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a living, a future out of documenting people’s families, relationships, events….memories.

Dennis is 6 years old now and turning 7 on June 28^th and he just finished the 1^st grade. I can’t believe how old he is, how mature he has become, how happy I am to be his aunt, and what a thrill it is for him to be my nephew. He’s crazy sometimes and is a MAJOR dancer, performer, he loves Spidey and Batman and he’s the coolest kid around. I miss him being a baby sometimes, but then I am reminded of his innocence and happiness of being a soon to be 7 year old and then it’s okay, because I have a photo that lets me go back to the pure innocence of his baby days…