Finally, Maui post #2 !

The first sunset!  Wow.
 We didn't have time after settling in & eating dinner to make it down to the beach for the sunset but even through the palm trees it was amazing. The colors, the silhouettes of the trees, ahhhh so beautiful!! 

The next day, to the beach!

 The water was warm and it was there, out in the water that I really felt the distance of home, of being out in the middle of the ocean on a small island. I felt so small. Moments like that are necessary to be humble and thoughtful. Something I wish I would have done is that I would have sat down and wrote how I was feeling in the moment, the sun, the air, the sounds.... 


When I was in Montana, one night we were driving late to our next campground I sat next to the window and started writing my thoughts. I'm glad I can look back on the photos and go back to that note, it brings me right back to the moment.

The waves were so much different that here in WA so I wasn't very prepared, see picture below. Haha!!

The photo on the wall behind me says "Waliea Hawaii-

Memories you'll treasure for the rest of your life"

Truth.

Driving to Lahaina was beautiful!

 & we ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp. It was a really fun spot for the group! 

Wedding photos below!

Maui wowee!

Maui. My oh my! I hadn't planned on this trip and bought my tickets just a few weeks before takeoff.  What an amazing decision that was!  & I have to thank my best friend Liz for talking me into going :)   Some split second decisions are so worth it. A few hundred dollars can be worth 5x more. 

^^One very happy girl!!

I loved the flora that Maui had to offer! The colors, the shapes, the smells....Fantastic! 

If you ever get the chance to go to Hawaii, take it! 

5 hour plane ride, hundreds of dollars spent, but ohhhh is it worth it! I can't wait to check more of the Islands off my list. So so thankful for getting the chance. Island really is amazing. It was a lot different that Orcas Island, one of my favorite places ever, but that was probably because of the area we were in. Being on an Island in general just gives a different feel, a carefree feeling that you really need every once and a while to stay sane.

I'll save the rest of my favorite photos and stories from the trip for another post :)  This one is nice and colorful!

Fall Chill

To start this one off I'll share some photos from summer to warm you up! :)

The above photos are from Eastern Montana and then Yellowstone National Park. For about 10 days, my mother, two brothers, uncle( who is 21) my grandmother and I all hoped into an RV and set out on a great adventure. Mission: Family reunion in Eastern Montana.

In September I went somewhere I've never been before! & my oh my was I excited! I had only decided I was going a few weeks before my flight took me off to paradise. A best friend of mine was having their wedding in Maui!  I'll save those for my next post :)

Zombie

Random thought, the title to this post just reminded me of the Cranberries- Zombie, good song.

But onto non randomness...

The weather has been so back and forth, sunny, rainy, warm, blustery. This doesn't always work well for me and planning shoots. Which is a major pain. ( How I met your mother reference anyone?)  So I've just noticed, maybe I shouldn't try to blog right now, Wednesdays are long days for me consiting of mulitple cups of coffee starting at 6am. & I'm not a morning person.  Thus making me into a zombie.  

Lets just get to the photos real quick before I go off on some other random path :)

These maternity photos were really fun and even though the sun wasn't out, I'm glad on the location we decided on to help lend in some variety. 

New life is amazing. I can't imagine the stress of becoming a mom, but it's rewards are obvious.

 This photo I was almost going to keep to myself but it's too awesome. I'm sure I'll get it printed up in a bigger size.

Tulips at Roozengaarde in Mt Vernon.

Slacking...

Here I've done it again, forgetting to update my blog :/

I have a lot of new photos to share though so that should make up for it!

Oh, and it's a new year. :O    Sheesh.

 So here is to 2014, more blog posts, more awesome photos :)

Get ready for some reading, lots of adventures have been had over the past few months  :D

These next two photos were actually from July but it was an awesome location and my brother Gabe was obviously in an adventurous mood, walking out under this bridge on that thin "walkway" .

 In September I visited Portland twice!  The first time was a quick day trip with my brother Victor. We walked around so much that day, saw some interesting people and overall had a great time.

Below are from the 2nd visit to Portland, just a few days after I went down there with my brother.

This first one I love for all the shapes, my brother Victors funny face and my silly uncle. Yes, uncle, he is 6 years younger than me. 

 After Portland we stopped at the Capital on the way home. I forgot how huge the buildings were!

Pictured above is my mom, brother Gabe & the oh so adorable Freya :)

 With a magazine submission in mind Gypsy Moth and I started collaborating and after a mua couldn't make it the first time we met up, we decided on another day and everything went great, lighting, location turned out to be awesome. Love these photos! Big thanks to such a lovely model :)
Riot Vixen Magazine

 I love doing shoots with models & clients, but when I get the chance to shoot with cars, I'm so up for it! Packwood is amazing. The area, the fresh air, the friends, the cars, tire smoke. It was really sad to hear this location is no longer available for drifting :(  

 Cold December afternoon, met up with Alycin for a tattoo themed shoot to submit to Ink Pushers Magazine. & I say again, cold. Cold cold cold. But these photos are some of my favorites I've ever taken. We got down to the water just around sunset and the lighting was beautiful.  & her hair, I'm crazy about it! 

December also brings holiday photos. How sweet is this little girl? Her mom was a friend from middle school, so neat to catch up with her a bit and take these photos for her :) <3

The third visit to Portland (so fun!) was in the beginning of December and we visited The Grotto for sooo many Christmas lights and lovely singing.

& now feast your eyes on some serious eye candy!

  Frontman of Panic! at the Disco...Mr. Brendon Urie !!

*Swoon*  

I was incredibly lucky to have seen him twice, 2 nights in a row. Yes you read that right. Tuesday night, went down to the Showbox Sodo in Seattle to see them with my brother Gabe then Wednesday night by pure luck and chance, drove up to Vancouver, Canada with a friend and saw them at the Commodore Ballroom. On the way up there and then on the way home I kept thinking "Holy crap, we're going to Canada!" 

 Happy Valentines Day from Freya and of course me, the Birthday girl :)

26 now. Still don't feel like I'm even over 21 sometimes. I get along so well with my younger siblings ranging from ages 11 to 18, so I have to give credit to them for reminding me to not take life too seriously, always use my imagination and have fun. I'm so lucky to have 2 awesome sisters( who you wouldn't know to be my sisters as they are little blond beauties!) and 2 great brothers. It's scary to watch them grow up into teenagers and almost adults, thank goodness for photos of them as toddlers and that they are still crazy & funny :)


I am too often reminded how important it is to document life, whether it be photos, writing it down, filming it, or all of the above. Life is about memories, adventures, letting people know you care, enjoying the world around us.

So go out there and take time to really smell those roses, smile more, take the scenic route home from work, hug more, listen to your favorite songs over & over.

I love my job!

The past handful of photoshoots & sessions I've had have been so much fun and amazing.  Moving over to working with people and doing model shoots has introduced me to so many people and I am so glad to know all of them! & when I can do photos with people I know, it makes it even more special.

 These first set of photos is just that. I went to Highschool with Vanessa. You know how it goes, you're in school and it seems like you are always going to keep in touch with everyone. A few years pass and a lot of people have drifited away and some are just acquaintances. Facebook is great for this because you can still kind of know whats happening in peoples lives. So I was so happy & honored to do this Engagement session for Vanessa & Brian. There's a little more pressure wanting to do your very best for someone you know but it also makes the session more easy going as well. We had a wonderful sunny day in Seattle.

Aren't they a great looking couple?  SO happy for them and truly so very honored to now be shooting their wedding this Saturday!!! :)  

Being published in a magazine for me is kind of reminder to keep going, that there are people out there that love my work as much as I do. It's a fantastic feeling to see my name printed with a photo I took, knowing hundreds of people could be seeing it. 

Ink Pushers Magazine is a Seattle based Tattoo magazine, so I love supporting them. Last October I was published in that magazine with KC Roberts who is a part of Ladies of Metal.

This time I was published with  Essex. We went to Gas Works park in Seattle and I'm really happy with how the photos turned out!

 The above photo was taken after I think what was a strange noise behind me and I hesitantly asked what it was. What a great smile, right?!  I love capturing photos like this :)

:D