{Four Beautiful Ladies}

Katherine contacted me way back, wanting to purchase her mother a photography session for Christmas while they visited Hawaii. I LOVE surprises and love even more assisting others in surprising their loved ones, so I was game! We decided to go around Waikiki and enjoy the different sights and options the location gave us.

Ice Cream? √
The Beach? √
Beautiful Sunset? √√√

What more could a girl ask for?

{Sun Flares in Waikiki}

On my way to a session today, I decided to do a little fun photography for myself. I honestly get so caught up in client work, that I never stop to expand my own awareness sometimes. So today I decided to see how I could catch sunflares, my favorite camera technique, in different perspectives around Waikiki. Enjoy!

{Bella's Birthday}

My good friend Kristi has one of the most adorable petite little girls I've ever met, named Bella. Her birthday was at the Clay Cafe in Ward Warehouse, where the kids got to paint and eat, all within an hour, because really, what is the attention span of toddlers? Mickey was the theme, which I thought was delightful. It's been ages since I've dealt with Disney anything, so I had a lot of fun! Enjoy!

Tilt Shift photography

A couple years ago, I stumbled upon this link:

50 Beautiful Examples of Tilt Shift Photography

It is called Tilt Shift photography and when I saw it...I was hooked. I researched and researched, because the learning curve of this TS lens is steep. Manual everything makes anything difficult, especially in this digital age!

I finally, about 9 months ago, purchased the Canon 45mm TS lens. I could barely contain my excitement and wrangled my neighbors kids out the door to practice. These are my first initial shots:





Not too shabby, but definitely not what the tilt shift lens can produce. The reason tilt shift makes me so excited is because A) I'm a Bokeh freak and B) I love shallow depth of field. Watch the video below to learn what Depth of Field (DOF) is.




I sometimes use my lens when doing a session, if I feel the client may like it. Sometimes, they don't. Some people just don't find blurring or missing heads, which is what I like to do sometimes. It's not that I wish you were dead, it's just that I enjoy the perspective it gives when you have no facial expression to rely on. "What are they thinking?" is what I want you to think!

Here are some more recent examples of my tilt shift work:









If this seems like something you'd be interested in trying for your session (or wedding!) please let me know! I am eager to meet other who see the beauty in this style of photography!

{Kahaialii Family} | Dillingham Ranch

Some families are just plain fun and the Kahaialii family is no exception! Gorgeous parents, photogenic children...all adds up to something awesome! Harmony was looking for something "country" and since I spent 2-3 days a week up at Dillingham Ranch, I used some connections to get us some time there. I hope it was country enough for them! We drove to different locations all over the ranch and it was a great time!

{Najarian Family}

Early morning in a well manicured jungle can either be muddy or sunny....this day it was both! Taken at Queen Emma's Summer Palace, it had just rained so there were a few muddy patches but that didn't stop us! The Najarian family were troopers, that's for sure!

{A Globe Trotting Family}

There are some families that are just plain FUN! This family is no exception, as the Schwabs travel on a regular basis with their three boys. When Debbie called me and we discussed prop ideas, I asked what they like to do for fun. As soon as they mentioned that they enjoy traveling, a light bulb went off....why not bring a globe to the session? So they did! A portion of the session was spent figuring out where they are going to go in 2012, as their list of destinations in the past year even included the Marshall Islands (not easy to visit!).

So please, enjoy the family! They sure had fun!