Sarah and Ava

Little Ava, when will you be joining us? When I first started to become really good friends with Scott, he was working at Hope Chapel with another young guy, Russell. I remember the church sent them both to a conference in Florida and Scott would call me to talk...and his roommie, Russell, would be chatting on the phone with his "friend," Sarah. Well, three years later, they've been married for about two years and are expecting to grow their family by one beautiful baby girl. They moved to a different church, Grace Bible (hey, I used to go there with Josh), but they hit me up with an email asking if I would want to take maternity pictures of Sarah. Would I? So cool!!! Something completely foreign to me but what an opportunity because it is becoming very popular nowadays. So, I had to do some research on my favorite flickr site to look at possible maternity shots...and it's so much better to go in with at least a few shots already lined up in your head. And fortunately, Sarah had done some research on her own and had some ideas of her own. The one thing that I learned when I had her sit on the grass is that hapai women will be uncomfortable in certain sitting positions. I had no experience of that so I definitely learned quickly that you can't ask them to be doing the splits.

(this one was just a casual snapshot...and I can't stand the stone wall in the background. I did a blatant and ugly blur but it's still there. However, Sarah and the little "nameplate" is super cute...and I was really surprised that this photo rapidly got 37 hits on my flickr site in one day. wow! the "name plate" is also an idea from my flickr research.

(hee hee...no, this session was at Sarah's mom's house in Kaneohe...we didn't rapidly jump to Waimanalo beach...I shamelessly photoshopped the background. I'm usually not a big fan because it adds a fake touch to things...but I felt it made this one more dreamy and artsy)

(taken against the side of the house...so simple...but I really like this one)

(here's also why researching poses can be rewarding. I saw the idea of using an ultrasound with the parents holding it on flickr...and I just changed it up to appear more like a window into Ava's life right now. Absolutely one of my favorites. I would put this on our walls but I think Scott and Stanton might not approve.
(from the beginning, Sarah wanted to take pictures in this little separate living room. It was such a cloudy day that I didn't think there would be enough light so I kept it for last...she was right, it was perfect lighting. Every shot was absolutely beautiful.)
(the most popular pose for maternity shots...I don't care...so worth it. So cute)

An Aussie vow renewal by the sea

I'm in shock...I came home from work, showered, laid down to watch tv, fell asleep...and didn't wake up until Scott woke me up to go back to work again. Well, that wastn't exactly what I had planned to do. So, just trying to make up for lost time. This was a while ago but Scott did a very small vow renewal. He does weddings through our church but he also has a friend who plans destination weddings and these are usually simple, quick affairs. We met the couple at their Waikiki hotel and walked down to Waikiki beach at sunset. They didn't ask for photographs but I used the chance to practice. And John and Abbey were with us, so the three of us played on the sand nearby.

The couple renewing their vows were from Australia. Not only were they beautiful, but they had the cutest accents, as if they couldn't even get cuter. Like our other vow renewal, even being from gorgeous Australia, they said they were fulfilling the dream they always had of getting married in Hawaii.

(I love how I see the little girl playing in the sand in this pic)

(A waikiki sunset -Straight out of the camera)

(A Waikiki Sunset- processed)

Is it Halloween or Easter? (HB at 8 months)

I admit...I am not creative when it comes to dressing up for Halloween. One, my parents didn't let us dress up when we were younger and by the time they stopped caring, so did we. And, two, I don't like spending money. So, I really thought it would be another costume-less Halloween when I remembered I had a summer kimono from my Japan Mission Trip. So I was a Japanese girl...one year of being married into a Japanese family and I fully converted. Halloween fell on a Friday so we wore our costumes to church but we were the rare few. Then we went bowling afterwards with our good friends from Ignite. It was a blast. I was having like one of the best games ever but I had to leave halfway through the game to go to work.

Speaking of dressing up, here's one little girl who is definitely started early and set the standards high with her creativity.

BEFORE

AFTER

Last October Wedding-Machel and Chris

Still trying to play catch up...today was my productive day off and I think I made a lot of headway. I got derailed a little by some phone calls that took a long time and a lot of energy...but here are some photos from the last October wedding. It was a small, intimate wedding with just three witnesses (one being the proud mama of the bride). This couple was fun. When they were left to their own devices, they were doing these fun crazy poses that I always wanted to photograph but most couples are too shy to try. He picked her up...she even tried to pick him up...well, she did kind of piggy-back him. They were totally carefree and I think they were completely relaxed the entire day. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.