Love You More.

Behind The Scenes.

I would like to warn everyone, before you start this post it would be smart of you to grab some tissues. This is a post that is incredibly close to my heart, and I cant promise you that there will be a dry eye around after it is read. Cant say I didnt give you fair warning.

This is a project I have been working on for months, as my first attempt to get behind my camera again after my Papa passed away this year. For those of you who know me, Papa is someone I had the most incredible amount of love for. There wasnt a time that he wasnt cracking jokes and making people laugh. Whether it was at Sunday dinner, where he would try to make some smart comment to my Uncle Darren claiming he wasnt hue deficient like he was saying (clearly the top of the cheese container was red, not green), or telling Nana she was off her rocker when he knew he was wrong but wanted to give her a hard time, Papa was always laughing. He was so full of life, and he lived 90 years full of family, adventure, and laughter. I looked up to Papa in so many ways.

Papa had been fighting several health issues for a couple years and when he fell in April, we were told that it would be the downhill slope. While Papa was giving it his best his body wasnt able to keep up with his spunk and he left us a week before my 25th birthday on April 20, 2015. He was surrounded by friends and family in his home with love pouring out for my Nana and the family from people I didnt even know, but that were a part of Papa's life. I knew that he touched so many people's lives, but I was unaware of just how many until his service where the chapel was filled with anyone who knew him. Everyone had a story to tell about how Papa had helped them, or made them laugh, or been there for them when they needed someone. Despite there being tears for the loss of such a wonderful husband, father, grandpapa, and friend, the most common thing that was happening was laughing as story was told about him.

I hit a really rough patch while I was dealing with the loss of Papa and I didnt spend any time behind my camera. It was hard for me to put myself into my work because I felt that I had lost such a big part of my life. I was trying to do several things to get me back in my groove and it finally hit me. My younger cousin Thomas didnt only get his name after Papa but just so happens to have gotten his good genes and looks just like Papa did when he was his age. I hit Thomas up when I had a solid idea of what I was thinking of doing and he was so down. I then went to my Nana, Mom, Aunt Lori, Aunt Karen, Aunt Jo, and Aunt Fran and asked them to pick their favorite picture of Papa because I had a class that I was taking that I needed them for. (We wont talk about the fact that I graduated from college last year but no one seemed to ask questions about that. Yeah, didnt think of that one did you, ladies. ;p ) While we werent able to get all the shots done in time for Christmas like I wanted to, we were able to get three of them done without life throwing stuff in the way.

People inspire me, and Papa was the biggest inspiration to me to be great. This project was fueled by him.

I had so much fun with this project and with having something that made me so excited to get behind the camera again. Thomas, thank you for being so into helping me get this done and for sharing all the stories about Papa that you had. I know that you loved him so much and I see so much of his love in you. I cant wait to do the last three that we have.

Nana, Aunt Lori, Aunt Fran, (even though you dont have yours yet) Mom, Aunt Jo, and Aunt Karen I hope that you enjoy having these shots of Papa and Thomas as much as I enjoyed putting them into my photography. Papa loved all of us so much and he was always ready to show us whether it was as a husband to Nana for 50 years, or to all of his daughters who he would have done anything for, and especially to his very long list of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

1. I miss you everyday, Papa. I know that you are up in heaven having a good time making everyone laugh, and also spending plenty of time down here making sure that we have a clear path to walk down. I miss your jokes, but I am so happy that you taught all of us how to make jokes out of anything we have going on. I miss your laugh, but I am so glad that there is so much laughter that happens whenever we sit and talk about you. I miss your warm hugs, but I love that you taught the family to care so much about each other and that there are so many people who we can turn to whenever we need a hug. Thank you for all of the things that you taught me and for all of the love that you have given me even after you passed. I know that I will see you again one day, and I know that you will be there to hear about all the things that I did. Until then, please keep your eye on all of us as we try to follow in the adventure and love filled footsteps you left for us. As I am sure that you are doing. Enjoy.

Struggle Bus Now Boarding.

Before I start with my usual dialogue that comes with each of my posts, I am going to give you two of my most favorite quotes I've come across while doing a shoot to date. 

First, "Something about the struggle bus is going to be mentioned in your title, isnt it?"

And second, "It is seriously going to get to the point with your posts with us that all you're going to have to say is, 'Its these people again, enjoy." 

- Kellie Wolff

While it might seem that I havent been posting much these days, it doesnt mean that I havent been shooting. I have come to discover that my ideal of being so popular that I am always shooting, starts to get complicated when I have so many shoots to go through. It has been a month since I was able to fly to Colorado, my third state in a year for the Wolff Family. Baby Garyn has been with us for all of them, first in Alaska when mom and dad got married. Second, in Washington when mom and grandpa and auntie trekked around the drought that was what we thought would be a lake. And third, in Colorado where we finally got to see all of her adorableness. It was hard to tell who was more excited for me to come, Kellie or Karlie, but they once again had me fly to them to capture yet another precious moment of time in their lives. Garyn was having some issues with acid reflux and having to be naked for the first time with lights flashing in her eyes, but despite her most persistent efforts to let us now how mad she was about all of it we were still able to get the most adorable pictures of her. Kellie got some great behind the scenes pictures of my time with her, which isnt something that is seen that often but very accurately showed how much goes into these shoots. Per the usual though Kellie was sassy, Karlie was ready to pick up any smart ass thing that I said to make her mother laugh,  and I was a sarcastic little hellion working to bring ease to capturing the most precious moments with Garyn. 

Chris and Kellie, I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed being your designated photographer this year. I cant even begin to thank you for all that you have done for me and for my photography. I have loved the time that I have gotten to spend with your family, and in all the different places that I have had the chance to go to with you guys. Kellie, though you might think that I will run out of things to say about you I can promise you that you are really underestimating my ability to retell stories about the times I spend with your family. You guys are always so much fun and you make for the best stories to tell. Photography, for me, is all about telling a story and you have given me such a mind blowing amount of room to tell your story. This year I have been able to capture some of the best moments of my entire career, with your family. Garyn is so lucky to have been born into a family filled with so much love and I dont have any doubts that I will be around to watch her grow up with her sister Karlie teaching her the ways, and you and Chris providing her with so much room to be just as awesome as Karlie. Thank you for everything that you guys have done for me because of your appreciation for my work, and sass. I cant wait to see the next place that I travel to capture more moments of your adventures. 

Its these people again, but not for the last time. Enjoy. 

Double The Trouble.

In continuing with the seemingly unstoppable trend of having babies this year, Anthony and Amber are in the final stretch waiting for their's to arrive. Though, instead of just one baby girl, theyre expecting identical twin girls! But the magic doesnt just stop there as the due date for their girls is Christmas Eve, a present for each of them. Amber was a trooper trekking all over Wetlands park for this shoot right up until we got back to the car and realized Anthony had left the keys at some spot in the middle of us shooting. She was then happy to send us on our way to find the keys. Even after a second lap around the park, I had a wonderful time shooting with these two and cant wait to see their precious baby girl's. Enjoy.

Stalk Me.

Well, folks, the day has finally come. My most favorite little stalker has finally come to surface on my blog. This precious cinnamon bun has been my most avid follower since I started this lovely blog of mine, and has never been afraid to let me know it. We have been talking for quite some time about getting her on here, and the moment that she announced that Baby Henry was on the way I was on it, she was going to be getting her time in the spotlight. Jessica and I have some major history taking us all the way back to middle school, so to say that we were excited about this moment might be the understatement of the century. As always, we were cracking jokes and getting some good laughs during the entire shoot. Between Charlie's frantic cries for Jessica any time she was more than three inches from his side, Ethans constant need to make every shot look like an 80's glamour shoot, and Jessica laughing at all of it, this has to be one of my favorite shoots in a long time. Jessica, thank you for being such a big fan of all my photography work and for always letting me know how much you love my new posts. I cant wait to meet Baby Henry and watch Ethan and you be the incredible parents I know you will be. Enjoy.

The Mullet.

Sometimes it's difficult to combine what you love to do and your career into one thing. While a majority of the time, I'm so in love with photography that it doesn't bother me that it's also a job, there are times when I get worn down on shooting because I have to do it, like it or not. I was setting up a shoot the other night, and ended up having a gear malfunction so I wasn't able to finish it. It was my first attempt to get behind a camera since the tragic events in my life that was the month of September. My baby boy Bailey passed away very unexpectedly, and it was all I could do to get through the most basic motions of the day. Luckily, my baby girl Zumah was right there for all the sweet fur baby love I could possibly want. She doesn't get to be around me shooting that often, since most of what I've been doing lately has been on location shooting, but she was so excited to get a chance to step in on this shoot. Quickly, it became the mullet of shoots, with what seems to be business in the front, but was actually a party behind the front line. All part of the process of mourning and recovering, I was dead set on getting some pictures taken so that I could get back on the horse with my photography. So I made some adjustments to my set, grabbed some tasty doggy treats, and called her over. For those of you who don't know, Zuzu is Baileys daughter. She's taken on a lot of qualities that he had since he's been gone, and in addition to having his eyes, I'm so grateful that she is such a lover like he was. She sat for me and I got some pretty cute pictures of her being the adorable girl I know her to be. It's rare that my posts on my blog are ever this personal, or of such random nature, but I am learning how to keep loving what I do even if it doesn't always go as I planned. Life is what you make of the cards you are dealt, and I am so incredibly lucky to be able to love photography, do it for my career, and to stop moments in time of the things I love most. Bailey had so many pictures of him taken because he was always so willing to sit still for me whenever I wanted him to, and Zumah is following very well in his footsteps. Plus, it helps that she is just so stinking cute. Enjoy.

Will Travel For Photography.

This year has been one for the books, and its only August. This last weekend I was able to add Washington to the states I have shot in for my portfolio. Kellie let me know when we landed in Seattle, from her wedding in March, that she would be requiring me to come up when she was ready for maternity pictures. She really had to twist my arm, but I mustered up the bravery to travel for my photography for the second time this year. *wink wink* Kellie and I have decided that she is going to make sure to get me in all climates possible via her photography needs, and I decided that is my new motto: Will Travel For Photography. We had all sorts of plans to shoot at this lake that was about an hour and a half south of Seattle. What we didnt factor in, though, was that Mother Nature doesnt care how long you have been planning for a shoot. When is moody whenever she pleases. Not only did we have some pretty impressive cloud cover, to hide the beautiful and active volcano behind Adler Lake, which was suffering a severe lack of water due to drought. But you listen here, Kellie flew in that morning after having moved to Colorado Spring two days prior, and I wasnt going to let some tiny flaws throw off my groove. It was hot, humid, and quite a bit of walking, but Mother Nature couldnt ruin this shoot. Kellie was a real champ, and did everything she was told to do with the most gusto she had, and it really paid off. Luckily, my bestie and sidekick Tenaya was there to help with adjusting props and wardrobe, so I didnt have to do as much running around as normal. I was more than appreciative of her hard work, because this Vegas girl was not built for humidity. I am so happy with the final results of all our our struggles though. But it is great to know that even when we are all on the struggle bus with VIP passes we are able to get such amazing shots. Of course, there are more to come, but you will just have to wait like the rest of us. Enjoy.

The Cutest Bucket Baby.

The Bradley family took on 2015 in a big way. See, very rarely is it the case that we do anything that is in any variation of halfway. It is no secret that babies have been coming out like they're going out of style, I can think of at least 15 of my friend who have had babies or are about to have babies this year. So we had to make sure that we one upped on this, naturally. Baby Andrew Robert Emil Bradley was welcomed into our family on July 28th, 2015 at 1:07pm. Weighing 8lbs 4oz and 20" long, baby Andrew is the third and final grandbaby for our family this year. With his older cousin Helen being born in March, and his older cousin August being born in May, we were all very anxious to meet this dapper boy to complete the trifecta of tiny human additions to our family this year. Andrew is the calmest bundle of love, who sleeps through most everything including his very loud fur brother Bo wanting to be played with, and his big brother Grayson who is just so unbelievably excited to have his very own baby brother. Mom and Andrew are both perfectly healthy, minus Andrew's skin protesting being in this very dry climate, and Nonna is overjoyed with the last addition to her grandbabies for the time being. I mean, she's up to five grandsons and two granddaughters now! So happy to see my family growing, can't wait to capture more moments of them as they grow up. Enjoy.

Tale As Old As Time.

One of the best ways to book jobs as a photographer, as I have come to discover, is word of mouth. Who you know, who knows you, and who sees your work in order to get your name out there. In the last year or so, my biggest suppliers for photography jobs has been from the Lamb family. They love to spread the word that they know this pretty awesome photographer any time anyone mentions needing someone to shoot for them. Kim hit me up a few months ago to ask me to shoot the wedding for her niece Lauren, and I was super stoked to help them out. It was an awesome wedding with the best bride and groom I've had in a while. Cracking jokes, giving me a hard time, and non stop thanking me for being there to stop these moments for them to remember always. I love love love all the shots I got for them, and can't wait to see their reaction when they see them all. But for now, I'll tease them with just a few of the winners. Enjoy.

Snug As A Bug In A Rug.

It is pretty common knowledge around my office that I am a portrait photographer. You see, I can't advertise to the people I work with because of company policies, so I do the very subtle act of making sure to show all the ladies I work with all the photos I can so they are aware that they can hire me to capture their precious moments for them. So far, it's working. One of the ladies from the office I used to work in messaged me a few weeks ago to have me shoot her newest grandsons newborn pictures. He is the first baby for her daughter and since she's friends with me on Facebook, she gets to see all the stuff I post on my blog. I set up a shoot with Nicole, but as newborn shoots often go, he wasn't feelin' it the day we had planned for. Luckily he was a much happier camper the next day and we were able to get these incredibly precious pictures of baby Cooper. While not the biggest fan of being naked and having lights flash in his face for an hour, he was a good sport all in all (after a good fill up on milk). Slowly perfecting my routines for newborn shoots, I'm so happy with the images I got of this adorable baby boy for them, and now all of you get to ooh and aah over him too. Enjoy.