F. Family | Family Session in Denver CO

In October had the amazing opportunity to photograph a fellow photographer.  I used to be so nervous to photograph other artists but recently I started LOVING IT!  Other artists know what they want, they put a lot of time and effort into their session and they are usually the easiest to photograph [for me anyway].  Sandy is the amazing artist behind Wild Prairie Photography .  I couldn't have been more thrilled when she contacted me.  I am already dreaming of summer when I can open up my summer lake sessions! 

Theo B. | In Home Newborn Session

I have known this sweet family for over a decade now.  I was beyond thrilled to capture the birth of sweet little Theo, then about a week later I was able to go into their home and photograph for a few hours for his newborn session AND then I was able to do a full family session with them at a local park.  I absolutely love doing in home newborn sessions for my birth story clients.  

If you are interested in adding on an in home newborn session to your birth story collection, connect with me so we can make arrangements.  

P. Family | Military Homecoming in Tucson AZ

Being a military spouse, military homecomings are very near and dear to me.  I was really excited when Candi messaged me and asked me to come document her husbands homecoming on the flight line.  The weather was gorgeous for us and her husband arrived right on time... which is unheard of!!  I also love being able to document families reuniting.  I am now available for homecomings in the Denver Metro Area.  

R. Family | Family Lifestyle Session on Mt. Lemmon AZ

I met Haylea in a local photography group when I was still living in Tucson.  She and I became fast friends and I consider her one of my best friends!  I really LOVE photographing other photographers, photographer families are just naturals in front of the camera.  I can such minimal directing, if any at all.  I don't really do much directing in my sessions anyway, I kind of just plop people in a field and tell them to interact with each other, but R. Family just made it so easy.  I highly recommend checking out some of Hayley's gorgeous work on her website   I hope when I am in Tucson later this year I can get them in front of my camera again.  

C. Family | Family Session in Tucson Arizona

So I have had the honor of photographing this adorable family for 3 years.  I hope I get to photograph them for many more!  They have grown right along with me and they are expecting their 3rd little one early next year!!  We had a beautiful session at Gates Pass in Tucson.  The weather was still a bit warm but they were troopers as I made them hike all over. I cannot lie, these guys are seriously the silliest family I have ever photographed.  Their sessions are always full of laughs and tickle fights. I can't wait to hang out with you guys again when I am back in Tucson for my spring sessions!!

Ireland Jean | In Home Newborn Session

Like I have said before, I LOVE everything related to birth photography, including maternity and in home newborn sessions.  I truly love lifestyle newborn sessions.  There is just something magical about those first few days at home with a new little one.  The Randall family invited me into their home two weeks after little Ireland was born, brother and sister are still getting into the swing of having a new sibling and little Ireland was seriously as sweet as could be.  Thank you so much Randall Family for letting me be part of this wonderful time in your lives!

Jonea | Maternity in Tucson Arizona

This is actually the first of two maternity sessions with this amazing woman!  Her husband was out of town for her first session and her second session will be just them without their adorable son!  I can't lie, I was extremely nervous to photograph Jonea..  this girl is literally famous. She was photographed by the AMAZING Jade Beall for The Beautiful Body Project and several of her images have gone viral.  it did take me a while to get over my nervousness and when I finally got comfortable we hit an amazing groove and created some because art together.  I am SO HONORED she asked me to photograph her!  

I have finally decided I am just obsessed with anything about birth and mothering/nurturing.  I love being able to photograph these amazing women who are caring for and nurturing their children.  Now we wait Jonea and Josh's beautiful little girl to grace us with her presence, I can't wait to share their images from their next maternity session with the world!

End of Summer | Personal Images

“The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Last week my husband went away for work for a week so the day he left we went and cooled off with my aunt and uncle and took advantage of the pool in their neighborhood.  Lilian was working on diving, Aria was working on well... being a toddler in a pool.  We have been working with her on flipping to her back in the water and this day she finally did it!  I was super proud of her!  I really love documenting my family and finding beauty in the everyday things in our lives. It wasn’t until relatively recently where I discovered how much I love documentary photography, and by recently I mean in the past year or so.  I rarely picked up my camera in our home because it was always cluttered or a little bit of a mess and then one day I just did it.  Who care if my house is a mess or I have a pile of laundry on my couch.. this is my life and it is so beautiful!  Now there is rarely a day where I don’t pick up my camera.  I take it everywhere with me.  My kids will definitely have a wonderful story to share with their kids when they grow up.. Speaking of that, do yourself a favor and take some time and print your images from the past year.  I am really excited for our move to Denver Colorado later this year and I will be changing my business to a Full Service, Print and Product based business model. 

  If you're interested in a Documentary Family Session I have some availability before we make our big move!

July in Black and White | Personal Images

So here we are.. it's August and soon we will be moving our little family up a little bit north to Denver Colorado.  July was a really wonderful month for our family.  I spent a lot of time experimenting with my Black and White images... I have recently been drawn to dark and moody images. I am really in love with embracing the shadows right now...  it also helps that I rarely can get my children to give me their real genuine smile on camera.  Tomorrow Lilian starts school as a SECOND GRADER!!!  Holy Moly!! Life seems to be going at this extremely rapid pace and keeping up with it can be really draining.  I am happy that this summer has been relatively calm- in terms of client sessions.  It has given me time to really focus and refine who I am as photographer... for now... because it seems that I am always changing and evolving. I can't stay stagnant with my work for long.. I have to be growing and changing.  So here is a little peek of my personal images/personal growth.  

W. Family | Military Homecoming in Tucson Arizona

Military Homecomings have a very special place in my heart.  I can honestly say that they are my second favorite type of session (right behind births). This was a huge homecoming where roughly 300 service members were arriving home from one of our base's biggest deployments ever.   Whenever I am at the airport, or on the flight line waiting very impatiently for that plane to arrive, this quote always runs though my head.

 "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." -Love Actually

The amount of love and anticipation in the room is really an adrenaline rush.  No matter who is coming home, my hands get clammy, I get butterflies in my stomach and my mind starts going a million miles a minute.  

The W. Family has been counting down the days for months for this one special moment.  I am so honored that Amber asked me to be there with them.  I got to document this homecoming a bit different than my normal homecomings because Amber also happens to live just 4 houses away from me.  I loved being able to be in their home while they finished their final preparations for Andrew to come home.  It was raining and cool out it was also 10:00pm.  Since this homecoming had so many people arriving home it was held on base which is always amazing.  The news was there, and so many of my photographer friends were there as well.  The happiness in this hanger was radiating well beyond the hanger it's self.  Thank You W. Family for letting me be part of this wonderful moment in your life~

I also wanted to put a little PSA here.. I get booked out for homecomings months in advance.  This specific homecoming has been booked since February- it also unfortunately overlapped with another homecoming booked out a few months ago as well and I could only be in one place.  It's is very important to communicate with your photographer and your spouse as much as possible when it gets close to the homecoming.  Please inform your spouse that you have hired someone to be there with you, this could alleviate a lot of confusion. For this specific homecoming I had people calling and messaging me all the way up until 5pm on the day of arrival.  

If you need a homecoming photographer I have two available spots open for the remaining of the year, one in September and one in November.

Ireland Jean | Maternity in Tucson Arizona

I am so excited for the birth of Ireland!  She is expected to bless us with her arrival any time now and I am just waiting for the call!  This session almost didn't happen.  Right now in Tucson it's Monsoon.  Many afternoons we experience lots of rain and wind.  Well the evening of our session we decided to chance it and I am so glad that we did.  When we were walking out the door the rain clouds opened and it down poured on us until literally 5 minutes away from our shooting location.  I was so excited that we got in front of the storm and we wasted no time and got to shooting.  The rain held off for our entire session but on the way home the sky cleared and gave us a gorgeous sunset so of course we had to pull over into the first open field I could find!  It was a pretty adventurous shoot!

Norah and Owen | In Home Newborn and Family Session | Tucson Arizona

You might remember my last birth back in May, when little Norah graced us with her presence a few weeks early.  She spent about a week in the NICU before she was allowed to come home and ever since then she has been growing like a weed!  She is so sweet and I definitely got my share of baby snuggles in during our in home Newborn and Family Session.  In home Documentary sessions are my favorite type of family session.  I love documenting and telling your story.  

Becca and Sean | In Love | Pecan Orchards in Tucson Arizona

These two.. what can I say?  They squeezed me in last minute before they move across the country.. literally the movers were at their house a hour before we met.  They are seriously some of the sweetest people I have ever met.  I hope you guys have a safe move and enjoy your new home, Arizona will definitely miss you!!

“Love can be so hauntingly beautiful, waking up past selves that have been wandering aimlessly through the corridors of our soul, for far too long. When someone else can take us from the ghost-town of our inner-selves, to exciting new landscapes, it's worth the risk, just to feel reborn.” 
― Jaeda DeWalt

Stan, Rachel and Layla | Family Photo Session | Brandi Fenton Park Tucson AZ

When we move to Denver this is one family I am truly going to miss.  Tucson has been so good to me and I am really excited that I will be able to shoot here several times a year even after our move.  

Happy Birthday Sweet Layla!  I can't wait to get you in front of my camera again!!

Danielle and Girls | Mommy and Me in Tucson AZ

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.

-Richard Bach

Taking a dip in the Pacific | Personal Images

After we went to Disneyland we decided to head down to San Diego for a day of sandy wet fun before we headed back to Tucson.  All 3 girls really love being at the beach and playing in the sand and water.. I however have learned that the adult version of Jessica doesn't enjoy sand AT ALL.  But I did only spend about 15 minutes with my camera and spent the rest of our few hours with my kids and husband.  I am trying to find that special balance of documenting/storytelling and actually being in the moment with my family. It's definitely not as easy as I thought it would be.  

Ramona | Mommy and Me

Mommy and Me Sessions have a really special place in my heart.  As a mom I know I am not in front of the camera enough with my kids.  I am working on it... I swear... I love watching mom's interact with their children and I LOVE documenting that bond.  Moms... GET IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA WITH YOUR KIDS..  and not only that but don't just let these images sit on the web or computer.. PRINT THEM and hang them.  Get in front of the lens...

Jessie and Jon | In Love in Tucson

Jessie and Jon are two of the sweetest people I have ever met in my entire life.  I documented their engagement and wedding last year.  This year I suckered them into an early morning session at Sunrise.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for these two!

Valentines Day

So around our house Valentines day has never been a big deal.  Luke and I try our best to show each other very often how much we love and appreciate each other so we feel we don't really need a day to tell us to do so..  This year however- with having Jule in our home and Lilian "getting it" we decided to go all out.  In the morning I made pink and purple heart shaped pancakes and we went on a simple picnic where we made flower crowns and played in a field of dead tall grass for a couple of hours.  It was simply splendid and I think we have a wonderful new tradition to look forward to.  Our crowns were far from perfect but I thought they were wonderful.  We even had extra flowers that we gave to some hikers to brighten their day a little bit.