Midway and Wandering

This afternoon Brent and I went to the Midway museum on the biggest ship we have ever seen. It really is amazing to think of all those servicemen in the cramped quarters for months at a time. This aircraft carrier has been in active service since 1945 and served in WWII and the Gulf War. The amount of teamwork it requires to catapult a ship from the deck of a ship, and again to land one on the length of three football fields is almost incomprehensible. It also made me think of Brent's grandparents who both served in World War II. Grandpa Ruhinen flew B-52 bommers on the Pacific front, and his Grandpa Taylor served building runways in areas that had been taken over. Anyway, it was a pretty neat experience and I spent most of the morning walking around. Yay for warm weather!

Whale of a Tail

This morning whild Brent was busy at his conference, I walked to the San Diego Bay for an amazing experience. I joined a whale watching tour out into the Pacific to see Gray Whales migrating south to Baja California. The weather was beautiful, and the water was very very calm. Not one person on the boat was seasick. I had the chance to see dolphins, a little sting ray, bait fish, brown pelicans, commerants, sea lions and gray whales! It was fantastic and at the end of our time on the ocean, we actually saw two whales travelling together. The center image with a tail and a spout was one of my favorite moments. Gray whales are smaller than humpback whales, they only get to around 50 feet long, but the experience was so so cool.

Sunny San Diego

This week my husband and I are spending some time in San Diego, California. The weather is fantastic, and an amazing change from the super cold weather we have been having in Michigan. Brent is attending a conference on Utilites and Demand Response for his job (sounds thrilling to me!) while I am relaxing, getting some work done, and spending some much needed time in the sun. People have to look away when the sun shines directly on me because of the white glare!

We also have a few model sessions on Friday at La Jolla. I am very excited and have a feeling we may be posting a few more shots before then....

Grace

This amazing young woman had one of my favorite Maternity images so far. I love her spunky attitude and style, and her idea with the stickers on her belly spelling baby Tessa's name was so much fun! I really feel blessed to have met Grace, and I am excited to welcome her new baby girl in a couple of weeks!

Beatrice

Bea is one of the sweetest little girls I have had the pleasure of meeting. I tease her mom that she is a photographers dream because she has this beautiful little smile, a happy disposition and generally makes it through at least four outfit changes! She is nine months old now, and her curiosity is so adorable. Two of the images above highlight this part of her personality, and it is so much fun seeing her grow. (I am glad her hair still has character, even though it is much longer now!)

Emma at One Month

Emma just turned a month old and is very alert. I almost had her asleep at the end of our session when she was snuggled into the snowman. Otherwise, she was staring right at me! The last image above is very special becuase the outfit Emma is wearing was my sisters when she was a baby. I think it is so cool that her daughter is able to wear the same little dress that she once wore. The Football Player and Ballerina portait is another idea my sis had for this session and I think it turned out really cute. I want to do it again when she is standing with support.

Griffin Football Fotos

Last week before taking portraits of our new niece Emma, my nephew Griffin and I had some fun goofing around in the studio. Here are a few of my favorites, and maybe someday when I am really feeling confident I will post the images he took of me! (He makes a great assistant, and I am excited for when he is old enough to help out more!)