Coffee Shop Jam

So a few weeks ago I got to photograph the Coffee Shop Jam for the second time. The Coffee Shop Jam is when all the students of Rob Hampton , guitar teacher extraordinaire, get to strut their stuff on stage in front of a real live audience.

It was my second time photographing the Jam (click here to see my photos from last time) and despite the name, this time it was not held in a coffee shop. Instead it was in a more glamorous venue, the Ruins. The Ruins had the advantage of a nice big stage, plenty of room for parents and other fans, and fabulous food, which everyone enjoyed between sets. It’s a testament to Rob’s incredible teaching and his connection with the kids he works with that some of the parents sponsored the event, donating both the space and the lunch.

I was amazed at the way kids as young as this little guy were so into music and were eager to get up on stage and play (that’s Johnny Cash peeking out from his shirt).

This amazing kid below performed songs he had written about the Civil War, inspired by stuff he was learning at school:

And there were plenty of grownup students performing, as well:

There was also a five man acoustical jam–these guys all take a group lesson together:

The guy second from the left in the photo above is the dad of the little guy in this photo below, who seemed to be enjoying the show:

Rob, along with bass teacher Brady Millard-Kish, and drum teacher Mark DiFlorio accompanied some of the the students as they performed, and the three of them got together to play a few songs sans students:

The song they played that stuck with me the most was “Cliffs of Dover,” which I hadn’t heard since I was in high school. Definitely brought me back for a moment; click here for a serious musical flashback.

The rest of the photos are posted on Rob’s website if you want to see more. It was a great day full of music and fun, and it all happened because one cool guitar teacher decided that his students deserved to be on stage. Thanks, Rob!

Race for the Cure

The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure was last weekend. I was one of a group of volunteer photographers covering the event, and it was an all-around awesome day. It was a mixture of fun (cheerleaders, local mascots, funny signs), sadness for those fighting breast cancer and those who have lost their fights, and high hopes for a future when treatment and cure rates are better.

There were lots of different races: men’s women’s, kids, walkers.

And there were big groups of local high school cheerleaders adding some serious spirit:

Jean Enerson and Governor Christine Gregoire, a breast cancer survivor herself, were there to cheer on some of the races:

My family has had its own experiences with breast cancer, so it was hard not to feel overcome when I saw signs like this one:

But overall the feeling of the day was one of pride, of fighting against fear, and of hope. At the end there was a parade of cancer survivors, each one wearing a pink shirt. And as the huge sea of pink-shirted women marched into Qwest Field you just had to stand up and cheer for them.

Greendrinks Turns Five

So Greendrinks had a fab 5th anniversary party last week. There was a ton of food and even more to drink (Sierra Nevada debuted their new Monorail Ale, and longtime blog readers will know how delighted I am about this; click here to read my last monorail-related post).

There were also lots of great booths with info from local green companies. But most important, there were so many people there committed to making changes in their lives that would have a positive impact on the environment.

Throughout the night Barbie Hull, Martin Colette and I had the pleasure of taking photos of people who had decided to change one thing in their lives that would help the environment. We took a portrait of each person with their “one thing” written on a chalkboard.

And through some cool computer action involving flickr and some code whipped up by the Greendrinks folks, those photos were streamed in a slideshow projected onto the wall in the main room of the party. That way everyone could see each others’ commitments and be inspired to create their own. You can check the rest of these “one thing” photos right here.

It was a great party bringing together people (including Transitman, above) and companies committed to doing right by the environment. What an inspiring night! I can’t wait to see what Greendrinks does next.

Saarinen Slideshow on Slate

Slate.com has a great slideshow up of one of my favorite architects/furniture designers, Eero Saarinen. I’m especially partial to him as I inherited two lovely but beat-up womb chairs and one grasshopper chair from my grandparents. Here’s what the grasshopper looks like:

All three of these chairs he designed are incredibly comfortable to sit and read in. I think the grasshopper is my favorite. The slildeshow makes me want to take a trip home to DC to see the exhibit at the National Building Museum. Take a look here.

Wedding: Danielle & Josh

Danielle and Josh got married a few weeks ago on a gorgeous (and very hot!) day in May. We started out taking photos with Danielle and her bridesmaids getting ready at the Watertown hotel in the University District. Here’s Danielle getting her makeup done:

And some bridesmaids:

Danielle’s shoes were complete showstoppers. Check ‘em out:

Once her makeup was done, everyone wanted a photo:

Danielle and her mom, both looking completely radiant:

Meanwhile, over at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Josh’s dad was getting ready. That’s the priest (not yet in her vestments) fixing fixing his bowtie!

Then we started with some family photos outside in front of the beautiful chapel door. Here’s Josh and his mom:

Josh looking so handsome:

I love this set of three shots of Danielle seeing her dad as she arrived at the church:

Danielle, totally gorgeous:

Danielle’s younger brother arrtived wearing an excellent pair of shades…if you look closely I think you might be able to see me in the reflection:

I love this shot of Danielle’s and Josh’s dads cracking up together:

Danielle with her bridesmaids:

Josh with his groomsmen:

Guests start arriving at the church:

And then it’s time for the ceremony:

I love this photo of Daniellle’s mom laughing:

We took some portraits in the church after the ceremony, and Melanie Blair, an incredible wedding photographer who I’ve assisted many times, was second shooting with me. It was a real treat for me to have such a talented and experienced shooter working with me, and she grabbed this awesome shot of Danielle taking a break between group photos:

I think this next photograph is my favorite image of the day. Their look of complete contentment and togetherness is so vivid:

Guests clapping as Danielle & Josh arrive at the reception:

The music, by Darrius Willrich, was excellent. And that meant I got to take a ton of dancing photos, which I absolutely love:

These kids could barely wait until the cake was served:

It was such a treat to photograph this wedding–Josh and Danielle were both so relaxed and in the moment the whole day, and I think their joy really shows throughout the photos. Thanks to Josh and Danielle for including me, I enjoyed every minute of it!

Paul Fusco’s RFK Funeral Train Images

The New York Times posted an incredible collection of photographs taken by Paul Fusco of the crowds that gathered to watch Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train pass by. Take a moment and watch them here. Via kottke.org.

The Lab at Velocity

Interior design is a hobby of mine, and I am addicted to interior design blogs. The list of design blogs I read fluctuates constantly, but a few staples include: Apartment Therapy, Decor8, Design*Sponge, and Shelteriffic. So back in March when Grace from Design*Sponge hosted a Biz Ladies meetup in Seattle I went, eager to meet the woman behind the incredible blog and to get to know other women who were running small businesses like my own. At the meetup, one of the things I heard over and over again was how important it was for designers to have great photographs of their work. So I offered to give a small workshop for designers, despite the fact that I’d never taught anything in my life! But Grace posted about the workshop, a ton of people responded, and in April I held a small class on the basics of photography and setting up a mini photo studio in your home.

The workshop ended up being really fun, and I loved meeting the designers and sharing some of my photography knowledge. I plan on having more workshops in the future, both on product photography and for people who are transitioning from a point and shoot to a dSLR, so email me if you’re interested in attending one.

So this is all a roundabout way of talking about an event I went to last night, the Lab at Velocity, where I ran into four of my photo workshop attendees! Jerylin ( a neurobiologist/knitting crafter), Megan (one of the speakers at the event, and a long time favorite blogger of mine), Maria (paper designer extraordinaire) and Fern (maker of cool felt items…I still wish I’d taken a photo of her awesome purple felt bag). I also ran into a recent bride of mine, Danielle, who is a design writer for Apartment Therapy. I photographed her wedding weekend before last and am dying to share photos from it on the blog; they should be up at the end of next week.

I really enjoyed the Lab event. It was more of a round table discussion than a presentation. The speakers were Paola from MirrorMirror, Elaine from Decorno, Mary from Shelterrific, and Megan from notmartha, with John from Velocity acting as host/moderator. Each had a slightly different take on what makes a great blog, and I liked seeing how each one was able to give some insight into how she approached her blog, depending on her own personality, voice, and temperament. They are all much more devoted bloggers than I am–nearly all of them post daily, which I find completely impressive.

It was also fun to poke around in the Velocity store (note all the Heath Pottery behind John in the photo above) and look at all the cool stuff there. I can’t wait for the next Lab…

New Venue: Herban Feast at Sodo Park

Seattle has so many amazing wedding venues. I know this especially well right now as I’m newly engaged and have toured what feels like every single venue in the city! But on Sunday I got to see what will surely become a new Seattle favorite: Herban Feast at Sodo Park.

I’ve known about Herban Feast’s amazing catering ever since I’ve done wedding photography, but their new space in Sodo is nothing like any other venue in the city. It’s in what looks like a converted warehouse from the turn of the century: amazing wood beams, incredibly high ceilings, clerestory windows, and unbeatable charm.

They had an open house on Sunday and I went to gawk at the venue and sample the incredible spread they had laid out for us. I ran into several photographers I know including the fabulous Dani Weiss, who had a pretty display of her photos and albums:

I can’t wait to shoot my first wedding there!

Retouching

There’s a totally fascinating article in this week’s New Yorker on the undisputed master of the art of photo retouching, Pascal Dangin. He mostly works on fashion and advertising photos, including the images used in Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign. Did you know those photos were touched up? Seems contrary to the whole idea of “real beauty,” if you ask me. I read the whole thing in one sitting, totally absorbed. Weirdly enough, the before and after sample photo isn’t included in the online version, which is too bad because it shows so clearly the exact nature of his work. So read it online, but go flip through the real magazine if you get a chance.

Asia & Her Family

Asia has four brothers. And although they don’t all live in Seattle, they were all going to be in town for a few days so she wanted to have some photos taken because it’s so rare that they’re all together. Just the five siblings alone are a big group, but add in mom, a husband, a girlfriend, and a wife, and all of a sudden we had a group of nine!

We decided on the Olympic Sculpture Park (one of my favorite places in the entire city) and the weather was gorgeous: bright sunshine and blue skies the whole time. And it wasn’t just the weather that was great–the whole group was completely fun-loving and hilarious. I was cracking up behind my camera the whole time.

Here’s the whole group:

And just Asia and her brothers:

Plus mom!

The couples:

Here they are all at the end, heading out for dinner together:

Thanks to all of you for being so fun to work with–I had a great time photographing all of you!