My first maternity shoot

This was my first maternity shoot and what made it even more special was that inside that belly is our newest niece. We love all of our nieces and nephew so much and we are so lucky to have them in our lives. We love you Haylee, Michael and Kaya!!! The newest addition to the family is Araya and we cannot wait to welcome her into the world. I was lucky to recently have had the honor of shooting photos of my sister in-law Serena, Cory and Araya. I only hope that the photos are as special as Araya is and will be. We love you too Araya!!! We are so excited to tell you how much we love you in person and Serena and Cory we love you.

Playing with a Sunset

Sunset is one of my favorite times of the day...

Leavenworth Farmer's Market - A "Destination Farmer's Market"

So I recently posted about the Farmer's Market in Wenatchee which is great but 20 miles up the Wenatchee Valley on Thursday evenings is what I would call a fantastic "destination farmer's market" in Leavenworth, WA. There is live music, amazing vegetables grown by the areas best organic farmer's, organic beef, some of my favorite cheese, massage/acupuncture therapists, a great bakery, fantastic food vendors, pottery and more. Not to mention a great family atmosphere. This market is more like a weekly festival than just a farmer's market. What made this even more special for us was getting to see some of the people that make Leavenworth such a special place. Not only did we get to see some of our wonderful friends but we got to meet some of the newest editions to their families. Leavenworth, WA is one of the "special places of the world" and if you ever visit in the summer be sure to check out the Thursday night Farmer's Market.
For more photos go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/h2ohta/sets/72157622115464192/

Learning about life....

I feel like I am finally learning what life is really about. I used to look at life from a "me" perspective and I used to be so wrapped up in my own world that I did not stop to think about life's bigger picture. Life was all about me.

I am learning that life is about what we can share with others not what they can share with us. Life is not about having it is about giving. Life is about elevating others not elevating ourselves. Life is about sharing not taking. Life is about giving others energy not taking energy away.

I used to do things and say things because I thought it fit the image that I wanted to portray. Instead I was losing myself and being unfair to others by hiding behind an image, by hiding insecurity.

I have gotten to a point in life where I finally feel as though I know myself and I am comfortable with who I am. This is due in part to my wonderful wife, amazing and loving family and friends that are genuine and true. It was like a light turned on in my head not too long ago. This light made it clear that in order to have genuine and meaningful interactions with people that we must be genuine and true to ourselves or this cannot happen.

I see things from a different perspective now. Of course, I am not perfect nor do I have the "grand scheme of life" figured out but what I have begun to figure out is how we can give and share with others. Giving and sharing is what life is about. We do not ever need to be materially wealthy to give our energy and our love. We do not need to have a lot of "stuff" to share ourselves and our passions. One of the best gifts that we can give each other is the willingness to honestly and openly give and share......

Farmer's Markets

There are so many things in life to be thankful for. In the day and age of a fast food and microwave dinners, one of the things I am thankful for is all of the local farmer's that strive to produce the freshest, healthiest and most natural foods possible. Last Saturday, we went to the Wenatchee Farmer's Market and we were fired up about what we found. We found fresh organic produce, fresh organic meat, hand knitted baby clothes, crazy good peanut brittle and I found tacos. All of which was grown, made and sold with love and care by small local farmers and businesses. Most of these folks will not get rich doing what they do rather they do it to share their passion with all of us, that is what I appreciate the most. They do not know most of us but they still grow organic vegetables, raise organic beef and hand knit baby clothes so that we can all live healthier and happier lives. Please support your local Farmer's Markets and let them know that we appreciate what they do.

There is a pot of gold for all of us somewhere......

I was just playing around with different edits this morning. I hope you enjoy them!!!

Zimmerman's Annual Party

It is a special feeling to attend the Zimmerman's Annual Party. That special feeling comes from their welcoming and loving energy that is absorbed and shared by everyone in attendance. The Kevin Jones Band played again this year which was as always a pleasure and there was an amazing veggie and carnivorous potluck dinner. For me, the potluck was topped off by the whole roasted pig. Shane put his energy and love into this whole roasted pig and it was absolutely delicious. I was shooting some photos and I don't think Shane likes cameras much, so I asked him if I was irritating him. I told him I would "run really fast if I was" because he is a big man and had a big knife. His response was "not yet and that he could throw the knife really fast too", LOL, but I got a few of him before I "ran away". Thank you to the Zimmerman's for another fantastic get together and for sharing so much with all of us!!! We appreciate you immensely.
The entire set can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/h2ohta/sets/72157621890728315/