Haylee's 5th Birthday

Our niece Haylee recently turned 5 years old.  She is such an awesome kid and we have been incredibly lucky to watch her grow up.  We love that we get to spend time with her on a regular basis and that she enjoys being with us too.  We chase down the Ice Cream Man, swim in the kiddie pool and I even get to play princess and Barbie which I don't normally get play.  As long as it makes her happy, I will be a prince or princess and play Barbie all day long.
We love you Haylee!!!
Here are a some photos from her 5th birthday:

Squishy nose...

Haylee being Haylee

She is so funny.  She went from sticking her tongue out to this pose all on her own.

Aunt Heidi put some frosting on her nose...

Kelsey and Justin's Wedding Website

Check out the latest page I just posted using Showit: Home-4

Kelsey and Justin's Wedding

On July 10th, 2010, Kelsey and Justin were married at Haus Rohrbach in Leavenworth, WA.  It was a beautiful sunny day which matched the beauty of this couple perfectly.  We were running a little behind because of some minor glitches that might have created some anxiety for some brides and grooms but these two were focused on one thing, marrying the one they love.  The ceremony was performed by Brooks Murphy and was beautifully done with such an incredible setting.  The love that Kelsey and Justin feel for one another is contagious and we could feel the love that everyone had for them as well.
Here are just some of our favorite photos from Kelsey and Justin's Wedding Day:

Kelsey's beautiful dress

Kelsey and her girls

Justin and his boys

Justin keeping it together before the "First Look"

Here comes his gorgeous bride

Kelsey and her father

Justin seeing his gorgeous bride walking down the aisle with her father

The kiss

The Powers family being the Powers family

Toasting the bride and groom

Kelsey's fathers turn

The first dance

Haylee and the 4th of July

We had the pleasure of watching our niece Haylee Amaya over the 4th of July.  We had never been to the 4th of July fireworks show, food court or the kids fair in Wenatchee so we decided to take our niece and check it out.  It turned that we had so much fun that one of us feel asleep on my lap before the fireworks even started.
 Here are some photos from our fun on the 4th of July with Haylee Amaya.  We love you Haylee!!!

Kelsey and Justin's Wedding - Teaser

Here is a sneak peak from Kelsey and Justin's wedding.

Our First Descents Experience - by Chris "Point" Ohta

           What do you think of when you hear the words, First Descents?  For me, I used to think of remote un-run rivers and un-touched mountains but that all changed this past June. 

My wife, Heidi, and I had the honor of volunteering as photographers for First Descents Camp.  First Descents is a kayaking and outdoor recreation camp for young adults with cancer, which seeks to cure young adults from the emotional side effects of cancer and to empower them to regain control of their lives by experiencing whitewater kayaking and other challenging adventure sports in a safe, fun and supportive environment.  This is a story about our experience and what First Descents gave us.

We arrived at the Columbia River Gorge Hostel in Bingen, WA on the 16^th of June, where we were greeted by “Smelly”.  I actually though I heard her wrong so I tried to pronounce it differently when she then corrected me and said “it’s Smelly”.  Smelly let us know that everyone goes by a nickname at camp so we would need nicknames too but not to worry as we would get them soon enough.  Our good friend Ditch showed up a short time later and back home we know him as Tobin but he will forever be Ditch to us now.  One thing that we could feel immediately from Smelly and everyone involved with First Descents was this incredible welcoming and warm energy, which could be felt through out the camp.  It was almost like this energy was calling us all to come home and to share ourselves.  The feeling is so hard to describe except to call it LOVE. 

It wasn’t long before the first van showed up with campers from various parts of the country and then the second van wasn’t far behind.  We were given our nicknames of “Point and Shoot”, I am Point and Heidi is Shoot.  That first day was so incredible to watch and feel.  It was amazing how we had just been brought together but you could feel the First Descents magic begin to permeate all of us and within hours we transformed from strangers to family.  The energy that Smelly brings with her and the magic of the First Descents was already at work.  It was so magical to watch but it was even more incredible and indescribable to feel.  It is like something bigger just takes hold of you and gives you a big hug.  You can feel more, see more, share more, give more and life just seems so much clearer.

Every night we had “campfire” which was an opportunity for all of us to share our feelings and emotions from the day.  It is so inspiring to listen and share with everyone and campfire really helps to foster the family relationships and bonds that are formed.  Campfire is so special and we feel so lucky to have shared in that experience with our new First Descents family.

The kayaking was incredible and inspiring but what we found even more special was the familial bond that was formed through kayaking.  For us kayakers, we know that kayaking brings us closer and we form a closed knit group but this felt different.  You could feel that kayaking was allowing many of us to step out of our comfort zone and allowing us to open our eyes to living life while at the same time helping to create a family.   There was something greater than the kayaking itself that allowed us to share ourselves and to give all of our hearts to each other; it was LOVE.  It seems strange to say you LOVE someone that you just met and that you don’t even know their real name yet but this is the only way I can describe the feeling that First Descents gives to everyone involved.  First Descents shares LOVE!!!  The LOVE that First Descents shares allows us to break through personal barriers, to open ourselves up to new people and possibilities, and it gives us the strength and courage to really live life to the fullest. 

We are so honored to be a part of the First Descents family and we are forever touched by the experience.  It feels so awesome to become part of a family in such a short period of time and to know that there are family members that we haven’t even met yet, but because of First Descents we LOVE them and would do anything for them.  We LOVE First Descents and all of our FD family!!!    

    

Some ?'s for your wedding photographer...

Getting married?  Are you looking for a photographer?  Don't know what to ask?

Most of us do not know exactly what questions to ask our photographer when we sit down for the consultation or send out those emails.  We are all different people and most of the time we are not looking for exactly the same things from our photographer that others might be.  Yet, often we ask the same questions about experience, training, camera gear and price.  These are all great things to ask and you should definitely know how long a person has been shooting weddings, if they have a camera or two and how much you are going to spend but there are other questions that are just as important.

Something to really consider is that you are welcoming this person(s) into one of the most important days of your life to share with some of the most important people in your world, so we think you should dig even deeper than these basic questions.

Here are a few questions that are rarely asked but very important:
Why do you want to shoot my wedding?
What separates you from all of the other photographers out there?
Why do you love wedding photography?

These are just a few question that we think are very important, of course there are many other questions, but these few will help us to get a feel for the person behind the camera.  We feel that you should like the person that you are hiring not just their photography.

Trust, openness, willingness and energy are four very important traits to consider when hiring your photographer. Do you trust them?  How open are they with you?  Are they willing to go that extra mile for you?  Do they have a good energy?

All posts are better with a photo.  Here is a beautiful couple that is sharing their wedding day with us and we are so honored to be a part of Kelsey and Justin's wedding day.  It is just over a week away and we are so excited.