The Martinez family

With a storm brewing on the Windward in the distance, I met the Martinez family on a secluded beach to try to brace the wind and beat the rain for some fun family pictures. Their two boys, Toni and Tyler were hilarious balls of energy that kept me on my toes and helping me get creative with our posing. They got along so well, too, despite the few pictures in which it appears quite the opposite! We were all laughing pretty much the whole time and got plenty of great smiles before it started sprinkling. Mom got her Christmas present early this year and I hope it will keep them all happy for years to come!

Vow Renewal

A new acquaintance and fellow photographer, Nicole, contacted me last week to say that her parents were going to be on island for the holidays and wanted to renewal their vows. Naturally, she wanted to participate and be in the pictures for once instead of behind the camera, so I was honored that she asked me to capture the special day for them! On a gorgeous day in Waianai, I watched them reaffirm their love for one another. It is always a pleasure to witness long and lasting love :-) Afterwards, we posed for group shots out of the whole clan, and the kids were all so well-behaved, even when distracted by the dogs playing fetch in the ocean. It was a wonderful way to spend the morning and I hope this family has nothing but happy memories of this special day!

Not your average Christmas party

The perks of working and learning from Bob the Camera Man continued this holiday season as I helped him cover an annual Christmas party thrown by a very notable family of the island. This Christmas party was 2 parts, night one for kids and night 2 for adults. I would be more excited about the kids party, of course. Face painters, DJ, full catering of kid friendly yet gorment foods, passed delicacies for the adults like filet minion sliders, and shrimp gazpacho martini cups, a balloon man, and a mountain of giant gingerbread cookies with all the fixings. Side note, when you let a group of 4-5 year old's loose on a cookie decorating station, you end up with sugary treats both blinding in color and sugar content. I had so much fun capturing the smiles on these kids' faces, not to mention, enjoying the gorgeous view. What an awesome experience!

The USS Port Royal

Assisting one of the most well-known photographers on the island has so many benefits, including getting to participate in shooting big events like the Christmas party for the USS Port Royal. The sailors in this crew were deployed at sea last Christmas, so they wanted to celebrate together at home this year with family and friends. Located in a ballroom of the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki sailors of all ages and rank ate, laughed, celebrated, and won some pretty awesome raffle prizes, including iPads, Macbook Pros, big screen tv's and more! It was a challenging new experience for me to weave throughout the room capturing guests at such a large event but I was so thankful to Bob the Camera Man for trusting me with the task!

The Jennings Family

I can't blame the Jennings family one bit for wanting to get photos done in Hawaii before they PCS to their new station in Illinois. (Nothing against Illinois, but let's be real, not quite the landscape of Hawaii.) Plus, these cutie pies won't be young for long; they are already growing into quite a bunch of charmers! They were so good for our shoot, even suggesting some creative poses of their own! Granted, they usually involved some element of danger so we had to modify them, but I loved the enthusiasm of these three boys. To add some spice, we started trying poses like "the ninja" and"the train," for extra giggles and as a result, I think we ended up with some really natural looks as the sun sank slowly below the horizon.

The McCormick Clan

I feel like I talk about how "fun" the shoot was in every post, but it's true- all in different ways and for different reasons! This group was no different, and it's always a bonus when I know the family. I knew Amy was an awesome mom and so giving of herself to others, so I was determined to capture some beautiful images for her. It was an overcast day and pretty windy to top it off, but no rain so we took our chances and hit North Beach on Kaneohe Bay. The kids were all giggles, which some may discourage for pictures, but I just go with it. We made silly faces and did silly poses, even hatched a secret plan to tackle mommy and daddy by surprise. I think we ended up with some really cute shots that display the happiness and love in this beautiful family!

Welcome Home

After 6th months of active duty serving in Japan, the marines from unit 2/3 at Kaneohe Bay returned home safely on 12-12-12. Hundreds of wives, husbands, kids, friends, neighbors, and fellow marines lined the sides of Hanger 5 to cheer them off the plane. As the crowd waited anxiously, the marine band played familiar songs to keep up the energy, kids played in bouncy houses, and women checked raffle tickets for a chance at the first kiss. I had butterflies and I wasn't even expecting anyone! I was shooting for a new friend, Sarah, whose husband was with the unit. She was all smiles as she scoured over the crowd of people for her husband to come off the plane and when he finally worked his way through to his waiting wife, their embrace was priceless. I was so honored to be able to capture these special first moments in their reunion. I wish them all the best as they cherish their time together and thank them for their sacrifice to our country.

Brother bonding with the Shipp Boys

I love a mom with a vision, a particular look or style to achieve, a spin on the standard session. Heather prepared for a shoot of her 3 boys with a vintage baseball theme in mind, since all of them will be playing the sport in this spring.  First, we started on the beach with simple, solid tees and let me tell you, I didn't even have to think about pulling out my "tickle bug;" these boys were pros at picture-taking. There was also a stunning, bold lifeguard stand on the beach that was the perfect prop to give the shoot a unique touch.

Next to our little beach was a huge baseball field so the boys changed into some old-school baseball tee's that Heather had purchased to bring out her vintage vibe; they added just that extra bit of detail to really make these photos stand out. Naturally, it was the perfect opportunity to channel their inner Babe Ruth for a pose as well. As the sun set behind the bleachers, we even managed to squeeze in the new puppy for shot- so classic. And I mean, how can you go wrong with such a handsome trio?! Thanks to the Shipps for a super fun photo-session!

Toy Give-Away!

I was excited for this shoot from the moment Bob the Camera Man asked me to assist. On two separate military bases on the island, The Boys and Girls Club and the Toy Industry Foundation joined together to give away hundreds of toys to deserving military families at their annual tree-lighting ceremony. Each night, the locations were buzzing with Christmas spirit. It was my first introduction to Christmas on the island and I was delighted to witness that despite the 80 degree weather and salty, ocean air, all the added pleasures of the Christmas season were as present as ever!

It was so simple to capture the candid happiness all around as Christmas carols played, hot chocolate was served with cookies, the Grinch tried endlessly to steal everyone's toys, and the bright lights of a giant evergreen tree twinkled over the whole event. The smiles of children of all ages, picking out their new toy with their parents, sharing and playing together, and celebrating the spirit of the season, was such a joy to capture. What a special and unique experience for us all! 

The Fujimaki girls

This shoot was a first for many reasons- I was assisting Laura Aguon with a client she has worked with several times before with especially creative vision. With a background in fashion, Jessica styled this whole shoot with a woodland fairy esthetic including custom tutus, flower wreaths, and balloons. It was also my first time shooting on the gorgeous, exclusive beaches of Turtle Bay Resort. Fun Fact: we were stopped from going onto the beach we were originally planning to shoot because a security guard blocking the trail informed us that the sequel to The Huger Games, called Catching Fire, was currently being filmed there! Too bad we didn't get a sneak peak of the set! Check out the rest of the gorgeous shots from the session HERE.

FLASHBACK!

Speaking of engagement sessions, I thought I'd share a little flashback of my own session done in Virginia by Aaron Riddle of Aaron Riddle Photography. He did an awesome job and we had a blast!

Derek & Ashley's engagement session

Engagement sessions are so much fun and a whole different ballgame compared to family shoots. That's one of the things I love about photography- every session is so unique and presents it's own set of challenges it's own personality. I also remember how much fun I had at my own engagement session just last year and I think that's a crucial part of taking photos: the experience behind them! Engagement photos are a great opportunity to capture the freshness and excitement of love.

Derek and Ashely were on vacation on Oahu and wanted to take advantage of the beautiful scenery to use for their engagement photos and Save-the-Dates. When working with two adults, I am able to get really creative because the flow is so much quicker with communication as opposed to whistles and animal noises (kids get a kick out of those for some reason). This couple was so personable and by the end, I felt like I had two new friends! It was so easy to see the love in their eyes and I wish them the best of luck with their upcoming wedding in April back at their home in California.

Little Juliet

I could not have been more excited to hear the news that Blonnie and Joe, who had their maternity session with me a couple months ago, had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. I met The new happy family at their home, which they wouldn't call home much longer. PCS-ing back to the mainland in just 2 weeks from our shoot, they certainly had enough going on already, but didn't want to miss capturing Juliet's tiniest first days in paradise. She was wide-eyed and loved her Daddy's arms. It was so precious to be invited into this special time and see Blonnie as a new mom, glowing with pride. Fun fact: Blonnie worked through her pregnancy with an ultra-sound technician so was able to get lots of sneak peaks of her baby-to-be and posted all the clips on a wall in Juliet's nursery! Best of luck to the Crispins as they start their lives together in a new place!

The Cuneo Clan

My friend Ally, also newly married, graciously agreed to host her husband's whole family for Thanksgiving; that meant cooking a Thanksgiving feast for 12 people in her little base-housing kitchen, and the week surrounding the holiday as well. What a tall order! She handled it like an old pro though, and the reward was getting some memorable time shared in laughter with her new family--a real treat when we live all the way out here in the ocean! They decided while they were here, they wanted to get some updated pictures taken for their parents' Christmas gift, (cute, right!?).

From the start of the shoot, we were all laughing like kids. I could just tell how close the four siblings are despite the age gaps and distances- they were obviously happy to just be together for the holidays and goof around on the beach. It made for some memorable pictures and a pretty fun evening for all of us!

The Evers Family

I had my first introduction to Christmas on the beach with the Evers family and lots of holiday spirit. We quickly learned that sitting and smiling would not suit these giggly kiddos so we decided to go wild and see what we could create from good old-fashioned play time! The festive and more formal wardrobe mixed with the casual atmosphere at Ft. Hase beach gave this session a unique twist to the classic Christmas card pics. Throw in a strand of silver tinsel and you have the true emotion of fun, guaranteed. And really, those big brown eyes? Those missing two front teeth!?! Dare you not to smile at this beautiful family...