This last Saturday was a busy one. It started with this photoshoot of Sharise & Nate (& Eve). Before moving on to another family (will post later) and finishing up by meeting with a future bride & groom.

Sharise & Nate were great to work with. Eve didn’t cause much trouble either (might be a different story in a couple of months). By the way I love the name Eve, it’s my youngest’s middle name and not a name you hear very often so it was cool to hear that Sharise & Nate’s little one will be named that.

They were looking for some portraits of themselves (and the baby bump) in a little less traditional way than the normal belly shots. Besides it was a little cold for that. We ended up with some great shots of the lovely couple that I’m happy to be able to share.

Many, many thanks to Shelly who helped out on this session.

Click the thumbnails to view larger.

Lasst week we had the opportunity to take family portraits for the Stavenjord family. The weather was perfect and we headed down to the Finch Arboretum in West Spokane (click here to see some other photos taken that day). It was lots of fun and the boys had a blast playing around in the colorful leaves—which led to some fun pictures. Grandma & grandpa came along too, making it a fun family event!

Here are a handful of photos from that day. Click the thumbnails to see the full photo.

Last Saturday I was down at the Finch Arboretum for a family portrait session (I’m still working on those photos and they’ll be up as soon as I’m finished with them). Due to the beautiful Fall colors the Finch was packed with people. The title of this blog is more than just a title, it really is my philosophy. As much as I enjoy taking pictures, I really feel at my best when I can find people who are willing to step in front of the lens.

So for an hour or so after my portrait session I wandered around and asked to make portraits of people. The weather was just about perfect for photography—bright and overcast with some cloud definition. Here are a handful of the photos I took. Many, many thanks to my willing subjects who were all a lot of fun and allow me to do what I love.

The reason that this is part 1 is I have a couple more family shoots at the Finch this coming Saturday, and if time (and weather) allows, I hope to be able to run around like a crazy person, meet more people, and get some great portraits.

I’m adding an iPhone photo I took of my shoe. Sometimes when I’m shooting I completely forget where I am. You know, like standing precariously on the edge of a stream. Inevitably, all it takes to get the perfect shot is one more step, so I take it and end up with a shoe full of mud. It happens—frequently.

I’m also including a TTV (through the viewfinder) photo I took at the end of the portraits. To see more about TTV photos click here.

Click the thumbnails to see the full photos.

I present another family portrait session on a hill just East of Spokane Valley. You never know what you’re going to get when you schedule a session hoping for an interesting sunset. Even when you start shooting before the sun sets it’s tough to know. These guys like the look of some of my previous evening portraits so we set the time and crossed our fingers.

Obviously this day we got lucky and had a nice rainbow of hues as a natural backdrop for portraits of a great family. They were troopers. As the sun set, the temperatures dropped quickly and not even the little ones complained of the chilly air.

Thanks to Kelsey who assisted me on this shoot by holding the light stand so it wouldn’t fly away and keeping the girls entertained as well.

As usual, click on the thumbnails to see the full images.

P.S. The fall colors are booming right now, so if you are going to be needing family portraits before the end of the year (hint hint) to send out to people on a mailing list, get ahold of me because space is filling up quickly.