seattle engagement photographer | randall & beth.

Seattle is one of the most amazing cities. I love all of the unique neighborhoods, restaurants, environments, activities and yes, even the cloudy weather. My job allows me not only to meet some incredible people that live here, but it also allows me to explore new places - and who doesn't love that? As a photographer, I'm constantly inspired by what's around me. That brings me to the story of Randall and Beth. I knew I would get along with these two from the start as they are both really into adventuring and exploring. All you have to do is check out the beautiful photography on Randall's website to see that. I've found that everyone I meet has places in Seattle that are close to their heart. It's such a large diverse city that it's easy to find your own little corner. This engagement session was spent near where Randall and Beth feel comfortable - in Fisherman's Terminal. There's something so magical about walking through the rows of those enormous fishing boats. Each one has a story and each one has been through it's own trials and errors out on the open sea. The smell of the salty air, the soft creaking of the dock, the sound of the seagulls. It's a beautiful place and I was so excited to have the opportunity to take photos there. Afterwards we walked along the Fremont Canal to admire the last of the beautiful fall leaves. Seeing new settings and meeting new people makes me so grateful for the business that I have grown the past few years and the opportunity to be doing something that I love. Here are just a few images from this wonderful couple's engagement session. Congratulations Randall & Beth!

the maiden voyage of my splitboard.

Not only was I incredibly excited to finally buy a splitboard, I was even more excited to use it! Now, I should probably explain what a splitboard is for starters, being that many of my friends and family may have no idea what I'm talking about. A splitboard is basically a snowboard cut in half. You need one of these (or learn how to ski!) to access deeper backcountry than what can only be accessed on foot or dreaded snowshoes. When your splitboard is split apart (like skis) you can throw on some skins to ascend snow-covered slopes. Skins are skinny pieces of fabric with glue on the bottom that stick to the bottom of your skis. They glide forward when you want them to and basically "stick" to the slope due to the fabric when you are climbing uphill. Think of what it feels like when you rub a short-haired dog's hair the wrong way. That's what the fabric does on the bottom of the skins, allowing you to not slide backwards in the snow.

People have been skinning and skiing deep backcountry for years, but it's only recently that some more love has been put into the splitboard industry -- including women's specific splitboards!! Yayy!! After hearing that GNU was coming out with a B-Pro split (my normal board of choice) this year, I knew I had to get one. In the past women have been limited to the "shorter" men's boards (way longer than what I would prefer to ride). Some may argue that you would want a longer splitboard than what you normally ride since you are going to be always riding powder but I beg to differ. Most of the exits for some of these backcountry runs that I like to frequent are icy, banked-slalom, roller-coaster-like wild rides through tight trees, creek beds, and sometimes sticks, logs and rocks. A shorter board is much easier to navigate such terrain with!

Anyway, I got a 152 GNU B-Pro Splitboard, complete with Spark bindings that slide right on to the Voile conversion system for splitboards. I couldn't wait to take it on its maiden voyage this weekend! We decided on a very familiar run, Tittymouse Ridge on Teton Pass. The skin track is nice and mellow with only a few dips and a shallow grade. In the past I have walked this track when it gets packed in but boy was I surprised how much easier it was with skins! My strides were longer and I didn't get out of breath from having to constantly catch my balance when my feet sunk in. Granted, I still managed to fall down. Being someone that's never skied, even the slightest downhill in the track was terrifying and I totally ate it at one point (or two). This is something I will get better at with practice I'm sure :)

Once out to the ridge, we made a very easy transition transforming our skis back into snowboards. It was a very easy process and I am so thankful that this technology has improved so much! Next it was time to see how the board would ride. Being that it is technically cut in half, I was surprised at the stability. Our powder run through the trees was perfect with a ton of fresh powder. The roller-coaster exit was very easy with only one snow bridge to deal with over a small creek. The snowboard was very stable, with only a bit of chatter on the Old Pass Road when it got a little icy and choppy. Other than that though, it was a fabulous day and I can't wait to see what adventures this new toy is going to take me on!

grand teton and yellowstone national park tours.

My Grandma came to visit me last week. I was so excited to show her around all of my favorite places in Grand Teton National Park and the town of Jackson. On top of that, we made a pretty spectacular trip to Yellowstone. Here’s the story:

Anytime visitors come to the area, they hope to see as much wildlife as I can. With an area heavily populated with all sorts of creatures that are out of the ordinary for most parts of the country, it’s no surprise. The first few days of Grandma’s trip, we toured Grand Teton National Park. I took her across Antelope Flats, near the town of Kelly where we saw a herd of bison and several pronghorns. Next we visited the Mormon Row barns, some of my favorite buildings I think I’ve ever seen. They are so beautiful and rustic and looked even more spectacular against a dark and stormy sky.

We then drove up to Jackson Lake, checked out Cunningham Cabin, Oxbow Bend and the Jackson Lake Dam, then back down south through the park road and past Jenny Lake. On our way down the aspen-lined Moose-Wilson Road, we spotted a moose right next to the road. The next evening we saw a brown bear! Within two days, my grandma saw nearly all of the animals you can see here in Jackson.

Sunday was one of the best trips to Yellowstone I’ve ever had. We set out north on a rainy day. The clouds were dark and ominous, but the Park wasn’t crowded and it had more of a wilderness feel than I’ve felt before. With no visitor centers open, I felt really “out there.” Of course one of the first animals I came across was a huge bison that I nearly ran into as I was turning onto the fishing bridge road near Yellowstone Lake. It ran away and continued on down the road to freak out more motorists. Not only that, but there was a whole herd of them about a mile later taking over the roadway. As we neared the fishing bridge, I spotted a whole entire herd trampling over the ground near some trees, heading straight for the bridge. They continued in their gallop and I watched terrified as two men started running TOWARDS the charging herd! There was a small barrier between the men and the huge animals, but barely enough to protect them if one of the bison had gotten annoyed by their presence. What idiots. I really don’t understand how people can be so naïve. Anyway, we watched in awe as the herd approached my truck and then galloped up a nearby hillside. Wow. Spectacular!

We made our way around the main driving loop, past the Sulphur Caldron and Mud Volcano to the Hayden Valley. I had hoped to see some more animals in this area but really only expected to see more bison. A few miles into it, I saw that about three cars were slowed nearly to a stop watching something in the road. As I got closer, I realized it was a black wolf! Wolves are pretty rare to see so it was an amazing sight to see one so close. I followed it, along with a couple other cars as it made its way down the roadway for a bit and then back into the tall grass. Lots of photo opportunities on that one. How lucky we were!

We headed around the middle part of the grand loop to visit the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Norris Geyser Basin. On our way we saw a huge bull elk feeding next to the road. Finally we ended our Yellowstone adventure at Old Faithful and its geyser basin. We got there right on time, as the famous geyser erupted right as we reached our seats. Dark skies threatened the area but we walked around for a bit. And checked out the other geysers and springs. Another geyser started going off and I ran back to take a photo but as I did it started pouring rain! The rain only lasted for a few minutes, only to produce a gorgeous double rainbow. What a beautiful ending to a beautiful trip! I couldn’t have been happier with the way the week turned out. Enjoy the photos!