Red Poppy Photo

20/04/2022

What are your favorite memories of senior portraits from the 80’s? I’ll go first. Those fog machines really get me. 😜

20/04/2022

Sooo the secret to the perfect golden tan is being on the high school beach volleyball team as it turns out. 😘

18/03/2022

Looking forward or looking back?

…………
Thinking about and praying for Ukraine and citizens of Russia a lot this week, but still feeling very grateful for a special week in Oahu last week with my forever five.

last week.

24/11/2020

The candids are definitely the most fun. 😉
Day 3 I’m short on time this week due to photo shoots and Thanksgiving, but that’s probably one of the best times to pause for gratitude right? I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am for the skills/talents/hard work of others. For days I’ve been thinking ‘if it weren’t for whoever invented or created this or that, I wouldn’t be able to do xyz...(manage my daughter’s arthritis well with her biweekly injections, use the internet to pursue interests/connect with friends/help my business/easily access inspiring content/navigate around easily, own a digital slr camera that helped me learn and craft my skill, manage my health and my family’s health when needed, watch the world face deadly conditions with expert help and expert inventions, and more). It truly is necessary and such a blessing that we’re all so different in so many ways, because that is the very thing that helps us serve and provide for each other with our varying skills, talents, and hard work. If the whole world were like me, I think we’d be without electricity, life-saving measures, without vehicles, without first responders, and more. Thank you all for what you offer the world. Keep contributing what you contribute. I need your contributions and the world needs your contributions. Thinking about all of this, I feel grateful and humbled. What are some of the contributions of others’ that are life savers for you? Literally or figuratively?

( your girls are the best!)

04/08/2020

Moving forward, while weathering rocky ground, one step at a time. Together. 👊🏻❤️
Easier said than done but progress is worth a continual self-check. And when it feels overwhelming, that’s where the one step at a time comes into play. Maybe today you made progress by starting virtual school for your kids, in whatever fashion that may look like for you. But you started! Maybe today you decided to eliminate some small thing in your life that wasn’t adding purpose and uplift. Maybe today you hugged a family member first thing. Maybe today you recognized that instead of making progress in an area that’s meaningful to you, you’ve digressed and instead of shaming yourself, you just decided it’s time to move back in the progress direction.. With that next little step.
Wherever you are and however you feel on the scale of progress, I have confidence we can all find that forward motion.
What helps you get going when you’ve been feeling stuck? Emotionally? Spiritually? Socially? Physically? I’d love to hear your tips. Lately at times that I have felt stuck, I have tried to focus on what I have to offer and hone in on that. ..Instead of focusing on the ways I’m lacking. Let’s help each other here. I’d love to hear your thoughts! I know we can do hard things. 100%.
❤️❤️❤️

30/07/2020

Have you ever heard of a half first look? The bride gets to peek at the groom and they hold hands back to back, but the groom doesn’t look at the bride. Torture for the groom right? Haha. I knew I loved first looks, but I might love “half” first looks even more. The emotions to this moment were so unforgettable.
I’d love to photograph your upcoming wedding if you want to DM me! Available for destination weddings and elopements too. This one was in St Augustine, FL!

29/06/2020

All the pretty colors..
All of the different textures and colors mixing together. They are so beautiful. They enrich each other to no end when they work together. They are so much better sharing the stage than staying apart. Pretending the blue and pink don’t complement each other and help each other stand out would be futile. It would be a loss to look at this photo color blind.
All those pretty colors...

12/06/2020

I love this by . My phone has been out of commission for the last many days, but I’ve been following news & Facebook discussions closely. I’ve been trying to listen & learn everyday & as I’ve tried to open my mind & my heart, it feels like my heart has grown all the more about this. There is much work to be done, individually & collectively. When someone has hurt you, the most healing thing that person can do is try to listen to & understand you, & then show cont’d effort in righting their wrong & treating you better, while not for their own gain, but with sincerity. I’m not pretending to know the thoughts & feelings of black people & people of color, but each time I think of that comparison, it helps me in wanting to see what more I can do, instead of thinking I’ve done enough,
that I’m not part of the problem because I didn’t think of myself as racist or that I can’t do anything to help make things better. I can definitely take actions to help make it better & to offer my heart. The more I listen & understand, the more that I want to do about it. I’m seeing so many open & willing hearts out there right now, & so much action. I’m hopeful that it is turning a tide on anti-racism & providing some healing. I’m going to mention some actions in my life solely because I learn from others’ actions, right or wrong, & I’d love an open dialogue here. ..Previously my actions had been teaching my kids regularly about how black people & other people with visible differences were sometimes treated poorly & valued differently in the world, but that they are worth every single bit as much as any other & that these ill treatments are absolutely never ok, that our family is to treat every individual with kindness & love. We have some dolls & kids books with people with dark skin. We make sure to watch good family movies about racism issues as we find them & have continued discussions with our kids. Some things like this. But now, I am learning there is so much more I can & should do. Now, I am trying more to teach my kids to do something about it if they witness racism happening. Now we are adding extra emphasis on how beneficial -(cont’d in comments)

18/05/2020

01/05/2020

This is a pretty photo, I love it. But there is so much more to it than meets the unmet eye. Just like in a photo I may have taken for you or may yet take for you. What you don’t know about this photo is that I took it a year ago in Florida, when I photographed that beautiful bride’s wedding, and she’s my sister. What you don’t know is that my niece Hannah, is doing my sister, Tiffany’s makeup, before Tiffany would marry a wonderful, stand up, gentle, long-awaited for man, ..hours later. What you don’t know is that Hannah is graduating from scholarship-provided undergrad any day now, which she has worked so hard for, & just agreed this week, to go to med school at the UofU for the next handful of years. (👏🏻👏🏻👊🏻👊🏻🏆🏆 Go Hannah!!!! Whoop whoop!!!!)
And still.. what you don’t know is that Tiffany is wearing the emerald green robe I wore while laboring with my son, Griffin in the hospital halls a couple of years prior. What you don’t know is that Tiffany made it by the skin of her teeth by flight, to be my sister-doula for that birth. She held me up in those hospital halls as my contractions intensified, preparing for an intense & somewhat scary birth experience. What you don’t know is that 4 years before that, she had hoped to make it to the birth of my daughter, Simone, who was born 13 days after Tiffany’s son, Sully had died suddenly... These photos I get to take - there is so much that everybody else doesn’t know, and that doesn’t matter. You know. You know how hard you worked to improve that marriage that is still standing in your family photo. Or that relationship with your teenager, who finally smiled for one photo in the shoot. You know how new and scary & yet meant to be you felt as you held your little newborn baby in front of my camera. You know how right and peaceful & full of hope you felt as I photographed you and your new spouse. I live for important feelings & endearing or critical moments. It’s in my nature & while we’ve all been laying low, I can’t wait to truly get back to it & photograph all of those moments where you know.
DM or text me so we can arrange a safe photo session during safe times to capture all.the.things.❤️❤️❤

20/04/2020

“Don’t forget it: he has most who needs least. Don’t create needs for yourself”. -Catholic Saint Josemaria Scriva .... I loved this quote in an article on happiness that I came across last night. It said a considerable portion of happiness is your mindset; in practicing gratitude, being happy with what you have, and curbing your wants. Always a good reminder. Have you found it easier to be happy with what you have during this pandemic? Or harder? What about your kids? Easier or more difficult? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’ll share my thoughts in comments today.

I shot this in the desert last night on another sunset drive. This is my pic, but I took the big guns along too. ;)

20/03/2020

Hello friends, do you have extra fabric sitting around, or beds sheets to spare, know how to sew, or know someone who does? There is a great need for hospital gowns and masks to be sewn right now and my friend is spearheading this effort here in Mesa. The video tutorial link is in my profile and her explanation of this is in the next photo in this post. I would be more than happy to pick fabric or sewn gowns and masks up from nearby doorsteps! Please consider sharing and/or providing this effort!
Also I’d love to hear of any other service opportunities you all might be aware of right now!! We may be staying home, but there are still ways to help! ❤️❤️❤️