Category Archives: portraits

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Bringin the Boys Home

October 19, 2007 – 9:52 am

Last summer I was honored to shoot Pam and Steve’s crazy fun military wedding on Fort Lewis. At the beginning of last month I got an unexpected phone call from Pam: Steve has been on assignment in Afghanistan, and was coming home for a way-too-short 18 days. She wanted to forever remember the moment that she saw him for the first time at the airport, and asked if I would accompany her there to photograph his homecoming- I was so elated to be invited into such a wonderful and sweet moment, I couldn’t wait. Day by day we waited until we got word that he was going to arrive at 5:03 pm on the 27th of September, and then the day finally came. We waited in the airport by the baggage claim for an eternity, watching the minutes tick by on the clock. Pam’s emotions were as plain as the grin on her face- she hadn’t seen Steve in months, and being a newlywed, that’s an eternity. We finally saw his uniformed shoulder rounding the corner, and the exhausted look on his face was swiftly replaced by happiness, then relief. He’d been awake and traveling for four days, airport to airport, and finally was home. Kleenex anyone?steveshome.jpg

By Laurel | Comments (0)

Holy Tiger Attack, Batman!

August 1, 2007 – 12:43 am

Last week we were totally attacked by a tiger! Well, maybe that’s a little fib.070722_0011.jpgThe other day I was asked to follow along and document a Tiger Encounter, a private tour-slash-donation that Cougar Mountain Zoo offers. Victoria, fellow photog, friend, and one of my fabulous assistants, loves loves loves animals. She couldn’t wait for the opportunity to donate to her favorite local zoo while also having a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with the incredibly rare tiger babies that were recently transferred to this zoo in Issaquah, Washington. Taj, a VERY rare brown Golden Bengal Tiger (one of 100 in THE WORLD, he’s missing the usual black stripes), and Almos, a rare Royal White Bengal tiger, were full of energy (and claws and teeth) on this overcast but super humid summer day.070722_0001.jpg070722_0002.jpg070722_0010.jpgIt’s so easy to forget that these guys will grow up to be the roaring, thundering, 450 pound killers that you see in the wild. For now, they love hunting leg (that’s right, hunting zoo keeper and photographer leg) and playing in the water bucket. Taj was quite the character. He’s a pretty rambunctious feller, so naturally I had my camera glued to my eye. As the shutter was making it’s usually not-so-noticable kshuk, Taj was right up against the glass with his nose, retorting right back with curious chuffs. At one point I feared for my lens’ life- I think there’s some tiger claw scratches in the barrel from a playful and experimental swat from his oversized paw. Who has tiger claw marks on their camera lens anyway? (me!)070722_0019.jpg070722_0030.jpgIf you work for a larger company (like Microsoft) and would love the opportunity to donate to a great cause, check into what your employers can do to match your donation, and call the Cougar Mountain Zoo as soon as you can- these little guys are growing so fast that the encounters are becoming a little dangerous and are being limited- “little” Taj could take out any full size dog I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure!070722_0090.jpg070722_0097.jpgThank you so so so much, Victoria, for choosing to take me behind the scenes (instead of your husband!) and trusting me with this wonderful opportunity-it was definitely once in a lifetime and such an honor!!!070722_0035.jpg

By Laurel | Also posted in stuff in general | Comments (2)

Braden’s Here!

April 24, 2007 – 9:56 am

On Friday the 13th I traveled over the water to Kirkland to photograph Braden and his mom Krista. For their baby shower gift, Krista’s co-workers all pooled in on an LMP gift certificate- at first she was thinking of belly portraits, but then, she thought she’d save the session until her first baby was born. Now that Braden’s old enough to have opinions, I’ve learned a few things about him: he loves peaches, hates peas, and loves to screech at the top of his lungs! Here are some of my favorites! (should we call Gerber Corp?)
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By Laurel | Also posted in babies | Comments (0)

Day in the Life: Us 3 and a Bit

March 16, 2007 – 12:15 am

Tessa is due any second now. A week or so ago I traveled over to her and Dave’s house in Sequim to photograph the two of them and their son, Jobe, before the newest member comes along. Stay tuned for part two of our two part shoot series: I’ll be traveling back over to the islands to photograph the arrival as soon as I get the word. So I’m kinda on call… kinda like a doctor… it’s kinda fun…

Sidenotes: “Us 3 and a Bit” comes from Tessa’s hilarious emails to me. This is how she always signs the bottom saying that it’s from her, Dave, Jobe, and the little one still in her belly (is it a boy? is it a girl? we won’t know until we know!). She’s going to have to think of something new and witty to write soon! Also… if you have a keen eye you’ll notice that my gold reflector is the backdrop for the pictures of Job laughing: in order to get little kids to comply with your photographic ideas, sometimes you have to play a little and bribe a lot. He LOVED my reflecter and the “whoosh” sound it makes when it opens. I told him that it was my sunshine, and that was all we needed to get him to laugh. Needless to say, the first thing he was talking about the next morning when he woke up was, “Laurel? Sunshine?” I love that he had a great time-sometimes it doesn’t take much to entertain these little guys!

Here are some of my favorite images from our “Day in the Life Shoot.”

By Laurel | Also posted in bellies | Comments (1)