Please meet: Ethel Merman

Earlier this week I posted a photo collage from Trannyshack Seattle, I also posted these pictures individually to my Facebook page.  I was contacted by Miss Ethel Merman, requesting my pictures for use on her website (ok, I was a little bit excited I won't lie)!!!  I also had some additional photos I had taken of her that she requested.  She blew all of us away with her rendition of River Deep Mountain High at Chop Suey last weekend, and we can't wait to see her perform again next weekend in Palm Springs at the Ace Hotel for Gay Pride.    Can't make it to Palm Springs?? Jump over to YouTube and catch some Ethel Merman Experience for yourself!

Trannyshack Seattle

Last Saturday night we hit up Chop Suey for my first Trannyshack!  Wow what a great experience that was...nothing better than good ole drag show!  Hostess Heklina brought out a great crew (from LA and locally) for a night full of song and dance performance.  Take a peek for yourself. 

Want to see the full size images of these? Click here!

Also, keep your eyes open for more Trannyshack pictures from my trip to Palm Springs next week!

{CoupleShoot}: Marsha & Stephen

I know it's been F-O-R-E-V-E-R since I have sat down and posted to this great blog I have started.  Well, let me tell you...life has been C-R-A-Z-Y!!!  Let me give you a little catchup ~ October 8th was my last day working for the company that I had given 11 years of my life to, so with sad goodbyes I moved on to the corporate world!!  A chance for growth, many opportunities and yep you guessed it MONEY!  Funny how that is always a motivator isn't it?!?!  So all that being said, I have been consumed with training and new schedules, etc. 

I did though, get the chance last weekend to spend a few hours with some friends whom I have not seen in a long time and we took that time to head to Jennings Park and take some amazing photos.  I was honored to be asked to do this for them.  Marsha and Stephen have been married for 17 years and this was their first time doing a shoot together.  I am blessed to have this couple in my life and while it had been more years than I care to say since we had seen each other, it felt just like yesterday.  I want to share with you just a few of this great fall morning...ENJOY!

  

SAMMY LAFORGE

So FINALLY I am finished and releasing the studio pics I took of Sammy LaForge back in the beginning of September.  While I spent the afternoon in our studio creating great pictures of him and LA Kendall, but we still have to wait for those. 

Ladies and Gentlemen....SAMMY LAFORGE

Well HELLO Monday!

The weekend has come and gone!  I can say it was pretty productive - family time, haircut and photo session downtown, Kendall finishing laying down her tracks in the studio, dinner with Kendall's sister and a drop off at the airport and that was all on Saturday.  Yesterday was a complete stay in your jammies kinda day with lots of photo editing and even some cookie making!  I am still working on trying to do daily challenges, so here are my Monday entries...

I love Mellow Yellow Monday's.... I again was playing with my white posterboard and Jacob's legos. I like to call this "The Lego People"

Would you like to see some more YELLOW??? Click below! 

I also snapped some shots of my late step-grandmother's rhinestone earrings.  I remember admiring these as a little girl, and when my grandmother passed my stepmom honored me with them.  I can say I have worn these vintage beauties and always feel so glamorous when I do.  What girl doesn't love a little bling?!?! Again, joining Macro Monday over at Lisa's, wanna join in or see some other great macro shots? Click on the icon below my photo.

  

Sunday Challenge - Straight Out of the Camera

While today has been a pretty lazy, laid back Sunday it has allowed me to get some work done.  That's a good thing.  Besides working on Jacob's shoot, I thought I would branch out and do some other things too.  This is my second week linking up with Murrieta 365 SOOC Sundays.  This shot of Kendall on the decks is amazing for both its light streaks and the reflection of her hand on the vinyl.

ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/.5, 8.9mm (this was taken with my point & shoot)

Would you like to see more great shots straight out of the camera? Click below:

Ready for round 2?!?

I said I had more!  Here is batch 2, wardrobe change 2...
and this time I figured out how to collage! 

YAY ME!

Its a Macro Challenge!

Just found this challenge via Ashley over at Ramblings and Photos (she's my new favorite to follow).  If you have been following my blog since the beginning you know how I love taking macro shots of flowers. 

To see more beautiful macro shots, click the link below!

We took to the streets

This year, I decided...WHY WASTE MONEY FOR SCHOOL PICTURES?!?!?  I always complain every time I write the check for which ever company is taking the schools pictures, I'm never happy with the way they turn out, and I think I still have a stack left from each year.  They just sit there, in the package he brought them home in, never being distributed.  So this year, Jacob and I decided lets get out and do some photos! 

We started our day out with a trim of his wig at VAIN by TT, then hit up the graffiti wall that sits outside the salon along with some pictures among Pioneer Square.  I made him smile and pose until he finally said...ENOUGH MOM!  Here are the first few pictures to share, I won't bore you with all of them.

 
 
 
 
 



IT GETS BETTER

While this blog is primarily for my photography work, I wanted to share with you a very special video created by our friends Dan Savage and Terry Hecker.  The IT GETS BETTER Project is a message to gay, bi and trans teens telling them that YES it gets better.  This project has gone nationwide, even earning Dan the "awesome" factor on the "INDEX" for 'The Culture' in this weeks NEWSWEEK (Oct 4, 2010)! While I didn't have to deal with the bullying in high school, as I was not out yet, I can only imagine the how awful it must be with kids today.  Even our own 9 year old has come home with words of fellow students and even family members that definitely disturbs Kendall and I.  We though, sent our child to CAMP TEN TREES this year in hopes that he would learn the most valuable lesson...It's ok to be gay. It's ok to have gay friends. Its ok to be who ever you are!  And he DID!! 

With all the suicides that have happened over this last week, please watch the video below and feel free to share!

October means its time for another PHOTO HUNT CHALLENGE

It's that time again....and after successfuly getting 8 of my 20 entries for August's challenge in the top listings I am ready to go at it again.

Wanna play along?  Click on the image below and sign up today! 

 CHALLENGE YOURSELF!

In Disguise

Crisp

Fall Colors

A Jack O’lantern

a Shot from the Ground

a Landscape

a Fall Tradition

Books

Dining

Child/Children

Faces formed in Nature (anything that looks like a face but isn’t)

Tilt-Shift Photography
B & W with selective coloring

Bokeh

Best Photo taken October 23rd

Something from the Kitchen

Something Vintage

Something Creepy

Something Golden

A Self-Portrait

Courtesy of Photo Hunt Challenge:

"Photos should be taken between October 1st and October 31st 2010. You may use a maximum of two photos from your archives — as long as they were taken within the past year — if you find yourself stuck on the 31st without having a photo for a category or two. You ARE allowed (and encouraged!) to use Photoshop or other photo-editing software as you’d like (it often adds to the artistic quality of the photo).

It is up to you whether you post your photos on your blog as you go or wait until November 1st to unveil them and make it a surprise. Either way, each of you should put all 20 photos in one single blog post or in a single online gallery by November 4th. Please label each photo file in the following manner: Yourname-category.jpg (ex: kristi-something musical.jpg). You may also want to watermark your photos with your name.

A new post will go up at photohuntchallenges.com on November 1st.  Anyone who completes the October 2010 Photo Hunt will need to add their name & the URL permalink of where their Photo Hunt photos are posted. Everyone who adds their name to the auto-link will have their photos considered for the Favorites. Three guest judges and I will each judge five of the categories (Let me know if you would like to be a Judge!!) . We will be going through all of the participants’ entries, and will post our favorite photos for each of the 2o items on the list in a separate blog post with a poll for each. Please note that we will not include archived photos in my favorites (it hardly seems fair!). Anyone who votes is encouraged to vote based on their favorite photo, not just for a particular photographer. Voting is also open to anyone and everyone. The polls are open for up to one month from the time they are created and will be posted throughout the month of November. After all polls are closed, I will compile the photos of all the winners and will display them here on the photohuntchallenges.com blog.

If you are interested in playing along for the October 2010 Photo Hunt, enter your name below! Feel free to post the above badge and list on your blogs if you would like to announce your participation or recruit others to join in!"