Queens of the Pacific

When I think of Olivia, Cecelia, and Micah, my first thought is of ballet. All three of these girls live and breathe for dance and personify all the femininity that comes with it. 

Until it's the end of a day on vacation and you let them loose in the dirt at the side of the ocean.

Then it's sticks and rocks and dirt and tiny fish, sand between their toes and salt water to their ankles.

With an abundance of imagination and the right backlight, these Princesses in Pointe Shoes quickly transformed into the Queens of the Pacific.

And I got to be there to capture it all.

21,900 Days

As a photographer, I see a lot of marriages. A lot of fancy attire, solemn ceremonies, and expensive parties that celebrate the joining of two people into one life. What we don't see enough of is the aftermath. Where is the celebration of that life: of raising children, paying a mortgage, having a coffee, or finding that missing sock with the same person every single day?

We acknowledge anniversaries, but every morning should be a celebration, not just every day 365.

Day 6.

Day 23.

Day 762

Day 2,896

Day 15,612

or in this case: 

Day 21,900.

On August 1, 2019, Grandpa and Grandma Smith celebrated their 21,900th day as man and wife. 

Sixty years married and still absolutely adorable.

And THAT is something to celebrate.

At The Coast 2019

I spent the first few days of August sneaking around southern Oregon, trying to keep my presence a secret and hoping not to run into anyone I knew. Grants Pass is a small town though, and I was unsuccessful in avoiding all the faces that have become so familiar. My secret, however, was kept safe until the 3rd when I made my own way to the coast.

The drive from Grants Pass to Arizona Beach takes you south into California, west to the ocean, and back up along the coast of Oregon. There were a few stop the car moments along the way.

I arrived at the campsite to the delight (and confusion!) of a handful of american family members, the youngest of whom being this beauty who dashed from the shore with her sisters to take me to the beach.

We spent a lot of time there over the next few days.

There was the discovery of the fish, the pronouncement of its death, and the need for 30 little fingers to each have a turn to touch its little scales.

They were mermaids...

...and surfers...

And synchronized cannon-ballers.

And sometimes they were just exhausted little girls.

In the midst of it all, there were kites to be flown...

...a bit of whittling...

...berries ripe for picking...

...and plenty of family time.

And all of it was spent collecting memories, like seashells from the shore.