St. Al's Models!!!

Well - what a huge support I had in the "model search" for St. Alphonsus' Family Center! There were some amazing applications with such beautiful families! It was a joy to see your photos and to read your stories.

Here a couple of my favorite responses to my question "How would your family be able to communicate diversity in photographs?":

"Our Family represents all the Army National Guard Families. My husband is an Apache helicopter pilot and served in the war for a year and a half from 2005-2007. We represent the dedication and commitment to each other as a family as well as our country."

"Our Family is the 'new' and upcoming American Family as we have an adopted daughter from China. We also reflect diversity in that we gave Josiah [son who has down-syndrome] life and legitimacy as a person who has value."

"We are a brand new family built through the miracle of adoption. Our inter-racial family doesn't match, but we definitely fit perfectly together."

What are y'all trying to do to me??? You know, I sit here again, bawling as I'm typing your responses. :).

Thank you to everyone who applied :).

Here are the people who were chosen to represent "diversity" in the model search. I will be getting hold of each of you within the next week to set up a date and time for your "mini-session".

Kingston
Gydesen
Ellis
Price
Burket
Turner
Gibbons
Kinsman
McKenna
Churchwell
Kwader
Seely
Wiseman

By the way - in case you missed it the first time, we have a little bit of diversity in our family as well :).

Here's Grandpa Art and his "Guide Kid", Julius. Art has lost his sight and it is pure joy for both of them to share in this activity! The Handsome Guy on the left is Julius' Great Grandpa.



The Hunka-Hunka-Burnin'-Love is My Guy on the left. My Sweet Little One is on the right.



This is me and one of my favorite boys :).

Miss "J" Sneak-Peek

Miss "J" and Mom met me at the "Train Depot" a few evenings ago. We were greeted with beautiful light and great weather! As you can tell, Miss "J" is a complete doll! Not only is she beautiful and fun, but she has an equally beautiful and fun personality! We got to talk about choir (which - if you know ANYTHING about me, you know that I was a complete choir freak in High School) and the fact that in her choir room at Meridian High School, my name is engraved in a plaque FOREVER - that's right folks. I rocked the choir scene in High School :). How fun are our commonalities???

Anyway, this is Mom's third Senior and she was a pro at handling the reflector and fetching things for me! Great job, Mom! I had such a blast with these two - we had such fun trespassing (oops - did I just say that out loud?) for fun areas.

Enjoy your Sneak-Peek, Love! Thanks, Miss "J" for helping me break the rules!

"H" Family Sneak-Peek

I took Mom and Baby "S" to my studio because Mom wanted to imitate a photograph that she had done with her oldest at the same age. She has a beautiful 16x20 in her bedroom and she needed to add a shot of her girl to match :). These were taken in about 20 minutes at my studio. I absolutely love all of the adorable expressions we got from her. She is such a doll!!!





A few days later, I went to the family's house to get shots of everyone. I had so much fun!!! Each family member was in their true form - they were full of fun and Mom and Dad were happy to let the children be themselves. It made for an incredible family session. We were able to capture some genuine expressions with amazing connection. Did I say it was crazy fun???

Thanks so much, "H" Family, for letting me experience your family for the day - you are an amazing family!!!

I've taken a hike...

Hello, my Beloved Blog-Stalkers :). Just want to let you know that if you are trying to get hold of me, I will be out of town at a PPI (Professional Photographers of Idaho) conference this weekend. BUT - I won't be leaving before I audition for "Wheel of Fortune" - that's right folks. My good friend Rachel informed me that CBS' Wheel of Fortune is holding auditions on Saturday and Sunday. Wootwoo!!! Wish me luck!!!

I'll answer emails and phone calls on Tuesday & Wednesday. Tata!

Shannon & Tommy's Sneak-Peek

It was the perfect day - with the 70 degree weather and beautiful skies, I knew it would be gorgeous!

We began our day at Hotel 43, where Shannon and Tommy were getting ready (BTW Gals, it is such a beautiful hotel and has an AMAZING staff - they really cater to your needs!). I spent some time in Shannon's room while my second shooter spent some time with the men. After about 30 minutes, Shannon and I headed downstairs in the elevator so that she would be able to see the man she'd waited 7 years to marry.







The moment Tommy saw Shannon, I could just feel the love pouring out of his heart. She looked stunning in her gown and cathedral veil. They spent some time cuddling and connecting in the lobby, then we headed out to the depot in Rod's Limo.



Like I said, it was an absolutely gorgeous day!!! There was a pretty heavy wind by the time we made it to the depot. Beautiful Couple + Wind + Cathedral Veil = stunning shots.







And - one really funny shot of Val, my second shooter - we were trying to get Shannon's veil to stick straight out. I love this shot!!!



After the pre-ceremony shots, we head down to the CW Moore Park for the ceremony. The Park was filled with all of Shannon and Tommy's loved ones - everyone so excited that this darling couple, who first dated as Seniors in High School, were finally going to be Husband and Wife.



The reception was held at the CW Moore Plaza and was flawlessly decorated by Bliss Events. Bliss also carefully designed the floral arrangements for Shannon and Tommy with huge purple and pink hydrangeas. Just gorgeous!!!






And of course, the reception had a lot of characters present :).



There were so many beautiful, sentimental traditions and details from the weddinng: the framed piece of 1001 cranes (Japanese Tradition) of their family's crest caringly created by Tommy's mom, Shannon's grandma's beautiful wedding ring added to the base of her bouquet (Family Tradition), the "Wedding Countdown" clock, the short visit with her brother who is a marine serving our country overseas, the song her father sang to her at the reception - I could name a million more. It was so beautiful and such a wonderful example of family connection.




I cannot end this post without mentioning Salina Koch from Simply Planned Events. She is such an amazing coordinator/planner - Shannon did not have to worry about a thing with Salina taking care of her. Not only is she great at what she does, but she really loves her clients. Hats off to you, Salina, for an amazing wedding.

Special thanks to my second shooter, Val - aka "Great Dancer"! I had a blast with you - we'll have to do it again!


And - thanks to Brooke, my right-hand Gal! I couldn't have done without you!

Model Search!!!

I have been given the wonderful opportunity to have a photography display at the St. Alphonsus Family Center. The Center has been approved for a makeover by some grants that were given to encourage family and diversity. One of the ways the hospital can incorporate this in their overhaul is by having photographs of different children, parents and families displayed throughout the center.



I am so honored to be able to share with them some of my work! Now here’s how you can help.

I will be holding several “mini” sessions at a make-shift studio at the hospital in order to achieve the goals of the Center. I am currently looking for models for these sessions. With a signed model/commercial release, the models will receive the session at no charge and a complimentary 8x10 for their time. Online ordering opportunities will be provided for all models of these mini-sessions. Photographs of the models will be displayed at the Family center.

While every family with young(er) children is encouraged to apply, (Caucasian, African American, Asian, native American, physically challenged, - ANY family), here are some specific groupings I am looking for:

Indian Family
Bi-racial Family
Adoptive Family
Asian Family
Caucasian Family
African Family
Hispanic Family
Blind parents with children
Family members in wheelchair(s)
Families of multiples
Family with a child who has down-syndrome

Curly Red-Haired 4-6 years old full of personality
African-American Girl 3-7 years old with enough hair to put into two pigtails
6 month old boy with bright blue eyes and blond hair

Newborn with a lot of hair
Breastfeeding newborn (I need quite a few of these)
Maternity Client willing to show belly

Please send an email via my contact page with a request for an application. Your application must be received by June 20th with an with an attached photograph of the applicants (please do not use a professional photographer’s photograph, unless you are the professional :) ). Models must be available for a session or two during the month of July. A Commercial Release must be reviewed and signed before the application will be reviewed. I will announce the models at http://www.ashkiphoto.blogspot.com on July 1st.

Thanks for your help, and please, please, please; link this to anyone you know who might be interested in interested in applying!!!

Meet Erin & Paige - Senior Spokesmodels for Capital High

Erin and Paige are my last spokesmodels for the year. They came in late - but well worth the wait :). Hey - I'm a poet and and I...nevermind.

Paige is an extreme soccer player - she went to state with her team last weekend and they got 2nd in state! GO PAIGE!!!

Erin is a songbird...she sings beautifully - just you wait - you'll hear her on the radio someday!

Anyway ---- Erin and Paige and I had fun at Paige's grandparent's farm/land. It was full of fun surprises - including this awesome baby blue Ford. So sweet!!!

Thanks, Ladies, for playing with me on Monday! I had soo much fun - thanks for helping me "break the rules".