It was all about the cat

A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of photographing Spanky – a grey tabby who reminded me so much of my childhood cat Dusty.

Oh, and I took a few photos of Spanky’s parents as well. 🙂

Photos were all taken in one of my favourite Portland neighborhoods. Oh how I miss the days when Kei and I would see movies and eat dinner at restaurants without highchairs and kids menus…

Sorry, became distracted. On to the photos.

I wish every neighbourhood had a gelato shop like this. So much fun!

I think this is my absolute favourite from the session

Such a fun photoshoot and wonderful friends. Coming soon – the extended family.

Sweet Vivienne

Last week I had the wonderful privilege of photographing an adorable little 3 month old. When I was first contacted by her mother, my initial thought was one of excitement about having the opportunity to photograph a little girl. But I was treated to so much more…

Porcelain skin and beautiful blue eyes.

A little bit of chatter and even a complete roll over (one of her first).

And then there were the rolls. How I adore baby rolls.

It wasn’t all sunshine.

But the clouds soon passed and I managed to capture some sweet family moments.

I love how this one looks like Mommy is whispering in her ear – and she is trying not to hear. A sign of years to come perhaps? 🙂

Look carefully – a touch of pink .

Thank you for being such a patient little model miss Vivienne and indulging my need for a little girliness in my life.

Still Here.

It seems that I have been slacking a little on the blog posts lately due to a number of reasons:

Life.
Pre-school.
Work.
Lightroom.

The first three are pretty self-explanatory. The last one, although exciting and challenging, has been impacting my ability to edit and post photos. Let’s face it, any new toy software has an adjustment period. I had my workflow all set with PSE and now Lightroom has thrown me for a loop. Just the sheer number of presets available for free download has sent me into a tailspin.

And to add a little additional complication – we have an (almost) new Mac that I have been largely able to avoid until now. Part of the reason for purchasing Lightroom was so that I could start editing photos on the Mac (a prospect that frightens me somewhat because that enormous screen certainly does point out the flaws in your photography). Unfortunately this raises a whole series of issues:

Do I import the iphoto catalogue to Lightroom
If so, how?
And where do I even begin with the tagging of thousands and thousands of photos?

So I have quite the task ahead of me but, thankfully, a gorgeous little 3 month old photo subject presented herself on the weekend so I have about 250 photos to work on. I should be a Lightroom expert by the end of the week (hah!).

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple of photos of the child that DID NOT cling to my legs and beg me not to leave him at pre-school this morning. On no, this child cheerfully said goodbye as I walked out the door. I’m not sure which is more heartbreaking. (Photos edited in Lightroom).

Happy Monday.

Fun with noodles

I know he’s my son and I am most probably biased, but he is seriously the funniest 15 month old that I know. Sometimes he looks at me in a way that makes me realize just how much mischevousness is going on in that little head. I think this child is going to be a trouble maker.

And, for the record, this was a pain in the butt to clean up.

Under-Appreciated Beauty

I have recently come to the realization that I take a lot of photos of weeds. It’s not surprising given they are the most common form of life in our yard. Taking photos of weeds, though, has given me a true appreciation for their beauty.

Sure, they might be prickly and grow, well, like weeds, but I think these poor under-appreciated plants have a unique beauty that is brought into focus with the help of a camera lens (and a little editing).

And, for the record – how do you distiguish a weed and a wildflower? I suspect it’s mostly bad PR.

Fan – Such a Strange Word

I associate the word fan with the 13 year old girls who stand outside movie premiers, screaming and crying in the hope of catching a glimpse of Robert Pattison (and, for the record, I don’t understand the attraction).

However, word on the street is that anyone can now become a “fan” of Lyrebird Images thanks to that wonderful, magical place called Facebook.

Click here to visit.

Note: We have a strict no screaming or crying policy, although virtual boquets of flowers will be accepted (just no underwear thrown at the computer screen – now THAT would be embarrasing).

More Halter Family Pics: Portland, OR Family Photographer

One big reason that I have begun my little side photography business (apart from the fact that it’s a lot of fun) is so that I can buy more equipment and help feed my habit.

Of course if I won this Tamron lens gievaway, I would be just one step closer.

Here are some more photos from my shoot last weekend. It was difficult to narrow it down, to just a few given that I was again blessed to have such photogenic subjects – there were SO many more great moments. Such a fun family and so happy to be able to call them my friends.

I love the vintage feel to this one with the red polka dot shirt.

Something to brighten my day

My photo has been selected for the Shutter Sisters One Word blog again.

Needed the encouragement today. 🙂

Jenny Sizzler – Portland, Oregon Event Photographer

I was recently hired to take photos of local band, Jenny Sizzler. They play once a month at the Mississippi Pizza pub in North Portland and, thanks to a daycare connection with the fiddle player, the Ishidas have often been seen rocking out to the Sizzler music – complete with toddler mosh pit up front.

When Samm, the guitarist, contacted me through Facebook, my first reaction was really? You want me to take photos of your band? Have you seen the photos I take of children and families… outdoors… with loads of natural light? But then Samm said (well, typed) the words that made me know I could do it. He said “we’re about community and we would like the photos to reflect that”.

Of course that didn’t mean that there weren’t challenges. Backlighting, moving subjects, obstacles (people, instruments, electrical cables) and funky stage lighting, all made my task just a little more difficult than the usual natural light scenario that I am used to.

But I think I did it. This is just a small portion of the over 100 photos that I was able to proudly share with the clients. I’m not sure I’ll be touring with Pearl Jam anytime soon, but it’s a start. 🙂