A Forever Family

I’m so excited to do this post! My little sister, Karen, and her family were sealed in the Draper Utah Temple on April 1st. Rob and I are so happy for them. We were able to go to both the endowment session and their sealing. It was so great to see them (along with my parents, sister, and sister-in-law) in the Celestial Room and know that we will be with each other forever.

The day was FRIGID at the temple on the mountain, so we only got one shot of Karen, Jake, and Jordin on location. But I willingly sent Rob out in the cold to get a couple of temple shots :) He was so happy to oblige and freeze his fingers off. Then we just took some pictures at my parent’s house after lunch.

I’m so proud of Karen and Jake for making the commitment to go to the temple together. We hope we get to go back with them soon!   

Photowalk Updated

This coming Saturday morning a bunch of friends will be coming together at Temple Square for a fun and instructive photowalk!  We hope that many of you will come.  Because of the chance of rain and high possibility of overcast conditions we are changing the photowalk time from 8am to 10am.  Maybe that will entice of few more of you to attend!  :)   Let’s meet at the west doors of the Joseph Smith memorial building at 10 am (MAP).  We are still planning on Lunch at the Navoo Cafe following the photowalk.  See you there!

Foto Friday – Lily

Okay, so some of you have complained that you get confused trying to figure out whether Rob or Julie wrote a post or took a picture. We’ve kind of kept it ambiguous on purpose. That way, you’d know we’re a team and work pretty closely together on both taking and editing our pictures. Plus, there’s less competition between us that way ;)  OR, we can keep score and see who gets more comments!! That would be fun, eh?  But for those of you who really do think it’s important to know, this is Julie.

Back to my Foto Friday. A couple of weeks ago, Rob came home from work with this flower behind his back. I love lilies. When we were dating, they were the first flowers he ever gave me. It happened after being very close to breaking things off. That fateful Memorial Day seven years ago, he walked into my house with a huge vase full of lilies. He was “Sorry for being a putz.” I smiled, hugged him, and we went to a BBQ. Things progressed quickly from that day and we’re both sitting here typing on our computers with two gorgeous kids sleeping down the hall. Life rocks.

This picture was easily done just by getting close to the flower and using a flash. I darkened the background, upped the exposure just a little, and changed it to black & white. It’s not as sharp as I was going for, but it turned out okay because the edges are softened a little, which looks good.

Here are two other lily pictures I took. Have a great Friday!

Rob @ 29 Years

I asked Julie to take a portrait for me the other day.  We took this late at night with very little light in the house.  We used a shoot-thru umbrella camera right and covered the back half of the umbrella to limit the amount of light the spilled into the room behind me.  It took a few minutes for us to get this right but we finally got it!  Julie had me change the shirt I was wearing (this turned out to be a very good idea because I really like how my shirt looks in the portrait) and helped coax along a demi-smile to cast away the frown on my face.  In post processing I increased the exposure about 1/3 of a stop to get the look I wanted, used the adjustment brush to darken/clean up the residual light on the wall behind me, and added my split-toning present to add a light warmth to the black and white treatment.  Anyway, I like it and I hope you do too.  :)

So, what am I like at the age of 29?  As I’m sitting here on the train platform with snow falling around me and O.A.R. (Mister Moon) blaring in my headphones, I’m really happy with my life.  Julie’s sister is being sealed to her husband and little girl today and I’m just so happy for them.  I’m a little bummed that I got a late start today and then got the train schedule wrong; but I can’t help thinking that it is kind of cool to be sitting here writing and thinking about the scene around me.  I’m gazing across the tracks at an old train depot that is kind of worn down and in sort of in bad condition.  Some groovy 311 is now radiating my mind with chill vibes….sweet.  As I look down I enjoy the way the snow lands on the railroad ballast (just a bunch of rocks right?), it emphasizes the open structure of the gravel and makes me think that the commuter rail lines were built on a giant sponge. 

A couple of songs, a large gust of wind that blasts my computer with a dusting of fresh snow (oops), and a few moments have passed; I’m on the train now.  I love the moment that I step on the train; here I am!  Jack Johnson’s Banana Pancakes is on now chilling me out and takes my mind back to Julie (I really love that woman). 

So why the random progression of thoughts this morning?  Here’s my thinking, you all just got a glimpse into my (oh nice….Dave Matthews, Everyday) mind; I’m not sure if that is a painful or relaxing experience.  So if I had to use a few words to describe myself at 29 here are the words I would use.  Happy, focused, playful, passionate, optimistic, and maybe even a little bit pensive as of late (shocking I know).  This sounds like an awfully positive list of adjectives; keep in mind that I often take these attributes to excess.  :)  If you care to add a few words about how I am at the age of 29, please feel free.  One last thought, the Nearness of You by Norah Jones takes me back to Julie, I love you Julie. 

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

Today is my sister Lisa’s birthday. She turns 37 today, 10 years older than me. She is married to Rodney Higdon (not him in the picture above. That’s our bro-in-law, Troy) and they live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Unfortunately, since Lisa is so much older than I am and she’s lived out of state for many years, I don’t have millions of memories with her, but I do have some good ones. Here are a few:

• I remember her taking me on many shopping trips. She’d take me to all the cool, trendy shops and helped me choose cute outfits to try on. Sometimes she even bought them for me. That was SO cool of her!! I remember her buying me a short, white skort with purple flowers that tied in the front and on another occasion she bought me a white button-up shirt with a tie and suspenders. They were so cute (at least back then they were)! :)
• I remember watching her get ready for dates or go out dancing. She’d doll up in her gorgeous outfits and stiletto heels, curl her hair, and carefully apply her makeup. I LOVED watching her do her makeup. She would tell me about the man she was going out with or the men she was hoping to run into. I thought it was pretty amazing to be able to date. I was way too young for that at the time.
• When I was older, there were times when we’d go out together. She introduced me to the billiards hall and taught me some moves, some with the cue and some without ;) She can totally hold her own on the pool table and showed me how to work it in order to get a guy’s attention. I can testify that those moves work ;)
• She went to massage therapy school and is a talented masseuse and knows her stuff. I’ve had the pleasure of getting a massage from her and I loved it!

Some other notable things about Lisa now:

• She’s a great gift-giver. When possible, the birthday and Christmas gifts that she gives are generous. For example, one birthday she gave me a spa gift certificate!! It was awesome. When she’s not able to spend too much, she always sends a loving note with birthday wishes. It’s very thoughtful and nice.
• She has many interests and talents. It seems that she’s good at everything she tries. Like I said before, she’s a great masseuse, but she’s also a great fisherman (woman), knows all about fine jewelry and gemstones, loves to cook exotic dinners, is a shoe expert, a fast typist, loves to work out (used to be into body building), can work people like nobody’s business, and knows how to get what she wants.
• She always wanted to live in Alaska so she actually picked herself up and moved there…all by herself. I thought that was pretty brave and cool of her. She loved it and that’s where she met her husband. 

Doesn’t she sound like the most fascinating person? Well, she is.  I miss her since she’s been living away from the family and hope to visit with her soon. Happy Birthday, Lisa!! I love you!

Recent Facebook Status Updates

• My sister Breanna wished me a happy final year of youth. 
• Thanks Everyone (for birthday wishes).
• I am reading up on lateral pressures against pile foundations during spreading of foundation soil.  I love my job.  :)
• I am excited to read my new book (The Hot Shoe Diaries – Bit Light from Small Flashes, by Joe McNally) that came this morning.  Thanks Julie!
• I am out dancing with Julie, we learned the fox trot.
• Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone!  I had a great birthday.
• Fun pictures that the YM took of themselves with only a little direction (blogged here).

Happy Birthday to Me (Rob) :)

Coming off a great birthday weekend, I am feeling the love.  Having such a great family, friends, and coworkers makes the sting of turning 29 evaporate (Although my little sister did tell me to enjoy my last year of youth – 29 is coming for you too little sister!).  We had a combined March birthday party on both sides of the family.  We had so much fun at both parties!  I’m going out to lunch with my coworkers tomorrow which should be a lot of fun.

Julie surprised me with a fine evening of ballroom & swing dancing with a live 16 member orchestra/band (The Junction City Band)!  We took a lesson before the show and learned the fox trot.  We had such an amazing time and really enjoyed the romance and passion that dancing provides.  Julie is hot stuff on the dance floor!  The Junction City Band plays often so we’ll be attending another dance soon! 

As far as gifts go I really made out like a bandit. I’m going to talk about the gifts here; however, I’m not going to name the givers of the gifts for political reasons.  :)

Mae concerts tickets – I can’t express how excited I am about this concert!
Light stand bag – A nice bag made by LightWare – Awesome!
Hot Shoe Diaries, by Joe McNally – This book is amazing and I’m learning a ton about speedlight photography!
Remote Trigger for our camera – I’ve got a lot of great ideas for this!  Photos coming soon!
Sennnheiser DJ headphones – Oh man, I can’t express the sweetness, oh the sweetness of the sound!
Batman Begins DVD – Completes my Batman Collection, oh yeah.
Nice Sony DVD Player – We had a clunker of a DVD player and this one has all the nice features!  Such a nice change.

Thanks to everyone!  A ton of people wished me well on facebook which was very nice.  I had an awesome birthday thanks to all of you!  Very special thanks to Julie and the kids for making me the happiest husband and father on the planet!  I feel very loved. 

Foto Friday - Untitled

Taken with the Nikon D40 in Washington City, Utah on October 21, 2008. Manual Exposure Mode, 50mm, 1/60sec at f/6.3 ISO 400, Nikon Raw Format converted to Adobe DNG format. Edited in Lightroom 2.3

This week I selected this photo of the wheel of an old-time fire cart.  The cart was on display near an existing fire station in Washington City.  We added this photo and a few others to the St. George set from our trip last year - check out the new additions at the end of the set. I made a few quick edits in Lightroom; converted to black and white, increased the exposure and clarity (mid-tone sharpening), and added the slightest amount of split-toning. Today is my birthday so I’m going to keep it short and sweet.  Have a great weekend!

Senior Portraits for Liz – Senior Portraits Package Special

Today we want to share a few senior portraits that we recently took of Julie’s niece. For family members, here’s a link to her session proofs. Liz wanted a few portraits set in more of an elegant and formal tone so we chose the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the amazing columns on the mezzanine and great architecture.  Inside we tried to capture a few different moods, some simple and playful, others more strong, independent, and confident. 

For a different look, Liz changed outfits and we went outside for a more casual setting. As usual, Julie had some great ideas for locations and posing that worked really well for Liz.  We stopped by some stairs near the South Visitor’s Center for some cute photos, the outer wall near the Assembly Hall where some attitude came out, and finally in a nook of the Assembly Hall for a sweeter look. 

We’re still planning on taking some tennis shots (she’s on the Taylorsville High School tennis team) and some cool, artsy shots of her welding. We’ll get with Liz again soon so stay tuned for those photos. We had so much fun with Liz and are thrilled to photograph her at such a pivotal time in her life. We hope she can look back on these pictures when she’s older and remember how fun and crazy her high school days were. She is so beautiful, inside and out, and we hope these photos will always remind her of that.

Now for the deals. 

Package 1 - $55.00

Up to One Hour
One Location
Two Outfits (formal/casual/sport/cap & gown)
One 8X10
Two 5x7
Six 4X6
Digital Version (Web-Sized) of Purchased Images

Package 2 - $110.00

Up to Three Hours
Two Locations
Three Outfits (formal/casual/sport)
Two 8x10
Three 5x7
Twelve 4x6
Sixty Wallets (For Graduation Announcements)
An additional portrait taken after the cap and gown are received
Digital Version (Web-Sized) of Purchased Images

Additional prints may be purchased a la carte.

Please contact us for an appointment or with any questions.

What Are We Up To?

I thought I’d share a few things that we’ve been up to lately. Good times.

Rob’s the Young Men’s President now and he really enjoys it. He works with great men who also work hard in their callings and the boys are great. He’s excited for High Adventure this July when they will be hiking up King’s Peak for a week. Me? Not all that excited for it…wish I were going…

Nate is almost totally potty trained!!! YAY!!! We have a little more practice with him going at places other than home. But when he’s here, he’s almost 100%, even over night!! I usually don’t even have to remind him to go. He just does it on his own. Such a stud. One gripe, why do the underwear makers put the pictures of Cars, Thomas, etc. on the back of the underwear instead of the front??? Nate insists on wearing his underwear backwards so he can see the characters. This presents him with a perpetual wedgy.

Speaking of potty stuff, we can now call Miss Madeleine “Poo Face” (but we won’t). She is a chronic bum scratcher. Every time she has a chance, she has her hand down the back of her diaper scratching. I guess you can see where this is going. I went in her bedroom to get her this morning and she had poo all over her face. Gross!

Last night we had the Lingwall’s over for dinner. We’d been trying to get together for, like, 28 emails. But we finally pulled it off. Tonight we’re having Rob’s sister and her family over for dinner. Last Friday we went bowling with my sister and her husband. Rob won both games by quite a bit but the rest of us were pretty close. Wednesday we’re probably going to Tracy Aviary with some friends, sometime this week we have a March birthday party with Rob’s family, and I have a playgroup on Thursday. It’s so great to be surrounded by family and friends! It just makes me feel good.

Tomorrow night for Pack Meeting I’m presenting an Arrow of Light award with a ceremony. There hasn’t been one given in our ward in recent memory so I have no precedence to follow. Should be fun. Hope I can pull it off.

Well, that’s all I can think of for now. I hope everyone has a GREAT day!!

--Julie