Aviva Photography Blog

I’m alive. Really, I am. You might’ve even seen me this summer. I took a much-needed break and I’m gearing up for the fall, and I can’t wait to book your session for your kids, your family, your high school senior….whatever you can dream up!

This fall not much has changed…as a matter of fact, things have changed for the better! Changes include:

• This fall (September 2010 thru December 2010), the session fee for a family of four or less is $200 for a weekend or holiday session, $25 per additional family member. The fee for a weekday (Monday thru Friday non-holidays when school is in session) is $150. A $100 deposit is due upon booking to hold your date. There is a $250 minimum on print purchases.
• This fall (September 2010 thru December 2010), the session fee for a high school senior session (congrats, class of 2011!) is $150 for a weekend or holiday session. The fee for a weekday (Monday thru Friday non-holidays when school is in session) is $100. The full sitting fee is due upon booking to hold your date. There is a $250 minimum on print purchases.
• Mini-session albums, session albums, and photo proof boxes have come down in price! This means that the a-la-carte prices are lower, and you will get more for your money when you purchase collections.
• NEW product offerings will be coming your way…sneak peeks when I have put together the pricing for these hot little numbers, but trust me – they’re super special and you won’t want to miss out!
• One Saturday in October will be dedicated to a mini-shoot day for holiday photos. It will be structured similarly to the Haiti Benefit mini-shoot day. Stay tuned for more information – I’m working on ideas for collections and pricing!

More pricing can be found under the “investment” tab on the website. I’ve missed you, everyone , and I am truly excited to start photographing again this fall!

And because it just simply isn’t fair to leave a post without photos…a few of my friends Alex, Jean and their kids and dog. I obviously haven’t posted their photos yet, it took me until June to take the photos (on the FIFTH try because of rain!) but what a morning we had!

These are dear friends, and I miss them so much already. I know we’ll see them again, as I do with most of the friends (FAMILY) I know from Okinawa. This was just a rough PCS season for us.

Jean & Alex are amazing people, there’s no way a blog post would be enough time to explain. They’re so stinkin’ cute, aren’t they?

These smart and gorgeous kids were a dream that morning…They came to have fun! Tell me this isn’t a typical scene with siblings!

Younger sis, A, hamming it UP most of the time, but I got a little calmer and closer to capture the true girl inside.

Big brother’s gonna kill the ladies…if he isn’t already. Such a warm smile, huh?

Jean rowed on the Dragon Boat team for the Navy women for a few years running…she brought her paddle and her shirt out for a few shots as well.

Then it was time to include Sola – the sweetie pie family puppy!

Thanks, you guys. I know you’re in the states again…I hope the move and the transition is easier than we’d dreamed.

For those still in Okinawa, I will be here at least until June of 2011! So book soon – less than a year left! Email me if you have questions or want to book a session. I hope you had a great summer!

Oh PCS season, how I LOATHE thee….

Jen and John are neighbors, dear friends, and all-around fantastic people. Talented Jen designs jewelry for her company, Jib and Genoa – you may remember some photos I took of her line – wow, almost a year and a half ago!

Well, as I mentioned in that post – Jen & John got married here in Okinawa two years ago, so they’re really still newlyweds. They also didn’t have a wedding to speak of, nor any photos. I have only been waiting over a year to do this! And the great part is, since they’ve been here for a while and are very creative, they had ideas. I LOVE clients with ideas. So we headed out to the sea wall for some fun. First up – photos with their third family member, Gunner.

He was not exactly excited, but half the fun is taking dignity away from a cat, right? How handsome is this kitty!? He is such a lover.

So John, awesome lawyer by day, and art director by evening and weekend, wanted to take the cat for a …”walk” in the photos. They saw this one SOOC (straight out of the camera) and we ALL laughed so hard. At least 1000 words, right?

After terrorizing him, we let Gunner relax in Mama’s arms for a nice family portrait. Much better.

While John brought Gunner home (hopefully he didn’t claw up their bed for making him do that…) I had Jen sit and pose for a few individual photos – Jen, you have such a beautiful smile, but of course – you’re a friend and I see so much personality in it!

Then we were off to the sea wall to fulfill another wish. They had just returned from a jaunt to Tokyo, and returned with a nice set of chopsticks. They felt an integral part of their Okinawa experience was the introduction to Goya. They brought a paring knife and this interesting (and for those who don’t know, amazingly BITTER) melon in order to feed it to each other and capture their reactions. What’s even funnier is that this was only days after Jessica had me take A’s photos eating that lime! PRICELESS!

These two are so happy – and as usual, I look at these and realize that taking photos of friends is fantastic – none of that “cheesy” smile stuff – just having a good time together and capturing the fun. (Especially when I see colorful doorways and greenery! Happy Aviva.)

A favorite local soba haunt was a necessary shot for sure…

And of course, some obligatory Hubba Hubby shots! (John, you are pretty darned photogenic, my friend.)

Besides the goya & chopsticks – they packed a couple of straws for the obligatory vending machine moment! With Bikkle! (A favorite of my daughter’s as well.)

As we were finishing, we definitely wanted to get a shot inside Uroko’s, a favorite watering hole. It was after 7pm at this point, but we didn’t bring our wallets; just camera gear, goya, chopsticks, straws and ourselves. But like I said, this was a favorite spot in the neighborhood – and so we entered the bar and asked, “Would it be ok if we ordered a couple of beers and came back to pay you later tonight?” I know those of you who live or have lived here understand…. Only in Japan! The lovely waitress said, “Oh sure sure!” and poured a couple of cold Orion drafts. And another amazing memory was captured! Kampai!!

I won’t even start lamenting the fact that they’re leaving me in July. I can’t stand it. What will I do when you aren’t down the street? When I want to sit and watch Mad Men or walk over to Uroko’s to see Hitoshi-san play guitar and sing classics? I don’t care if you’re in Spokane and it’s 3am, I’m calling you. Deal with it!

We WILL visit, and my experience in Okinawa has been richer and more wonderful for having known you both. I wish you nothing but the best – always! (SNIFF)

Only a couple more shoots to share before I’m finished with shoots for the summer…but don’t worry, I have other plans in store! Stay tuned.

I might get choked up writing this post. Thankfully, these two aren’t leaving yet. Elizabeth (affectionately known as Ebeth) and Dean sat behind us on the Patriot Express from Seattle when we PCSed to Okinawa. They don’t have kids, but commented to us on the plane when we struck up a conversation that if they were all as well behaved as ours was on the way over, they might’ve considered it. (huge compliment – my kid has her moments, but she is an excellent traveler) They also have lived in San Diego, which is where we moved from so we immediately had some things in common and plenty of time to talk! When we were staying at the WestPac on Foster, we ran into them a few times and had our welcome brief together too…you know how it is. They’re adventurous and fun and we just kept running into them, so we exchanged phone numbers and have been friends ever since. Sometimes it’s just meant to be!

Ebeth jumped in with both feet and among other things, she is a head honcho with Ramond Ko jewelry sales now (so she might look familiar if you’ve bought something here). We were thrilled that after rescheduling for rain and work interferences – we FINALLY had a gorgeous night at the beach to shoot.

Ebeth, your blue eyes are stunning.

It’s always an added bonus to shoot friends; people that I know and that are already comfortable with me. Dean is super friendly and smart, and definitely a hubba hubby (HELLO). Dean is my dive husband (Ebeth doesn’t dive and neither does my hubby, so it’s our thing – we have to go again soon, man!) , and had also had taken my GAMU class…interestingly enough, with my assistant for that evening, April of  April Belle Photography. So it was even more fun for me to geek out talking about photography with them while I shot. Never hurts to have such beautiful subjects! (But ALL my subjects are beautiful!)

Do this!

OK.

DO THAT.

Sure.

Sit there! YES, on the ground. I know there are ants.

Yes ma’am.

I love my clients.

Dean, your smile is contagious and oh so handsome. I’ll spare my photos of you with flowers in your teeth – but just know that I have something to bribe you with should I ever have to use it.

And Ebeth – well you’re just a gorgeous Tar Heel beauty – the camera LOVES you!

Oh what I wouldn’t give for another sunset like this – again it feels like it’s rained ever since this night!

Oh the light….the perfect breeze…I love what I do!

Let’s finish with one of my favorite sunset shots ever. I think I jumped up and down when I took it (didn’t I?) – who wouldn’t want this on their wall?

I’m so glad I don’t have to say goodbye to you yet…I love having you here as my friends. I’ll have the editing finished very soon and you’ll be out of suspense!

More soon…even though it has rained, I was busy in between the rain drops!

I met A’s mom, Jessica, a while ago at a book club get-together. I instantly liked her – smart, funny, interesting – and very very proud of being a mommy. She spoke about portraits with me a bit – I definitely was hearing that she was more a fan of “get out and play” shots than posed studio shots (always better for a young active kid anyway, right?) but I gave her a card and figured she’d call when she thought about it.

I ran into Jessica a few times out in town and around my neighborhood (she lives nearby) and we both had crazy schedules, but she still had in mind that she wanted pictures of A. Well I got an email from her not long before my trip in April, and told her that we could hook up in May for the shoot. Perfect! The weather had been SO iffy around that time, and the evening of our shoot turned out to be perfect, it was like someone just wanted it to happen for us! I present my latest boyfriend, A.

A’s dad had left for a deployment only a couple of weeks before, and I think seeing his little man here might just make him happy. Trevr, he’s just delightful…I’m sure you miss him, I hope you love these too.

From the moment they arrived, it was GO GO GO. A learned to walk/RUN and I think he hasn’t stopped since besides to sleep. The good news is, my camera and I – we’re quick! And a game of peek-a-boo chasing never hurts either.

I love a one-on-one with a child for a shoot – and as I mentioned, Jessica was the perfect mama – she backed off and let me play with him but was always close enough to give him what he needed…like his monkey, “Bla Bla”….

…or have a hand close by to stop him from falling. (definite FAVORITE!!)

Could you just eat him? Love the faux-hawk…and this outfit. Fantastic, Jess!

He stopped at the square his mama painted for him on the sea wall for his first birthday with a knowing smile. This is so cute!

Lastly – I had to share these. Jessica brought a lime with her to show me one of her son’s favorite snacks. Also the snack that results in some very interesting facial expressions. I think a series like this belongs on their wall… don’t you??

Thanks for being YOU, Jess, that was so much fun. A was a delight – and I hope you got a great night’s sleep that evening. And thank you for being patient, I’ll be done soon!

More to come, everyone. And though I had to push it back a bit due to shoot rescheduling (uh yeah – RAIN much lately?), GAMU classes will definitely return this summer. Information about that too very soon.

Totally photo-heavy post…but I have to give Shannan a fix because it could be a while before I finish editing her shots – thanks for your patience, my friend – enjoy this. I will miss you so much when you go – I’m so lucky to have you as a friend and amazing assistant!

Shannan had some trouble committing, but we finally had a date. There was no escaping – she knew I wouldn’t let her! Even though some shirts were bought – the day of the shoot I think – it worked out beautifully. The boys were in rare form, I brought someone with me to help herd the cats (aka, three boys), and we avoided rain! Let’s start with my favorite of all five of them. Christy was a huge help getting everyone laughing for this. Love it!

Shannan is comfortable and more than capable behind the camera, but understandably (I know the feeling) not quite as comfortable on the other side. But something easy to capture is the love of her family and theirs of her.

Oldest K is growing up fast and man oh man, Shannan, you can’t deny this boy.

Middle boy B is definitely the blondest and the critter-lover for sure. This goofy pose is just a small peek into his silly little self!

Youngest D was the wild card. He still naps. Shannan was worried that he’d be a bit of a pill if he didn’t get a good one. Well either he did, or we got lucky because he was in rare form. I have watched this baby become a little boy – who can talk, run, and keep up with his older brothers. You are so stinkin’ cute I wanted to hug you over and over again!

We headed to the beach and the boys couldn’t have been more excited. I haven’t said much about Thomas (Dad) yet. I met him for the first time at the Foster pool during swim lessons I’m pretty sure. Summer of ‘08. He’s this easygoing southern gentleman, and he’s such a great dad and husband. After a while I got the boys together for a shot…

Then I felt it was time for Christy to take the boys away and give me some time for Shannan to snuggle up to hubby. Oh these make me so happy, I know they haven’t had photos together in much too long.

And though the moment was wonderful, it quickly turned into THIS. (One of my favorites…HA!)

Shannan, you’re beautiful…you shine around your family. (and your hair looked great!)

Obligatory shoe shot as the boys got ready to surf.

Oh yeah…in the freezing water, two of the kids went for it! Middle B wants to be a professional surfer. And what was the other thing, Shannan? I think it should be a vet.

Small D just wants to keep up. He did a darn good job too! (He looks chilly – it was!)

Big brother was happy to play in the sand. I think his parents were happy to take one kid home that wasn’t soaked and shivering.

Last but oh so not least…one of my favorite portraits I’ve ever taken. The sheer JOY and energy in this shot….it makes me smile every time I look at it – and I’ve looked at it a lot!

These crazy kids are heading to ENGLAND in the fall and I couldn’t be more excited for them – and sorry for myself. Here’s to a summer of fun in Okinawa. Thanks for a super fun evening, all!

Here’s another session that took a few tries….and this was a family who wanted that sunset time at the beach, so when the rain started I was worried. Somehow, in that week of downpours, we picked the one beautiful evening.

John is a Chaplain here on island (yep, that’s why you might recognize him!), and Regina is a bit of a shutterbug herself (more on that later…) – and their son J is just the sweetest young man! Oh yeah – then there’s Missy and Onis…the dogs. I headed out with amazing (read: I’m going to throw a temper tantrum when she leaves me) Shannan as my assistant on the first NON rainy evening in days (seemingly months).

I usually finish with a shot like this, but it was early in the shoot and I just LOVE it!

I have to say, I hadn’t met them before but from moment one I felt as if we were already friends. This is something that always makes for great photos and natural smiles! Regina & John…you two are gorgeous.

And J – your smile is awesome – you are an easygoing guy, don’t ever lose that!

As I pulled each parent aside to take photos of them with their son, the joking and poking started. What a shame it is that there’s no love in this family.

John is a loving father and has a very magnetic personality. (A hubba hubby as well, I might add.) What was even better for me, is that he wanted to be there just as much as everyone else. They’ve been in Okinawa for quite a while (7 years if I remember correctly) and hadn’t had family photos done since the beginning. As I’ve said, I pride myself on getting “Dad” on board – normally, he wants no part of portraits. But John was up for it from the moment we started, and I appreciated it so much.

And Regina – well holy supermodel. She’s this petite lil’ thing (and both John & J are quite tall!) and her love and happiness made her shine, don’t you think?

Regina’s got herself a nice little camera – and she had it with her. Initially she was going to put it in the car, she just wanted to snap a couple of shots later. But I told her to bring it – it’s who she is! She definitely needs to have some photos of her shooting. I mean she puts her family through it a lot, right? I have NO IDEA what that’s like, Regina…how does it feel??

Look how happy she is. Even though the boys are beating each other up again.

So they adopted two dogs here on Oki – Onis (the “stubborn one with the white stripe on his forehead”), the boy – and Missy, the young lady. There was a lot of stuff going on and they didn’t both look at the same time too often. But thanks to my amazing assistant, a few treats, and some luck, we got a few keepers! Love it!

(Don’t you just see Missy getting ready to drool over the milk bone on my head?)

Anyway – as I’m sure you can imagine, there’s no lack of great shots of this photogenic bunch. So I’ll stop here because I have to finish editing! Thank you all for such a fun evening. It was a pleasure – and keep shooting, Regina!

Oh so much more to come this week – SHANNAN’S family (Yep, my assistant!), a ridiculously edible 1 1/2-year-old cutie boy, and two couples. Back to work.

Ana contacted me before I left for my trip to the states/Italy (I know, no Italy photos yet – but you ALL know work comes first! I’ll get there, I PROMISE). I was booked. Even MORE booked because March was so rainy and I had to reschedule those people for May because I was going to be off island in April. I’ve been saying no to people a lot more than I’d like to, but in her email was something that made me stop from sending the negative reply.

“I was interested on doing my senior pictures, at the horse barn I work at. I really want some great pictures with my favorite things horses.”

Those of you who know me and what I love to shoot – you know I started to twitch and grin when I saw this one. SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT! And oh boy was it. Thankfully she was able to meet on a weekday, and I drove out to Mihara Horse Club toward sunset. It was a gorgeous night – before the rain came. And Ana – well…as you saw in the sneak peek on the last post, she’s just beautiful.

So we (Ana’s boyfriend and I) followed her as she rode Big up a grassy hill (have I mentioned how much I LOVE tall, uncut grass for photos?) to the top.

Can’t you just see Big’s tail flicking? LOVE THIS.

And from the top of that hill, there was quite a view!

Ana’s leaving this summer, and will be attending Lake Erie College in Ohio for equestrian studies. She’s pretty serious about this! It’s easy to see her love for the animals, and their love for her.

A collage of Ana & Big with their hilltop view. (MAN was the light gorgeous that day, wasn’t it?)

Congratulations, almost Graduate! I’m quite sure there are some proud people in your life…who might just tear up at the sight of THIS.

We headed back down the hill and I did snap a couple of Ana with her boyfriend…not an easy smiler, but a little tickling helped.

Just before we lost our light, we headed to the beach. Thanks for braving the sand, Ana…I hope this made it worth it!

The sun finally showed back up here in Okinawa…I have lots more to share with you soon. Back to work here so that I can finish up for the summer. I will not be taking any clients until September due to the insane tropical heat, my daughter being out of school, and my potential travel plans. I WILL, however, be offering camera classes (GAMU IS BACK!) so stay tuned for dates!

Thanks for visiting and all the amazing comments. I’m so lucky to do what I LOVE!

*** Update – I’m back! Full post later today I hope!***

I’m working on it – hopefully have it back up in an hour or two…thanks for your patience!
A peek at what’s to come when I’m not stressing about THAT situation…

Beautiful Kadena High senior ANA!

I’ve said it before, I’m so lucky to have repeat clients and people as clients that I know are my friends. Anna & Jay and their twins, C & G are definitely my friends. The first time I shot C & G was at their home a YEAR ago. They were four months old! Now – 16 months and BOTH mobile! When they were dressed identically for the first part of the shoot, I had real trouble discerning who was who! (Anna, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the top is G and the bottom is C here.)

They’re so cute – and they’re really sweet with each other – but man oh man what a challenge having two kids running in different directions at 14 months old. WHEW. I’m happy to be their photographer because my camera is fast – and you ALWAYS get home from a shoot like this with surprises as you’ve shot on the fly! Here are the girls upside down; one of the only ways they were willing to smile when being held.

When we headed down to the water, I asked the same question I usually do with kids this age; “Will they just want to go swimming?” Anna & Jay said they’d probably be fine, they love the water. So off we went. Plus – they brought a change of clothes so even if there was some swimming, we had a backup. Good thing. But also – a really good thing that they were in the water…so precious catching them changing, I love these girls!

(Um, I DO have tickets to this gun show. Thanks, Jay.)

Yummy nekkid C!

And I’m thrilled I got what I think is a fabulous shot of Mom & Dad (considering I was assistant-less that day, it’s a miracle!). You two are gorgeous.

You know that Daddy and daughter shots melt me…after the change, we headed for the hill. But first, adorable G with her Dada.

And some horseplay with C.

Anna – the shots of you and the girls were so good I kept most of them! Love it!

And last but a definite instant fave – the girls miraculously sitting on their parents’ shoulders. I RAN for my fisheye (which was across the lawn) when I saw this view…and it was worth it.

Thanks, Palmers…I will always have fun with you both! Jay – have a speedy and safe deployment, I can’t wait to shoot your reunion with your amazing girls.

Hello blog peoples! I’m ALIVE!

I spent time in Baltimore for my brother-in-law’s wedding. I went to Richmond to try to see friends (I say TRY because two families had kids with pneumonia and I wanted no part of it during our trip, and one family got stuck in Florida due to a broken plane). Despite pneumonia and canceled flights, we spent time with dear friends that I miss very much.  Despite Eyjafjallajokull’s attempts to stop me from going to Italy with my husband, we went. And we had a GLORIOUS time. (more on that another day) We spent precious little time with my family in NJ, and my hubby saw our nephew for the first time (he was deployed last time we went to NJ). Overall, though exhausting, it was incredible. We have been back for two weeks and it’s been packed with jet lag recovery and some photo shoots to make up for March’s lousy weather. I seem to be dealing with lousy weather again, but am confident I can finish up the spring season with the clients I have!

So…I have a family shoot and a senior shoot to share with you after I share these few. (I’m going to post a few times in the next several days – promise!) In between editing I decided to share my brother-in-law and new sis-in-law’s photos I took in downtown Baltimore. We escaped late one morning to the Patapsco (thanks, Kristal – I can’t even hear that word properly anymore) River near the famous Domino’s Sugar sign and braved the chilliness to get THIS.

Introducing Jaime and Ridge!

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary, and a completely appropriate time to write this post. Seeing Jaime and Ridge together was so sweet, and as family it was amazing to be there to watch them get married. They were typical happy-in-love people, and they should always laugh and love like this together!

Jaim, you look fantastic – and you were a stunning bride the following day!

Ridge – what can I say? Your big brother by only 16 months is my hubby – I couldn’t be happier for you, and I hope you know you’ve been family with me since I’ve known you. You are one HUBBA HUBBY, I know Jaime and her family wouldn’t mind me sayin’!

I LOOOOVE this neighborhood and wish we could’ve gotten an earlier start to have more time…it was beautiful. Maybe it would’ve been EVEN better if you’d had coats..haha.

I went to University of Maryland (yes, hence the Duke U smack talk) and know Baltimore pretty well. Well enough to know that THIS sign had to be in the shoot. And we found it! And my goofy bro-in-law hammed it up and you know I LOVE THAT!

But then….THIS!

Last but not least, a favorite. They were married in a gorgeous ceremony at an inn on the Patapsco River. Congratulations & Mazel Tov to both of you. I know your honeymoon was kick-booty (because we really took the same trip in Italy!) and wish you all the happiness that Craig and I have in our 10 years and counting.

More soon, everyone! It’s good to be home.