Aviva Photography Blog

Thankfully, I haven’t come close enough to notice a habu snake yet. But I’ve seen plenty of these – known as “banana spiders”. The lens on my camera for this shot was a 50mm. If that means nothing to you, I’ll tell you that it was NOT zoomed in, I am as close as this shot looks. That spider is the size of my hand opened up – and I do NOT have a small hand.

Thank you, brave Shannan, for putting your hand there for scale. I still shudder just looking at this shot.

More – and MUCH prettier – photos from this very special shoot soon!

Alyssa came to me while her husband was still floating around on the Marine Expeditionary Unit waiting for Myanmar to let them in. (Which they never did…) She was PCSing and wanted memories of her time walking, running, biking, chasing, and living at the sea wall. She’s a friend (and neighbor) and I happily obliged. Even though hubby was missing, it’s really just a part of being married to a Marine or other serviceperson who is attached to a MEU. One month home, two or three months gone, then all over again – it’s truly more difficult than the longer deployments and I have so much respect and admiration for the wives who do it.

Anyway – her kids, A & A, are just adorable, and the second she got the sneak peeks I had sent her she wrote back, “YOWZERS!!!!!!!!!!!  YIKES!!!!!!!!!!! my children are GORGEOUS!” I couldn’t agree more, Lys! The weather and the kids’ moods cooperated beautifully.

I know this kid. She is NOT a smiler. I thought I’d have to jump through hoops. I can’t believe how much easier she was than I thought! Look at this golden head of hair and those warm brown eyes.

And boy did that sun cooperate! Yummy golden light. Delicious.

The colors at the sea wall are just alive in the early evening, and the temperature cools down a bit. Perfect for a little run.

We brought a few bubbles and they elicited a few laughs.

What a sunset! I couldn’t have ordered a better evening. This one’s a keeper. I need one of my family like this!

I’d love to tell you that some crazy amazing assistant made this happen, or that somehow I did it. But this? This was their mother, standing next to me – doing a cheerleader-version rendition of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. No lie. Sometimes I want to hire parents to help me. Little Sister A seems tickled, but Brother A – not so sure mom hasn’t been hitting the vodka a bit too hard. (Just kidding, Lys. Maybe.)

Thanks, Lys. I hope Mike loved them and that you have something glorious on your wall to commemorate your time here. Let me know. Good luck to you all in Quantico, and stay in touch!

I am passionate about so many areas of photography. But I get a special “buzz” from photographing seniors. Don’t get me wrong, the babies, kids, families – I have a great time with them. But something about those seniors – the age group, the young passion for things to come – it’s just special.

My dear friend (and former boss, and super talented photographer who is leaving for Germany soon, sniff) Serena Nicole sent Tara my way. (Thank you for that!) And you can see why I was happy that she did! Tara is heading to college this fall, and she’s not only a talented actor and singer, she’s a harpist. I found that out after the shoot, which is a good thing. If I’d have known that I would’ve found a way to cart that harp in to the middle of the street somewhere.

You’ll recognize her from my website if you’ve seen it….not to mention that header thingie up there on the top of the blog. Isn’t she stunning?

I was marveling at her eyes the whole shoot. And you couldn’t ask to meet a more down-to-earth girl.

Thanks for bringing that umbrella, assistant extraordinaire Kassia.

It was such a pleasure to meet you Tara – I wish you all the success in the world. Have a great time in college and enjoy every second of the glorious journey! I want the first autographs when you’re famous.

Romila & Gary live right on top of Toguchi, so they felt it was the perfect place for some family photos. I couldn’t agree more – it’s so important to have photos taken somewhere that means something to you.

How beautiful are these two together?

So beautiful couple made …well, almost two… beautiful babies. One is still a bump! (GIRL this time!) But little “G” is just one of the smartest 2-year-olds I’ve ever met. At first he was a little sleepy and wanted nothing to do with me. But as the morning went on, he became much more sociable.

Did someone honestly TELL everyone to come to me if they have a kid with edible dimples?

They sat down at this spot and told me that this was an evening routine. Walk to this spot, pick up pebbles, and just chuck them across the concrete. I think family traditions belong on the wall and in every album, wouldn’t you agree?

Oh you sweet smart little man… you just stole my heart. I gasped when this picture came on the screen!

Thanks so much to all three of you for a fun morning and for subsequently bringing me some of the best kettle corn I’ve ever eaten. Good luck at Davis – I’m jealous of the Bay area weather! Have an easy move, and I’ll come visit to get photos of Baby Girl one day!

THANK you, Kt – not only did you let me get my camera on one of the best looking infants I’ve ever seen besides my own, you also gave birth to the most well-behaved child ever. Those in Okinawa (and some who aren’t) know the heat & humidity here is oppressive. Well, that hot sticky weather is a perfect sleeping environment for a newborn, apparently. We took it outside in the shade – and oh boy did we get lucky. The little sleeper let me do all kinds of stuff.

He likes his tongue.

He’s definitely a sound sleeper and has a very strong manly profile.

We picked him up, laid down a blanket, and put him on his tummy. I think he might’ve yawned… but that’s about it.

When we went inside to feed and change him (mind you, he waited to do his “business” until the diaper was back on!), we stopped in his adorable room. Kt didn’t find out whether it’d be a boy or girl, so she ended up happy with the fact that they picked blue. And a fish theme. That kind of turned into lots of stuffed animals. Because Matt, like so many other dads, is a giant KID, and must buy toys. For the baby. Yeah, that’s it.

So tiny in there with the BIG stuffed lion & frog… but he’ll grow quickly.

The lovely and very talented in her own right Kassia (she’s out in Langley, VA now, folks!) lent me a few props for the day, but I have to say… as well as little  J slept, this little picnic basket thing was one of my favorites!

Thanks again, Kt – it was great meeting your mom too. You know I’m here for you and your family!

I have a lot of friends with DSLRs of their own. They don’t necessarily want to be pros, but they want to take better photos and are avid and excellent hobbyists. (Yes, when I see how busy I am and what time allows, I’d love to give a photography or Photoshop® class – it’s a possibility I’m considering seriously, thank you for those who have asked.)

This is a great post I read at DPS (Digital Photography School) about taking better portraits. Careful – you might get stuck on this site reading for a while.
Another bit of unsolicited advice: BACK UP. (*amended to add* – my friend T first thought this meant back up from your subject when shooting… that’s awesome. I do mean do computer back-ups!!) A friend recently told me she lost everything on her laptop. Not just photos and documents, but software programs. And she has no back-ups of anything. After hearing her story, my husband said he surveyed 10 people at work. NOT ONE of them backs up their computer. And he’s in communications! These guys (and gals) know the value of backing up! Or they should.

If there’s ONE thing I can tell beg you to invest in, it’s an external hard drive. For a couple hundred bucks you have peace of mind. At the VERY least, put your photos on DVD say once a month or more, depending on how many photos you take. End of unsolicited advice. Next post – Newborn Photos!

Liz & Eric are both teachers. Liz taught elementary school kids here in Okinawa while her husband got his masters in special education. I think teachers are incredibly special people, and that makes this family EVEN more beautiful. Their relationship reflects the love they have for children.

Their daughter, “D”, is a very precocious little lady. She has an amazing vocabulary and memory and was one fun companion on this portrait shoot! She also loves her little brother to pieces.

“A” is still a bit young to predict as precocious, but honestly – LOOK at those big blue eyes! He will have no trouble at all. I thought about eating him up. He might taste like marshmallows.

Ahem. Hubba. Hubby. I mean, HUBBA!

As if he wasn’t already cute… I always melt when I see a Daddy’s Girl laughing with her father! Dimple alert.

Sadly this beautiful family left to move back to the states the day after they got their portraits. Okinawa, our children, and your friends here will miss you all! I’m really happy I got the chance to spend this time with you and give you some family memories (with little A in them!) before you left. Good luck in Arizona!

What better excuse to do some family portraits than having some extended family come to visit?

My sweet friends, Julia & Chun, asked me to photograph their family, which included Chun’s family – Mom, Aunt, cousins – from Taiwan (ALL women, by the way). I think you’ll see by these photos what a great time we had. Thanks to all of you, it was an honor to get to meet the family.

The very first things the ladies wanted to show me were their manicures and pedicures. They LOVED Cocok. What girl wouldn’t?

Look at this beautiful bunch.

Little D was so curious about the tiny crabs, and when he caught one, he tried to show me. That sucker was fast though.

It also happened to be Julia & Chun’s anniversary that day – I was happy to get them alone for a moment while the family watched the boys. This pose was totally Chun’s idea – that man was probably the easiest Dad/Hubby I’ve seen in front of my camera. They’re so sweet together, aren’t they?

Then I turned to the ladies – Chun’s mother lives in Cleveland, and her English is excellent. I asked her to tell everyone to sing a song for me… whatever they wanted. I was expecting some pretty folk song or something. As the singing began, in Chinese, I suddenly recognized the tune. It was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! Chun’s mom even conducted the group as they sang. I was laughing so hard while taking these.

Thanks to everyone for enduring the heat. It was delightful to enjoy a day on an Okinawa beach with so many people who appreciated it.

Lovely Erin. She has two gorgeous girls. She’s expecting baby #3… and guess what? This time – BOY!

She told me this is what their faces looked like when she and her oldest, C, found out:

Here’s her younger daughter, L. You can tell from my website that I love to photograph this family.

Erin likes to bake. Who on earth would turn down a cupcake? Perhaps a baby BLUE cupcake? Well apparently baby BOY doesn’t like having a cupcake on him. A moment after we set a cupcake on Erin’s bump, he kicked it off with great force. That’s a story he’ll hear when he gets older!

Erin made a pink batch too, and the girls had some fun with them. Such a pretty bunch, aren’t they?

We had some rain when I visited and I’ll tell you, I LOVE playing in the rain. I was so happy when Erin got excited to go take pictures in it. My camera is fine when it gets a wet (no, I’m not submerging it), so I say go for it. These rain shots made me so happy – I can’t WAIT for someone to tell me they want to have a shoot in the puddles around here.

Thanks for a really fun afternoon, girls.

If you’re new, welcome! I’ve referred folks from my personal blog over here. Mostly so I can test out the bigger photos and see how they look and what you think. Tonight we were treated to a great sunset so I thought I’d share. Hubby schlepped the tripod and away we went.

Stay tuned, I promise to go back in time to the recent shoots I’ve had – portraits of people. This is only a test. We now return to your regularly scheduled program.