Aviva Photography Blog

I met Teri and Rod about a year and a half ago (WHAT is happening to TIME?! Wow.) when I was working for Serena Nicole. Since then we’ve stayed friends due to other mutual friends on this tiny island. Their family is just gorgeous; they have two girls, K and C – who have stunning blue eyes and the most incredible smiles!

They’re edible. Anyway, they’re leaving soon to PCS back to the states and Teri asked if she could book a mini session at the sea wall. I was so happy to oblige and get my camera on this family! They’d had a stressful day, and Teri was anxious. I quickly told her to forget it all, we’re here to kick off our flip-flops and have FUN. I sure did. I hope you did too!

These seasoned pros just did everything I wanted them to and had a great time in front of the camera. They love it here; I know Teri will miss it. The girls will too.

Look how casual and colorful their outfits were! PERFECT Aviva Photography gear; particularly to go with a sunset at the sea wall! It helps that Rod is an easygoing guy who will pretty much do what he has to behind me to make his girls grin. It worked! (Rod, if you need a job as a photo assistant one day, you have my recommendation.)

Nothing turns me into goo faster than watching a loving (and hubba hubby) dad with his daughters.

K&C sat on the jacks making funny faces at each other which resulted in the most natural happy faces! This is definitely a favorite!!

HOORAY for gorgeous light, a lovey dovey couple, and multi-colored graffiti! Can you believe I didn’t see the beauty in this place at first? Now I notice it more and more each time I’m shooting. Is it wrong to want to wallpaper my walls with my clients? They’re friends of mine. It’s ok, right?

I wish you two all the best back in the states – you’re never more than a phone call away, ok – a few time zones, but that can be worked out. I have come to dread PCS season!

You’re all gorgeous.

These were the last couple that I snapped. Girls & Rod – thanks for a super fun day. (And yes, their father was behind me making silly faces and bunny ears. Props to Rod.)

I hope your move is easy & fast. I know that you too will bloom where you’re planted. You have a healthy and happy family. You have each other, and you really have fun together – everything else isn’t important, so let it go. See you soon to show you the rest! Enjoy the weekend and I hope you get to do the whale shark dive!

Jeanette coached the Air Force women’s dragon boat team this year, and I met her through Sarah. This island beauty is also a hobby photog and she had some ideas of her own.

Jeanette and Mark are both active duty Air Force folks – I can imagine this has had its challenges for them. They love it here and they wanted to have some FUN. The good news is… Mark and their gorgeous son, D, did too!

This family is just so exotic looking – I felt like I was shooting in Hawaii or something, but it’s the Guamanian background you see here. At least I think so.

Yeah, they pretty much were one of those types of families that I felt like I’d known for ages – as you can see. I laughed SO hard when I saw this one!

D is definitely their pride and joy. A little tickling got some great smiles out of him. Thankfully the blue candy he was eating before the shoot had worn off by this time. Whew!

J brought PROPS! She loves her umbrellas.

Mark not so much – but he sucked it up to get some smooches from J. Love it!

They’re climbers! (Did I mention they were up for anything?)

As the light got lower it was more and more golden and beautiful. Here are the boys soaking it in together (right after Dad made bunny ears on D).

And at one point, Mark & J were pretty done with dealing with D….

But I saved him from their choke holds. (Don’t you love how J’s making that same face with her tongue?)

And then – they had the whole sun in their hands.

A beautiful new take on my “shoe shot”…the light coming through that umbrella, the dressy pumps, the boys playing in the tide pools… this is a fave.

J, M & D – it was a blast to hang out with you all! Thanks for bringin’ it. I can’t wait to show off the rest, and I hope you enjoyed a good peek! Hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Missy found me through my assistant, Shannan. I’d met her before – and they’d helped each other out a lot with child care (as the military families on Okinawa often do…) due to deployment issues and other things that get in the way.
Missy and Dominic have five kids – eight years old and under. I knew this would be a high energy kind of day! And since Shannan knows them, she could give me some insight which was infinitely helpful. Their family is PCSing in June and like many others who contact me at this time of year – they wanted some photos to capture their family where it is right now.

And a gorgeous family it is!

I knew before this day came that it would be similar to when I took photos of Kat’s family. They brought along another helper besides my trusty assistant, Shannan (THANK YOU for coming, Angie!) to help corral the kids. I really saw the different personalities in all of them. But the girls – you could tell the girls had a bond. Here’s beautiful Missy with G and J. That woman oozes patience. After dealing with her hubby’s long deployment and five kids by herself, she’s earned some kind of award in my book!

The boys were all SO different. Youngest B is an explorer and adventurer. Middle L is so cerebral, I usually either got a scowl or a fake grin out of him – but he’s smart as a whip, and I knew it quickly before Shannan told me. S, the oldest, is smart and calm – a bit more cautious than the others. And Dominic – another rock in the family. Strong, quiet – and yes, say it with me – one HUBBA HUBBY.

So much love. The whole world disappeared when these two looked at each other.

Ok – photo-heavy post – but hey, there are seven of them!

First S:

Then L (he DID smile for real because we told him he could spank S! I think he actually poked him with that piece of sugar cane, but I saw nothing.):

Stunning G:

Beautiful and sweet J in a brief peaceful moment with little B (I know – holy BLUE eyes!):

A fun shot of the girls in their newfound treehouse.

And lastly, another group shot. Probably my favorite. Even if L is sulking. I capture it the way I see it, folks!

I’m a self-admitted TV addict. I watch “Chuck” – does anyone else watch it? Doesn’t Dominic look like Devon (aka “Awesome”) a little?

Thank you all for being patient with me on a warm but gorgeous morning – I’m so happy with the photos and I really hope you are too! Good luck back in the states, I know you’ll bloom wherever you’re planted!

Hi, everyone! It’s been busy here at Aviva Photography. I know a lot of people are PCSing and trying to squeeze in that last session. I’m waiting to hear back from a couple of families that sent inquiries, but I’m otherwise completely booked, with one slot left on Saturday, June 13th.

Except for newborn sessions and bump & baby sessions, I will not be booking shoots until September. Several factors involved in that decision include:

• It’s ridiculously hot and sticky in the summer, even in the early morning. Editing doesn’t fix sweat and cranky overheated faces.
• My daughter is out of school and that drastically cuts my editing time.
• Many people are on vacations in the states and wherever else over the summer, or they’re new to the island (WELCOME!) and don’t know about me. YET.
• Rescheduling due to typhoons and other inclement weather is very difficult.
• I plan on traveling a bit this summer as well – to climb Fuji with my family (wish us luck!) and to Hawaii for the first time ever!
• did I mention it’s HOT?

The GOOD news:

• For those who are here, I’m finally going to have time to get to GAMU – I WILL be putting together digital photography/get-to-know-your-camera sessions which will take place on Saturdays, somewhere air-conditioned. Promise.
• Newborns don’t mind the heat one bit – so if you’re due this summer and wish to schedule a newborn session, I’ll be doing a few of them – please email me if you’re interested. (If you’ve already scheduled – I know who you are.)
• If you’re on the island of Oahu over the summer, and you’d like to schedule a session let me know! I’ll keep you posted on my travel dates.
• I’ll be around until at least June of 2010, but we’re looking to extend until June of 2011 – so I’m still here! I’ll be opening the fall calendar during the summer and will let you know the information as soon as I have it together. The fall weather is glorious!

Just wanted to keep you posted, my friends. I’ll be around for most of the summer and if you have something else in mind (i.e. an indoor shoot or some other special case) I’m open to it! Just email me.

I know I can’t post without photos, so here are a few from the recent dragon boat races on May 5th. (Army & Air Force girls, I have galleries online with your photos, if interested, email me. Navy – I’m ALMOST done. THIS WEEK, promise!)

I really did not saturate and mess with the color of the water. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and this was in the late afternoon during one of the men’s final races. I loved getting in close with my 100-400mm from the dock; the spray was so cool! (I wanted to jump in SO badly.)

No, they weren’t in a swimming pool.

There are food stands everywhere, and lots of carnival games; one in particular gives away colorful chicks. I still hope this doesn’t do them any harm – they come in pink, green and orange. I know they lose their fuzz and don’t stay this color, and they seem fine.

And Mia – with her new friend, the Orion Girl. Doesn’t Mia look HAPPY?

What?

I was her DD. But I did have to wrestle the car keys from her.

More soon. THREE shoots this weekend – no rest for the busy! But I’m ON it, my friends!

I’ll admit it; I was a little worried about 4-month-old twins. I mean… they aren’t sitting up yet, they’re not crawling either (probably an advantage) – but in general, babies are photographed when they’re brand new, and then maybe when they’re seven or eight months old because they’re sitting up and very happy and interactive. And twins!? The moment I arrived at Anna’s, I realized that I need to just stop thinking and start shooting.

LOOK at these gorgeous girls!

On the left G, on the right C. I was so glad they looked different enough for me to tell apart. And I associate to remember names, so the bracelets were a big help too! G had green beads, and C had chocolate brown ones! You have never seen two happier babies in your life. I was a huge hit with the 4-month-old crowd.

Like most twins, they were born early; about a month. (I can’t imagine carrying two babies for that long!) They’re doing great, but they both have acid reflux. That means – they throw up a lot. Sorry for TMI, but really – if it weren’t for that, these would be poster children for the perfect baby award. And it didn’t really seem to upset them, so we cleaned up a lot as we went – hence quite a few topless baby photos – and they were angels. And those BIG blue eyes – OH my goodness….

Lovely C:

And the ham of the pair – G. One of my favorite baby photos ever – look at this expression!

They aren’t sitting up quite yet, so for this shoot there was a lot of lying down.

Which is fine. I can switch things up and get creative.

LOOK – I sawed a baby in half!

(I have a sick sense of humor, but you know you love that….) I did it to the other one too!

Ok, ok – here they are, both whole again. See? They’re fine. No babies were harmed in the making of these photographs.

G: YAAAAY! We LOVE Aviva!
C: Yeah, well, I’m not so sure about her yet. She’s got that big black thing in her face all the time. The jury’s still out on this one.

Thank you so much, Anna! I had a lot of fun with you and the girls that morning. And thanks for having the most incredible light in your apartment ever; I’m thinking I’ll need to shoot there again! I’ll be in touch soon with ALL the shots, I know you can’t wait! I’m looking forward to meeting your now-deployed hubby too. We’ll have a great time together, I can tell.

I just dated myself with that title there…. I know most of you that are close to my age remember the “Bo knows…” campaign. But I digress. In the first sentence of my post – sad, isn’t it?

Bo’s mother, Renee, contacted me a couple of weeks back. She said, “I’m Rafia’s mom.” RAFIA! I met Rafia through sweet wonderful & talented Suwanee (I MISS YOU! Rafia says hi.). Most recently during my post regarding Jib & Genoa jewelry (Rafia is the dark-haired of the two beauties.) I had also met Renee’s oldest daughter, Kate – which Renee readily agreed looks nothing like Rafia, though is gorgeous in her own right. However after meeting Renee – uh, Kate? YOU look just like your mom. SO not a bad thing! Rafia apparently looks like her father, who I’m soon to meet. And Bo? Well – he’s a nice little mix of everything. Can you say GOOD GENES?

By the way, that shot on the bench there? The very first one of the shoot. I kept saying it was a cryin’ shame that this guy wasn’t comfortable in front of the camera.

Bo is in the Jr. ROTC program here, therefore the short haircut. Which I think looks great, but if it wasn’t for that – I’m certain this free spirit would have longer hair.

I asked if he had a girlfriend. He said, “No. They’re too much trouble.” At 18 I’d have to agree with you, Bo. But your time will come. He’s leaving Okinawa and really wants to go to San Diego (I fully support that, San Diego rocks). However, he’s looking at the Pacific NW for a bit before he gets into school and heads down there. I asked if he liked Okinawa, and like any good 18-year-old – ready to fly the coop – he said, “If my parents were leaving, I’d stay!” The teenager in me hears him loud and clear – but the mother in me gets misty; it’s what you want, an independent and adventurous soul – but of course, we long to be close to our kids! I think Bo will be just fine. His warm eyes & smile could win just about anyone over.

(Yes, I’ll be adding that t-shirt to my collection as soon as I find it.)

Bo brought along some clothes to change into; to include a dress shirt and slacks. But not a single pair of shoes. Not even flip-flops. Gotta love a beach bum.

Dad, one for you. Without the earring you …ahem… dislike. (I understand. COMPLETELY.) And with Bo’s winning smile.

Oh… did I mention he surfs? Not at Toguchi at low tide, but I’m sure he can make use of this at some places – definitely in San Diego one day!

Endless Summer eat your heart out.

That is now one of my new all-time faves.

Bo – I wish you all the best. You have an incredible family – when I meet your dad I can say I’ve met all five of you, and your sisters and your mom (HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, RENEE!) are incredibly smart & wonderful people. Good luck and have fun – the future is bright and the waves are killer.

Poor Ashley was scheduled for her shoot during spring break, and I threw my back out and wasn’t able to do it. Then rescheduling took a while, and bless her heart – she went out of her way to make it happen. Thanks for that, Ashley – you’re awesome. We headed out at about 5:30pm, and I’ll tell you – as soon as I started shooting I realized I think I want to shoot everyone as the sun goes down… the light is fantastic!

With high school seniors, I tell them they can bring a friend if they want to because I know it might put my subject at ease. Her original friend she was going to bring was working this night, so she brought her boyfriend along. She told me his name was Will, but I figured, “What are the odds?” Well, on this tiny island – the odds are good. It happened to be a very nice Will that I had already met and photographed once before! (By the way – I didn’t notice until I looked back at that post that all your hair has been cut off. I like it!) I took him aside to ask if his mom liked Ashley, and he said yes – so we continued and had a great time together.

Pretty good-lookin’ couple I’d say.

As we walked, I asked what Ashley’s favorite class in high school was, and they BOTH answered, “PHOTOGRAPHY!” I happen to know that Mr. Fischer teaches photography at Kadena High, his son is a talented photographer as well – and he works at my daughter’s school.

Well then I got very happy. I asked if they wanted to know more about what I was doing as I was doing it…. Will told me he didn’t want me to give away any secrets, but I really am a pretty open book. Most basics with photography are things you’ll learn by shooting a lot or taking classes. (Ok, here comes a basic photography lesson – if you could care less, slide on down to look at Ashley’s gorgeous photos.)

For example, I took a shot in one particular spot (mine will come afterward). I explained to Will and Ashley that getting a photo right IN the camera will save lots of Photoshop and editing hassle later.

And then I handed Will the camera. He’s never shot with an SLR before (I quickly put the strap around his neck – that sucker is heavy), but I explained how to focus and told him to snap away. Granted, he wasn’t expecting this at ALL. He nervously snapped off two shots. I picked this one because Ashley’s mug wasn’t as bad as the other (hehe… gotta love having your boyfriend point a camera at you).

I showed him the photo on the screen and asked him what the first thing he’d do with it was when he had it downloaded on the computer. He said he’d Photoshop it, but I said, “I would hope you’d crop it. There’s a whole lot of space on the left and above that isn’t necessary. In the future, you’d save yourself that step if you just got a little closer and filled your frame when you took the photo.” So I cropped it. Can anyone guess what my next suggestion would be? (Ok – I know I have a few photogs reading, and this one might be SCREAMING at you….)

This is a great tip – read carefully. I learned this early on while working for SN and taking photos near a construction site.

WATCH YOUR BACKGROUNDS. That sign post thingie looks like it’s coming out of Ashley’s head, doesn’t it? Again – something you COULD definitely fix in post-processing, but wouldn’t you rather get it right in camera so you don’t have to waste that precious time?

All she needs to do is move a bit (or as the photographer, YOU can move around) and you have a good angle, a full frame, and nothing coming out of your subject’s head.

GORGEOUS. And of course, I’m happy she didn’t mug like that for me.

On to more beautiful Ashley photos, I hope that those tips helped you.

She brought her (much too large) cap and gown, and my trusty assistant Shannan found a ladder in a shady area and we started snapping – that ladder was perfect! Go Shannan!

What a SMILE! Ashley giggles a lot and I love that about her; I was and am the same way. Always keep that sense of humor.

Ashley is going to Virginia this summer to attend college in the fall – with any luck, ultimately Virginia Tech (excellent). She works so hard in high school, she takes it very seriously – which is admirable. I mean jeez – she wouldn’t even miss school to make up our shoot! (Sorry I tried to talk you into that!)

Did I mention how much I LOVED the light in the evening???

One of my favorite things about Ashley happened just yesterday. She asked if she could “keep her freckles” in the photos. Ashley, I LOVED that. Girl – they’re a part of who you are, and most kids don’t like their freckles – I say wave that freckle flag high! You’re beautiful.

Yes. I made her climb onto equipment and such. It’s what I do.

Sassy!

Lastly she asked if we could scramble to the sea wall to get that too – and I said, “Of COURSE!” and we did, and it was oh so good.

Will and Ashley both said they loved the sea wall and they’d miss it when they left. I hear ya.

Thanks so much, Ashley – I hope we can get some senior photos into your announcements ASAP! See you to show you everything next week!

First of all – holy mackerel! I had 1517 hits on May 6th – the day after I saw half the island of Okinawa at the dragon boat races – WOW! HI EVERYONE!! I promise to get around to some photos from that beautiful day (congrats, Navy girls!) posted as soon as I make more headway with my client photos. I’m very busy with a couple of graduating high school senior shoots I’ve done because they want to put some wallet photos into announcements, understandably. Anyway – SOON, folks – promise.

On to the current business. Last Saturday was my birthday and I wasn’t going to shoot – but I had the day free and Kelly and Rich were finally ready for their close-ups. Or as ready as they were ever going to be. Rich and my hubby have worked together for about 15 years, and I met them when I was dating my husband in San Diego back in 1999. (Does that really mean it has been 10 years? Oy.) Anyhow, please forgive the verbose post – I care about these folks.

I photographed their kids at Christmastime when their daughters were visiting, but unfortunately both Rich and Kelly were sick that day. Then Kelly had some haircut tragedies (that girl has some lousy luck with hair stylists) and well – we all know we don’t want photos when we’re having bad hair days.

Kelly is one of those women whose beauty strikes you from the moment you meet her; inside and out. Her kids are incredibly smart and great-looking, but for some reason she just doesn’t see it in herself. “I’m not photogenic at ALL – Rich is.” The latter is true. No doubt. But I am working to disprove the former. I told her, “You think your kids are beautiful, don’t you? Well – you had a hand in that, my friend. A big one – they look a lot like you!”

Exhibit A. Oh. My.

Yes – that woman has kids in their 20’s. And I have confirmation that she was NOT 13 when they were born. Sigh.

I think it was advantageous that I am friends with these two – mostly because we were instantly at ease – we have things in common, and things to talk about. Actually, they’re moving back to San Diego this summer. (SNIFF) So there was a lot of talk about that too. I don’t see them nearly enough. Like any other time with them, this was so much fun.

Kelly and Rich have been really busy taking college courses while in Okinawa as well – so they have had little playtime. Early in the shoot I said, “Come on – you’re on a nice date together – pretend I’m not here. Look into each other’s eyes…” They giggled. Kelly raised a good point – you don’t often just stare into your significant other’s eyes…. particularly when you’ve been married for over 20 years. And they kind of did a JOP thing in California (Twentynine Palms!) so there weren’t really wedding photos. I hope you two enjoyed your first photo shoot – at least your first one in Okinawa!

GORGEOUS, Kelly!! So natural and happy. And wasn’t the weather perfect?

I’m so bummed I didn’t get a shot of Rich while taking this of Kelly – because the way he looks at her is almost as priceless as that photo of Kelly!

Rich – well, he’s incredibly photogenic, it’s true. A million dollar smile and it’s just ON every time. I’d like to say I am so very funny and that’s why he smiles so naturally – but he just does. I could swear these two are on a second honeymoon in these shots. Hubba Hubby alert.

I can’t think of a better way to have spent my birthday morning. While taking this photo, there was a woman changing a trash bag nearby and she stopped to watch with such an amazing, “Oh my, they’re so in love!” look on her face!

That photo makes me ridiculously happy. The colors, the smiles, the EVERYTHING.

And then – the spot where the light was about as delicious as it gets.

That is an istant all time favorite right there.

And I don’t often post more than one individual shot, but this one of Kelly takes my breath away.

Lastly it was down to the little dock, and the colors of the water cooperated with us like crazy. MORE WOW!

And um, yes. I had paid tickets to Kelly’s gun show.

Last but far from least… another instant favorite.

I so want to be in that place all day long… can’t you feel the breeze?

Rich and Kelly – thank you both for a fantastic morning (and for the delicious bottle of wine you gave me too!), and I can’t wait to show you ALL the gorgeousness! I truly hope these make you happy – and that you are happy with your Okinawa memories and make more wonderful ones in San Diego. I WILL see you there!

Back in Okinawa and as busy as ever. Can I get a big HURRAH for the incredible weather we’ve been having? Amazing. I’m soaking it all up before the heat sets in. I have a LOT of work to do (as in, client work) but wanted to sprinkle in a few travel shots along the way – so here it goes.

I just returned from Hong Kong. What a fantastic city – and wow – the FOOD. Unbelievably delicious. I went with a girlfriend of mine, Val (cameras only – sans-kids, sans-hubbies), which was a great way to travel. I’m definitely going to share more, but for now just a few peeks of what I did there, and I promise I’ll also put up some Thailand and Kyoto photos finally as well. Maybe as things slow down (ha ha) I can get to more of these… my clients come first.

So this is a really broad overview of the first few shots I got to edit – there are SO many more, I might go in categories like food, temples, scenery, etc.

The first two days it poured. Non-stop. So only the point & shoot came out with me besides for indoor shots. Monday – the rain stopped. So we went to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island. It was still a bit cloudy and there is definitely a lot of smog in the city, but you’ll get the idea. Amazing tram ride up the hill and then you come out to see this:

(Well, I guess you see that if you’re looking through a fisheye, but since your eyes have peripheral vision maybe this gives you a better idea…)

At the peak, we went to a restaurant that came highly recommended, Cafe Deco. As the name would suggest, it’s decorated completely with art deco and deco-period furnishings. Besides the food (YUM) here was my favorite part… the bar looking down through a circular hole in the second floor of the restaurant!

Doesn’t it kind of look like a roulette wheel? Well, there is gambling to be done in and around HK (we went to Macau, but did not go to casinos), but we found other ways to spend our HK dollars – trust me! This was at a souvenir stand at the peak. I loved it.

Back at the bottom of the hill, we saw a bride and groom being photographed. We sighed and oohed and aahed… and then as they took off to another location I realized – HEY! That’s not a real bride!

Jeans and loafers under the dress?? Maybe it was a catalog shoot. We had a good laugh at that one.

Down the road on HK Island, we took a double-decker bus. Not a regular one, a skinny one. Kinda reminded me of that bus that Harry Potter rides in that squeezes through stuff, you know what I’m talking about? We sat up top for the experience and looked out the back window at this sweet smile and I had to capture her. The people in HK are very nice, we decided. Except maybe the cab drivers… but that’s a story for another post.

The buildings were really interesting to me. I’m originally from New York, and the city was right next door. That’s right. THE city. Once you’ve done New York, there’s nothing else like it (bear in mind, I haven’t visited Tokyo yet – I realize that’s a city too). My father is in the elevator business as well, so I dig skyscrapers. But Hong Kong is definitely a city, and the structures are fascinating.

Macau & Taipa are just little slices of paradise. Very European. Here’s one of many postcard-esque shots I took of a cathedral facade. The building itself was constructed of wood and had burnt down years ago. Here’s what’s left – it makes for a really interesting site, don’t you think?

Last but not least, on Lantau Island – the biggest outdoor buddah in the world. Known, succinctly, as The Big Buddah. At just past high noon, this was my favorite sun flare shot of the day.

More soon, everyone! To include some photo shoots of more gorgeous clients,and travel shots.
REMINDER: The discount on the Aviva Photography Online Art Gallery expires on May 6th! Photographic prints make great Mother’s day gifts – order today and it will probably make it on time!