Aviva Photography Blog

A bittersweet part of living this amazing life in Okinawa is saying goodbye to friends. When you get really lucky – they move someplace that you, for whatever reason, go to visit. Our family went to Hawaii for the first time recently, and we stayed with some Okinawa friends who left a year ago. Added bonus? Kanoe is FROM Oahu, so we had personal tours from a native! It was paradise – for OH so many reasons…. and the very least I could do was take some family photos. (And honestly, I can’t believe these people don’t do photos every six months – they’re all gorgeous….)

The first stop we had to make was Matsumoto’s at the North Shore for shaved ice. It wasn’t going to be first, but it closed at 6 – so we had to hit it while it was still open. The kids did NOT want to share their ice, but finally they agreed to share one rainbow HUGE one and oh my it was just heaven for my camera! YUMMMMM!!

I seriously lost my mind when I saw this truck parked next door. (Kassia, Serena, Annya, Cat, Val, Shannan, Kat, Crystee, Athena… anyone else I forgot; I KNOW you are nodding right now with total understanding.)

(I’m not sure I can adequately describe the happy noises I made when I saw that truck; not to mention when I looked through the viewfinder and saw this photo – I want one just like it of my family! Guess I’ll have to go back to Hawaii. Gee darn.)

The kids are so loving. Each of them demanded photos with each parent; C wanted one with his Mama – there are a few keepers, but this one really spoke to me.

I LOVE to go out and shoot friends. The kids know me – which usually leads to goofiness, but that leads to GRINS. (E, N and C, left to right – N & C were on my daughter’s soccer team and that’s how we all met. Stunning. Every. Single. One.)

And Mom & Dad, well it’s just comfortable with Kanoe & John. As I’ve said before – I tell them to get lovey dovey and pretend I’m not there… and me and my big black box on my face just disappear. ALL of these make me so happy! You two are adorable and gorgeous.

Before I went out shooting, I had been communicating with Athena – a fabulously talented photog stationed in Hawaii right now. (So Hawaii folks – seriously, call her. She’s not going to be there for much longer!) She said maybe she’d come along or stop by during the shoot, but we were on the North Shore (and oh my GAWD, THANK YOU, Athena, for that suggestion – because I loved it and already miss that locale!) and that was crazy hella far from where she lives.

So just about when I was getting up from shooting the family in front of that truck, I hear, “HIII!!” and whirl around to hug the OTHER girl with the big black box around her neck! She came! And Kanoe and John had a hard time believing we’d never met.

Understand that photographers – we have this disease…this addiction; and meeting others with it is quite a soothing cure. So thanks so much for coming up, Athena! I hope we get to shoot again soon – I WILL be back in Hawaii! (And now – a rare photo of me, with Athena – and I think you know I was shooting, sweating, and the wind was blowing, and I was in desperate need of a haircut; so you’ll excuse the ridiculous hair. Enough. I just don’t love photos of myself almost ever. Sigh. Ok – say something nice – my big smile is 100% happy and natural. I was VERY happy this day and every day I was in Hawaii. Well, every day I’m a pretty happy girl.)

Back to the family…. did I mention Athena picked an amazing location? She knew about this surf shop with these yellow wooden walls… I was giddy.

Did I mention that we had SO much fun together?

Red bench + green wall + bare feet = deliriously happy AVIVA!

Bring it in tight for a happy family!

The sun started to set and the light was yellow-orange and warm… just right for a few individual shots of the kiddos… Little miss E is just the supermodel wanna-be. And this is my favorite of N from the day! C – you know my daughter already planted one on ya… one day, you’re going to be fighting off the ladies.

Last but not least – Kanoe & John actually spotted this VW bus – who am I to deny them this shot? With that gorgeous rainbow of a Hawaii license plate right on in there. Peace Love and Happiness!

Thank you just isn’t enough. There are SO many glorious shots from this day (duh, I just posted a ton and it’s not even all of them…) and all the others with you all. And I’ll post more of the sightseeng stuff soon too. for now – I’m off to catch up for the week I was gone! We miss you already…. Mahalo!

As I tried to make a space A trip to Hawaii happen, I was blessed enough to have remained behind to meet Little G; he arrived a couple of weeks before the due date. But his size indicated he was ready! Look at this beautiful big boy – congratulations, Brandee and Nathan. He’s adorable.

Don’t let that peaceful pose fool ya. This guy was awake almost the whole time. He was a bit of a complainer. Mom fed him well, he was dry – he just likes being vocal. (Going outside into the heat was key – he conked right out for that!) There was a lot of rocking and “shushing”…. which DID work to calm him down! I told Mom & Dad that when they saw these photos it’d look peaceful and sleepy – even though it wasn’t.

Nathan was so patient and sweet with him. I just love seeing that.

And Brandee… looking fantastic.

How can you NOT love these little tootsies and hands?

Let’s be fair. Lily is really baby #1. And she was so sweet and so happy to get some attention. She’s going to be a sweet and protective big sis for sure.

Love his cute ROOM! I know, temporary – and he won’t even really be old enough to appreciate it, but that’s why we take photographs, right? One day he’ll know what they did for him.

Once he was sleeping out there, we had an easy time moving him around. The bugs and the sweat were way bigger problems for me than for him!

(Does that little open mouth just make you say, “AWWW” with me? LOVE IT!!)

Then just a little more of this….

and we had this….

And finally this.

I hope he’s getting his schedule down, you two. Sorry for the small vacation delay, but I’ll have things finished very soon!

More to come…including some Hawaii photos! I’ll share. I missed you.

You know, I can’t even remember when Michelle and I first talked about doing this shoot; it was at least last fall. I was lucky enough to have her hubby as my SCUBA buddy in certification class two years ago, and now we’re so happy to call their family our dear friends. How do I get so lucky?

Michelle’s mom came to visit while her hubby is deployed, and boy, as my hubby likes to say, they were packing 10 pounds of fun into a one-pound bag! We prayed it wouldn’t rain that day because it was really the only day they had free! Well the heavens didn’t disappoint, as you can see – we had a glorious evening. Michelle and “Gramma” brought along the two kids – A and T. What I didn’t expect, were a couple of camera hounds!(Trust me, I know they’re great-looking and funny as all get-out, but they were having a ball in front of the camera!)

(I seriously have at least a dozen laugh-out-loud-funny shots of these two. I LOVE shooting kids that know me!)

Michelle – I know your hubby’s gone, and I know he realizes how fantastic you look, and that he misses swimmin’ in those beautiful baby blues of yours! SOON, my friend – SOON!

Anyway, the special occasion was sweet fun GRAMMA! So here we go. Oh – sorry I didn’t warn you. Get ready for blue-eyed overload.

Mama love!

Group hugs! (A, you are such a poser.)

It was OK though – he kept us all laughing!

Can you say ALL TIME FAVE? (loving A’s silhouette in the glasses!)

Gorgeous T is a lifeguard this year, and has that savage tan to show for it. She also happens to be one of the nicest and most down-to-earth teenagers that you’d ever want to meet.

And A – well, you’ve already seen proof of his sense of humor. He was sporting two different ‘dos for the shoot as well. May I present, the fauxhawk.

(Gotta love a kid who brings hair products to his family photo shoot.)

Hello, picture postcard!

And of course, the obligatory jumping shot. WITH Gramma! GO GRAMMA! (Oh yes they DID get those Oki All Day shirts! LOVE IT!)

But as a mama myself, this one just makes me so happy.

Can’t wait to welcome Daddy home, y’all – you’ll be in front of my camera together very soon! I hope you had a blast with Gramma here and in Tokyo. Thank you so much for a fun evening and your happy selves. You know how much I love you!

I don’t think these photos from Naha Airport need an explanation for those of you who read this blog. So I’m going to let the photos do the talking. Thanks for having me along for this precious moment that always makes me cry like a baby.

Well – my little family vacation didn’t happen, and since it was to be via Space A I knew that was a possibility. But it doesn’t stop me from being completely bummed out. So – thanks to the sweltering Okinawa heat and my major disappointment, you get the benefit. Playing with photos lifts my spirits a little bit.

Holly, an Air Force linguist, contacted me a while back. She said she loved my high school senior work, and wanted to do a shoot like that, and she was getting her braces off in July and could I squeeze her in before she PCSed back to the states? Well if you put it THAT way…. sure!

Now if you’ve followed me at all, you know by now that when a pretty girl shows up early on a sunny morning with a few outfits and an “anything goes” attitude, I get very very happy!

Early in the shoot, I took one of my favorite sea wall portraits ever; the light was perfection!

Holly’s hubby (I know, she looks 18 – but she’s really 23 and has a hubby) is overseas right now and these were definitely for herself and for him. He had no idea she was doing this – and I just love that! (Doesn’t she have a Sandra Bullock thing going on here?)

Another all-time favorite. I will tell you this next photo was on a major street in Chatan near the sea wall – NOT in a beautiful farm field. (I KNOW RIGHT? Holly, you’re a knockout.)

Hellooooooo, Holly!

Don’t you just love the local little cars and vans? The colors in Okinawa are amazing and everywhere.

THERE are those pearly non-braced whites! Such a happy smile!

(I have an arrangement with the sunlight and the breeze to work with me.)

Girl, I know your reunion will be sweet regardless of these photos, but I sure do wish I could be there to see his reaction!

Finally it came to the end of the shoot and we got in the water. Yes. WE. I stood in it for some heat relief, she just did it because she’s from Minnesota and wants to make her family jealous of her time near the ocean. Glorious!

Have an easy PCS and a fantastic reunion with your hubby, Holly!

We’re going to skip right past the fact that I haven’t blogged in over a week and move on. Because I said so.

Amy and Tom are a fabulous couple, and wonderful friends (and decent poker players), and they’re leaving Okinawa at the end of the summer. As hot as it is, they braved it and joined me for a day of snuggling in the stickiness.

The gorgeousness is to much to bear here… hello there beautiful eyes!

Tom had been out all day (on the aforementioned Harley) and was hot and tired – but I think he’s just plain hot in this one. (Some classic black & white for ya – only because you’ve already seen the off-the-charts blue of his eyes.)

And um, Amy? Hello!

We were all loving the cooler shade in the early evening. Doorways make me happy.

These two really are the most easy-going couple you’d ever want to meet. Amy (as usual) was the one who wanted photos taken, and Tom (thank you) was willing to make her happy. I think she said he even admitted it wasn’t torture… so I do hope you enjoy that I had ants crawling in my ear for this one. Because it’s AWESOME.

Or that sweat dripped into my eye and made it burn during this one. Because it’s AWESOME.

Or that I got chewed by half the mosquitoes on Okinawa taking this one. Because it’s – say it with me – AWESOME!

And because I risked life and limb and millions of dollars worth of camera equipment (yes, millions) in the ocean to take this one. Because it’s OVER THE TOP AWESOME! (I want one of these for myself.)

And because I haven’t shared a signature shoe shot in a while… this one is for you.

When I return from a little family vacation, I’ll have more time to play with the myriad of fun details of the HARLEY – but just a little taste of that incredible machine will happen for you right here….

(I KNOW, right?) Harley post coming – so are photos of a gorgeous Air Force young lady, and a family of dear friends. And though I love you all, I hope I can’t share any more with you until after our little vacation (Space A, for you military folks – it’s not a done deal quite yet… but I’m hopeful!) a little later in July.
In the meantime – have a great week, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAIG! (Both next week.) And Amy & Tom – thank you for a really fun evening. And NICOLE! Thank you for assisting, you rock star! I had a great time with you.

The moment I met Kristal, I wanted to take her family’s photos. They’re such a beautiful and diverse bunch. And she wasn’t even pregnant with kid #5 yet.

She had twins (boy/girl) who are the most loving and sweet kids you’d ever want to meet. They greet me with hugs and hold my hand every time I see them. (At the end of the shoot they hugged my assistant – she said she felt like a rock star!) Beautiful E:

And charming and sensitive C:

Then came young K – beyond smart enough to be in kindergarten no doubt, but isn’t quite old enough yet. She’s also a very big fan of octopi. Octopuses. Well, whatever. Did I mention the DIMPLE in her cheek when she makes me giggle with her smile?

And adorable little S. Preparing to be a big sister might be tough – I can tell she enjoys being the sweet baby with all the attention. But with a face like this I don’t think she’s going to get any less attention. I would be able to verify that her cheeks taste like butter cream frosting, but I drowned in her blue eyes and didn’t care to be rescued.

Well obviously with kids like this, you have a classic beauty and a ridiculously tall and handsome man as parents. I kept having to ask James to bend or sit so that I didn’t get sun glare or nostril shots.

All four children are such a beautiful blend of their parents, aren’t they? The differences in their personalities is so amazing to me – and yet they’re all so kind and outgoing, you can tell there’s a lot of love in this house! (Not to mention patience – Dad deploys – and Kristal is always schlepping the kids somewhere!)

I’m sorry but this shot of S takes my breath away and I have to share it. Yum.

And there’s a little BOY inside that tummy. The last baby, Kristal says. I love this shot of the whole bunch; especially how Kristal and James are looking at each other like – “Here we go again!”

Sit, James. Good man. I appreciate your patience with all of us on a hot morning.

The twins – enjoying the water toward the end of the shoot!

And at the end – we broke out the tutus. Oh heck yeah we did.Well… not for C of course.

SO many more but I must stop here. Thank you for coming out on a hot and humid day for the sake of capturing the last of the family of SIX – can’t wait to meet little #7.