S3 Michael

Take one ultimately cold Alaskan winter, 5 days before Senior photos are due in for the year book, one willing Senior, one Photographer and one brave assistant and what do you get? Some cool effing winter photos!

Michael braved the cold with us and then after a day of snowboarding, (meaning climbing the same hill over and over again for the right shot), and then heading back to his place to finish up with a hot pot pie and a little music, and taaa daaaa - pictures good enough for hanging!

S3 - Tyler

So, so bad........I have been soooo busy I have not posted anything in a while...a long while. So to make up here is a slide show of Tyler's Super Senior Session "S3"

These were all shot in Anchorage, around the downtown area. She was a great sport, even though it was getting cold out. We had a awesome time, and I will be taking more of her soon! Love, Love, Love her Bright Green Eyes!

Kindergarden Interview

Right before Kaylee was going to her Kindergarten interview with her teacher, she saw a little light on the hard wood flooring. She paused and then ran upstairs. After a quick call for help, she appeared with my 40lb camera bag. About 40 shots later, a little bit of editing, we were off to her new school and new class. She passed her interview with flying colors. So well in fact that she will now be in the High level 1st Grade class mixed with 5 High Level Kindergartners.

She is growing up so fast. She looks so beautiful in these photos. Confident and strong. It's no wonder shes mine!

Baby Maddi

Just finished up with another new born session! Baby Maddi is only 4 days old here. Her parents and big Sister Alli allowed my into their wonderful new home to help welcome Maddi to the world. This is just a sneak peak of her session. Check out the rest in proofs.

Little Ryland

Little Ryland, originally uploaded by Images by Carol Lahnum.

Ryland and his mother came over to the {G} Studio last weekend for quick shoot. They drove up from Kenai with the fam, but big brother ended up with a boo boo, so the studio was all on Ryland's!

Would you believe that he is only 3 months old? Big Boy with Big Blue Eyes.

A new type of Rock and Roll

A new type of Rock and Roll, originally uploaded by Images by Carol Lahnum.

After a short trip to the Antique store looking for a settee, that I didn't find, Kay found some really cool Faux rocks. I let Jay, Josh and Kay pick out a rock each. Jay got "Imagine", Josh picked "Believe", and Kay picked up "Hugs." I thought they would make cute pictures - what do you think?

In the grass

In the grass, originally uploaded by Images by Carol Lahnum.

Taking a Walk

Taking a Walk, originally uploaded by Images by Carol Lahnum.

Just getting back from Homer this week, stopped by to take a few photos of JoJo and her Mama!

Thunder Over Louisville

Made my way to Louisville Kentucy over the weekend to watch Thunder Over Louisville. Thunder Over Louisville, the annual kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival, is an airshow and fireworks display held in late April in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the largest annual fireworks display in North America. Thunder lasts throughout the day, and the fireworks display last for around half an hour, along with a synchronized soundtrack through PA and radio. An average of 625,000 people have attended each year since 1997, lining the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville, and across the river in Jeffersonville and Clarksville, Indiana. Some also watch from the river on boats, docked in positions auctioned off for charity. Eight 400-foot barges launch the fireworks, provided by Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, from both sides of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (Second Street Bridge), and more fireworks are launched from the bridge itself.
The estimated attendance at Thunder is usually more than quintuple that of the main attraction, the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs. This year more than 700,00 people showed up. I'm glad I was stashed away on the 23rd floor of the Gult House. What a view - check out all the photos in proofs and also in Flicker -

Family fun!

What a fun weekend! My God Daughter and God Son flew into town over the weekend to celebrate my son's 15th Birthday (I know, I'm soooo old!), and so we decided to have a fun filled photo shoot - and boy what fun. Check out this sneak preview and then head over to Sugar and Spice to see more of the kids.

Kristi was a great sport too. We had the kids pretend to be "upset" in the back of the studio...and it all would have worked out too well if Karl wasn't busting up laughing. JoJo on the other hand had it down perfect. I was showing her how to pout...believe you me, she didn't need help! What fun pictures.

Sneak Peak

Just for Nancy - here is a sneak peak at your beautiful family! You should be able to go to proofs by the end of this weekend! Hope you enjoy!

Polk a Dots

Testing out the new strobes. Short and simple - got a new strobe, wanted to see how it would work in small spaces. Grabbed my favorite model - and here are the results. Little bit of touch up in Lightroom 2 only made it better!

A great day for a drive!

Today was a day to just go out and shoot. A day where all the kids got to have cameras in their hands and give ME their best shots! Along with us came a very good friend, Nono. Nona has been wanting some pictures for a while, and we couldn't have picked a better day to do them. The sun was out, the weather was right, and she is so beautiful that it just all mixed together! take a sneak peak here, and then check out the rest of the photos in proofs.

TuTu Toooo Cute

I did it - I made a TuTu for Kaylee and got her to ROCK out in front of the Camera. Girlfriend was having a ball dancing to Britney Spears Womanizer! She may be five, but she thinks shes a teen. Tomorrow her friend is coming over for her TuTu dance, and Kaylee's not sure about sharing her new digs! Lucky for me, I made three TuTu's in different colors! They are just too cute for words. In post production, I added some angel wings to her "Rock Out" picture, and then topped it off with some smaller skull and hearts in the white areas. TuTu for now.......

Valentine Mini Sessions - Book NOW

It seems like we just got the holiday cards done and have yet to put away the Christmas tree, and here I sit thinking about Valentines Day. For one it's my FAVORITE holiday, and for two it's my God Daughters birthday! Who wouldn't want some loving?!

So for all of you out there...I introduce my first mini sessions for Valentines Day.

What are mini sessions? Glad you asked. This mini session will take place in the (G) Studio, because it's way too cold outside! The session will last about 30 minutes and will be with a white background. I suggest simple solid colors and what ever props you would like to use. I will have some available too. Might I suggest:

For Sugar:

*ruffle skirt

*beaded necklaces

*baking materials - spoon and bowl and apron

*fancy dress

*Mom's: shoes, hats, lipstick

*Dad's favorite shoes, shirt, item

For Spice:

*shirtless boys dress in a very relaxed jeans

*cars or trucks

*stick on a fake tattoo - you know MOM with hearts

*handsome attire

*Mom favorite flower

*Dad's favorite sporting equipment

The options are endless, plus I will have a few item that you can pick from out of my chest!

Check out my daughters Valentine Cards in Sugar and Spice!

I have run into Aliens! Bees that is!

I finally got the new lights that I have been wanting for more than 3 years! An easy task....NO!! First I had to research the lights and all of their elements. I had to know how they would work, what would they do, how long would they last, and most important, ease of use. After searching for more than a year, I laid eyes upon Alien Bees! Perfect for an aspiring photog like me.

I saved the money then started looking for them. Problem is, the company wanted to much for shipping....ok ok blame me being cheap and not wanting to pay for the shipping. I searched eBay, Craigslist and even looked thru the classified. Finially Kristi suggested that I look in another state for the lights. She happened to be in California at the time, so I decided to look in her town of Long Beach. The first time I looked three people happen to be selling their stuff. The first set was from a young man named Ron De Los Santos and the other set from Neil and Kristi Rosales. Ron had a 400 with the stand, sync cord, softbox and even thru in a carrying case. Neil and Kristi had the two 800's, some stands and also a very nice carrying case. I spoke to both photographers before buying them, and so glad I did. Both sellers were very nice and even offered me help when I got them up and running.

Getting these lights here was no easy task either. First

Kristi and Justin

had to go visit the sellers at their studios, make sure the lights worked and then pay them with cold hard cash! The next task was to get them home to Alaska. Which Justin did so carefully on his way home from California. He had carried all of it in his carry on baggage for me! He even brought it all in the house for me too!

The next task was making my studio....in the garage! I threw away enough stuff for two dump runs! I cleared the two sided garage, painted the walls white, and set up the lights. A little before midnight tonight on the 1st of January, my little model dressed her self, and here are the results!
I can't wait to tweak the lights a little more. I need to get a remote slave too, but so far so good!

Kaylee can't be my only test model...so gather yourselves up, dust off those dress shoes and

get over here

for free shooting!