On a vacation in DC, I noticed just how photogenic that city is.
Theme: the hard edges of nearly every environment I attempted to contrast with the softness of human subjects out of focus where possible.
Becca and Cheney asked to be photographed in their home of Seattle before moving cities.
Theme: we embraced the weather as an element and it resulted in a misty, white light that played well with the gorgeous couple.
The first photo is one of my very favorites, with the smirk on the man on the right and the joy of the woman on the left juxtaposed with the man in the middle.
I love the way the shadows flowed against the woman's position in the second photo, and of course her smile.
Theme: the direct eye-contact of the subjects and the depth of expression
Some textures of downtown San Jose del Cabo.
Theme: the light was very warm as I hit golden hour downtown.
I have a soft spot for pastels, but what photographer doesn't? This series is a collection of the pastel colors in Cinque Terre, Italy.
Theme: the contrast of the pastels with green in each of these photos.
Every four years you can walk underneath El Arco as the tide is pulled out. Luckily, I was there at that exact time.
Theme: using the arc as a frame for the rest of the scene.
I spent way too long taking photos of these windmills, but I got there right as the sun was about to set so you can't really blame me. Although it was freezing, my hundreds of photos of windmills make up for the cold I caught...right?
Theme: obviously the windmills, but the color of the sky really draws me to these photos.
All of these photos feature children who attend school in Southern India. A group and I worked to provide clean drinking water for multiple schools in the area, and I think these photos epitomize the daily life of these kids.
Theme: the school uniforms, right down to the matching braided hair.
The most striking thing to me while traveling through India was the architecture. With a distinct style, the forts and government buildings alike contained a special charm.
Theme: many of the arches feature a scalloped edge, which one person explained to me as representing prayer hands.
The Rapinoe sisters hired me to capture a couple of their clinics. My favorite part was taking an old gym and turning it into something to work with - these photos really came alive after edits.
Theme: embraced the warmth of the old gym lights and focused on the emotion of the kids interacting with their heroes.
The water of San Jose del Cabo
Theme: simply put, the blues of a beautiful coastal city.
Savi, a graduating senior in Seattle, and I hit some spots around town for her senior portraits.
Theme: the focus on cooler tones was an edit preference to make the oranges of the backgrounds pop.
At my last wedding shoot, I had the time to take portraits of each of the bridesmaids in their beautiful dresses. It was a spontaneous idea, and they are some of my favorite photos of the entire event. Often times the bridesmaids don't get to spend a little time feeling glamorous, and this is something I will incorporate into every wedding shoot from here on out.
Theme: the rose gold in the bridesmaid's dresses reflected beautifully with the white lighting them and no flash.
I still cannot get over this shoot with Zoe. We all met at the Volunteer Park Observatory for a little family shoot, and at first I was worried about capturing a 1-year-old. I had read the stories about how fast they move and how hard it can be to capture their personality. Luckily I was blessed with a baby-model-to-be and she worked the camera better than I could have dreamed.
Theme: the greens and soft hues in the back really helped pop Zoe from the background in all of these, and gave her something to interact with. But overall, darling Zoe is the theme.
Taken from inside the Vatican, these are my favorite shots. The entire place is set for photographs, from the curve of the arches to the positioning of the chairs.
Theme: there are no people in these photos, which in itself is a miracle (yes that was a bad joke about the Vatican)
There's nothing that captures Rome quite like the Coliseum. Although a lot of the classic shots are in here, my favorite is the view of the arc through one of the openings inside the Coliseum itself.
Theme: the windows and the view through them from different angles, from below, straight out and inside.
Alaska is full of a lot of snow, ice, cold weather and friendly humans. But we were blessed (yes, blessed) with 2 perfectly warm, sunny days while there. The mountains were shining.
Theme: the light mixture of shade onto the mountains and reflections in the water.
The clothing brand "Always Original" was founded by a group of college students on the UW Football team. Together they dreamed of influencing their vast online communities with the message that it's alright to be you, to be original and to be unique. With this shoot, the lighting worked out just in our favor under a street lamp. Stay tuned as a colleague and I are also producing their "About Us" video.
Theme: the light is the main theme in this collection, but more specifically the use of the spot lights behind the subjects.
When you're asked to accompany a family to Disneyland to take pictures, how can you say no? I had a lot of fun with the bride and groom to be and the whole family in Disney for a day. My favorite photos to take are candid, representations of what is really happening and I felt these pictures captured the day best.
Theme: unlike most staged wedding shots, these are all spontaneously planned ideas.
On a hike in Glacier National Park there was a bright blue lake nestled under a glacier that may not be there in as little as 10 years (check out more about the receding glaciers here)
Theme: the teal (greenish,blue..maybe turquoise is more correct) pops in these photos and brings the dark backgrounds to life.
No, not the greatest of all time. Just your regular mountain goat up in Glacier National Park. He was hanging out on the side of the road, and about 50 other people and I got a thousand photos of him.
Theme: the whites in contrast, from his fur to the snow behind him.
Pink, white and blue are color themes for the entire country of India. There are full cities devoted to these colors, and this is just a little sample of some of the blue in a micro sense.
Theme: blue, and its use in every day life, from the floors and walls to art.
I rarely edit to black and white, but I agree with a lot of photographers when they say it makes a photo more timeless. I have been trying to do a little more black and white lately as it brings out the light in new ways I haven't tried.
Theme: these photos are frozen in time for me, which is what the black and white adds to the composition.
From hikes and excursions, below is a compilation of wildflowers. I am sure each of these have a purpose besides just looking pretty, as most wildflowers do, but looking nice is enough for me.
Theme: the vibrant purples in nature always shock me, so that's this theme.
Something I will try to do from now on when traveling: take a cooking class. I am not a cook, in the slightest, but a lot of culture is tied to food. Especially if you can get a class that is led by someone who grew up in the area. Plus, bonus you can get some cool pictures.
Theme: these are all spices that we used in Indian dishes we prepared, the middle photos is what makes up masala.
I climbed up to the top of a windmill to get these peeks at the sunset in Brugge. One of the best things about Brugge in general was how peaceful and quiet it was. People cycle by on their bikes and quietly say hello to one another and you can walk from neighborhood to neighborhood in ten minutes with canals to keep your eyes busy.
Theme: the orange in these photos is the theme; but especially the sun in the last two as it actually looks like the fruit.
When there was a gas shortage in Belgium, the government gave benefits to bike riders. Ever since then, there are nearly no cars driving in Brugge. Honestly, if I lived there I would bike too because the roads are so narrow driving would be a headache anyways.
Theme: just a compilation of my favorite bike shots of the city.
Blue will always be a theme of my photography (honestly everyone's) because of the landscapes I like to photograph. Coastal towns hold a special spot in my SD card for that reason, and by special spot I mean usually I shoot an entire card's worth of photos.
Theme: each of these photos feature the coast of Cinque Terre in a different way, my favorite being the little blue boat tethered near shore.
The world differs in a lot of ways dependent on geography (wow, so insightful...). For example, in India many girls are not given the opportunity to have an education because of an entire score of reasons; one of which being the societal standard.
In a small village in Northern India, while talking to village leaders about the education of their girls I was hit by the stereotype that women were less valued than men in this culture. Then I saw this girl, with the scar down her chest. In a village like this, the nearest doctor is days away, the nearest surgeon performing open-heart surgery, weeks. Let alone the expense.
In that moment I was faced with the contrast of societal values: yes this girl does not attend school because she must stay home to take care of the crops. However, because I am a westerner I wrongly interpreted that as her being devalued. The contrast of her sitting in profile dressed in Western clothing, with her elders sitting at her left, and the hint of her scar visible, just represents the shift of perspective I undertook there.
Theme: all of these photos were taken in a 40-person village that relies on their crop. Notice most subjects are in motion, from the women talking in the first photo, to the eating cow in the last.
Featured in this collection are the mountains of Glacier National Park. We camped there in the early summer, unfortunately that meant that some of the best hikes were still closed off (ugh guess I'll have to return dang it...). But, we still got some in with these sharp mountains as the backdrop to wildflowers and wildlife alike.
Theme: notice the symmetry and the centered focus of these photos.
Elephants are an important symbol in Indian culture, and coincidentally one of my favorite animals. I love the chalk on their trunks, but I just wish one of them wouldn't have sneezed in my face.
Theme: the elephant's eyes in each of these photos show the intelligence that they are known for.
Italy is full of museums that will blow your mind. Seriously, if there is such a thing as top 10 Trip Advisor for an entire country, I swear 8/10 would be museums. But with a family like the Medici's ruling their country for about two centuries, what can we expect? The entire country is a gallery.
Theme: all these photos show art in different aspects of Italian life - on the walls of museums, on the streets in chalk and in the architecture of safety cages.
Did you know the Taj Mahal was built out of a man's love for a woman? I won't launch into the whole story, but give it a google. If you think buying a necklace is rough, imagine building this monster for your bae.
My favorite thing about the Taj is the inside (which is cruel to say since I cannot share photos of it, they prohibit photography). Inside the main entrance, there is a representation of every religion upon the walls. Contrary to my Western interpretation of this country, I found that India was incredibly accepting of religions. The Taj was a cool representation of that.
Theme: white and cream contrasting with green.
The architecture of a new place is always fun to photograph, but especially how it interacts with each other in the form of shadows.
Theme: each of these photos are partially obscured by a shadow.
The Roman Forum is a plot of land outside the Coliseum that represents what's left of the 1 million people that used to live in that empire. Yeah, you heard that right they squeezed 1 million people into a very small area, and I thought Seattle rent was high. Another fun fact, the entire forum was covered for a long while due to the location of it in the city, dust covered up the entire place until someone stumbled upon the find of a lifetime.
Theme: the tan-red of buildings left behind that used to be covered in ivory.
Again, another spectacular view of Indian architecture and its incredible symmetry. This was in a fort we stopped at before traveling onto Agra to see the Taj.
Theme: the yellow pop of the woman's sari shuffling through the fort.
These photos are a compilation of different views of the square buildings in Italy. From above and below they show their age in the best possible way.
Theme: the square buildings of course.
This little bar is supposedly 500 years old, and their tagline is "Half a century of hangovers", but there isn't a lot of confidence in this as one of their shirts says "Quite possibly the oldest bar in the world"
Theme: both these represent the bar as I feel it could be represented at any time in the last 500 years, with the old paintings and exposed beams.
Sometimes I like to practice techniques on static locations. Here I tried to apply the golden ratio to the back of a cruise ship. For a little more information on what the golden ratio is, here's a good article .
Theme: the leading lines that focus on the yellow end point: the pole in the first photo and the sign in the second.
Honestly, these photos all can stand alone for many reasons. The first photo was taken in a mosque, where I learned it was going to be the first of many times I took my shoes off for extended periods of time outside (it was great). The last photo is blurry, because the bull is barging through the streets as I tried to get the shot. Bull vs scooter, that's what I liked about this shot.
Theme: the different shades of red in each of these photos is what ties them together for me.
All the hype around Venice is correct. Everything you look at is stunning, every coffee is perfectly poured and every building has a crisp reflection. Yeah, it's almost eerily perfect.
Theme: with this one, the commonality is simply Venice.
Sunset hits the mountains of Glacier National Park in the first two photos. Taken from inside our camp, about 10 minutes apart, these photos show how little it takes to miss the perfect light.
"There's always tomorrow" - what I tell myself in denial when I miss great sunset shots.
Theme: beyond the light, take a look at the ways the mountains fill the photo and the snow laying in the crinkles of each.
My favorite thing about Florence was visiting the Accademia which holds David. However, not only does it hold David it is the home to many unfinished Michelangelo works, called "Prisoners" due to their unfinished state. They are thought to be trapped in the stone that was not carved, and these are the only statues that show marks of how Michelangelo worked - complete with his signature 3 interlocking circles.
Theme: each photo shows an iconic view of Florence, including a shot of David.
What struck me most about the classrooms we visited in India was the likelihood to that of my childhood classrooms. Not the locations, or the desks, or the open windows, but the posters and english on the walls. There was a sign just like this "Knowledge is Power" in my first grade class, but without the "Power is Freedom". Maybe that wasn't deemed necessary by my teacher, but I like the implication that Knowledge = Freedom, more than Knowledge = Power.
Theme: pink, pink, pink everywhere you look in India.
Cinque Terre is terraced and spotted with colorful beach houses. Old fisherman roam around the towns between hoards of tourists and the five towns are connected by one train that runs every 30 minutes. If you have the chance to go, do not miss it.
Theme: the charcoal rocks the town is built upon is featured in each of these photos.