Nicholas | {Foss HS 2013 Senior}

On a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of getting to know a 2013 senior and enjoying the beauty of a local park…life is good! Nicholas is a senior at Foss High School and looking forward to graduation next spring! As with most seniors, they are focused on the future, after high school and he is no different, although he is excited to experience all that this year has to offer and to spend time with his friends, some of which will go away to school and life will certainly change for all of them after graduation! One of Nicholas’ big loves is dirt biking and he was excited that he had the opportunity to bring it out for the session…but bummed he couldn’t ride it in the park! I could see he certainly would have LOVED to start it up…and even “teased” his mom as he pretended to start it!! If we were in a location where he could have ridden, it would have been great to capture some of him in action…I can only imagine how he would love loved that as well. He’s been ridding most of his life and it is part of who he is! Nicholas also enjoys spending time with his family and has a great sense of humor. He’s quiet, but oh, that’s just a cover…for a funny and quick thinking individual who was a lot of fun to get to know and a great sport during the session!!

Although Nicholas isn’t  planning on becoming a Cougar next year, he does plan on that in time…smart guy!!!

It was a pleasure to meet you, Nicholas, and I wish for a a year ahead filled with great memories (and smart choices…no fast bikes!!!)…and a future full of everything you can imagine!!

Rachel – Such Confidence | {Bellarmine Prep 2013 Senior}

A beautiful summer morning just a week ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing a remarkable young woman. Only haven spoken on the phone with Rachel, I had not met her, but once I saw her climb out of her (big) truck…I knew this was someone that would be fun and that the time would pass by quickly during her session. Not only is Rachel a beautiful young woman, she just gushes with confidence and direction…this gal is goal driven and knows what she wants out of life and what she needs to do to get there! I was SO impressed and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with her during her session. The oldest of four…and the only girl, she’s responsible, mature and caring. Helping with her younger brothers who are all nearly as active as she is…and keeping up with her school, activities and a job…that’s impressive, especially for a high school senior! Volleyball is her passion and she was to start the tryouts and practices this past week…she was ready to go and knew that she’d be busy, but seemed excited about it all. If I could have met her parents, I certainly would have complimented them on what a lovely daughter they have…who seems quite exceptional for someone her age! With goals like being a pediatrician someday and heading off to college next fall…across the country…those are things to be praised and her parents have obviously done an exceptional job in raising her! Kudos to them…and to you, Rachel!!

Such a beautiful and natural smile…

We had a bright day, no clouds and although it was comfortable to start, it did warm up with time, but Rachel never complained and just kept her great attitude and smile through the whole session!
Rachel, you were a delight to photograph and I thoroughly enjoyed your session. I can’t wait for you to see the rest of the photos…you were such a great subject and made my job easy with your relaxed and natural personality! Good luck with volleyball!!!

Kat ROCKS | {Ferris HS 2013 Senior}

My oh my, what a beautiful young woman Kat Stark has grown into! Her family has been a LONG time family friend of my family…and actually it goes back to my grandmother and Kat’s great-grandmother who were friends…that’s a lot of history! And, to see Kat preparing for her senior year of high school is such a treat! Not only is she beautiful (okay, gorgeous!!), but she’s extremely mature, very bright, thoughtful and a joy to be around. When asked to do her senior photos, I was privileged to be able to capture some special memories for her and her family…that will last a lifetime. I wonder what our grandmothers would have thought to see the connection between the families continuing – one would imagine they’d love that we are all still so close and that they’d be impressed by just how well-rounded Kat is!! Given that I live on the west side of the mountains and Kat lives in Spokane, we were trying to figure out the location and time for her photos, when at the almost the last minute, things fell into place when I was visiting my mom in northern Idaho last week. A hot morning with tons of sunshine was what we were given and we started out down the road, with several stops before we ended her session. Fields, alleys in Coeur d’Alene, a stop for lunch, a lake road and then some time by the water rounded out the session – with each location being unique and making for a great variety of photos for Kat to choose from! What does the future hold for Kat…well, first off, she’ll finish her high school career at Ferris High School in Spokane (where I also graduated from, as did her mom!), she’s a volleyball player and that will keep her busy through a good part of the year and of course, all the fun (and not so fun) senior activities and requirements for graduation. In her spare time, besides hanging out with friends, she enjoys longboarding…this gal sure loves to be active!! After that, she’s looking at moving to Seattle to further her education and knowing her, the possibilities are endless and whatever she chooses, I know she’ll succeed – oh, how fun it will be to see where she is in 5 years, I can’t wait!!

Laughter was a big part of this session…actually, I think we had to work to get some serious photos since we were laughing so much!

I loved that we were able to shoot around the lake road, since both Kat and I have such a connection to the lake (Hayden).

Okay, I must give a bit of insight on this photo on the right…as I was shooting Kat, my cousin was standing behind me and she “flashed” Kat, but what Kat didn’t realize was that my cousin had her swimsuit on under her shirt! LOVE that I captured this, only wish I had another camera to capture what was happening behind me as well!!

Did I not say GORGEOUS…she’s such a beautiful person, inside and out and was so natural and relaxed…I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her!

Since Kat just got a new bike that we had to include in the session…if only she had another and we could have gone for a ride afterwards!

One of Kat’s passions is sailing and although we never made it to the boats, we did find this mural in Coeur d’Alene, so we could include a bit of sailing in the session!I must say this is one of my favorites from the session…WOW!

Lunch break was at Hudson’s in Cd’A…and if you are at all familiar with the area, then you know about Hudsons! It’s a LONG standing burger (only burgers and pie!!) place on Sherman Ave. and it’s always busy…and always good! Check it out, if you’ve never been there, you won’t be sorry!

Another of my favorites…as I said, such a natural and down to earth individual, who’s comfortable wherever she is!Her sister, Hanna, popped in at the end (while by the water) for a couple of quick shots…another beauty, who in a few years will get her turn on the blog!!

Water is another big part of Kat’s life and after we were all finished…it was time to get our suits on and head to the dock and lake to cool off!Kat…thank you for being SO much fun to photograph and so easy to work with…I had a blast during your session and hope you enjoy these photos…more to come when your gallery is ready! There is no doubt in my mind that you will achieve all your heart desires…and I can’t wait to see what life has in store for you in the years ahead….GO for it…dream and achieve all you can!!!