What a wonderful time I had with the beautiful Aria and family. She might just be the cutest thing I've seen since I witnessed my fiancee snuggling with my teddy bear last week.

HUGE thanks to Grandma Marjie as she found/contacted me and made the connection and shoot happen with Adam, Melissa, and Ariadne. Also for being immensely helpful with suggesting great ideas throughout the shoot.

Enjoy a couple sample shots! More to come.

It's been another busy month shooting stock. I'm continually learning as I go and ever so slightly becoming more comfortable with the technical aspects of shooting. The work I do for KASPI often falls into two major categories, Education and Fitness, as those are subjects the company has set a gold standard for in the stock world. Despite often shooting very similar types of subjects and locations, it's amazing to see how many different ways you can shoot and portray an idea or concept. Our shoots are fun. We laugh, or I should say I laugh, and generally fail miserably in trying to make others laugh. We eat, usually food. And often have the occasional juice packet or can of soda.

These two particular shoots were ones that were shot inside Columbia Adventist Academy and Portland Adventist Academy. Thanks so much to both school's administrators for making us feel so welcome and thanks to our terrific models!

It's pretty trippy to start seeing your friends you grew up with getting married. I become nostalgic thinking about my Elementary and High School years. Kaylah and I met in high school and I've been friends with her and her family since. I don't know Kris all that well but am excited to have the opportunity to get to know him better in the future!

I wasn't invited to their small and cozy indoor wedding as a photographer, so I sat in the very back trying not to be noticed and just trying to enjoy the ceremony… But what kind of photographer would I be if I didn't at least take my camera to grab a few snap-shots? So I occasionally pulled out my not so subtle camera and overly large speed light.

I hope I wasn't too much of a distraction :)

Congrats Kris and Kaylah, I wish you the very best!

Thanksgiving is in my top two and a half favorite holidays. It symbolizes some of my favorite things in life, such as spending time with family and friends and eating a lot. My family doesn't really do anything small so I know that every year it's going to be a party at the only place I've ever truly called home. My parent's are beyond amazing, they've re-defined the phrase "open-door policy", this year was no exception. My brothers Jamey and Jeremy were holed up together in Loma Linda, CA which no one liked. Every time one of the siblings is gone it's as if a huge void is left that can't be covered. It's like finishing a puzzle only to find that the last one or two pieces is missing. It feels incomplete. One of the other unique separations from this Thanksgiving to years past is the fact that my grandparents (who live with my parents), are on their last leg of life here on earth. This was most likely my Grandpa's if not my Grandma's final Thanksgiving, and because of that we had a few extra family members around, and it was at times a bit somber.

We still managed to have a terrific time together, however. We ate, we played, we sang, we ate. And… We ate. A lot. My home is fairly notorious for the amount of pies we produce at Thanksgiving dinner and unforunately I think we only had a measly 14 this year. I've already talked to my mom to make sure we don't have a letdown again next year (I kid). I'm not sure if it's some of us creatively remembering the past, but supposedly we had as many as 26 one year. When the weekend was coming to a close we went outside and had a little photo shoot with my grandparents, who don't move, talk, or remember quite as well as they used to. It was a neat way to end the mini-vacation and cement in visual history two souls that forever changed and impacted my family's legacy.

Leanna + JXIL

My Future Wife

Joshua + Stella 01

Joshua + Stella 02

JXIL

RRNL + JXIL

LJL + LCL | Sisters

She's going to make an exceptional mom someday, and look good doing it.

LCL + SJL | Phenomenal role models and on top of my unofficial "People of Influence" list.

LCL | Stunningly gorgeous

SSL + SSAL 01 | It was Stella's first Thanksgiving. It was an honor being able to spend it with her!

SSL + SSAL 02 | The Long Kiss.

The Originals | From top L-R: Tim, James, Tom; (bottom L-R) Sue, Betty, Bob, Deanne.

Bob + Betty | What Happiness looks like after 60+ years of marriage.

Bob + Lee | Two heroes and well respected gentlemen.

Betty + LJL + LCL | The girls having a laugh.

Betty + the Long ladies.

Betty and her boys.

Bob + Betty + JXIL | Enjoying another Long moment with the great-great grandson.

I wear many hats. I often find myself doing such a variety of things that it's hard to delineate and specifically narrow down what I do / what I specialize in. I'm working on discovering and finding my own "voice" as both I and my brother often tell our students they need to do. Luckily I have direction and I'm motivated, which help in the process.

Taking my professional work out of the conversation, there are fewer things I'm prouder of than my role as an Uncle. Period. My nieces and nephews play an integral role in my daily life and have a huge impact on my growth as an individual. I'm enthralled with and love children in general. That love probably (scratch that), definitely, stems from my parents role in my life growing up, and the siblings I have. There's nothing I look forward to more than one day becoming a dad. I plan on being very good at it.

With all that said, and I promise I'm trying to tie all this together, when I get to combine my love for what I do professionally with working alongside the people I love, in this case my nephew and niece, I can't help but smile from the inside out. I haven't shot any portraits with Johannes, my nephew, in a while so I headed up the hill to Mt. Norway on a bright and glorious afternoon to do just that, with the aid of one of my favorite assistants (see below picture). We laughed, made noises, smiled, cried, and called it a day. Enjoy!

Huge thanks to RRNL once again, and MDL for the assistance.

JXIL | Caught in Motion

My loyal assistant. She's become quite proficient / effective with my trusty sun bounce reflector. She's assisted me on more than one client shoot, it gives me such great joy to hear her say things like, "Uncle Jonny, the light is on Johanni!".

Great, she's probably going to want a pay increase soon.

JXIL | Deep in thought

JXIL | Biker Dude

I learn new things daily when it comes to Stock Photography. One of the primary difficulties encompassing stock is working with and finding models.This particular shoot was revolved around a "Family Game Night". Gregg, Gail, Olivia, and Cade Roberts fit the bill terrifically. We had a great time and Gregg managed to continually find ways to lighten the mood. I'm thinking about having him quit his full time job as a Fireman (I believe Captain?) and become my full time assistant helping make people laugh while at shoots. Unfortunately their son, Landen, who's in college decided to stay in school and not join us. How rude.

I only kid. I look forward to shooting with them in December when Landen will be present.

Here a few weeks ago I shot the McCoy's. The real McCoy's that is.

It's been a busy month. Super busy in fact. It's at times difficult to recollect and feel as though you've been working your butt off but don't have a lot to show for it. Fortunately, some of that behind the scenes work helps establish and prepare for future projects. That's definitely the case for me. My primary focus the last last six weeks has been producing, preparing, and shooting for the onslaught of photo shoots that we're getting under way in association with KASPI. Outside of that, however, I've continued with the work I have here and with my eldest, Josef and his Empire.

From corporate video and production work, to portrait sessions, to high school sports teams. October was good, I'm sure when it's all said and done, November will be better. I hope the last few weeks have found you well also. Once again I apologize for failing you in providing consistent posts. I've made it my personal goal for 2014.

CAA 2011 - Varsity Soccer

CAA 2011 - VB Player

Running Model 01- Vancouver, WA

Running Model 02- Vancouver, WA

Rituals Shoot 01 | 2011

Setting up for the Coffee shoot | 2011

Coffee Shoot 01 | 2011

Coffee Shoot 02 | 2011