Spring!

If you are reading this on Friday the 20th, it is officially spring in the northern hemisphere! But it has felt like spring for quite awhile now. We are being spoiled with sun this year, like I've probably told you a hundred times now. It's like finally being with a reliable guy who keeps his word after being with a bunch of flakes. I can actually count on sun and feel secure that it won't leave after five minutes. It's been so nice. Hopefully next winter doesn't make up for it. (Or this spring, for that matter!)

Like last time, I'm just going to pick a handful of images that stand out to me tonight as I go through them. I have hundreds and hundreds more to sift through for future posts. I've posted a few of these on Instagram, but you can see the original crop here.

I've continued to have an obsession with tree blossoms. I can't seem to stop taking pictures of every new type of blossom I see. It's been so fun and satisfying to practice and try new things and sometimes get photos I'm really excited about.

The other day I had my camera and decided to stop at a Jehovah's Witness church that had a bunch of beautiful trees out front. It was on a semi-busy street and I kept wondering if anyone I knew had driven by and seen me (embarrassing!).

So often I come across something and don't think much of it in terms of photography, but then I'll give it a chance and pretty soon I've taken dozens of photos and can't seem to quit. That happened with this one particular tree. The full blossoms combined with the blue sky made some nice color combos.

Sometimes I like to move the watermark around.

I came across him accidentally when I saw his blurry figure moving up a branch in the background while I was taking a photo.
Oh hello thick, fluffy blossoms all tumbling down like you're in some sort of wedding dream. I think I'll make curtains out of you.

I mixed these up so you wouldn't have to endure the same subject several times in a row, but I am sorry for a lot of similarities anyway. Kind of. :)

I loooove that spring green color that can be captured from sunlit grass or certain plants in the background. And how hot does it look with the pink?

I was at Bush Park tonight and it was so perfect. The weather was awesome, the blooms were killing me, and then the light just kept getting better and better. I was in such a good mood that I actually spoke to three different strangers at the park! It was as if I was friendly!

This caught my eye when the sun made all the little vines stand out.
Happy spring! I hope yours is full of productivity, inspiration, refreshment and fun surprises. :)

Marchy March

I've been taking so many pictures. In my neighborhood, at the park, at work...I don't want to miss anything. Even though I've taken pictures of the same flowers for years, I keep thinking I can do a better job this time. In many cases, I do think I improve each year, but I also just have a weird addiction to photographing pretty things over and over. I have to make sure I get the shot! ;)

Right now my March folder has 384 photos, but that's after I have gone through and narrowed them down a ton (I usually keep fewer than half of what I take, and I really need to be even more ruthless about it). For being early March, that's a lot. Wait until things really get going in a few weeks!

Anyway, I thought I'd pick a few favs to post here, since I'll never actually catch up. These were chosen without much thought--just whatever struck my fancy tonight.

I'm hooked on blossom photos lately, so you'll see a lot of those. If you follow me on Instagram, you already know this!

I just love how smooth these look at this stage.

There were lots of cute little spirals at a park I went to the other day. I didn't get any good photos, but had to show you the cuteness.

This squirrel let me get pretty close before it ran off. It just sat there eating whatever that is, knowing I was about 8 feet away taking pictures. Those are tulips behind him, which I didn't get good photos of. Later, I will! I didn't even know tulips were blooming yet!

Enjoy your weekend, if I don't talk to you! My friend and I discovered there are three "holidays" this weekend: Friday the 13th, Pi Day and the Ides of March (which is also my cousin's birthday)! My friend Dania suggested celebrating with a Jason movie, a piece of pie and a Caesar salad. :D Feel free to enjoy one or more of those. I will take a giant piece of apple pie a la mode, please!

Portraits: Travis and Katrina

My friend Katrina (who you've seen in my blog over the years--like here) just got engaged! When she asked me to take their engagement photos, I was very happy to oblige. We had a nice time out at Bush Park and Deepwood Estate. Here are a few of my favorite photos with a bit of info about the happy couple.

Travis and Katrina were connected by a friend who apparently has a knack for matchmaking! She urged Katrina to give Travis a chance and pass on her contact info. When Travis called Katrina for a first date, they hadn't even exchanged pictures.

They decided to meet at Lum Yuen for lunch. Katrina had low expectations for first dates and planned to just endure it. "I anticipated it being a dud of a date, like every other time I'd gone out with someone. I was pretty much blown out of the water, and very much wanted to go out again!"

I could tell when Katrina first told me about Travis that something was different about this guy. She was basically glowing when she told me about their first date and how she admired his willingness to talk about his faith right away. She was also pleasantly surprised at how attractive she found him!

I knew it wouldn't be long before she was engaged. :)

Travis popped the question in February while they were visiting with Katrina's parents.


The wedding is in May. Hopefully we'll continue to have the awesome weather the PNW has been enjoying this year. May is one of the prettiest, greenest times here.

I like this photo so much that I'm showing you two versions. :) Doesn't it have kind of a travelly vibe to it?


Congratulations, you guys! We're all so happy for you. :)