Hamilton

My seven-year-old sister has wanted a kitten for so long. I got my first cat at the age of five and in the following years persuaded my parents to get another which subsequently had two litters of kittens. My mom and I even entered Sasha (second cat) and one of her kittens in a cat show. I'll never forget that day- the pet psychic stationed near our cage, the weird people who refused to tell anyone how many cats they owned, and the big ribbon I received from a judge with some sort of Slavic accent.
My sister, being the Fifth Child Who Gets To Grow Up With A Dog, can't have a kitten. So my parents bought her a hamster on the condition that she'd feed, water and clean up after it.

Susanna now thinks having a hamster is better than having a kitten.

Mission accomplished.

Hamilton, as you can see, obviously has an affinity for Nikons and my purple heels.
(I'm actually listing the Nikon point-and-shoot pictured above on Craigslist in the near future. I'm really tempted to put this picture on the ad!)

Forest Fire

So, I got a job as a chauffeur. Sort of. I've driven over 13 hours since last Saturday- trying to rack up enough time to get my license this fall. (I'm on a roll!) My grandpa owns a small blue Chevy truck with squeaky breaks that he drives around in quite frequently. So I've been driving him around town, out of town, and near town- trying to accumulate all the experience I can get.

After retiring from the local newspaper's delivery department, my grandpa worked for the forest service for roughly 8 years. He retired from that job a few years ago, but still likes to drive up into the foothills of the Cascades to see his old friends. Currently there's a big forest fire happening in the area, so I've driven up with him two times this week to visit the ranger station, take pictures of the scenery, and practice my crazy driving-up-steep-gravel-mountain-road skillz. (Yeah, those do need a bit of work, if you were curious...)
That's me. On a stump. I don't know about you, but this picture really messes with my mind. I love The Tilt Shift Generator, and am not ashamed to admit it. That is all.These pictures were taken on Wednesday. In the distance you can see that enormous cloud of smoke. On Friday morning, we drove up a small mountain on the other side of the highway and found ourselves looking down on that smoky haze. Not such a great view.

The following one shows the Three Sisters, supposedly "glacier-covered volcanic peaks."

Apparently early settlers named the sisters "Faith," "Hope" and "Charity-" but the names just didn't stick, for some reason. Mountains tend to not be very charitable, especially if you happen to be traveling in a covered wagon:)

Horses

Who doesn't like horses? I've don't have a desire to own one, but they are so lovely. These particular ones follow the kids like dogs when they run the perimeter of the fence.

Due to my photographic inclinations, I would probably do nothing really productive with my life if I had neighbors with horses. The following one makes me smile a bit every time I look at it:
In related news, The Sue will probably be getting a hamster in the next week or so. (I'm trying to convince her to name it "Hamlet" but it will probably come pre-named.) See, hamsters and brown paper bags have one thing in common- they both get recycled.

Washington Trip

Here are a few frames from my trip to see relatives earlier this month. We made tons of cupcakes, took walks down the hillside, ate dinner on the porch after running in the sprinkler, and attended Westminster Heritage Week festivities. (We also learned from the neighbors that bears really do live on the new property.)

Stay tuned for more pictures of the horses!

Javon's Birthday Session- Lane County Portraiture

I hadn't been checking the weather forecast the past few days. I was greeted by nice hot temperatures when I stepped off the train Monday afternoon, so I figured I'd get some typical August light for Javon's Tuesday evening shoot. Fast forward a day and a thunderstorm was rolling in. We headed out anyway to an old decrepit barn structure situated on the edge of a field right next to the railroad tracks.

There was so much going on: a tractor was blowing a hazy brown dust across the road, the clouds were separating in the west- allowing Rembrant-esque light to shine down on the coastal range, and the thunderstorm was moving in from the east. While taking these first few photos, I was facing east, towards the Coburg Hills. (There are benefits to living in a valley!)

Javon was such a trooper. At first he suggested we take pictures in the car, but once we got out into the wind he did a super job.
So here's the great part- Javon's mom Brianna used to be my babysitter when I was a toddler! How fun is that?

Brianna and Javon- I had so much fun with you two, despite that rain:) I hope you like your pictures!

Caleb-Senior Photography

These pictures are from a senior shoot I did last month. Caleb loves to fish, so he and his mom thought a river themed shoot would be fun. You gotta love the river banks around here. Everything is green and bushy and out of control. Perfect for outdoorsy photoshoots.