Strictly speaking I don't normally post family shoots because I am moving more and more to weddings. However in the case of my old time friends the Akers, I just had to make an exception. I think the photos below will show you why. I am a sucker for raw images that just exude emotion and make you feel happy, sad, etc. In this case I feel jovial when looking at their darling faces!

I start most shoots with just talking to my people and giving them the run down. Explaining some basic standing tips, angles, and lighting stuff. Then I go into why I position them the way I do, even as far as some technical photography stuff (back lighting, exposure, and highlights). Yes, I am extreme ;) However, it really helps everyone during the shoot because they learn something and know how to stand because they know what I am looking for. Most professional Models are much easier to photograph because they have been taught, well most the people I photograph they don't even know some of the basics. That's why I chime in and speak openly!

This is what I call "fake laughing". It does two thing: 1) helps everybody get more comfortable 2) often gets everyone happy and excited, which is what you want! With most shoots there is always that one person that doesn't really want to be there, they can take every body's excitement out. I believe it's the photographers job to keep everyone happy and having a good time. Even if I have to say, "Everybody look up at the sky and on three look at Peter Pie."

This is Patrick, one of good guys out there in the world. Great heart and never this serious. He always seems like he's in a good mood, just don't play a game of monopoly with him and expect to get through the whole game...he keeps the active life and is never board of it.

That's the Patrick I know (laughing at one of my dumb jokes).

That's Lucy and her recently acquired husband as of August this year! They are just darling together...can't you tell?

This is Sadie, bright, bold, and ranked in the best category in her family (the youngest).

The parents, kinda need them.

All fun and games.

This is how I will remember most the shoot. Fanatically charged and rigged to be a success.

Have an amazing Saturday! Hope this made your gut fill with joy,

Peter M.

Wonder and glory are two words that I would use in describing my recent hike up Saint Helens. I would be lying if I didn’t tell you there were moments that I thought I might pass out and die.

We started the trip at 12:00, made it to the base of the mountain and started hiking at around 3:00. Lets just start out by saying I was a little un prepared…I was told to bring a long sleeve shirt, and to my “brilliance” I brought a long sleeve shirt that was white in order to reflect the sun because I would probably be hot…I was wrong. As soon as I got out of my car I was freezing! Lucky for me I had a bag of cloths that I was going to give to Good Will and happened to have a sweater. I looked like I was going to go golfing, or some kind of social formal event, instead of just hiking a mountain. It was epic.

The ascent was a test of character and mind power. Physically most people could make it okay, but your mind really starts to play tricks on you on the way up. After we traversed out of the woods we reached the rocks. Basically big boulders that are very coarse to the touch that you have to strategically choose which ones to climb over in order to conserve the most energy.

We had headlamps to help us see as we made our way to the top in the dark. However one of the best things of that night was the BLUE MOON! Having a full moon right in the sky really helped to showcase the splendor as we made our way up.

Right before the sun started to rise I felt horrid. My mind was telling me to stop, JUST SLEEP PETER! Almost everyone had been up close to 24 hours and already been doing lots of physical exercise. Anyone’s brain would tell him or her to sleep. One of the hikers said latter “I think I fell asleep while I was hiking.” Well to my surprise, right when the sun started to rise I released my weapon of choice…my camera. I was a new man full of energy and spunk. The lighting was amazing and when it comes to getting great pictures I get really excited. My brain was now UP!

Yup thats me! In my epic trash bag that protected me from cold wind, rocks, and dust. Lets not forget it's light weight, and I can use it to slide down the mountain on.