to assist Autumn on a shoot for the Decemberists again.  Looking forward to seeing what she has planned.  I'll be off & on (mainly off) email until Thursday.

I had to share what Aviva from the Adventure School cooked up for her first meal of the year.   She and Cori remind me of those kids on the Odyssey of the Mind team in elementary school .  If you want to throw an unforgettable party, hire the Adventure School to plan your next event.

(photo by Aviva)

 

It seems kinda silly, but photojj.com now has a Facebook Fanpage!  Be our fan?

 

Sarah & Damien... where do I start?  This wasn't a typical wedding for me.  These are my friends. It was casual.  I cried A LOT.  

Sarah is a budding photog herself and some of you may recognize her as my right hand lady at various shoots and weddings. Regular blog readers have seen them both on here shortly before they became engaged, when I snapped two of Sarah completely enraptured at one of Damien's shows (you will be too when you hear his music).  At the time Sarah was managing his tour and about to embark on one of them, just the two of them.  I ran into them at Whole Foods and I think it was Damien who said they'd come home either miserable or married.  I had no doubt it would be the latter and thank god they waited to do the ceremony in town so I could shoot it!

They threw one of the last hurrahs at the McLeod Residence on a Sunday, potluck style, with friends contributing in every way possible.  I'd list the total amount they spent on their wedding but I don't want to give my brides a heart attack.  Let's just say they put the resource in resourceful.

Sarah & Lauren warmed up by belting "Since You Been Gone" out on the street for arriving guests. 

With the bride ready to settle down, Christine Cherbonnier took over make-up duties.

Damien is not your average tie wearing guy.

Getting dressed.

Hott lady shoes!

Getting it together.

I think she's ready!

Maybe not.  One last touch up!  (and a chance to show you Christine's sexy dress)

Some mother love.

Waiting patiently for his first look.

Pretty darn cute.

Damien's son Myles served as the panda / ring bearer.

I dare you not to cry in the face of this.  He said it was the happiest day of his life.

Group hug!

Married!

Logically, a smoke break follows.

Damien is such a cake tease.

Speaking of this delicious vegan cake, it was handmade by Jamie from Husbands Love Your Wives.

Myles gets the toasts going.

We can dance if we want to.

Sandy mom starts the party!

Ms. Roper (who happens to be responsible for getting Robin & I together) gets down. Go Roper!

Scary lady.  Don't let her near a camera.

Congratulations Sarah & Damien!!  I love you both to pieces.  Now let's start the baby makin.  I need more Jurados to photograph!

Some folks downtown were kind enough to share their New Years resolutions with me as part of an online photo slideshow for seattleweekly.com.   I picked up a dry erase board from Office Max and hit the streets.  These are some of my favorites.

She was visiting from New Zealand:

Get Ahmed!

Is this lady trying to tell me something?

 

 

Maya & Troy were married at the Ballroom in Fremont, where they initially met over a pint of pumpkin beer years ago.  They were a blast to get to know, as their enthusiasm and passion for adventure is contagious and they are such positive and compassionate people.  The next time you're thinking of trekking to South or Central America, consider hiring Go South Adventures (Troy's company) to take you there. 

Maya got ready with her mom at the Mariott Courtyard Seattle in a vintage silk robe that belonged to her grandmother.

Onto the Ballard Locks to see Troy for the first time...

It was Troy's idea that Maya walk into the Ballroom amid a "sea of champagne glasses". 

Happiness all around!

Troy takes over behind the bar!

Here they are reenacting the moment they met:)

Toasts

Troy went commando with the knife for a bit.

but truly, this couple is as sweet as pie (awww).

Congrats to you both!  I wish you a long happy marriage full of wonderful adventures!

We've finally come around to playing with a Christmas gift from two years ago (sorry mom and dad). Robin has been messing with the Canon ZR600 while the dogs flop around in the backyard. Here are the results of his first shot at editing.

 

 

Despite what it looks like, I'm eating string cheese, not drugs.

I'm super excited by how these are turning out.  It's so obvious they're in love

I woke up this morning after an evening dump (not that kind) and see this guy walking through the snow without a jacket and eating take-out with chopsticks.

Sorry dad, we forgot to take these inside.

 

Now that my parents have left Seattle (With this weather they didn't make it far.  They're holed up in some Oregon hotel & casino till further notice) I'm back at the the computer again cookin it up.  Many weddings to be blogged but I need to stir the others in the hot pot before I can attempt to do justice to their posts.  Busy Biz-y Buzzy.  For a snack you can eat some quick teasers from Molly & Laurie's Guemes Island wedding.  Buen provecho.

 

My parents arrive from California tonight and are staying with us for the week.  I'll be checking email periodically but if you need to reach me asap please call the number on the right. Thanks!

I shot our city's addicts for the Seattle Weekly's online slideshow of people around town.  Full set posted on their site.  Here's a sampling of what I found Saturday morning:

 

 

Call us suckers for a pretty pup.  We adopted Simone's brother last week and christened him Luka. He's a licker, a lover and if you lead, he'll follow you anywhere. He's Cool Hand Luka.  See the heartbreaker at 5 weeks old here.

He & Simone had some off-leash playtime at a fenced field by our house last weekend. It's the unofficial neighborhood dog park. You have to wear wellies though.  The chuck-it can whip up some mean mud on a rainy day.

Robin on leash duty:

Luka:

My temporarily conjoined fraternal twins:

Simone:

Robin takes the camera as I take them to the car:

Thank you to Manorlake Labradoodles for making our two beautiful muffin monsters!