Christmas in the Northwest

Last weekend, Mindy and I spent the day with a bunch college friends at a cabin at Mount Baker. We went on a hike in the rain, then came back to the cabin for chili bread bowls, boardgames, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It was a great escape from holiday busyness.

Merry Christmas from Toby!

He hates this hat. As soon as we put it on him, he does this weird sideways-backup-crouch maneuver in an attempt to peel it off. It is absolutely hilarious. Poor guy.

Ashley and Ryan

I've mentioned before that this last summer I had the great opportunity to work with and learn from Michèle M. Waite. She's a very talented wedding photographer based here in Bellingham. Just the other day I received some shots I captured while I was working an October wedding with her. Here are just three of the highlights from Ashley and Ryan's day.

The Montes Sisters

Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time with Lindsay Montes (our BCS 4th grade teacher) and her sisters. We had a great time and captured some really fun shots. Seriously, as I was editing through the hundreds of versions I shot, I couldn't believe how many pictures showed all four sisters completely cracking up! It was great for portraits, but also really cool to see such a close family. Here are just a couple from our day.

The DeYoung Family

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I'm just finishing this post as Mindy and I get ready to head out the door and travel down I-5 to stay with my family. We're looking forward to a great long weekend. But enough about me.

This was the second time I've had the honor of taking the DeYoung family's pictures, and it was a delight. I get to see all of their kids in the halls at BCS this year, and I always love getting to interact with kids as a photographer as opposed to a teacher. Here are some shots from our afternoon together.

I can't tell you how many family portrait sessions I have been to where the kids at the end break into a spontaneous stick fight. For the record: these are not supposed to be cute pictures. This is stick fighting, and cute just doesn't cut it. No, these pictures are "cool". These pictures are warrior pictures.