Party with a Camera

For the second year in a row, we served as the Santa Photographer for Providence Health in Renton. We printed over 200 images in three hours as family after family came in to see Santa and enjoy the annual Christmas Gala put on by Providence.

Here I go my moment with Santa!

One of the most heartwarming shoots we have ever done was inside a hangar at Sea-Tac International Airport. Delta Airlines and the YMCA teamed up to give some under privileged kids a rare view of corporate kindness. About 120 kids were brought to the airport and put on a plane. They were then taxied from one location to one of Delta's Hangars where crews spent days building a Christmas Village. The Delta crew had so much fun welcoming and hosting these kids!

One of the things I love about this business is how every client, every venue and motivation to have a party is different! Take Pam and Bruce from Yogabug Real Estate in Portland. They had an informal gathering of about 30 to 40 current and former clients of their Real Estate business for the holidays. One would have to ask if there is ever a former client in real estate, like photography. It is all about relationships. Pam and Bruce have a gift!

 For three hours we watched the two of them greet their clients, They met each one with a hug and genuine affection; They offered them food and drink and circulated the room and visited with genuine interest. My editor Jared and I interacted with the clients and we feltl like we have some new friends too! I may buy a camera body from one. Our favorite story was a man and son who had just moved to Portland from Buffalo, New York. He could...he did because he could work from home. An adventure to be had!

 At first they were shy abou...

We have been the photographer at Equine events, but rodeo and bull riding has eluded us until this last weekend. We were guests at the Lazy HK Bar Rodeo Ranch where a regular bull riding event is held. In fact, there is an entire winter series of bull riding events at the facility over the next few months.

For us, this was an experiment. Our hosts encouraged us to set up our green screen and see if many of the several hundred fans in attendance would want a photo. Unfortunately, a key prop (in the form of a bull that visitors could sit upon ) was picked up earlier in the day and was unavailable. Regardless, we were prepared with a number of ranch, barn and holiday backdrops to use behind the rodeo fans on site. 

The big photography story of the night was clearly the drama of bull riding. Cowboys and bulls with a undaunted and nasty dispositions make for great action photography. I hope that some day, I will have that kind of access on a right sunny day rather than on a dark November nigh...

One of the things I love about this job is that every shoot, every venue is different but full of great people and stories. For the first time in church history, the youth group of the Light to the World Evangelical Church, just spitting distance from Highway 18 in Auburn, host a "Couples Night" for the communities married pairs. 

We were invited to set up our photo booth and take pictures of the beautifully dressed couples in what was meant to be a very formal night. The theme of the night was "An Evening in Paris" so we used some backdrops that featured iconic scenes of the City of Paris. Ironically, there was just as much Russian spoken as English in this community while we were in Paris.

 After we finished the first round of pictures with all of the beautiful dresses and suits, we grabbed the props and let the guests play!

 This was such an impressive event that was planned and executed by high school and college aged members of the church youth group. Dinner was served, child care pr...

During the month of December, GAP Photography has been booking events like crazy. Our new clients include Delta Airlines, John L. Scott, Home Depot, and Intel. All of these parties take us to either Seattle or Portland, but two events will have us stay right here in Lewis County.

On Saturday, November 26th, we have been invited to the Lazy HK Bar Rodeo for one of their winter series Bull riding and after party events! GAP Photography will be taking some great action shots of the bull riding and have the green screen set up for the party. We will be offering action prints on site in addition to the party photos in front of the green screen. We will have 4 X 6 prints at $3.00 or 2/$5.00. All photos will be available for purchase as prints and digital copies at www.gapphoto.biz

Special thanks to Chris and Harlan at the Lazy HK Bar Rodeo Ranch for inviting us out. Perhaps this will become a regular partnership in 2017!

Speaking of regular partnerships, We are going in with our frien...

I make it no secret that the crew that puts together the annual Movember fundraiser is one of my favorite of the year. This years event was held at the fabulous Woodmark Hotel on the waterfront in Kirkland. Our hosts, Jason and Tamara Joyce have a special party each November to raise awareness to various men's cancer and men's health. Jason lost his dad to prostrate cancer seven years ago and uses the event to honor his father. For the first time, Jason's mother attended the event while visiting from Florida.

Note that the color purple plays a major role in many of these photos. It was one of the main colors in the theme of this years event.

 Jason on the right, Tamera on the left and his mother (clearly in charge) in between!

 This was the second event of the day with a magician. That is Jason playing Harry Potter and the magician Xakary behind.

 The Joyce's and some of their best friends.

 As one of his magic tricks, Xakary cut out a "snowflake-like design and presented it to Tamera and J...

This last Saturday turned out to be a very busy day and evening for us! We had booked the Movember fundraiser months ago, but we we found a gentleman that was looking for a photobooth for a Fall Harvest Masquerade party on Mercer Island. The party was for some Swedish Hospital employees and their families (we will not show pictures of young children on our blog!). After dealing with Interstate 90 traffic (the tolls on 520 are looking more appetizing) we found ourselves playing with some great people in fun costumes.

Because we were already in the Seattle area for another shoot, we were able to give our new clients a significant discount. Bless their hearts, they rewarded us with a very nice gratuity!

 This particular gig was booked just 18 hours before the party started. We were able to put together a variety of digital backdrops that specifically fit the event's theme. Here are a few sample photos from the party.

 The party also included a magician that wowed the audience and allowed us...

This was me in 2014. This year I am sporting the real thing. Check back for a look!

We are headed to Kirkland on Saturday to do a fundraiser for some old friends. Each year, they hold a small fundraiser for "Movember", an annual event involving the growing of mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of various cancers, such as prostate or testicular cancer. Men should be involved in encouraging other men to participate in activities that increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments. The goal is to ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths. The Movember Foundation also encourages men to be aware of family history that may have an effect on their own lives.

As someone that was adopted, I have had to be much more involved in learning about my health as a middle aged man. This week, many in my life has been asking why I am suddenly sporting a mustache. It becomes a good teachable moment!

Here are a few images from my pre green sc...

We were hired for one of our more challenging and specific jobs on Saturday, October 29th. Our hosts invited us to their home in Northeast Seattle for a space themed Halloween party and set us up in their library, a room of about 12 X 12 feet. This was some of the smallest space that we have ever worked in. We were asked to create and print two 3 X 4 prints. One would be used for an I.D. badge and the second would be placed on a big board where all of the party guests could reference the picture and vote for the best costume of the night. As the night went on, we realized that each couple needed a photo together so we added that addition with no extra charges!

Our hosts Red and Edwin. Edwin was wearing a lime green body suit that is a challenge against a green screen! Here are some of our other favorite costumes from the evening.

 This couple was showing off their carved pumpkin which happened to be another contest at the event.

 These two were a couple of my favorites...