While waiting for a friend at Grand Central Station, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a couple standing out in the midst of the busy station. They were holding each other. Saying words so lovely that typing them would be a disgrace. Longing to be right there, where they were now, in the moment.

It was clear that one of them was leaving on a trip, but I couldn’t tell which, and both looked equally distressed at the thought of time without one another. I knew a last kiss was coming. Even from quite some distance away, its approach was heavy in the air.

I pulled my camera from my bag as quickly as possible, not realizing what I was doing. Steady. Glance. Click. It was instinct, not any sort of plan, that resulted in one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken.

I’d love to know who this couple are, and I’ve since tried using Twitter and Facebook to find them, but to no avail. I am not giving up though. I truly believe with everyone’s help, I can find them. So please help me. Tweet about it, Facebook post it, anything you can do to help.

The photo might mean nothing to them compared to the memory they share, but they should know how much it means to me.

For a larger version, click here.  I also found a photo of this couple that I took right before the kiss where you can somewhat see the guy’s face.

Let’s see, Hannah and I go way back – her oldest brother, Matt, was my roommate, one of my best friends, and the best man at my wedding (as I was the best man at his wedding).  His beautiful and generous family pretty much “adopted” me; I spent most of Spring break, Fall break, Thanksgiving and/or Christmas with them during my college years and more.  Hannah, to say the least, is a sister to me – there was no way I would’ve said no to her request.

The session went as expected and more – the weather was beautiful and the set was gorgeous.  Hopefully these photos will do them justice.

Hannah and Trent, congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

On the second day we were there, we got the chance to visit the Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali.  It was quite an experience – a huge protected forest with so many monkeys!  People had told us crazy stories about how the monkeys have attacked people before, so we were being pretty cautious navigating through the area.  We had walked for about 20 minutes when we saw little baby monkeys climbing up trees, running around chasing each other, and just being little baby monkeys – 10-day old baby monkeys to be precise.  Their parents hung around close to keep an eye on them.  I had my camera out and started taking pictures then I saw something that meant so much to me – a little baby monkey and its parent.  I quickly took a shot and caught this precious moment before the baby monkey ran away.

The shot above meant a lot to me because, if you didn’t know, Lindsay and I are expecting our first child in a few weeks.  In fact, she was about 8 or 10 weeks pregnant when we were in Indonesia.  The way the big monkey just sits there looking up, while the baby monkey is holding tight to it … it’s just so powerful to me.  I told Lindsay that I want a big print of that shot in our daughter’s bedroom to let her know that I thought of her when I took this photo.

Our friends have told us what it’s like being parents: the lack of sleep and the stress, the dirty laundry and the messy house, the list goes on.  I also have great parents whom I look up to and will be learning a lot from.  But I believe that no examples or stories can prepare anyone for being parents.  To think that in a few weeks I will have this sweet little baby girl to take care of and love on makes me feel so overwhelmingly joyful and blessed and I can’t imagine how much more I’ll feel when she is actually here.

I don’t know how to raise a child; not yet at least.  But what I do know is that Lindsay and I will raise her the best we can, that we will take care of her no matter what, that when we drop her off at kindergarten, when we send her off to college, when she has her first heartbreak or when I walk her down the aisle, she will have no doubt that she’s been loved and loved well.

Aven Clara, you are wanted and your Mama and Papa love you so much (even before you were born).

So, Tristine’s wedding is happening this weekend, July 31st and we did this engagement shoot last Friday, July 23rd.  The reason for it is because Tristine’s fiance, Tim, has been away for work in Afghanistan.  He had just returned, I believe, a few weeks ago.  They picked Cathedral Park for the shoot location because their first date was the Portland Bridge Pedal.  Pretty sweet, right?!

Anyways, it was so much fun getting to know Tim and Tristine during their engagement session. From the way they interacted, we could tell that they were so madly in love with each other. They are both witty, funny, and very intelligent.  Tristine told us that they’d need some time to warm up to the “paparazzis”, but boy, was she joking  :-)  They looked absolutely comfortable in front of the camera.

Tim and Tristine, we can’t wait for this Saturday.  Until then, hope you enjoy these photos as much as we do.

P.S. View more of their photos on Facebook by clicking here.

Will, Lindsey, Riley Maddux, and Kayden, hope you guys like the photos as much as I do!

Gayla met Mick while she went on an outback trip in Australia and Mick was the trip guide. I am not sure how they met to be exact, but Mick was so smittened that he flew to the US to be close to her. Mick and Gayla got married and had 2 kids, Jack and Ben, until a few months ago when they adopted Laila Abeba from Ethiopia! You can read more of her adoption story here: http://3continents1fam.blogspot.com/

Hopefully from these photos you can see how well the Gowers got along with Laila and how much Laila is already a part of her new family. You can also check out more photos on Facebook.

Gayla, we love your family so much! Can’t wait to see you all again.

The more we got to know Felix and Jessica during their engagement session and more so at their wedding, the more we are convinced that they are really fun couple.  The wedding ceremony and reception was set at Skamania Lodge.  It had been raining in the morning so we were getting worried.  Fortunately, the sun came out during the ceremony and the rain held off until the evening!  For the weather we’ve been having in Portland, that’s kind of a big deal.  And boy, was it a great wedding!

Check out a few of the photos and a slideshow at the end of this post to see the awesomeness of the wedding.

P.S. speaking of “being friends with clients”, my lovely wife and assistant, Lindsay, panicked when we were on our way to the wedding because “oh my gosh, we forgot to bring a present!”.   Yep, we really enjoyed Felix and Jessica that much.

Watch the slideshow:

Church: Zion Lutheran Church
Reception: Gracie’s at Hotel DeLuxe
Videographer: Focal Point Digital Media
Flowers: Goose Hollow Gardens
Design: Lindsey [Bride]
Coordination: Champagne Wedding & Event Coordination
Entertainment: Mobile Music Entertainment
Cake: La Jaconde
Stationery: Lindsey [Bride]
Hair and Makeup: Austie Eckley

Farmers Market

Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory with LA skyline

Santa Monica Pier

Miniature Santa Monica Beach

The love of my life

Panoramic shot of LA.  Click on image to view a larger size.