Savvy Images Engagement Photo Featured

Another Surprise in Alaska

Engagements

A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to participate in and photograph another surprise in Alaska. This time, it was our friends, Blake and Sarah’s surprise engagement!! If you’re familiar with Alaska, or had the chance to see our maternity photo session recently, you probably recognize this beautiful spot. It may be a bit touristy, but it’s the first place they hung out together, so there couldn’t be a more perfect location for their proposal. And come on, I could take photos there every day of the week and never tire of the incredible 360 views. To keep Sarah preoccupied for the day, Blake sent us for a much needed day at the spa. *AHmazing may I add* When I dropped her back off at home, there was a note for her to get ready because a limo would be picking her up soon. They were going to swing by and pick up Blake from a friend’s house, so they could head to Girdwood, Alaska for a late lunch. Sarah had no idea what was going on, but just thought Blake was being sweet after she’d surprised him with a quick birthday getaway to Vancouver the weekend before. Little did she know that he was nervously waiting up atop a mountain for her. She started to get a bit suspicious when the limo driver handed her an iPad with a video montage from all her friends and family. Once she arrived, the driver directed her up the walkway to find Blake. I was tucked inconspicuously behind several tourists and a wall of large rocks with my long camera lens. The weather could not have been more perfect, and luckily there wasn’t too many folks up there at that time. He grabbed her hand and led her over towards the mountains. You’re seeing these photos, so you can imagine her answer. ;-) If not, then you can see her shock and excitement in the photos below. Even though his back was to me when he went down on one knee, I pulled out some photog ninja skills to discretely make my way across the open area on top of the mountain without drawing any attention to myself. What an amazing backdrop to capture such a special moment!! In the photos below, you can see when Sarah finally notices that I was there. Haha. She didn’t expect a proposal anytime soon, and she certainly didn’t expect that I would be in on it, since we were just together. Everything worked out perfectly for them, and then of course we had to take some proper engagement photos! Beautiful, Stunning, Picturesque. I was so excited to be a part of “Project Blindside” and couldn’t be more excited for them. What an exciting way to start a new adventure together!Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Oops…. BUSTED. Haha!!
Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images - Surprise Proposal - Destination Photographer

Savvy Images Family Photo featured

Alaska to Texas Sendoff Session

Families, Pets

This family photo session was supposed to be the last I did in Alaska before moving back to Texas. Given each of the drastically different perceptions about Alaska and Texas (igloos and penguins vs tractors and horses), I thought that this was the perfect send off session. Horses in Alaska!! If you read my last blog about the BIG surprise following our maternity photo session, then you know it didn’t exactly work out that way. And that’s okay. Everything worked out just as is should. Then, and for their session also. We were down to the wire scheduling their family photo session, and it happened to be the coldest day of Anchorage’s mild Alaskan winter. ;-) Thank goodness they had a rustic barn for us to utilize for their session! Don’t get me wrong, it was still really cold, as the barn isn’t heated and it was NEGATIVE two degrees outside. You may be able to see the little miss below rocking some hand warmers in the photos, and that was just fine with all of us. She was able to warm her fingers to make the session a little more bearable, and it’s a sneaky little reminder of just how flippin’ cold it was that day. Those and her cute, red little nose! After all, it is Alaska. In their charming Alaskan barn, they had several beautiful horses trying to stay warm, so we just had to include one in their photos. With all the furbabies you may have seen in my photos, I’m sure you can tell that I’m a huge fan of including family pets in your photo session! Even if they have hooves instead of paws. But of course we had to include the newest fur baby additions also. Major cuteness overload with three pretty ladies, a stunning horse and all those cuddly puppies! I’m so excited to finally share their beautiful photos with all of you.

Savvy Images Pet Photos in Texas

Savvy Images Pet Photos in Texas

Savvy Images Pet Photos in Texas

Savvy Images Pet Photos in Texas

Savvy Images Pet Photos in Texas

Savvy Images Pet Photos in Texas

Savvy Images Family Photo Feature

Snowy Fur Child Session

Families, Pets

I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to photograph this cute family and their fur child twice now, and I’m even more blessed to call them friends! You may remember this sassy pup and her sister from their bittersweet photo session, and their awesome dad from his real estate portrait session last year. Also, if you didn’t make the connection, he is the incredibly talented person that took our super cute pregnancy announcement photos not too long ago. ;-) I can’t tell you how much we are going to miss them when we move back to Texas!! It’s so nice to have reliable friends that both my husband and I get along so well with. We all went to dinner last week, and the time flewwww by because we were all having such a good time chatting it up. It was really nice that they also loved to get out and embrace Alaska when possible. I just wish we could have coordinated our chaotic schedules to all adventure around Alaska more together while we were here! I must say that it’s a huge bonus to hang out with people that inspire you to be better at what you love. This photo session was by far my coldest to date here in Alaska! Thank goodness even Miss Apun was a trooper, for the most part. She let us know when she’d had enough. Haha. We toughed thru the harsh conditions and I’m SO glad that we were able to capture lots of cute family snow photos. Having all those for them to proudly display in their home for years to come was definitely worth the chill. ;-)

Fur Child Session - Savvy Images - Unique Pet Photos

Fur Child Session - Savvy Images - Unique Pet Photos

Fur Child Session - Savvy Images - Unique Pet Photos

Fur Child Session - Savvy Images - Unique Pet Photos

Anchorage Alaska Reindeer Run Savvy Images

Travel Tuesday • Running of the Reindeer

Travel

Like last week’s Travel Tuesday, this week is about an experience, as opposed to an actual place. It’s about the annual Running of the Reindeer that takes place in Anchorage! Haha… Yes, such a thing actually exists! This annual event is part of the Fur Rondy Festival, and is clearly a wacky spin off of the much more dangerous event that takes place annually in Pamplona, Spain. After participating in the running of the bulls a couple years ago, my husband couldn’t resist the opportunity to also run with the REINDEER, while living here in Alaska. Thousands of people (including me) lined the streets to watch the chaos. I can’t say that I’ve ever witnessed anything quiet like it..lol. They started the run off with some fun live Music by Alaska’s infamous Hobo Jim. At one end of the street downtown, they gather all the runners and several male reindeers, and they get them to run by having one hot-momma of a female reindeer at the other end of the street. Not sure about that, but I guess it works!? Haha. You can tell from the photos below, that the street conditions aren’t exactly ideal for running, but they made the most of all the many truckloads of snow that they brought in for the day. This event makes for some GREAT people watching because some people really go ALL out with the crazy costumes. Most of them made no sense at all, but hey, neither does running with reindeer! There are four different ‘herds’ that run: guys, girl, groups, non-AK residents. I was really surprised how many people we came across that actually came to Alaska just to run with the Reindeer. Good for them for having and conquering super fun bucket list items! What’s life anyway, if you can’t have some random fun every once in a while?!Running of the Reindeer - Savvy Images - Travel Tuesday

Savvy Images Family Photo

Colorful Family Photos

Families, Kids

This mom and I crossed paths many times since we each moved to Alaska, and I always got excited when she expressed an interested in having new family photos taken. She had a go-to photographer back in New Orleans, but since moving, it had been several years since they’d had family photos taken. Because of the recent news that we were going to move back to Texas, her busy life with the three cute little ones below, and the crap conditions Mother Nature has presented Anchorage with this winter, I was afraid that it would never happen. But I’m VERY happy to be sharing their colorful family photos with you guys today, because clearly it did! We all know that life gets busy, and it’s SO easy to put things like getting new family photos taken put on the back burner. Completely understandable! But you also have to keep in mind that those cute little scrunchy noses grow up quickly, and the memories that pass can no longer be preserved. Though the conditions were not what either of us had in mind for their great “Alaskan” photo session, I think it turned out beyond perfect for them! We didn’t wait on the perfect moment, we MADE the moment perfect. Heck, I even found twenty dollars frozen in the thawing ice while checking out this spot for their session. This is actually a pretty popular spot to have photos taken here in Anchorage, and I’m so glad that I saved it for one of my final photo sessions. Seriously, I don’t think I could imagine a more perfect backdrop for all their fun colorful winter coats! During their session their mom also mentioned that because of the teal bridge, these photos will actually coordinate very well with the last family photos that they had taken in New Orleans! I just LOVE when a session works out perfectly for my clients. Their family session album will be the perfect way to show off those silly little laughs for years to come!Colorful Family Photos - Savvy Images

Colorful Family Photos - Savvy Images

Colorful Family Photos - Savvy Images

Colorful Family Photos - Savvy Images

Anchorage Alaska Iditarod Featured - Savvy Images

Travel Tuesday • The Iditarod

Travel

This month I had the opportunity to take photos behind the scenes at the ceremonial start of the 2015 Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Know as ‘The Last Great Race on Earth’, and most popular sporting event in Alaska, it’s an annual long distance sled dog race that takes place here in Alaska in early March. Originating in the 70’s and linked to the early traditions of the state, normally it would start in Willow and end in Nome, around two weeks and almost a thousand miles later. But (shocking) this year they actually had to move the start about 300 miles north, to Fairbanks. The race actually started on March 7th at 10am, but the Ceremonial Start took place on the 5th. Thousands of people line the streets of downtown Anchorage to see the mushing teams parade by, as they prepare for the big race. The city actually had to bring in over 500 truck loads of snow to fill the streets, so they could even have this event this year! SO, for all my readers down in the Lower 48 who don’t know much about any of this (I didn’t before moving to Alaska), right now there are almost SEVENTY mushers (people guiding sleds) completely powered by up to 16 small sled dogs, mushing their way north thru whatever conditions they come across. Encountering possible blizzards white-outs, frozen water, rough mountain passes, and even subzero temperatures/windchill are all common. Can we say INTENSE!? Every year, my husbands company sponsors the (in my opinion) best possible Musher candidate out there! DeeDee Jonrowe (Yes, a WOMAN). A sixty one year old breast cancer survivor AND sixteen time top ten Iditarod finisher (who has 33 races under her belt)!! I have no words for that. Being behind the scenes to see the dogs and DeeDee getting geared up was such an incredible experience. As you can tell in the photos, it was pure organized chaos. She works so closely and thoroughly with all the dogs on her team, that she knows them all by name, as well as ALL the little intricate details about EACH of their personalities. They may be smaller than I would have thought, but they have huge personalities! That’s A LOT of love to give to all those cute dogs, and it was clear to me that she definitely had more than enough to go around. Plus, each dog on the team has a handler that takes great care of them. These dogs are incredibly high energy working dogs, born and bred to pull sleds. It was crazy to see how chill they were, UNTIL they were connected to the sled towline. Their excitement was BEYOND me. They were SO eager to get to racing. Barking and jumping up and down with crazy intense looks on their faces. The energy is unexplainable, and not easy to put into words. Traveling almost a thousand miles by sled dog, sounds unrealistic, but there are check points located along the route, where the mushers and their dogs stop to eat and sleep. DeeDee is currently in 32nd place, but has crazy determination, and MANY folks all over Alaska routing for her! The current leader is Dallas Seavey, last year’s Iditarod winner, a third generation Musher, and the youngest person to ever compete in and win the Iditarod (at 25!). He also holds the record for fastest time, of 8 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes, and 19 seconds. Unbelievable! I can’t wait to see how The Last Great Race turns out this year!Iditarod Ceremonial Start 2015 - Savvy Images - Travel Tuesday

2015 Iditarod Map

Saint Arnold Brewery Photo Shoot Savvy Images

Travel Tuesday • Saint Arnold Brewery

Travel

For those of you that had a chance to read last week’s Travel Tuesday post, the sneaky skyline photo of Houston was taken on the rooftop of the Saint Arnold Brewery! Last spring I was sent there on an assignment by Edible Austin Magazine to take photos for a magazine article they were publishing. Not a bad gig, if I say so myself. If you would like, you can read that article online and see some of the photos by clicking here. I had the opportunity to meet, photograph and talk with the founder, Brock Wagner, and was excited to discover that he’s a really cool guy! But I would say that you’d have to be, in order to come up with such a great craft beer and brewery. I’d been to Saint Arnold once before with my boyfriend (now husband) and friends. We did one of their weekend brewery tasting tours, so I knew a little about what I was getting myself into. But this time, I got to see it all…even the making in action. I learned WAY more about the craft beer making process than I ever thought possible. I knew it was good stuff already, but now I understood why! Just in time to wrap everything up by happy hour, with a nice frosty beverage, overlooking the busy skyline of Houston. I’m sure you guys can understand that I had to make SURE it was still good stuff!? ;-) From what I understand (for obvious safety reasons), not just anyone is allowed to go up onto the roof, so I’m very excited to have had the opportunity. It was a pretty amazing way to end a very cool photo shoot. Have I mentioned lately, just how much I love what I do!? If you haven’t visited the Saint Arnold Brewery, you should definitely make time to do so this spring. And if you live in Houston, you just might be excited to hear that Edible HOUSTON will soon be published on a magazine rack near you soon!Travel Tuesday - Savvy Images - Saint Arnold Brewery - Houston Texas

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Savvy Images Fitness Photos Featured

Core Pilates Studio Anchorage

Portraits

This blog post isn’t about showing off beautiful photos, as much as it is a raving review for Core Pilates Studio, here in Anchorage. I joined Core not too much longer after we moved here in the summer of 2013, and can’t speak highly enough about them! After all my many years of cheer and dance, running doesn’t work out well on my knees, and I just can’t handle the slow pace of (most) yoga classes. My goal was to find a fitness facility nearby, that offered a variety of classes at different intensity levels, that I LOVED. I mean, we all know that when it’s dark and freezing out, you really need to love your workout as much as possible to keep motivated and committed. After trying several places around town, Core Pilates unanimously won my heart. I’ll be honest, a membership there is not cheap, but I can say without a SHADOW of a doubt, that it is worth EVERY penny. There are THREE things that I contribute my (mostly) smooth pregnancy to… my Snoogle pregnancy pillow, my incredibly supportive husband, and Core Pilates! In no particular order, of course. ;-) I’m 100% confident that keeping my core strong, has everything to do with feeling so good (and aligned) as my baby belly takes over. Did I mention that they have wonderful Massage Therapists on hand also!? Major perk for my aching back there. The folks at Core REALLY know their stuff. They don’t just tell you what to do, they show you AND they make sure you understand WHY it’s best done that way. With my sporadic knee issues, the instructors always have great modifications ready when I need them. And even more recently (even pretty early in my pregnancy), they have been BEYOND wonderful with even more extensive modifications as my body changes. Being high risk, I never in a million years would have thought I would be ‘working out’ in my third trimester, but they make that possible. Now, almost everything I that I do in the classes I attend is modified, BUT I’m keeping active at an intensity level that’s best for me. That alone confirms they kick A$$. Lets be clear, they are certainly not brain readers, so you HAVE to communicate with each of them to get the best out of your workout and membership. Be sure to let them know that a) you are new and/or just need clearer instruction b) you have an injury and/or would like a modification c) an exercise doesn’t feel right for some reason d) you just straight up have constructive feedback on something they’re doing in class. There isn’t an instructor on the payroll there that isn’t always pushing themselves and their clients to do their best. Just another reason that I’m sad to be leaving Anchorage! I can imagine that it’s going to be so hard to find a new studio that I love this much in Houston. Seriously, they’re so awesome, that I’ve actually even become friends with several of them. I’ve had the opportunity to photograph their studio and lovely staff over the past couple of months, and I wanted to take a few minutes to brag on them! Some of them are showing off some of their more difficult moves in the photos below, so if you have NO clue what Pilates is, I assure you it’s not that intimidating at all. ;-) If you live anywhere near south Anchorage, and are looking for a new work out, definitely check Core Pilates out soon. You can find a list and description of their classes here, and they even offer a free beginners intro class at 9am on Saturdays. Be sure to try all the many different classes out. Once you figure out which one’s you love, you can get signed up for them online or with their handy app in advance. Just as they should, the good classes fill up quickly. ;-)

Savvy Images - Core Pilates Studio Photos Anchorage

Savvy Images - Core Pilates Studio Photos Anchorage

Savvy Images - Core Pilates Studio Photos Anchorage

Dorman Senior Featured

Say Hello to Carley • Houston Professional Photographer

Seniors

You might remember seeing this beauty’s “sneak peek” on the Savvy Images Facebook fan page several months ago… Well she just happens to be my beautiful niece Carley! I was so glad that we got the chance to hang out and take photos one evening right before I left Texas. It’s safe to say that she was a complete natural. It’s been so cool to see her blossom over the years. What a stunning (as I like call her) little momma! My sister and her hubby better keep a close eye on her! And if they can’t, I’m confident that both of her little brothers are sure to try their best. LOL ;-) I love all of them very much! Savvy Images Carley Photos

Savvy Images Carley Photos

Savvy Images Senior Photos

Savvy Images Carley Photos


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