'H' Family

AAAH! I think I am in over my head! I haven't posted on my blog for ages as I am getting ready for company to come into town and then running the Seattle Rock-n-Roll 1/2 marathon this weekend! PLEASE send all your positive energies my way and wish me luck. I would be lying if I said I wasn't REALLY excited too! Now onto some fun pics.
These kids were a BLAST to photograph, we had so much fun! These are two out of my many favorites, I will post more soon.

Opportunity to Help.

The Blog: Here
To Donate: You may donate on-line at PayPal (click on "PayPal" to go to the donation page) or by or by sending a check to:
Vectra Bank
Quebec Square Location
C/O Brett Purdom
3600 Quebec St
Denver CO 80207

The FULL Story: (This is the email we received from our friend Mac Pinski)
To my friends,

Most of you that know me, know that I like to spend my summers in Montana at our family cabin. My mother's side of the family had engraved this ritual into our brains at an early age.


My mother, her sister Bizzy, and her brother Mickey, hauled their families to Montana each summer for an extended stay at the family cabin. As kids, we spent upwards of six weeks each summer swimming, fishing, playing, and anything else that kids can imagine. This time spent together created strong relationships with my first cousins, aunts and uncles, etc... to the extent that they are as much of a part of my immediate family as my mother, father, brothers and sister.


In 2009, we have experienced a number of tragedies that have rocked this family to its core:

* In late March, my Uncle Wayne (Biz's husband) passed away from a battle with prostate cancer. Although his passing was hard on the family, we had prepared ourselves for this event.

* Two weeks later, my Aunt Jackie, (Mick's wife) passed away from a battle with small cell carcinoma, another form of cancer. This too, although tragic, was known and expected.

* Two weeks later, while attending the reception of Jackie's funeral, we received word that Biz passed away from stroke. She had been in the hospital recovering from surgery when the stroke occurred. This news was devastating to my cousin's Wayne and Brett. They had just lost their father a month ago and now their mother had passed away.

* A month later, Brett and Wayne spent Memorial day weekend cleaning out their folks house preparing it for an estate sale. Brett wanted to take a few items home with him to Denver and rented a U-Haul trailer for the trek home. On his way back to Denver, the trailer dislodged from the truck and began swaying back and forth. The momentum flipped his truck while traveling on the highway. Fortunately, his wife Kelly and their kids, Cole (age 3) and Caroline (age 5) were uninjured. Brett, however, suffered a C5/ C6 fracture. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital and surgery was done immediately to realign his spinal cord. At this time he is paralyzed from the chest down.

I spent the past week at or near the hospital, spending each night with him so his wife could get some rest. Tomorrow he is being transferred to Denver and has been admitted to Craig Hospital. He is very fortunate to have been admitted to this hospital as they do not accept every applicant.


Brett is a well known and respected physical therapist in Denver area. He is well connected with the doctors and aids at this hospital as well as the surrounding community and they are anxiously awaiting his arrival tomorrow. Although his recovery has gone well, this family has a long road to travel and the endpoint is still unknown. I was able to view images of the damage to his spinal cord. The doctor compared it to when someone kinks a hose to stop the water from flowing. This injury was very severe.


I returned home over the weekend and have been struggling with how I can assist them while living in Seattle. The only thing I can come up with to share his story with others in hope that all of us together can help this family during this time. Kelly, Brett's wife, is going to be challenged with running their family. She is going to be caring for her husband, working, raising two kids, as well as worrying about all the things that most of us take for granted when running a household.


I realize that most of us are experiencing tough times financially, but I need to ask that if you are in a position to help out the Purdom family, your gift would be greatly appreciated.


Please know that I struggled with sending this email out to each of you. I am not one to turn to others for help, but, I am not sure were else to turn. My hope is that I am able to use the relationships that I have developed over my lifetime to help out a family that is truly in need of some assistance.


I do hope this email finds all of you and your families in good health. Please make sure to take a moment to spend time with them and cherish each moment. Life is very short and should not be taken for granted.


I thank you all for taking the time to listen to my story. Please know that I am upbeat and confident that my cousin is going improve from his current position. He is a strong person and has a fighting spirit.



Donations:

Many of you have asked how to assist financially. While the extent of the need is unknown at this time we appreciate all of your kind thoughts and generosity. If you would like to contribute you may do so 1 of 2 ways.

You may donate on-line at PayPal (click on "PayPal" to go to the donation page) or by or by sending a check to:

Vectra Bank
Quebec Square Location
C/O Brett Purdom
3600 Quebec St
Denver CO 80207

Thank you for all of your thoughts, well wishes and prayers. Your support is greatly appreciated and we are extremely grateful to have such a wonderful and generous circle of family and friends

Thanks!

Mac Pinski

Ballerina Girl

Melain: Part Deux

*M*E*L*A*I*N*

I didn't know how else to title this post, because you may just see this woman's name written in the stars someday. I had the great opportunity to snap some head shots for Melain (she really is a one name star:) She is an incredibly talented person and is likely to have a great music career ahead of her, but in the mean time, we will keep her here so she can keep giving me great hair :) We had SO many great photos to choose from, but I must say this one is my all time favorite. I am sure I will post more in the future. Thanks Melain for such a fun evening and Katrina for the extra set of hands (I may just get used to having an assistant and won't let you go back to college ;)

More fun stuff about Melain. She is an amazing hairstylist and make-up artist. We are talking of teaming up to give you more glamour for your shoots! If you are interested in taking your engagement, head shots, or senior photos to a new level, we will be offering a photo/stylist package, professional hair and make-up to amp up your gorgeous photos. Cool eh?! You never know, we may even get to see her magic worked on me :) Stay tuned...

Welcome Baby Noble!

Wow! This shoot was SO much fun AND easy! This little guy is the definition of chilaxin and handsome. I now see why his Auntie Lisa is smitten. Can you believe he is only 1.5 weeks old?! Check out the gorgeous mural his grandma painted. I could go on forever about this little guy and his family. Truly awesome! Congratulations Rachael an Scott and thank you for a wonderful afternoon.

Another Peek.

Thanks "V Family!" It was a pleasure to work with you guys! I have never seen a dad commit so much to a photo shoot, it was awesome! Who needs an assistant when you have Dad around :) Your children are beautiful and I hope you are as excited as I am about your sneak peek.

I Know How You Feel Little Man...

I'm sure we can all relate to this little guy at one time or another. Poor little man was cutting teeth. I had a great photo shoot this morning and wanted to share my favorite picture so far. There will be more to come (happier too)...

Stupid Right-Click!

I am SO bummed! I mean really bummed! I short while ago I did a photo shoot for a high school drama musical. I spent well over 12 hrs on that shoot from start to finish. I didn't charge the school or club a dime and provided them with a high quality service. The only way I would make anything off of my time was from the prints (which I discounted my prices drastically! AND gave each of them a FREE 5x7) I did receive two orders that I am very grateful for, but things remained really quiet with sales. I got to thinking, "did I right-click protect my gallery?" Sure enough, I checked my settings and I forgot to click that little box! AAAGH! So, still hoping my worst nightmare had not come true, I did a few quick Google searches and VOILA! There were my photos displayed on other's pages without my permission. I think that is called stealing. I was so disappointed, let down, broken hearted, you name it. I did the math and I made $1.42/hr on that shoot. Don't get me wrong, it is NOT about the money. I won't lie, I still had a great time working on that project and can chalk it up to experience. Stupid me and stupid right-click!

Lopez Island

Bet I Can Make You Smile!

Tonight I had the opportunity to assist Wade again. Since it was a small shoot I got to mostly watch and learn. And learn I did (more on that below). But, I did have an opportunity to snap a few shots and I cannot stop smiling every time I look at this little girl. Her mom is a the costume designer for EBT and she gets to practice "ballet stuff" while her mom fits the dancers. She really was the sweetest thing I have ever talked to and had an incredible sense of style! Check out her hair that she did ALL by herself! Yes, there are 20+ bobby pins in her hair. Told you I could make you smile!

Now for a little lesson in studio lighting. I will embarrass myself with this horrible photo to best illustrate my point. Whenever Wade would meter the light, we would get really crazy readings, time after time. I couldn't see anything wrong with what we were doing and Wade was certain his light meter was broken. Upon further investigation, I got a phone call from Wade explaining what he found. His lumisphere was not over the meter's lens, thus messing with the readings. He so nicely sent me this beautiful photo as proof to our mishap. Who said two heads are better than one? (in Wade's defense, he was running the shoot, breaking down language barriers, testing a new camera, playing with new focusing techniques etc. As for me? I've got nothin'! :)

Eastside Arts Education Fair (in color)

I had the opportunity to shoot for the Eastside Arts Education Fair in Bellevue. It was a great event, but what a challenge to shoot! Here are a few samplings of the day.

Eastside Arts Education Fair (in b&w)

Little Shop of Horror Gallery

My gallery is now up and ready to view of Tahoma High's musical. Get comfortable because there are a LOT to view! Check 'em out on my Smugmug page! Enjoy! (click on the word Smugmug and it will get you there)

Feed Me Seymour!

Here is a sneak peak at Tahoma High School's musical, "Little Shop of Horrors." These kids have really done a great job on the show. I took over 1000 photos during their rehearsal and backstage. I will have my edited picks up to view shortly on my Smugmug gallery. Stay tuned! To see the show live, head to Tahoma Middle School on May 1st. Break a leg guys!