Summer Camp - Talent Show Stars

At the camp they also had a talent show in which two students just rocked the house. Armani and Stephen did an amazing rap with the band playing behind them.

I love this photo of Armani!




Stephen

Summer Camp Scavenger Hunt

I was invited to come and photograph at a summer camp a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't resist. I knew it would be a fun time. Here are some of the photos from their scavenger hunt. There are many more photos so I'll post more later.

Keeping track of the list


Some of the students deliberating about what they should find next.


Item 1 - Get two shoes from other campers and wear their socks...no thanks!


Item 2 - A toenail clipping from a counselor. He's working on it for them.




Item 3 - write a poem about camp and read it to a counselor




Having fun no matter how far behind they are


Chris enjoying Item 4 - Bring a counselor a slushie. Who writes these things?


Some of the fun counselors:







All of the students were having a blast!

Loving my Wacom

After the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International conference this year I decided that I needed to get a new toy to help get me excited about sitting in front of a computer for retouching. I've passed along all of my general editing to my super fabulous editor, Sarah, but I really wanted to start doing some special editing for our portraits and large print pieces. So I decided to pick up a Wacom tablet that acts like a digital paint brush in Photoshop. It's been amazing!

It's definitely help excited me when it comes to editing images and it has allowed me to be creative in new areas.

So, how many of you wonderful photographers have realized the wonders of tablets?

Hog Riding Dog

I believe this was the first time that I have seen a dog riding on the back of a motorcycle. The goggles are a great touch!

Have you guys seen anything like this before?

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at the Gruene Hall

Saturday night I headed to the Gruene Hall here in New Braunfels, TX to see a great Arizona band. Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers were great. You could tell they loved playing in small venues where they can play for hours.









Their new album Turbo Ocho is wonderful and is available in iTunes.


I stuck around for 2 1/2 hours of their show but it wouldn't surprise me if they played for at least another hour.

The JT Pal Award

One of the funniest things that I received before moving was an old award that we would hand out when I worked at Starbucks. For those of you who don't know, my last name is Pals and of course I get the "You're a pal!" joke all the time. So in honor of my name there was an award created at our store that would be passed from one recipient to the next. There were no real rules for when the award would be passed along so it was always a surprise when it would show up in someone's box with a little note.

And in honor of my leaving I was awarded the JT Pal Award!


The award always included an undisclosed amount of change.


Watch out because one of you former Starbucks employees might just be getting the award passed along to you.

Goodbyes

As I was busy packing for the move I was also able to enjoy seeing so many of my great friends before I left. Thanks to all of you for coming to wish me a good move. I'll be back often, I promise!

We had a few of the gatherings at one of my favorite restaurants and the best place in town for fish and chips, Rula Bula!

Tea Time in Britain

Matt and I enjoyed tea time in our hotel today because we missed it while we were going through the British Museum.






We're staying at the Thistle Hyde Park Hotel which is next to the beautiful Hyde Park.

Country Thunder Weekend in AZ

It was Country Thunder weekend here in AZ. Some friends had a couple extra tickets so I headed out to Florence, AZ Friday night to hang out with them.

The headline band was Sugarland, and they were great on stage!

John Fogerty also played earlier in the evening and he is an amazing guitarist that has some great hits.

I love this shot of John Fogerty with the silhouettes of two cowboy hats on either side of him.

Sorry about the fuzzy photos, my friend Amanda graciously allowed me to use her point and shoot camera all night long because mine is currently out of commission.

Fun in the Booth

Anybody Get Motion Sick?

Regis didn't look like he was feeling so well when we hopped on the roller coaster today.

So then he decided that to jump off of the ride and find his own way home. Happy sailing to you!

Actually, we roamed through the Apple store at the South Coast Plaza while we waited for his brakes to be replaced.

The Day of Proposals, Part One

Today I have the pleasure of photographing two proposals. This morning Kyle surprised Shannon at work. Although Shannon unknowingly gave Kyle the run-around by not showing up where he was hoping she would be. He finally met her at one of the bridges at the Phoenician Resort where both of them work.



Kyle had also planned for Shannon's parents and a bunch of their co-workers to join them in celebrating at a nearby cabana.



Showing off the ring and still very surprised.


The newly engaged couple!


I have another engagement that I'll be photographing tonight so expect to see Part Two later on this evening or tomorrow.

The Watsons

We all woke up today to a wintry -8 degrees this morning here in Flagstaff, Arizona. So after it finally raised beyond 20 degrees we headed to the back yard for some family photos.

Here is the whole Watson family.
(L-R) Todd, Kiefer, Elisa, and the newest addition Cooper.


Kiefer enjoyed playing in the snowy backyard.


And it was even better when dad made it snow!


Elisa and Cooper


Kiefer and dad making it snow.


It was a fun morning at the Watson household.


All of these photos taken with a handy-dandy Canon Rebel XT.

I head back down to the Phoenix valley tomorrow which will be crazy with the Super Bowl and the FBR Open both going on.

First Day in NYC

Erin and Scot met in New York City and so it was only fitting for us to all fly out there for their engagement session. Ardon and Missy, their friends joined us as well.
The first night in NY we took some photos in Times Square. There is so much light around that you don't even need a flash.



I love this one. They weren't sure what to do so they just started laughing. And the cabs were driving on either side of them for a great photo.


We went out to dinner to the Blue Water Grill with some of Erin's friends from NY. One of Erin's friends, Linda, was celebrating her birthday that evening (26th) and my birthday was on the 27th so the night was filled with celebrations.

Missy was not feeling well so she missed out on all of the fun. We moved the party over to the Flatiron Lounge for the rest of the night.

Scot, Erin, Ardon (aka Shiloh) and me!


Erin, Linda (birthday girl), me (birthday boy) and Candice.


We woke up the next morning to start our adventure around the city to capture some great engagement photos. More photos coming to the blog soon.

Thanks for Your Cards!

I was gathering all of the Christmas cards that we received this last season and I just wanted to thank all of you for sending us one. It's great to see all of the wonderful photos of your families. It was a surprise for me to see my own face on Pictage's card this year.

Of course I love it when my own clients send us a card with one of my photos on it!

For those of you that did not receive our card this year, here is the design. And be sure to send us your address so that you will get one next year.

Front


Inside

Hello from Allyson

I just received a nice photo in my email box from Allyson today. Allyson and her husband Rich are up in Hume Lake, CA working for Hume Lake Christian Camps which is where I used to attend for summer camp.



It looks nice and chilly!

Latest Trip to Texas

I've been going to Texas often now that Heather (album designer and sister) and her husband moved to New Braunfels, TX.

I was out there a week ago and had a great time in between the work. The city had their big seasonal Wassailfest celebration. There were 50 wassail stops by local groups where you would get a sample and then you would vote at the end of the night for the best wassail.



A little holiday music to help the wassail go down.


Mmm...Brat in a wrap


The party crew minus Steven.


Heather and I


It was a fest week for us while I was there. When I showed up we had Cheesefest at Heather's house with a cheese fondue. Next year we're planning Chocolate fest as well.

(Ryan, Heather, Jaime, Steven, Mona, Me)


I can't forget the week full of Guitar Hero III on the Wii. And YES, I did get plenty of work done as well.

Eli and Rachel's Wedding was great!

I'm back from my trip to Texas and I thought I would post a few additional photos from Rachel and Eli's wedding.

I had a wonderful time at the wedding. My friend Robert came up from Tucson, AZ to be my second photographer and he really enjoyed hanging out with everyone and taking some great creative shots. Robert and I have known each other since Kindergarten and we have both ended up doing video and photography. He recently got back from a 9 month session teaching English in Japan to high schoolers.

Me, Rachel, Eli and Robert


During the reception for Rachel and Eli's wedding I had Jennifer and Don come up to me. I had no clue they had flown in from Maryland for the wedding. I hadn't seen them since their wedding six months ago.


After the wedding we met up again with Jennifer and Don to catch up. Don is a PE teacher at an elementary school. That sounds like so much fun!
(Thanks to Jennifer for sending me this photo)

What is The Thing?

What is The Thing?, originally uploaded by Jefferson Todd Pals.

My grandpa and I had to stop and find out. I'll let you know what we discover.

We're in Arizona now!

We're on BedJump.com

I just submitted my photo to Chris at BedJump.com and he loved it so much that he rushed it onto the blog.

Bed Jumping!

I'm at the Pictage Conference this week and all of us photographers are having a blast geeking out on the wedding business. But of course we have to let go a little in the evenings.

Jared and Bronson from Bauman Photography and Shoot.Dot.Edit joined me in the fun!
We're going to be posting these images to BedJump.com





So what do you think?

Revved Up!

My friend Todd has been putting together some hilarious videos of Reverend D Ray Montgomery.
Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Heather!

I surprised Heather by flying out to San Antonio the day after Katie and Andrew's wedding. My brother-in-law Ryan played it all so well that she had no clue that I was coming in town.

Here's a fun video of them pulling up to the airport to pick up one of Ryan's "co-workers"!



We traveled to Austin to check out the Capitol


And we took Heather out for a Teppan-Yaki dinner on her birthday


We also kayaked down the San Marcos river but ran into a few issues. First, it took us a good 2 hours longer than expected because we only had two kayaks and Ryan had to float on a tube which wasn't going to move fast. Second, we came up to a large dam that we didn't see on the map that we had. So we had to get out of the water and scout a way around the current being pulled over the dam and over to the side so we could carry the kayaks around. It was scary and pretty crazy, but we're alive!

Visting San Francisco

I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago to spend some time with Tegan.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
The first day we headed down to the Santa Cruz Mountains for some wine tastings.


One of the vineyards that visted was Byington Vinyard and Winery



Tegan and I in the Santa Cruz Mountains


The next day we headed to San Francisco so I could see some more of the sights. I made sure to buy Alcatraz tour tickets ahead of time because they sell out fast!

Heading to Alcatraz Island from the tour boat


A sailboat out in the bay


Our amazing flag posted on Alcatraz Island with San Francisco in the background.


The cell block.


On the rolling hills overlooking Oakland bay.

Padres Baseball Game

My dad, brother and I took a guys trip to San Diego this summer. We spent a week at a beach house on South Mission Beach which was awesome!



The second day of our vacation we headed to downtown San Diego for a Padres vs Braves game.


My brother Darren


I love how they incorporated the old Western Metal Supply Co. brick building into the design of the new Petco Park. There are seat on each level of that building.


They also had a cool beach sand pit and a wiffle ball field in the outfield for the kids to play in.

July 4th Celebration

Yesterday I celebrated Independence Day with my friends Chris and Robin. Chris and I headed over to Robin's apartment to park our cars and then we walked over to Mill Ave in downtown Tempe, AZ for all of the festivities.

Myself, Chris and Robin


Our view was slightly blocked by the nearby buildings but we still had a great time watching the fireworks and then rushing indoors to cool off. The temperature was still 105 degrees at 9pm!

The Stewart Household

After arriving in Sacramento on Friday I drove over to Chris and Jen Stewart's home for a bbq dinner they invited me to. The three of us sat outside while their kids jumped into the play pool giving us some great entertainment.

Here's Aiden a little confused the the water stopped running, while his brothers Brian (front) and Regan (behind) run in for some belly flops in the 4in deep water.


Regan slipping in


Aiden

Getting Soaked in Laguna Beach for Engagement

It's all worth it for the picture! (YES, that is me and my camera behind the water)


Here's the photo I was taking for Steve and Amy.


Thanks to my friend Regis for tagging along and taking some photos of me being crazy.

Nursing Graduation

I'm out in California for a few things on this trip. One of them is to see my friends Tegan and Lydia graduate from the nursing program at Biola University.
They have both worked so hard to get to this point and I'm so proud of them.


And I just met Anneliese and Jeremy at the graduation as well. I'll be photographing their wedding in just a few weeks. But tomorrow we're going down to Laguna Beach for some fun engagement photos.


Congrats Girls!

Bethany Learning Center Graduations

This is my second year volunteering to photograph the 4-year old, 5-year old and kindergarten graduations ceremonies at Bethany Learning Center. I really love being able to take some time away from my normal work to volunteer for stuff like this.



The kids are always a blast to watch and the parents are usually just as entertaining!



Photos will be available soon on the Proofs page.

Heather

Here are a few quick photos of Heather my amazing Studio Manager and Album Designer. She will soon me moving to San Antonio but I'm excited to know that she'll be able to keep designing our wonderful albums.





Heather and I are coming up with an amazing special that we'll be announcing soon. This will be a once a year event giving you the best price on our albums. So be sure to start saving up if you're wanting to get an album and be looking for an announcement by mail in the next few weeks.

Oh, and I almost forgot to post this wonderful picture of her on Wacky Day at the school she also teaches at! Gotta love it!

My Chicago Visit 2

I also called up my my cousin Samara who is going to school in Chicago. So we all met up for dinner near Wrigley.


Ron hanging out at Wrigley


Waiting for the train


Millennium Park during Looptopia

My Chicago Visit

Ron


After the Pictage Partner Conference I rode the train into the city to visit with my friend Ron O'Day for a few days. Ron and I worked together at Starbucks for over 6 years and he moved to Chicago about 9 months ago. He's currently attending the film program at Columbia College.

He brought me to an awesome cafe in the morning. It's called Julius Meinl and was founded in Vienna in 1862. I love how they serve a small chocolate and water with every coffee ordered.


After breakfast I went out on my own to see Chicago.
Here is the Bean.




Grant Park


There were tulips all over the city


The Train


Interesting water display


Go Cubbies!


Ron was hungry

PartnerCon Highlights

I'm finally back from a week in Chicago and my laptop finally has some juice so I can post some photos. I forgot my charger in the room that I was speaking in at the hotel so I had to get a new one.

I always love these events so much because I get to hang out with some many great friends while even more friends. Here are just a few of them.

Sarah and Shyla


Jared and Bronson


Shaun Anthony


Me and Scarlett


Leann and the infamous Pink Flamingo


Sara and Anna

Chicago Fun

Well I've had a blast speaking at Pictage's Partner Conference for their photographers. My presentation went great and thanks to all of you who were busy praying for me. I'm really excited to see how people start changing their business with some of the ideas that I spoke about.



One the first night here in Chicago I headed over to Sarah Barlow's house for a wonderful family dinner. The house was full and we all had a great time playing King Ball and sitting around a fire roasting marshmallows for smores and singing together.



The conference is now done but I'll be sure to post more as soon as I get a new computer charger. I forgot mine at the hotel and the battery is about to run out.

And I'll be spending the next few days in Chicago to attend the Maximum Impact Simulcast conference as well as spend some time with my friend Ron who recently moved to Chicago from AZ.

Kevin Proposes to Dayna

This is such a cool story!

Kevin received one of my new Proposal Cards which holds a $1000 value good for me to come and secretly capture the guy proposing. So, Kevin called me last week and we started planning out where he wanted to propose and where I could hide to take photos without her knowing I was there.

So we headed out to the Desert Botanical Gardens a few days before to find just the right place. And on Sunday afternoon he brought Dayna for a nice stroll in the gardens which is one of her favorite places to go. And when he reached the bridge in the middle of the garden, he asked Dayna.

Bringing out the ring


YES! Of course!


So the story gets better...

After taking the photos I hopped into my car and chose my favorite print. I then printed, framed, and wrapped it up quickly.



Then I headed over Chelsea's Kitchen, the restaurant that Kevin said they would be at.

I had one of the waitresses bring the package over to Dayna while I hid behind a table of very curious women who thought I was photographing a celebrity at first. I told them that Tom and Katie were out on the patio, but that idea was quickly shot down.



As soon as she saw my logo stickers on the back of the package she knew that I had take a photo. She turned to Kevin with a big smile of approval on her face.

After quickly searching the the restaurant with her eyes trying to find me she opened the package to find the nicely printed photo in a frame all ready for her to show off.



Here's the photo I chose


It didn't take much longer for her to realize that something was going on at the nearby table of ladies who were all staring at her while I ducked down below the edge of the high-top table. She must have caught a glance of me because she got up from her seat and came around the table to give me a hug and "Thank you!"

It was also nice to hear her say, "Your going to photograph our wedding! I was going to call you anyways, but you're definitely going to be our photographer now!"

And they're wedding is going to be really sweet! They're planning on having the ceremony at the Botanical Gardens and then the reception will be held at the Bentley Projects art gallery in downtown Phoenix.

Congratulations Dayna and Kevin!

(more fun video footage coming soon!)


We'll be sending out a few Proposal Cards to all of our past clients as well as some of the resorts will have them on hand. So if you're about to propose and you'd like me to come capture it, be sure to search out for one of these cards.

Rock on!

More Photograhers

Robin from Bellissima Photographic Artistry in Pittsburgh was visiting and of course that called for a get together of local photographers who all new Robin and of course a few newbies.
I love the community of photographers that I've gotten to know nationwide.




Kevin King was showing us some fun new stuff in Adobe's new Lightroom software for photographers.