Chelsea had two unbelievable sessions with me. First we shot in the studio, and the next session we took off to Hatcher Pass for some fun and adventure.

Pure awesomeness!

Yes, it’s true! My wonderful brother and sister-in-law gave birth to their second child today. Of course I’m over the moon to be an aunt again, and my newest little niece is pretty much as perfect as one can be.

Andrea (my sis-in-law) went into labor early in the morning. Unfortunately I had my phone turned off (worst mistake EVER) and missed all the frantic phone calls at 5am. Luckily though, I checked my phone long before the baby made her appearance and I had plenty of time to grab my camera gear and offer my support during the birth. I did get a lot of ribbing from the doctors though, both of whom are also my clients.

World– meet Julianna Grace. Another piece of awesomeness in my life.

I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for about a year. I first met Kara and Justin last summer when they booked me and we did a couple engagement sessions together (one in studio and one at Hatcher Pass). Their day arrived and, just as I expected, was filled with love, laughter (SO. MUCH. LAUGHTER.) and perfection from top to bottom.

I loved it!

Two days after Justin and Kara’s wedding, we headed out once more for a Day After Session in Anchorage and the Valley. A Day After session is a special session set aside just for the bride and groom after their wedding. We spend the day capturing images (and locations) there just isn’t time for on the actual wedding day. This gives us lots of extra time to play and really work that wedding dress to its full potential!

If you’d like to see some more images from Justin and Kara’s wedding, friend me on Facebook and check out their SNEAK PEEK!

Chris and Liz flew in from Boston, MA for their wedding in Girdwood. Liz grew up in Alaska and it seemed like the perfect place for the this precious couple to share their commitment to each other with all of their friends and family who flew up from Outside.

The gathering was intimate and filled with special friends and family who came to Alaska to enjoy Chris and Liz’s day, along with all the other wonders Alaska has to offer!

Check out some more from Chris and Liz’s wedding in their SNEAK PEEK album by friending me on Facebook!

This hike took us out to the Russian Lakes for a couple days. I booked us the federal cabin on Lower Russian Lake (Barber Cabin) way back in January and we’d been looking forward to the trip all winter. The cabins that are available to book on the trails through out Alaska tend to book up very quickly. The earliest you can book is 180 days in advance, and often times, if you wait say, 170 days, you’ve lost your chance. As a result, if we’re doing multi day hikes and want a cabin, we have to decide about the hike 6 months in advance!

We knew we’d head out, rain or shine, and of course the day we left it was POURING rain. But the wetness didn’t damper our spirits one bit! The whole family headed out for this trip, including our nephew, Erik, who is up for the month learning about photography and running a studio. The following images from our trip are a mix of mine on the point and shoot (I didn’t bring any studio cameras) and Erik’s on his Nikon D90.

We drove up to Cooper Landing and parked at the Russian Falls trailhead. Then we packed up and made the 3.5 mile trek into the back country to our cabin. The trail is definitely easy and well marked. I think the elevation gain is only about 200–300 feet and the hike is very peaceful and lovely.

Since Erik is a “city boy” from the East Coast, we knew this trip was going to be quite an adventure for him. Starting off with a quick and dirty lesson on how to use bear spray.

This is my 40lb pack. I hiked a total of 8 miles with that thing on my back. It’s actually not bad at all and I’m excited for a more challenging, mulit-day hike. Next year I’m already planning on two, one with my brother and one with just Mike and I, sans kids.

The crew did GREAT going in. Even with the rain and wet, our spirits were high and our laughter could be heard all through out the trails. I was so proud of Rebekah and Benjamin as this is their first time packing anything in for an adventure like this.

This area is purposely burned out as part of a repopulation effort for moose in the area. The moose prefer the low-lying brush and shrubs. The Parks and Rec authority will come through and do a controlled burn to keep the trees, shrubs and brush young and make lots of good eating for the moose.

Here we are, rounding the bend to our cabin.

When we got inside, it was time to get a fire going in the wood stove, hang our wet clothes to dry and get cozy. This was also the moment we discovered that, OOPS, we forgot to pack the camp mats for our sleeping bags.

Here the kids are making lemonade out of lemons the weather gave us the first night by roasting marshmallows inside on the first night. Luckily the rain went away and we got to enjoy staying dry the rest of our trip.

We were prepared to hike and explore in the rain, but the weather soon cleared and here’s just a small piece of what we saw in and around Russian Lakes. Erik took these next three images, he was pretty pumped to see the glacier from the row boat that was provided at the cabin.

We saw loads of bald eagles, and even a young bald eagle catching her breakfast early one morning.

Finally it was time to hike on out.

But we weren’t done on the peninsula yet! We headed down to Kenai Lake to enjoy the beautiful blue color of the glacier fed water.

And then a stop into Seward for some beach time.

We all had a BLAST and I think our nephew got a good taste of the great Alaska outdoors.

And I already can’t wait to pack up, head out, and do it all again!

Thomas & Lindsey had an intimate wedding in Girdwood, Alaska at the Hotel Alyeska. After their sweet and heartfelt ceremony, we took the rest of their coverage time to get some images of the newlyweds at the top of Alyeska and down at Potter’s Marsh.

These two make such a cute couple!

To see more from Thomas & Lindsey’s wedding, check out their SNEAK PEEK on my Facebook page!