Rest In Peace, my Royal Wee.

Today my dear cat Agassi passed away.

My mom got Aggie and her sister, Samba, from a friend when they were just kittens. I was a freshman in high school who loved tennis and soccer. I named them both. Years later, I began to call Aggie the Royal Wee because she was such a tiny cat, but there was no question that she claimed rule over all who crossed her path.

She was nearly 17 and hated every other animal she ever came into contact with including Samba, Samba's son Geoff, and our old dog Cody- all who have already passed on and are I'm sure waiting to harass her in her cat afterlife since she outlived them all. The only other animal she ever really liked was our wonderful cat Max who died at 21 a few years back. She loved that cat.

Aggie, I'm sure Max is waiting for you with a nice head bump and some steady purring. We'll miss you dear friend, and the unmistakably cat-like rein you possessed over all.

xoxo.

Vegas Baby, Vegas! : more of WPPI

I'm back in Seattle on a perfectly rainy Thursday. I was totally going to blog all the days we were in Vegas, but (surprise, surprise!) we were all exhausted every night we got in and it just didn't happen. So, here's the rest.

Let's see... we went to classes by Joephoto, Doug Gordon, and Justin + Mary. The trade show was also super cool and I got a ton of new ideas for wedding albums.We played video blackjack and double bonus poker and I think I lost a total of about 23 dollars. We went to Coney Island and watched people scream past our hotel window on the roller coaster. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, Chin Chin's, Gonzales Y Gonzales, and had french toast at Denny's. I got the world's most gigantic pina colada before heading in to see the Cirque Du Soleil show, Ka, which was totally awesome. The show, not the pina colada. We walked the strip from NY NY to the Venetian. Everything is so larger than life! We saw the water show at The Bellagio and Guillermo got to pose with his favorite act in Vegas and with a couple of "ladies of the night". We even saw a little bit of home while walking the strip. Recognize Typewriter Eraser anybody???

All in all, I've been inspired by this conference. I will definitely be returning to to WPPI next year with a renewed sense of self. I will also hopefully be returning to Vegas for Leah and Jeff's wedding this October. It is going to ROCK. Hard.

OK, time for more photos...












xoxo,
amy

WPPI : day one

So today was our first full day at the WPPI conference in Las Vegas. I'm here with fellow wedding photographers Angela & Evan Carlyle...as well as Guillermo (or Memo as some of you know him) my traveling companion/ugly doll action figure. We all got in last night and met up for a quick hello (after I had a fantastic couple of hours with my friends Leah & Jeff who live here) before crashing in our shared hotel room at New York, New York.

This morning we zipped off to registration and then sat through two hours of album design with Joe Photo, immediately followed by two hours of posing with Doug Gordon. Starving, we found the food court at the MGM Grand and I just had to partake in a Nathan's Famous Hot Dog. Greg and I watch the hot dog eating contest every year from Coney Island, so it was a must. Since then, we've been poking around Vegas and hoping the rain will stop by tomorrow so we can walk the strip a bit. After a bit of photo editing and listening to a little comedy on the iTunes, I think it's time for bed. Two more classes tomorrow, but we're having a great time!






xoxo,
Ames

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Well, I'm off to Vegas this afternoon for WPPI, but not before a quick post. As I packed this morning I realized I have no idea what I would do without a little assistance from my friends Cleo, Clyde, and Fergie.

Truth be told, they're not really what you'd traditionally call helpful, but it's not without lack of trying.



Thank you, thank you, thank you very much.

xoxo,
amy

Leah in Wonderland

I thought in honor of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland opening in theaters tomorrow, I would dig into my archives and share some photos from a shoot I did back in 2007. I've always loved Alice in Wonderland and had this idea for a shoot while in my Location Lighting class at the Art Institute.

The fabulous Leah Andrews was kind enough to trek over to St. Edward's State Park with me for a bit of cupcake eating, tea sipping, trampoline jumping, and a super fun game of 52 card pick-up.

With a ton of props, strobes, reflectors, and a state park photography permit in hand (must follow the rules!) we set up just off the trail head and proceeded to have a ton of fun while creating what now follows... enjoy, enjoy.








Thanks again to Leah and Kim, you guys were fantastic! I can't believe I fit all that stuff in my car in the first place, let alone the fact that I got it all back in afterward. Madness. Leah, I'll see you Saturday in Vegas baby!!

xoxo,
Amy

Spring: T-Minus 16 days and counting...

For about two weeks every Spring, I drive by a beautiful row of cherry blossoms on my way home. Every day I look at them and think, I should really come by tomorrow and take some photos. Then tomorrow comes and I say the same thing. Two weeks later, we have a hot spell or a hard rain, and they're gone for another 11 months until I can run through the same routine all over again. I've missed photographing these beautiful flowers for the past four years because of this silliness. Today, I broke the routine and pulled over. It may not be Spring yet, but it boy does it look like it.