Finally! The studio gets broken in "fer realz"

Why is it so much easier to photograph someone else's kid?

I Should Frame These For the Studio Walls

The studio has been finished for a week now and I've tried three times to take Robbie's photo.

Not happening.

There is a reason I typically just have another photographer friend take our family pictures.

All the same, I did get a number of "tosser" images that, as a collection, I think really tell a story. And that story is this:

"Parents, don't feel bad if your kids act up and don't cooperate or temporarily seem deaf when you try to take their photos. Everyone's kids do it - especially kids whose parents do this for a living."













"I'm the Captain. Argh!!"

Sleeping In, In Seattle

Seattle was great fun. We got to catch up with an old friend, visit (briefly) Toby's aunt and see the sites.
Sans Robbie, my hands were also free to take a lot of pictures. This is a fact that a seagull later took advantage off too. He "bombed" my hand and my camera, which took quite a while to clean up.


Toby on the Bainbridge Ferry.


Holly on same Ferry.


Toby at Green Lake.


Experience Music Project


I also found our next house while were on the Ferry. Look at the picture below...see the little house? The last one on the tip of the island? That's it! I think I'll enjoy the view of Seattle each evening. Now...you can send donations for our new house, attention Holly...



One of the other things we noticed on this trip, besides just how crazy the streets are laid out in Seattle, is how expensive everything is. We started to tell each other we must be getting old because we kept whining about the cost of everything.

Perhaps it isn't just us, though. See if you fall of your chair when I tell you what we paid, just in parking, over the course of about 36 hours.
Hotel: $35 a day, so $70
Pike's Market: $12 for two hours
All around town: $18-20 at various parking meters
One parking ticket: $35 (we didn't see a meter and were out in the 'burbs and didn't realize we had to pay)
Total valet tips, every time we needed to get our car (not allowed to do it yourself): $14
Grand Total: $150!

So here's my tip if you're considering Seattle. Do stay downtown but don't rent a car.

Great Basement Project Pt. 2

Toby was better at sitting still than Robbie - but less enthused. If that's possible. You see, his big stake in a finished basement was a home theater room (ie: studio waiting room). He had just gotten all the components hooked up and had Iron Man blasting in the next room when I made him plunk down in my studio.


Isn't he adorable - even when he's annoyed?

The Great Basement Project

I feel like taking out an ad: The Basement is Done!
For two people with an unfinished basement we sure used ours a lot. Having it in progress for the last few months has been difficult. The anticipation as we got close to done has been excruciating.

We had an absolutely awesome person working on it, however. Anyone that needs any kind of remodeling work done, I have your guy.

So without further ado, here it is.


Robbie was really digging the new carpet and open spaces. We played "chase me" for a long time. Finally I was exhausted and ready to snap some shots but he was still going.


The family room (or as I like to call it; the studio waiting room)


The studio.


The studio's changing room / storage area. How do you like my handiwork on that floor? I laid rows 5 and 6.

So what does one do with a new studio? Practice on the family of course!

Of course - Robbie would NOT stand still or have anything to do with it.


Here he is making Godzilla sounds.



Crawling - way out of the light range.



Running away.


And finally - grudging cooperation.