Why Would you Want a Pro Photographer at a Family Reunion?

I am sure that I am not the only one that markets to family reunions and there are several reasons why you should have a professional photographer at your next big family event.

1.  I received a phone call from a friend that said her family asked her if she would be the photographer at her family's reunion.  She stated, and rightfully so, that she did not want spend her time with her family taking pictures.  I would say, it's not fair...don't make me miss my reunion.

Yes, every reunion that I have covered has had at least one solid piece of camera equipment, but the vast majority are point and shoot jobs from a big box store. The presence of an objective, professional photographer means that most of the special moments will be documented in a high quality fashion.  The occasional help and guidance of key organizers is intregal so no moments involving important events will be missed.

You hate to miss a moment like this!  With a roving photographer at your reunion, they can be caught in a candid fashion.

2.  At best, family reunions are once a year opportunities to gather.  Gandmothers are reunited with grand-kids at a remote location...often away from malls, movie theaters and video games.  A flexible photographer can create quick portraits of a menu of subjects.

3.  How many in your family are used to speaking to large groups or directing them for a large group photo when there is a world of impatience right in front of you.  You have heard the term "herding cats" right?  Well try herding 80 members of your extended family in the woods!  A skilled, personable photographer can get it done!

Napavine Takes a Turn at Creating Royality

Introducing the 2010 Princess Napawinah

2010 Princess Napawinah April Macomber.

The story will appear here on Tuesday, after it appears in the Town Crier Newspaper

2009 Princess Napawinah Samantha Rhodes places the crown on the head of April Macomber who will succeed her in 2010.

2010 Princess April Macomber (left) sings and harmonizes with her sister, 2006 Princess Napawinah Danika Macomber.

2009 Princess Napawinah Samantha Rhodes served the community well by representing Napavine at eight other community celebrations.

Delia McNelly was Princess Napawinah in 1955.

There are a total of 56 photos available at GAP Photo in the events section!  Thanks for coming by and enjoying our community!

A Summer Tradition in Castle Rock

The 2010 Castle Rock Fair Parade

It is clear that parades are for kids.  True, there are some big kids with their toys, but my lens usually finds the real kids.  Take a look at these photos of the 2010 Castle Rock Fair Parade.

A full collection of the 2010 Castle Rock Fair Parade can be viewed at GAP Photo.  Thanks for looking! 

Featuring Family Photographs

The Molinas featuring "Rock Star" Laila!

Family shoots like this one can be arragnged for about $50 to $75.  There were just over 200 photos to choose from in the entire collection.  To see more examples of family photos and portraits go to GAP Photo!

Lydia and Daniel's Wedding

Wedding Photography from Start to Finish!

Many photographers offer a photo-journalistic approach to weddings.  How difficult does your photographer make it to access all of the images produced?  My clients have access to all but the very worst, worthless photos.  In this case, I posted 534 photos for the family.   The choices are theirs, not mine what is a good photo.  I picked what I thought were 19 great photos from throughout the event.  The family has shown me many photos that are special to them, but I didn't see all the value.  Isn't it good that I let them choose their photos?

This small collection is a representative of a full day wedding event for Daniel and Lydia.  It was a modestly elegant event run on a strict budget.

Some of the subtle, ceremonial events were extremely attractive visually.  Here the bride's brother ignites candles before she and her father enter.

The classic father-daughter photo on her wedding day.

I hate to admit it, but this photo is not as good as I wanted it to be, but the black & white took it from a low quality photo to something really special.

I loved this photo of the groom's mother blowing out the candles after the service.

Lydia is in the vehicle ready to go after a long day in the bright spotlight.  Not the most artistic shot, but part of the whole story!

Our photo-journalistic style to your wedding is standard.  We expect to be there through your entire day and will be looking for the little events that a family member with a good camera won't see..  The images are the important part of the event but they can't be recreated.  While Daniel and Lydia got an incredible deal (28 cents per photo), other couples will be able to have this type of service to preserve a once in a lifetime day for an incredibly affordable price.  I still have dates available through the winter and have begun booking for the 2011 wedding season.

Music in the Park

Pickin' and Grinnin' on a Beautiful Summer Evening

Paul Smith and Peter Schwimer of “Fern Hill” play before the trees and a comfortable audience at the 4th Pick & Grin Festival at Winolequa Park on Friday.

My latest assignment was a great way to end the week.  I was asked to cover the Pick & Grin Festival at Winolequa Park just outside of Winlock.  Usually it is a place for fastpitch games and Easter egg hunts, but this was not something I ever imagined!  What a great venue for music.  The big beautiful trees, a natural sloped amphitheatre and nearly perfect summer weather made the event an absolute joy.

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A cooling breeze and temperatures near 80 degrees among the big trees at Winolequa Park and Washington Bluegrass Association President Willie Hill couldn’t help but be in a good place. “You just can’t beat this for bluegrass”, he said just before going on stage with members of the Snipes Mountain Bluegrass Band from Zillah, WA.


This is the 4th year of the Pick & Grin Festival at Winolequa Park. It included great performances, jam sessions and workshops.

Enthusiasts from all over the west coast converged on Winlock to watch noted regional bluegrass performers. For many, this is just another weekend on the road of bluegrass. Winlock is noted as the stop before the big event in Darrington, WA on July 16th and 17th. The tour returns to our area on August 13th-15th with the 26th Mt. St. Helens Bluegrass Festival at Toledo.

The group “Fern Hill” Peter Schwimer, Paul Smith, Randy Oman, Steven Bond and John VanBrocklin played Friday at Winlock’s beautiful Winolequa Park venue during the 4th Pick & Grin Festival.

Paul Smith (left), Peter Schwimer (middle) and Randy Oman of the Portland area group “Fern Hill” harmonize at the 4th Pick & Grin Festival at Winolequa Park on Friday evening.

For a complete gallery of Fern Hill images please go to GAP Photo.biz

Crowning a Queen

2010 Toledo Cheese Days

2009 Cheese Days Queen Dorrie Brown creates drama at Thursday's Coronation.

Toledo knows how to "crown a queen"!    Once known as the "Patron's Party", the simple gathering at the Morgan Arts Center outside of Toledo is an additional event that adds a day to the Toledo Cheese Days.

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There is a prize after earning blisters while selling tickets in the rain. It is called Cheese Day Queen. Kaley Beaber sold over $1,200 in tickets to earn the title and a $250 college scholarship. What is more daunting is number of appearances the Beaber will make while representing Toledo over the next year; Something Beaber will take a lot of pride in doing.
The coronation of the Cheese Days Queen took place at the Morgan Arts Center in Toledo. A Thursday evening event began just short of a decade ago when it became known as the “Patron’s Party”. It is now an event to recognize all of the “big cheeses” and coronate the new queen according to Mike Morgan the owner of the facility.
Sharon Peterson reveled in introducing the princesses. The girls put in a lot of time and they all worked very hard”, she said.

The Malcolm Clark Band from the Greater Tacoma area entertained throughout the evening.

Emily Davis is playfully duped.

After the coronation of the Cheese Days Queen, the community served itself some beautiful food!

2010 Cheese Days Queen Kelsey Beaber

A complete collection of photos from the event are posted at GAP Photo

View at the Zoo

Point Defiance Zoo, Tacoma, Washington

I spent Tuesday at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.  This is another time I am glad that I have excellent equipment.  The "no flash signs" didn't restrict me while nets, glass and wire cages were only a modest inconvenience!  Enjoy these photos and thanks for visiting!

If you would like to purchase prints or framed prints, they will become available in the coming days.  Please check in at GAP Photo or contact me via email.

When Times are Slow

It has been a little slow lately before a very busy time (I am booked for every weekend through the end of August) so on Monday, I took a little trip to Castle Rock.  I wandered the streets of the little town and captured angles and scenes.  The followin trio struck me as the best images of the afternoon.

Each of the three photos here have a modest amount of editing.  One is very obvious and the other two are a little more subtle.  Try and guess what type of editing techniques were used in these images.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy!

Prints of these images are available in the Fine Art Gallery at GAP Photo.