My excuse... there's a monkey on my back! And, a sneak peek!

I know, I'm catching so much slack about not having posted a blog in some time. I didn't even get through journaling the rest of my Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand trip. Which, btw...was UNBELIEVABLE! With over 3000+ photos to sort through, 3 new born photo sessions and 2 maternity sessions that I'm editing...and lots of travel for my day job...I just haven't gotten around to it! Excuses, excuses.

Well...I wasn't kidding though, there was a monkey on my back. Sneak peek of Thailand

Sneak peek of Ankor Wat, Cambodia

Sneak peek of Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam

I promise to post more photos soon and hopefully recap on all the cool things about my SE Asian trip.

First and foremost though, I truly can't wait for you to see all the wonderful little newborns that entered this world and I was honored to capture their first days. The parents faces just beam at their new pride and joys... with every right...they are SO CUTE!

Coming soon........

Punkins from the patch

It was the most perfect fall day last weekend...and I was so lucky to be invited to Swans Trail Farms (where I helped photograph a wedding this summer...pictures to come) to photograph all the fun that goes on at the Farm during their pumpkin patch season. The highlight was to be able to capture such fun memories for families and get some amazing photographs of their little ones in action. And with over 800 edited photographs...it was certainly hard to choose from, so the full gallery is at http://jenmacniven.smugmug.com/.

The fall colors were amazing...and with so much to do, the photographing was endless. A huge 12 acre corn maze (in the shape of WA State)......the pumpkin patch...with lots of lil punkins...check out this cutie!Activities of all sorts...playing in the sand, fishing ponds, streams to pan for gold in...and the FOOD...oh, the food! Hot cinnamon buns, carmel apples, spiced cider donuts, kettle corn, BBQ sandwiches, corn on the cob...making me salivate thinking about it!This kiddo clearly had everything I just mentioned...his sticky little face just cracks me up.The petting zoo and animal shows were a huge hit with the kiddos. Love the little piglet tails. These guys did a fun '3 little pigs and the big bad wolf' skit.This miniture pony could have fit in my back pocket...and had I not looked suspicious with a pony in my pocket...I would have taken him home! One of the major hits with the kiddos were the jumping hay barn...literally piled with lose hay and bails piled around the edges so the kids could JUMP off the bails and land softly. It was a great place for some family photos too. All the kids out there were so uberly cute and it was a photographing dream. Precious kiddos with cute fall clothes on and having the time of their lives...playing...what could be better? Someone's got a monkey on his back.

The second hot spot of the farm (in my opinion..and it was probably my favorite) was the shed filled with dried corn kernels. It felt amazing on the feet and was so fun to roll around in. The kids AND parents had the best time playing in here.

Hello? Adorable!
This family was a blast...you have to check out all their photos in the gallery...such fun!

Many families would come to the farm together and I loved capturing the interaction b/w all the friends playing together...

or goofy cousins!

This is why I love photographing so much...capturing those priceless expressions and moments... now frozen and perfect.

I want to thank Carol, Beth and Ben Krause (the owners of Swans Trail Farms ..aka THE FARM) for letting me join you on such a fun and memorable occasion. I hope to make this an annual event...b/c truly, it was a highlight of the year.

Hiking at "Ghost Mountain"

When I first arrived in Seattle ELEVEN YEARS AGO, I oftened referred to Mt. Rainier as the "Ghost Mountain". Depending on the weather, you could you either see her in all her glory...or as I've done many times...point out the direction that she would be if the clouds didn't cover her up. This weekend in late August, the "Ghost Mountain" she was not. Out in all her glory, Mt.Rainier welcomed us on a beautiful sunny day.

John and I had a fun 7 mile hike all around Sunrise...The view was majestic and Mt.Rainier was unbelievably impressive with her shear size!

I love capturing all the beauty that make this hike so breathtaking...the tall trees, jagged peaks, glacier water, wildflowers and even the tiniest of creatures.

After our long afternoon of hiking, John and I snacked on wine, cheeze, crackers and SMORES! Now that's some fancy camping! Here's John getting' his smores on at our campsite.
Along with the beauty of the day...the nighttime brought us sparkling lights that filled up the sky in infinite numbers. I even captured a shooting star/satellite zooming by.

What a wonderful day!