willowdawn | Whidbey Island, Washington's Premier Photographer » photography

I missed the sailboats.

willowdawn — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:18:49 +0000

Race Week just finished here on Whidbey Island and well, I missed all the boats in the cove and the photo ops that come along with them. First couple of days I was busy, yesterday I was held hostage by Comcast cable (and my internet STILL goes out… grrrr!) and today I was having such a nice time socializing that I got distracted and FORGOT to get down to the wharf in time. It’s not like it was an arduous journey, the wharf is only two blocks away! Oh well, I’ll have to be more diligent next year.

*paying respect where it’s due… I saw a similar shot on the Coupeville facebook page and HAD to go recreate it for myself. Theirs of course was filled with lovely sail boats racing and Mt. Baker is FULLY visible. I’m jealous and will have to make do with my partially visible Mt. Baker and the sailboats heading back to Oak Harbor.

I adore Poppies!

willowdawn — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:30:09 +0000

Well, OK, I love flowers. But Poppies definitely rank amongst my favorites. Just around the corner from our new home is a garden that was simply overflowing with the most amazing Poppies. Unfortunately for me, I was a bit distracted trying to get our new home established and so only recently had a chance to go grab a few shots of the flowers. The Poppies are definitely past their prime as many were gone, leaving seed pods in their stead, but there were plenty still to admire.

And who can ignore the lovely Queen Anne’s Lace. Though I’m betting most have not seen it so up close and personal before… I do love my macro lens!

Delightful siblings.

willowdawn — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:16:14 +0000

OK, so we’ve already determined that I am crazy with my love of teenagers, but I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing a teen and her younger brother, and EVERYONE would love these kids. Both were funny, smart, respectful and just an all around joy to be with. It might have helped that we all love the same roller coasters and had the same vacations last year – and Mr T and I both loved Rome best. So I think that in addition to being great kids, they also have great taste!

They’ve already seen their images, so it’s not a sneak peek for them, but I wanted to share some of my favorites here too.

Promotional portraits – CrossfitSpotsy.com

willowdawn — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:59:56 +0000

A very very dear friend of mine owns and operates CrossFitSpotsy in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She is an amazing athlete and was looking for some photos to use on the gym’s website, highlighting some of the classic CrossFit exercises. If you are not familiar with CrossFit – is a core strength and conditioning program. Used to train emergency workers, military and police forces around the country, but totally applicable to all people of all fitness levels. If you are looking to start working out, to get back in shape or even if you think you are in shape – but want to take your fitness to the next level – give Lisa a call at CrossFitSpotsy – 540-207-6841.

And now for a little motivation for you… Lisa is the mother of three, grown children. If she wasn’t such an incredible human being, we’d all hate her!

I’ve been a busy girl!

willowdawn — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:19:21 +0000

But most of what I’ve been doing, I can’t show you – YET! I’ve had a couple of surprise sessions that will be gifts, so all photos are on the down low, hush hush! But last Friday I did a bit of mentoring with another local photographer and I brought my youngest daughter along to be our model. I should have checked the condition of her hair before we left the house – it was like she had been playing hard and running all day at school! So we used my hat and sunglasses to tame it a bit for most of the photos, but alas – the kid loves to run and play and her hair – well, it’s just her. I don’t know that I would recognize her with her hair neatly brushed and no spots on her shirt! She asked me to make these photos to have the pinkish vintage effect. I will miss shooting at this location once we move, though I’m sure we will find many wonderful spots on Whidbey Island.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that she was blowing the dandelions somewhere OTHER than my yard for once. One day she’ll figure out why mommas and poppas don’t love their children blowing those seeds all over the lawn!

Sunrise engagement session.

willowdawn — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:39:03 +0000

In spite of the absolutely gorgeous weather we’ve been having, it is still COLD when the sun comes up! It was a balmy 38 degrees F when we set out yesterday morning, hoping and praying for a lovely spring sunrise. But the early rising and braving the cold paid off as we got some gorgeous images for W & T as we celebrate their pending nuptials. You may recognize Miss T from my website as she is the very first person I ever photographed, other than my own family. And it because of her that I started willowdawn photography. So of course it was my absolute pleasure to shoot some engagement photos for this amazing young couple.

Enjoy your sneak peek… and I’ll have the rest of your photos finished soon!

Oh, and a HUGE thank you to Miss T for having a first aid kit in her car and using her knowledge to fix up my finger! *Note to self, go buy first aid kits for cars…

Well, I’ve been distracted…

willowdawn — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:07:05 +0000

… because we SOLD our house! Whew! What a huge weight off of my shoulders. But the next challenge was finding a house to rent in Washington – and I’m happy to report that we will signing a two year lease on a home in the town of Coupeville, Washington. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am. Coupeville is a tiny one stop light town (population of only 1700) with a vibrant art community, farmers markets, local restaurants and a quaint waterfront area. The movie “Practical Magic” with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman was filmed in Coupeville. The entire town is within the boundaries of a National Reserve. And the bestest part (other than the farmers market being in our literal backyard) is that the house we are renting is zoned for a home business and I will be setting up a studio in it! I still love and plan on utilizing the amazing beauty of Whidbey Island for on location shoots, but will be offering more studio opportunities now as well. To celebrate, I ordered some new backdrops and before I even got the fold creases out, I dragged my oldest daughter down to the basement to try them out. I LOVE THEM!

A White Wedding…

willowdawn — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:07:13 +0000

I should have come up with a more creative name, but I panicked! If you don’t name your treasury within 10 seconds, you LOSE your spot! Curating treasuries on Etsy is like a competitive sport. The number of people WANTING to create one, and the number of spaces available is 2:1. But it’s fun to compete and even more fun to get one! And yesterday, I GOT ONE!

I have been curating lovely wedding related items for the past week or so, as I cruised around the Etsy world. So today I present… A White Wedding.

Click HERE to go and view the actual treasury and to click on the wonderful objects. But it will ONLY be there for today and tomorrow! So don’t delay, CLICK NOW! And you can leave a little comment on the bottom too!

Sunshine, after the storm.

willowdawn — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:52:02 +0000

Snow is beautiful. It’s like a fresh coat of paint covering the wear and tear, the dirt and grime and all that it broken, with a fresh coat of white. It makes you think that everything can begin again. A fresh start, a new beginning. Well, at least until the cars start traveling the road and making “snirt”. But it’s pretty while it lasts.

Yesterday as we were digging out the driveway, I looked up and just marveled at the beauty. I’m quite sure that my neighbors think I’m nuts, but it’s ok, I probably am. I went inside to get the camera so that I could not only document the snowfall for family who lives in warmer climates, but also to preserve the beauty I saw around me. I’ve added this image to my Etsy shoppe – though it’s not yet back from the printers… so it won’t ship immediately. And I don’t really know when I’ll next see the USPS lady or my wonderful UPS and FedEx men due to not only the snow currently fallen, but the additional storm we are expecting tomorrow. It’s a good thing I love my children as much as I do, though I fear they will be in school till August if the snow days continue!

Let it snow!

willowdawn — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:15:40 +0000

I’ve got milk, toilet paper, bread, eggs, coffee and pancake mix. I can survive! So bring it on. It will give me more time to file my taxes (blech!), clean my house (double blech!) read a book, watch a movie or work on my Etsy shoppe! I might even go out shooting. If the roads seem passable and it’s not a bajillion below zero with wind chill factors – keep an eye out here. Maybe we can go out and play! I love shooting in the snow. I tortured my poor children last year, the winds were HOWLING and it was COLD COLD COLD… but it was worth it! Don’t my children look happy with me?

So here’s hoping for more pleasant snow days to shoot on this year. If you are interested in a snow session, holler!

And a shameless plug for my Etsy shoppe – I uploaded 10 new images… and yes, a couple of beachy ones! Check them out!