August 2008
1 post
we've got a new home on the www!
There you have it. We’ve got a new flashy spot to display all those marvelous images we keep trying to capture. So come on over and check us out at our new sexy home on the www.
www.brightenphotography.com/blog
Be sure to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds to keep up on the latest and greatest happenings at Brighten Photography. And to all you wonderful Tumblr folks who have been...
July 2008
7 posts
something big is coming...
o.k…. So it might not be that big of a deal…. But we think it’s pretty awesome. check back Friday folks. Friday. That would be August 1st.
4 years later and she is still crazy....
because what stunning, beautiful, brilliant, and level headed person would stay married to this random guy?
here’s to the rest of my life with the most magnificent person this world has ever seen. i can’t wait.
Bobby+Shantae...hitched
It was an incredible joy and honor to be a part of Bobby+Shantae’s wedding day. Bobby was deployed for a tour of duty a month ahead of schedule and thus they found themselves having to pull of their wedding in just over a week.
They pulled it off phenomenally, and it proved to be one of the most moving days, filled with so much joy, yet deeply aware of the reality that was coming in just a...
Brendon+Brittany...hitched
This wedding was truly a blessing to be a part of it. We always enjoy moments, ceremonies, and relationships that remind us of the beauty that lives in every nook and cranny in this world. This was absolutely one of those days.
the ring bearer workin’ hard during the ceremony:
Brendon+Brittany- You are a blessing to this world. Thanks for...
the end is the beginning...
In 15 minutes I will walk down the stairs and out of the doors of Mars Hill Graduate School for the last time as a student.
We moved out to Seattle to pursue this place, to go on a journey that we knew would completely change our lives-and change our lives it did.
I never dreamed I would go to graduate school. Especially at a seminary.
This journey to the wonderful place called the Emerald City...
Matt+Alyssa...hitched
It’s blogging moments like these that remind us why we absolutely love our jobs. Matt+Alyssa always equals a good time full of laughs, love, and shenanigans! We knew there wedding would be a doozy, and we weren’t disappointed in the least…
With no further adue… Mr. & Mrs. Thelen.
Matt+Alyssa-When you stop traveling...
ryan+andrea
we always love shootin’ some fellow husker fans. this proved to be no different.
ryan+andrea- it has been such a blast getting to know you both in the short time(s) that we have had together. we must hit the slopes next season! hope your wedding is off the hook back east!
June 2008
5 posts
brendon+brittany
t-minus 3 days (or 2 depending on how you look at it) and these little lovebirds are gettin’ hitched!
brendon+brittany-seriously…we can’t wait to capture all the ocean o’ love between the two of you this coming saturday! you guys are such a blast and up for just about anything. happy last minute planning!
justin+sarah
a beautiful evening at the beach. it couldn’t have been more lovely. let the lovin’ flow…
justin+sarah-you make the beach that much more fun. we are so stoked to get the chance to capture this new part of your journey. here’s to climbing many more mountains!
joe+amy (+kieren)
a few weekends ago, when the sun was blasting in all it’s glory, we got the chance to hang out with the lovely & fun joe, amy and kieren. not only did we get a bit too much sun, but we had to finish it off with a dip in the sound.
what a hilarious series….
joe+amy-thanks for letting your daughter get soaking wet! you have such an amazing family and we are so...
gordon+marjan
gordon+marjan- we can’t wait…. one month from today! you guys were such a blast to get to know and we look forward to capturing your love and laughs in a just a few weeks. much blessing new friends!
just another day at the office...
and people say taking pictures is for the ‘sissy’ creative people. ppsshhhh.
May 2008
6 posts
billy + kelly.... hitched.
april 26…. a beautiful day indeed. more hilarity and joy than one heart can contain alone…. billy + kelli-thanks again for sharing life with us. you two make us smile every time we are around you. much blessing to your new journey together!
it's birthday time!!!
today i am fortunate enough to celebrate the twenty-fifth birthday of the most stunning woman in the world. whitney lynn - please don’t ever stop making my heart beat in the way that you do. without you i would not come close to being the man that i am today. the world is a far better place from having tasted your beauty. with more love than my heart can contain, the guy that married up....
adding a lil' folk to life...
let the birthday week festivities go on. today we hit up the folklife (yes it’s supposed to be one word) festival with the amazing johnson family. not only were there eight billion people there, but there were more random performers than one hope could hope to be entertained by. needless to say it was a lovely afternoon in the sun…. go ahead count them. all eight billion of them....
cirque du what?
as a part of whitney’s birthday festival week, we went and checked out the cirque du soleil show ‘corteo’. not gonna lie, i was a bit skeptical. but to our pleasure…we were blown away. i felt like a little kid again, caught up in a giant playful dream. it was done so well. needless to say we will be going to every cirque show we can in the future. we would have most...
troy+megan
we were in denver a few weeks ago and got the chance to meet up with this crazy duo…. troy + megan-thanks for running around your city with us. we had a blast! keep up the handstands.
blaine+margaret
so the blogging has been shy lately…. our deepest apologies. we couldn’t think of a better way to come back from a few weeks off, than with anything other than blaine+margaret. enjoy…. blaine apparently needed help with the elevator…. to the soon to be hogan family- keep whispering those little secrets to one another. they seem to work magic. you two have and...
April 2008
9 posts
those crazy tulips.
this last weekend, amidst the madness, whitney and i were able to sneak off to the annual tulip festival. it rained the entire way up there, and just as we arrived the sun broke loose. creation. there could be nothing more beautiful. who’s that awkward, tall man? oh wait… that’s me. happy wednesday. have a fabulous weekend. we’re heading off to denver, so hopefully...
stephen+erin
the lovely stephen and erin are getting married in less than a week in good ol’ mexico. if their marriage is anything like the crazy fun we had during their engagement session… well, then it’ll be a doozy! seriously, more smiles, lovin’, and good times than we’ve ever seen! (click on the last image to see it a bit larger…) stephen & erin- you...
i need help.
just a fair warning…if you aren’t a photographer, you won’t give a crap about this post. feel free to leave a sarcastic comment or something, or just move along to something you might find far more interesting :) i have this little workflow problem that i have run into lately. well…it’s not exactly a problem, it’s more like a old lady neighbor that is always...
jamie+katie
with no further adue… two cute and crazy peeps that i am fortunate enough to call friends. the following is one of my fav’s of the year thus far…. jamie has this uncanny knack for making katie giggle… a studdly gift indeed. jamie+katie-we are sooo bummed that we won’t be able to join you this summer for your wedding in michigan! however, you two are...
new music tuesday.
i found a true gem this week. his name is joe purdy and you might know him best from this kia commercial. i fell in love with that snappy little jingle and had to pick up some of his other work. i must say that i CANNOT stop playing his album ‘You Can Tell Georgia’. i’d describe his sound as intimate folk with a small blues kick in the pants. not only does he flesh out melodic...
one last (or first) day on the mountaintop.
we finally got a chance to sneak off to the mountain. it’s ridiculous that this was the only day this season that whitney and i got up to ride together. traumatic, i tell you. here’s a little photo love from our glorious point n’ shoot. (which may require it’s own post some day… this camera is a serious gift from point n’ shoot heaven.) im out of town for a...
custom prints yo.
as all of our wonderful clients already know… all of our wedding packages come with the digital negatives from your wedding day. it’s the latest and greatest rage of wedding photography packages and we are more than happy to jump on the wagon. we know the feeling of paying lots of money for photography and not having much to show for it. thats why we feel so compelled to include an...
new music tuesday.
every stinkin’ tuesday i get that annoying email from apple talking about new music tuesday. but rarely do i find much music that entices my senses and i end up trashing the email. to my delight…it’s about the only thing from apple that i have found to be subpar. so i’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. not that i am some music connoisseur by any means…...
March 2008
9 posts
billy+kelli
only a few weeks away and these crazy kids are getting married! despite the weather tromping on our day… we still had a rockin’ time interrupting the studious folks at UW’s library. billy+kelli-your love is contagious and a truly beautiful thing. we can’t wait to be a part of your wedding day in only a few more weeks! oh….and one more thing…. thanks for...
engagements, anyone?
so Whitney and I will be venturing to a few destinations in the next month or so and we thought we’d throw around a free engagement session or two to anyone in the area. (not only do we love to shoot in crazy new places, but we also like tax breaks) so we will be in san francisico on april 19-20th (sat & sun) and denver on may 4-5th (sun & mon). we’ll hook a lovely couple up...
Watchwow. while perusing the blogger world today i found this. you can thank me later.
the remnants of february...
last week=many papers for grad school due+out of town visitors+easter weekend+two engagement sessions+selling and purchasing car, which therefore = not posting much on blog. sorry to all the faithfuls out there :) so here is all you get tonight. because it’s all i had time to throw together at 1:30am before i hit the sack. i introduce you to day one and day thirty of facial hair february. ...
i need your help....
so mustache march is starting to get a little old. the other day we stopped to buy some cookies from a few lovely young girl scouts and their fathers outside of trader joes. needless to say, they seemed a bit…well….nervous. so i need your help. should the stache stay, or go? fill out the poll below and help a brother make up his mind… for any of those clients, or potential...
speaking of splitting pants....
After Ben mentioned yesterday how he split his pants at our last engagement session…I just couldn’t resist posting this image that I took right after. Travis was good enough to help point it out! There’s never a dull moment with us as your photographers! :) Have a great Thursday! Whitney
Nena + Travis
this engagement session was a ridiculously good time. travis and nena were a blast, and their personalities were flying all over the place. they are having a black & white wedding this coming summer, which we are banking on being just as much of a good time as we had a week ago. with a bunch of exploration in post-processing over the past few days, i came up with some of this...
February 2008
2 posts
Matt + Alyssa
This past weekend I had the privilege to hang out with Matt and Alyssa. Not only were they a blast, but their connection between each other was so stunning that capturing it was soooooo easy. There is nothing like taking over Wal-Mart for a photo shoot…. People had no idea what to do with us. Matt & Alyssa- Thanks for the cute mushy stuff in front of the camera. You two are...
January 2008
13 posts
christmas in january?
So the other day Whitney saw an ad for Roméo et Juliette and exclaimed her passion for wanting to go to the ballet. So I got tickets. Now let’s just wait and see how long it takes her to read this here blog and find them….. I’ll keep you posted… update: it only took 12 hours… i guess she keeps tabs on what i’m posting.
our little booth at the fair....
Thanks to the many brides and grooms-to-be that stopped by our booth over the past few weekends. We met so many amazing people, both vendors and guests, and are excited for the many new relationships to come… We also can’t thank enough those who shared their kind words about our work-it’s your feedback that keeps us going!
good ol' 2007.
The beginning of this year has been so insanely busy that we haven’t had much of a chance to reflect back on what was this past year. But today, as I reminisced through some photos from the past 365 days…I found these…. I’m not gonna lie-the best night of 2007 goes to Bingo Night at the senior center in Leavenworth. I’ve never partied so hard. Nor will I ever...
texturizing
I am not sure if that is a legal English word. But I am going to use it anyway. This week I was a like a little kid at Christmas when I opened the mail to find my Jesh De Rox texture set in the mail. I’ve been doing quite a bit of texture work on my own over the past year by using textures that I have captured myself. But Jesh is simply amazing and one of my greatest influences. His work is...
Tacoma + Bellevue Bridal Shows
The next two weekends we will have a booth at both the Tacoma and Bellevue Bride’s Club bridal fair. To all of your beautiful brides (and grooms who are fortunate enough to be drug to a bridal fair), we would love for you to stop by and say hello! We would be stoked to get to meet you. Perhaps you might see a little canvas action….something like this maybe…. Seriously-if you...
sexy Mr. Hustad
I love the chance I get to shoot the groom pre ceremony (while Whitney shoots the bride). It’s always a good chance to hang out and have some fun. It usually helps calm some nerves as well. Erik is going to kill me for posting these for the world to see. But they are freaking sweet. So he can deal. Hopefully. Erik-even though you think you are hardcore…you really are just a giant...
Hollenbeck Family
The winter months are always slow in the world of photography….except when you visit home over the holidays. Then it’s definitely picture time. I always love snapping shots of our neices and nephew. There’s nothing like running down a bunch of crazy little ones. Their contagious laughter is one of the most beautiful things on the planet and we already miss them heaps. The...
1 tag
Deron and Melissa
This session with Deron and Melissa was probably the last sunny day in Seattle before the clouds decided to camp out for the next 8 months. (the Seattle brochure I read before we moved here definitely lied and said it was only cloudy for 4 months out of the year. who’s the sucker now?) Anyway…here is to a little love under the sun. Marcus jumped in for a little family shoot. He was...
1 tag
Evan + Bailey
This shoot = funky fresh. (I’m not sure anyone has said funky fresh, since 1996.) We ended up shooting a bunch of these in the salon that Bailey works in, which meant Ben was stoked for a crazy-cool new location. Evan & Bailey-thanks for the spunk and the love. If I had any sense of style, I’d get me a hat like that.
1 tag
The one and only Matt & Laura
This Christmas, while back in good ol’ Nebraska, we had the privilege of shooting an engagement session with our good friends Matt and Laura (whose wedding we will also be capturing this summer). There truly is nothing like capturing the beauty of that which exists between two amazing people that are so full of love. and someone said you couldn’t find love on top of a dirty snow...