Mason Jar Photography

Vintage inspired new born shoot: Puyallup baby photographer

2011-07-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

I have been so excited about getting to try out my new "studio" set up for newborns and I could not have tried it out on a more perfect baby!! This is JJ. Be prepared to fall in love! I think it is pretty awesome that 4 years ago today I was at his parents wedding :)

Some Momma love!

Neumeyer family photos

2011-07-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

I had just recently booked a family session with the Neumeyer family when I was strolling through an antique store and found just the most perfect prop for them! With just a bit of crafty TLC... Wallah!

This next shot is one of my most favorite baby photos to date!

Mini Sessions

2011-07-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about this! Mason Jar Photography is offering summer mini sessions with a lemonade stand theme!! We went all out on designing these sessions and I know that my clients will be happy!! Spots are limited. If you would like to book a session for either of these dates please check out my Facebook page by by clicking here or contact me (Steph) at stephijoe@yahoo.com

The Proposal!!

2011-06-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

This photo takes me back to a place where I felt my creative self soar. I look at this photo and I instantly feel the warmth of the California sunrise. I can hear great music playing, new friends laughing and I have this crazy urge to go fill up on some phenomenal french toast casserole!!

This is the farm house that I had the pleasure of visiting while attending the Wildflowers Photography workshop.

Joy's idea for this session was to build a doll house and set up a scene that looks like it is a room from within the house! This gal went all out!!

A doll house would not be complete with out its dolls :)

This is Kayla and Shane and oh my goodness they are in LOVE!

Shane had asked Joy if she thought it would be ok if he could surprise Kayla by proposing durring the shoot!! (On a side note, I have been wanting to shoot a "secret proposal" shoot since I first picked up my camera- So I was just gitty on the inside knowing what was about to go down!!)
The plan was that when Joy was ready she would say a secret word that meant for all of us ladies to distract the couple while she hid the ring in the doll house... Then she would direct Kayla to go find the barber chair inside the house. The barber chair had her ring nestled inside of it! :)

Cameras were going off like crazy at this point!

(There was not a single dry eye at this point!)

WooHooo!!!

Congratulations to Shane and Kayla! I look forward to seeing your wedding photos!!

Big thanks goes out to Joy and her team for a fabulous few days in the mountains. Your passion is contagious!!

Pie Eating Contest!!

2011-06-18T01:56:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about these beautiful photos!! Before I share, I have to give you the background on this session. Last week I attended a much anticipated photography workshop lead by Joy Harmon Prouty of Wildflowers Photography. This woman is amazing! Not only is her work breath taking but she has a heart of gold! I love how she combines arts and crafts (yes that sounds cheesy but I am a huge 'do it yourself' fan) with storytelling and photography. I just needed to know more!!

This was a pie themed family session that took place in an apple orchard in the tiny town of Julian, California. It was 1 of the 3 sessions that us workshop attendees got to take part in :)

I have to give this Momma props for how well she collaborated with Joy! You could tell how "all out" she went to help guarantee that these photos would be off the charts! Hello, look at this family's attire!! :) She also made the hanging banner of smashed pie tins, made the cute sign and picked a tub full of berries (that you will see later) from her grandma's house to have her boys smash around in! Way to go Shauna!!

This was so darn sweet :) Shauna told her little Ella to "walk like a 40's princess." Then when Ella was asked by Joy who her favorite princess was she pointed to her mommy!! (I must add that I adore my boys to death and love getting muddy with them, but at this moment I daydreamed about having my own 40's princess)

I was enjoying playing paparazzi and capturing some more photo journalist shots.

I was caught!

Here are the berries! Reminds me of the I love Lucy episode where the girls were crushing grapes :)

Reed family pie eating contest!!

Thank you Joy and thank you beautiful Reed family for letting me take part in this great experience!

I have a Face Book Page

2011-06-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of revamping my photog business and that includes this blog!! Thank you for your patience :) To see more of my up to date work just swing on over to my Mason Jar Photography fan page and "like" me!!

Click here to go on over!!

Love Steph

Miss Staci: 2012 senior model

2011-05-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

I got to give it to my 2012 Senior model, Staci! It was cold, ugly, windy and rainy out and yet she still ROCKED our shoot! I love this girls personality, her willingness to just go for it and oh those dimples!!

These last two pictures show off those dimples that I previously mentioned ;)

Thank you so much Stacy for sticking it out with me! Our next play date will hopefully have some sun!

Miss Liz: Puyallup senior portrait photographer

2011-05-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

I love shooting seniors. Seriously LOVE it! Not only do teenagers look great and have fabulous style, but they also love to get their picture taken and what photographer does not love that??
We met up at Windmill Gardens to get started.

On my way to the nursery I got excited as I passed by a vacant field with high grass and really cool looking trees. So my style!! And the sun... The sun!! It has been raining for what seems forever here in the northwest, so to see the beautiful glowing ball in the sky had me thrilled Man, I could sure get used to it!!

As we were walking back to our cars, I had to stop because there was some great light pouring down on us. I am sure that Liz though I was crazy having her lay on the side of the road in front of an ugly store, but doesn't this shot make the driving by whistles worth it??

A change of direction

2011-04-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

My photography has always been inspired by life. I strive to capture beautiful moments as they happen. To "preserve your memories". This concept has worked for me so far. I have captured thousands of images for my family, friends and clients that show case life's beauty. I know that when I walk into a clients home and see my work on their walls, that I have accomplished my goal...
The downside to this idea is that life can sometimes (lets face it) be boring.
I have been dreaming up a change for my images, change for my sessions and hopefully it will trickle down into a change for how I live. What if I put my ways of thinking in reverse?? Can I make photography inspire life? I don't want to just preserve memories. I want to help make memories worthy of preserving!!
Do you follow me on this??
Here is an example. Every night Joey reads to the boys in bed. I have taken many photos of this from many different perspectives on many different occasions and none of them I consider blog worthy. Yet it still is me capturing life as it happens right? I am still "preserving memories"... Last night, I reversed my thought process and mixed things up a bit. While the boys were getting ready for bed, I surprised them by making a fort downstairs. My goal was to set up for some pictures. The outcome was not only some photos that I will be hanging in our hallway, BUT memories that will be tucked into our hearts forever!!
I want to offer this to my clients. I want our time together to be FUN, CREATIVE and MEMORABLE (even if there wasn't a photo to show for it after wards!!)
We are going places, folks! Hang on and if you want to join me on the ride- shoot me an email and lets see what fun session we can create for you!

Every body Loves an Italian! :: Tacoma maternity photographer

2011-04-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met up with Miss Nikki. She cracks me up! Within minutes of us meeting I told her straight up "You are so Italian!!" Seriously, I think she could have been a character off of the HBO series "The Sopranos"!

We sipped tea.

We discussed the awesomeness and the beauty of her pregnancy.

We laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed some more...

I have come to sorely expect that it rains way too often in Washington! As a photographer that means that I have to deal with plenty of cancellations. BUT not Nikki!! When the rain came she did not cancel. In fact she just grabbed a cute umbrella and joked around about being like Mary Poppins!! (This first picture was just meant to be an out take, but how can you not love it:)

We hung baby clothes from the line.

Such a beautiful Momma!

This next shot might be my favorite! Please click on the image to see a larger view :) Notice all of the rain? The pure joy that she has on her face just makes me smile!!

The shirt pretty much describes our session!

Dear sweet little Joie: I am so excited to meet you! Your Momma and I have your first photo session (of what will be many) all planned out and you will love it! I look forward to meeting and snuggling with you next month!

Love,
Steph

Dance Party!

2011-03-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson's "Beat It" is quite the hit at this family's house! I was coming over to take some photos of baby Solomon with his big brothers and sister and it turned into a super cool dance party!!

Oohin and Awing over "their" new baby. "Not Momma's baby. Every one's baby!"

"So Big!"

This next one cracks me up! I think I might have scared both boys. Oops ;)

Oh, how I love this sweet one! I could stare at his eyes for hours!

Dear Mr Sun:

2011-03-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

It was so nice of you to pay us a visit. Please feel free to come back any day now :)

Graham area newborn photographer

2011-03-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Be prepared to fall in LOVE!!
Meet my newest little buddy Solomon!
I have a goal of becoming a "baby whisperer". You know... the kind of photographer that is great at putting sweet little newborns to sleep to then put them in all of those cute poses! Let me just say, you might be fooled by these next images, but it is NOT easy!! Babies like to be warm and dressed... and swaddled... and snuggled. Not naked with a clicking camera in their face!! But with the heat cranked up and quite a few attempts into it, this is what we got!

This next shot is one of my absolute favorites!

Peek-A-Boo!!

I love playing around with photos and names!

This is where the magic happened! Yep, I humbly confess that my studio is actually my kitchen!

Reason to smile

2011-03-19T11:09:00.001-07:00

More pictures of this handsome little man to come!

Puyallup New Born Photographer: baby Libby

2011-02-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

I got to see Libby at 17 days old. Isn't she just so darn cute?!

Such a happy Momma!

Fuzzy hair! I could not get enough of Libby's hair, so I wanted to play with some silhouettes to showcase it's awesomeness!!

She played along great!
The sweetest shot!

Caught in the off moment

2011-02-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

The only thing more beautiful than a new baby... Is a mother with her new baby.

Happy Valentine's Day from Brandon!

2011-02-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Travis and Lindsey's wedding slide show

2011-02-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

I love slide shows!
They make me cry. They make me smile. They allow me to sit back and enjoy the moments that I have been privileged to capture. This one is one of my favorites. Lindsey and Travis were so fun to work with and we had lots of time to "play". :) The other reason that I love this slide show is because of the song Lindsey asked for it to go with. The song is called "All Of Me" by Scott Heuston of Sugar Tree Entertainment. It is a custom song that he made especially for her and Travis and was not unveiled until their wedding reception!! Can you tell that I was SO impressed?! I did not even know that there was a service, or shall I say an artist, out there that provided something so personal and amazing! Brides to be: Look him up, because I selfishly NEED to hear more from this guy!!
I won't make you wait any longer. CLICK HERE to see Travis and Lindsey's wedding slide show!!

Big thanks goes out to my fabulous assistant and partner in crime, Miss Nikki McLaughlin! You are fabulous to work with!
.
~Steph

We got away!

2011-01-31T21:22:00.001-08:00

And enjoyed every second of it!

I love a fun group!

2011-01-29T22:22:00.001-08:00

I was going through some of the guy shots from Travis and Lindsey's wedding and I just had to share! I am a laid back kind of photographer and I always enjoy having a good time while behind the camera. How could I not be smiling with guys like these?

Travis. Please don't kill me for posting this! ;)

The football huddle

I love how perfectly posed the bride is here while the boys are goofing off!

Ok. I guess I should put one "nice" one up. :)

My favorite part about this picture...

2011-01-16T20:01:00.001-08:00

Are Brandon's feet sticking up! :)

Quick! I see sun!!

2011-01-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

This last Friday I spent the day photographing the wedding of Travis and Lindsey. It was supposed to rain. In fact it was raining on my way there. We were in the middle of some indoor pictures when we squealed like little girls, saying "quick! There is light!" And we bailed for outside.
What beautiful light it was! :)
I have a serious LOVE obsession going on with clouds. I guess it is good that I live in the North West!
Such a beautiful couple!

More photos of their special day and a slide show still to come! ;)

So I am not sleeping

2011-01-10T23:35:00.000-08:00

Instead of sleeping, I am removing the floor from the back ground in this pic. I think I like it. Kind of edgy, but still simple. I can imagine this hanging in a nursery... You can compare this picture to the one in last post. Do you have a favorite?

Meet Bentley

2011-01-10T22:02:00.001-08:00

Gotta love newborns! This is Bentley and he was only 6 days old when I had the pleasure of hanging out and snuggling him :) What a sweet heart!!

I am so looking forward to shooting more Bentley shots along with the rest of his family, later this month! :)

Caden turns 1

2011-01-10T11:34:00.001-08:00

Happy 1st birthday Caden!! I met this little cutie last year for his newborn photos and he has been nothing but a gem to shoot ever since! Is he not just so adorable? :)

Caden's Mommy made him a special cake to enjoy for his session and it was a HIT!! This little man was THRILLED!!

These next pictures had me on an artistic high for days! :) One of my goals for 2011 is to add more color into both my life and my photography. It just so turned out that my first session of the year allowed me to do just that and I love the way that the photos "pop" out at you! Seriously. Love. It.

I have admired the work of Ali Hahn for quite some time time now and have been studying her lighting techniques that I used here... Thank you Ali!!Thank you Mr. Caden for being such a fabulous little model for me and Happy Birthday!!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2011 friends! I am super excited to say that I am going to be giving Mason Jar Photography a complete overhaul! Stay tuned for updated photos (taken with fancy-smanshy new equipment), a web site and yes even a current blog! Heck I even am working on some top secret new additions to my little home grown company and if it all pans out I CAN NOT wait to share!

Cheers to 2011!!

Bonilla wedding slide show

2010-10-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last month I had the great opportunity to shoot the wedding of Chris and Michelle... and what a delight it was!! They were a couple that I just wanted to adopt me into their family! :)
Here are a couple shots from their special day.

To see Chris and Michelle's wedding slide show click here!

I also want to give a huge thanks to my assistant, Nikki for doing a great job! Having two sets of eyes was a big help and you took some fabulous images!

Kevin and Kelli:: slide show

2010-09-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back I had the privilege of driving up to Pacific Beach, Washington to shoot the wedding day of Kevin and Kelli of Omaha, Nebraska! This couple was so fun and laid back and I completely loved taking pictures of them on the beach!
So Kelli had planned on doing her first dance with Kevin to the song called Sideways by Citizen Cope and due to all of the excitement they forgot to do their first dance at the reception!! So Miss Kelli, when making this slide show I had to use your special song and I hope that you enjoy listening to it as you see the images of you and your Love on your special day!!

CLICK HERE to see the slide show of Kevin and Kelli

... and what is a blog post with out a couple great pictures? :)

Raymond and Kristy

2010-09-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

On August 14th My cousin Kristy married her sweet heart Raymond! Here are just a few of the images that I had the pleasure of capturing.

Two proud Mommas

My beautiful cousins
And to keep my Momma happy, I have to post this next shot. It is of all of the ladies on our side of the family :)

Sisters

2010-06-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

These eyes will just melt your heart!!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting up with these beauties at Windmill Gardens in Sumner. Such a fun location for little girl or family sessions!

Zack's 1 month pictures

2010-05-26T17:48:00.001-07:00

It was raining out today. Joey was in the middle of ripping up our old kitchen floors, Brandon was running around playing and Zack was in taking a nap when I insisted that it all stop!! I NEEDED Zack's 1 month pictures and with how fast time has been flying by around here, there was no better time than now! Thankfully they all were pretty gracious with me and gave up a couple of smiles for their snap-happy momma!

Trying to get this next shot took a lot of work... BUT I think I got a keeper!

Brandon has taken well to being a big brother and he tells me daily "Momma I love Zack!"

Where Oh Where has Stepheni been??

2010-05-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

Hello? Is there any body there? I am sorry to have left you hanging... To say that this has been a stale blog lately is an understatement~ A BIG understatement!!
Lets back up to last September where we left off... I was just into my first trimester of being pregnant with my second child and naively planning on having the same easy-breazy pregnancy that I had with my first son!! Ooops, teach me to make assumptions! So to make a long story short... I slowed my photography business down and eventually my body down to bed rest until April 24th, when Zachary James Mason entered into this world! He was more beautiful and healthy than I ever could have asked for!!

Now of course this sweet little boy is going to be objected to the lens pretty often, so why not start him out early? Here he was at just 6 days old!

This next one is the picture that sends me over the moon with joy! I still am so thrilled that I was able to capture this moment with my camera!

Tomorrow he will be 1 month old and a new session is definitely called for! I am thinking this time it has to be with him and his super awesome big brother!

Josh and Danielle's wedding slide show

2009-10-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for today's post! On September 26th I teamed up with photographer Savanna Watkinson and headed to Chehalis for the wedding and celebration of Josh and Danielle. Not only do I love shooting the sassy couple but they chose a great venue that had me looking forward to this day for months!

Here are a couple of my favorite images! (HaHa... As I look back there seems to have been a lot of kissing going on!!)

Josh and Danielle chose to dance their first dance to "Then" by Brad Paisley and I found it to be quite fitting for it to be the song to their slide show! Want to check it out? CLICK HERE!!

School Pictures

2009-10-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

These are my kind of school pictures!! No sitting there on an uncomfortable bench and saying cheese on the count of three!! I enjoy capturing people accurately and I believe that by doing so you need to take pictures of them in their element... and for this guy... his element is on his board!! Here are a couple from our session!

I Forgot to post this one!!

2009-09-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Here is one of Emma that I really loved and the lighting was just right! Isn't this gal a beauty?!

Senior Session with Emma

2009-09-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air and that means that the class of 2010 (wow I am getting old) is gearing up and ready for senior portraits!! Emma was my first one of the season and we had so much fun playing around and getting some awesome shots!!

These ones are just for fun, because I told Emma that I would play around with a couple of them to give them an alternative edge... What do you guys think?

If you are a senior or know one and want to get some fun portraits, just email at masonjarphotography@yahoo.com!

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "B"!

2009-09-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I have been watching Sesame Street by today's blog title?? Let me explain...

Brandon is going to Be a Big Brother!! Baby Mason #2 is due April 26th!!

If we are friend's on face book or in real life you probably all ready know this, but I had to put up an excuse for having such a stale blog lately :) I have been either at work or home and most likely SICK! Blogging has not been on my top list of things to do, but I promise I have not gone anywhere!! I have a senior shoot that I will post in a few days that I am So In LOVE with!! For now I leave you with my Bubba!!

Miss Amanda

2009-08-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

My friend Amanda needed some fun photos for a project that she was working on. We went down to my favorite place to shoot and came away with some awesome shots! Doesn't she look beautiful!?

Coca Cola Models

2009-08-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friend Amy and I had a date with her boys Devin and Dylan, in down town Puyallup. Like many of my sessions our time together started out with us hanging out and going on a walk. First we had to stop off at the library...

As we were walking we found this PERFECT photo bench!

I really like the feel of "photo walk" sessions. They allow the client and I to relax and get to know each other in between shots, or in this case just chat a bunch!!! I like taking spur of the moment shots like this next one. The boys are fascinated with trains and I tried to pose them (quickly) on the tracks. Dev is the older brother and even though he was nervous to do so he stood there for me and we got this awesome image! Dylan is going to wait a couple years before he tries that one! :)

So the back of a bar is not some where that I typically take kids to, but Amy fell in love with this chair and we had to utilize the property!!

Look at our little Coke models! "This is the awesomest" as Dylan would say!

One last shot at the park before they were off!

Stunning bride!

2009-08-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in August, I had a great time shooting the wedding of Ray and Lisa. I spotted a car down the road that said "take my picture" all over it and found the owner to ask permission to take some photos of it with Lisa and he happily let us use the beauty! Lisa is 5 months pregnant here with twins, doesn't she look gorgeous?! She is radiant and beaming with joy!!

Back from Vacation

2009-08-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Joey and I just got back from our Tahoe "Adventure" vacation! We had so much much fun and I can't wait to show you the images!! It was our first time ever leaving Brandon for more than a night and we truly did miss him... Here is a sneak peak of what he was up to when we were away... Oh boy!

A Love Story Slide Show!

2009-08-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to have you click HERE to see Trevor and Janae's wedding slide show!! What a beautiful couple!

So... did you click HERE yet?? :)

A lil' teaser

2009-07-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was able to shoot one of the funnest weddings that I have been to as of yet, Trevor and Janae's! I am busy editing away, but how could I not give my bride a few to peak at? Enjoy!

Baby Kate turns 1!

2009-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

I have been taking pictures of Kate since she was just a couple months old and I have grown to be so fond of her! She turned one earlier this month and we of course had to celebrate, so we took her to the yummiest cup cake bakery, HELLO CUPCAKE!!

After we tried to get Kate to eat her birthday treat (she is more of a fruit kind of gal) We strolled across the street to the glass museum where she booked up the towering stairs at full speed, blanky and all!!

Isn't she so darn cute?!

If you would like to book a photo session with me, just shoot me an email at masonjarphotographry@yahoo.com :)

My dream wedding couple!!

2009-07-23T08:51:00.001-07:00

One of my girlfriends posted this on her facebook and I died laughing!! Now this is what you call a BRIDAL PARTY!! Do enjoy!!

Danielle and Josh part II

2009-07-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I got the chance to finish up on Danielle and Josh's engagement sessions! We broke this down into two parts not only because of our time availability, but we wanted to showcase both of this couple's styles: City and country! We crossed our fingers that the rain would hold off and went to town!

Josh and Danielle I just love working with you both and am really looking forward to your wedding day!!!

This one is for my GRAMS!!

2009-07-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I just heard that my Grams up in BC has my blog on her "favorites" list!! How awesome is that?! I have to admit that when I heard this I was uber impressed to have such a hip grams that now not only is online, but has a favorites list!! So Grams this one is for you and this is what your little man was up to this morning!!

Love and Miss you always,
Steph

He calls this his "Supa Boy" outfit! Notice the 2 different boots? There are arm cuffs and a mask to go with this getup, but today he just want to rock the cape! As far as the big boy undies?... Well that is the newest undertaking in our house right now. "sigh". Ask me in a week or two how that one is coming along. Ha Ha!!

This is Brandon's defining look right here, he has a problem seeing in the sun and I used to avoid pictures that showcased his squint or lazy eye... but I am better about it now. I have embraced it and I love it!

The "H" family

2009-07-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting up with my boss, Katie, and her awesome family to catch them up on some portraits. I knew that I was in a treat when we arrived to our location and her little boy came over to meet me with a huge hug... my type of people!! Katie and I have shared many conversations about our families and so it was great to finally meet them!!

Time to take a stroll on down to the river: AKA another great excuse for me to get fun shots on the move and really capture the family in their element

When I do sessions, and especially sessions of kiddos, I really think it is important to encourage lots of play time. This approach gets me "real" smiles and moments, apposed to just sitting there and saying "cheese". Look at how much fun everyone was having!!

These two are so darn cute! It is easy to see where their kids got their joy of like from.

Really, what is a trip down to the river with out a little splashin around? I apologized to Katie ahead of time and then whispered in Evan and Alyssa's ear to attack mom and dad! :) FUN!!

Daddy daughter moment!

Thanks Katie and Justin for sharing the evening with me and getting your pictures take! By the way if I haven't told you all ready, your kids are super adorable!!!

4th of July City Blast

2009-07-07T22:49:00.001-07:00

This 4th of July goes down in the books as one of my most favorites ever! To finish off our awesome day Joe, Brandon and I headed down to the Puyallup Four Square's City blast Celebration... to what we thought was going to be some jumping on bounce houses and a firework display...

Once the first band started to play, I realized that we were in for a treat! There was a ton of great performances to watch and get into and even some awesome give-a-ways! Lexy even won a dinner for 2 at Red Robin for it being her Birthday!!

After all of the great performances by bands, clowns, break dancers and stunt men, Pastor Roger took the stage to remind us all that "Freedom is not free".

And what 4th of July would be complete with out a fireworks display? This celebration is going to be a new tradition in our home and we are all ready looking forward to next year!!

Celebrating with a SPLASH!!

2009-07-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

After the boys' naps we headed down to Orting to enjoy the company of the Patsey's!! Can you believe that we actually attempted to keep Owen and Brandon out of the pools for our visit? Silly parents!!!
Both Brandon and Owen were ready to celebrate the 4th with a splash! They started out being bashful and ended up going for full dunks and jumps off the top of the slide... Crazy kids!!

I could not help but notice this sweet little boy admiring the "big kids" from over the fense. He was just adorable!

After the boys dried off and we ate dinner we headed down to the fair grounds to finish up our day at CITY BLAST! Those pictures I will post tomorrow ;)

Let me just say good bye with a big "Choo Choo!! " from Bubba and I!!

Happy Independance Day

2009-07-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July people!! Isn't it great to live in a country that is able to celebrate our freedom however we choose?! This year my Mom, Joe and I chose to do it by partaking in the first annual Puyallup Four Square CITY BLAST 5k!! Let me tell you... I am no runner, but when my pastor mentioned this in church a while back Joey and I exchanged glances that silently said "Oh Baby, it's on!!"
Showing up was intimidating! I just kept going "Oh my... Look at those legs" as I realized that these other participants were truly the "real deal"

My awesome step dad, Tim filled in as 'photographer for the day'... Thanks a million!

Even my brother was there to help take care of Bubba...Thank you Tony, your help was so appreciated, Brandon just loves you!!

Here we were after gearing up in our awesome t-shirts, before we got all hot and nasty!! ;)

Hello!! Can you imagine this crowd coming at you? The turn out was awesome, I am looking forward to hearing all the stats on how many people actually raced!

The let the crazy running guys go first and then us joggers, followed by the walkers. I was able to watch Joey from a ways back and I was so excited to see him running and keeping with the pack! Needless to say he finished first out of us 3 coming in at 23 minutes and 20 seconds!!
I must say not only am I super stoked and proud of him, but he looks HOT in this photo!!
I was next to come in at 35.50! My goal was to come in under 40 minutes and just be able to say that "I did it", so shedding that five minutes off of my time was exhilarating!!
From here on out every picture of me I am bright red!!! I don't sweat, which is crazy but I do over heat and it takes me a while to go back to normal.
This next part of my day was my favorite!! My mom has been super diligent in her trainings and has been finishing up 3 miles on the treadmill in about 43 minutes. I decided to go wait for her about a half block before the finish line and I saw her coming in at about 39 minutes. She had her head set in and she could not hear me at first, but I was cheering her on and running along side her... she took off the head phones and heard me yelling "Come on Mom, you are going to beat 40 minutes!!" I saw that spark come into her eyes and a glow come across her face! Then I was afraid that she may not make it and made her aware that she only had ten seconds and BOOM she took off like lightning crossing the finish line at 39 minutes and 54 sconds!!! Woot Woot!! My mom kicks some serious "arsky"!!
This was mine and Joey's first race and I think that my Mom has not ran in one for over 20 years. Proud is an understatement of how we all felt towards eachother!

Time for some celebration photos!!
I am almost certain that there are going to be more great photos of today to come, after all it is only nap time and we still have a day of BBQ and back to City Blast for a family fun night followed by a fire works display! Happy birthday to America, Vee Ann and Lexy!!

Josh and Danielle: Engagement session part I

2009-06-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This is a long one ;)

Meet my friends Danielle and Josh who will be getting married this upcoming fall!

To say that I am excited to be shooting their wedding is an understatement not only because they are so much fun to be around but they just happened to pick one of the coolest wedding locations ever... the super awesome Red Barn Studios!!(Eeeks!!) Josh and Danielle's love for God, each other and life is infectious and I believe that these guys have the tools and know how to make their marriage last forever!

To go along with the barn-country theme we decided to shoot the first installment of their engagement session out in the fields of Orting. Aren't those boots on Danielle great? They are going to be tucked away under her wedding gown, so you can better believe that my camera and I am going to be all over those boots on her special day!!

I know that I am a dork, but I think it is so cute how tiny Danielle is compared to Josh and I really wanted to show case it! Doesn't she just look like she feels so safe and happy in his arms?

We finished up our session in the woods and headed down to the river just before sunset. The same place where Josh gave Danielle her engagement ring!!

Danielle's entire face lights up when she laughs especially when she is focusing in on her sweetie... BEA-utiful!!

Muah!!

We finished the night off perfectly with some great pizza and a bon fire.

Thank you Josh and Danielle for choosing me to hang out with you guys and capture those priceless moments of love between you. I am looking forward to our second part of this session... down town and all dolled up (Danielle-Style!)

Patsey Family session

2009-06-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

Remember Owen?

It has been a while since I got to chase this lil' man around in the fields behind his house (also known as my favorite place to take pictures!!) Owen's energy is contagious to say the least, can't you hear him laughing here?!

Our goal for the evening was to get a couple great family shots... With Owen's energy and Derek's craziness, Michelle and I had our work cut out for us!! And I say craziness in an endearing way ;)

I don't have to prompt this little man to show some love for his Mommy, he gives her flowers when ever he sees them and tells her about how pretty they are!!

Last time I tried to shoot this family in the fall, Dad ended up working late and missing out on the photos. I love this next one of them!

Last but not least we tried to get some shots of Mom and Dad.

In all honesty if I posted my favorite shot of Michelle and Derek on here... Michelle would kill me!! But really we were having such a great time trying to "set the mood!" Ha Ha!!

This is the best "romantic" shot of them... If I were only a photo shop genius I would close his eyes for you, Shell!

This family and mine are pretty tight and they sure are a huge part of our lives. I love you tons and hope you like your pictures!

Kathy and Aaron's love story

2009-06-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes me more excited than when all of my editing is finished and I get to present my work to a client through a slide show! Eeeeks! This one was a little tough though... How to narrow it down to just 71 images?? I chose to use the song that Kathy and Aaron had there first dance to, Jim Brickman's Love Of My Life, a classic romantic number that really portrays any great love tale. However, I was finding that not all of my favorite images were "fitting" to the song or the story of Aaron and Kathy that I was wanting to portray.
I had to leave out fun images like these...

I love the sassiness of this one...

the steaminess of this one...

the preciousness of this little girl and her daddy. I tried to get her for a smile for quite sometime before I captured this one...

But I think you will agree that images that the remaining images make up a beautiful story of Kathy and Aarons special!!! So with out making you wait any longer CLICK HERE to see Aaron and Kathy's slide show!!

blog under construction

2009-06-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

I must confess... I love blogging and sharing my photos with everyone, but I am not a fan with how my blog site looks overall. So it is time for an overhaul!! I made a few changes so far, but none permanent... we shall see!

Love Steph

Kathy: the bridal session

2009-06-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last fall I was asked by a great gal to shoot her wedding! Back then I had only been the second-shooter at a wedding and mainly just shot portraits of kiddos, senior sessions and families. I was super excited to dip my feet into these waters and so thankful that Kathy, the bride to be, was so sure of my photography that she wanted me to document her special day!! Thank you Kathy for putting your trust in me and for giving me that boost that I needed to really kick off what is now Mason Jar Photography, I will be forever grateful!!
Here are just a few images that my partner-in-crime, Miss Kari Young, and I shot of Kathy at the beautiful Hotel Murano in Tacoma!!

Bad News at the Beach!

2009-05-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Brandon imitating me after our beach trip on Monday!
Here we were spending a beautiful Memorial Day at Ocean Shores. Joey and I took Bubba and My friend Amy took up her hubby and Miss Kate. I was inspired by the sunshine, the high tide, waves crashing and most of all the excitement and the thrill going through our kiddos. As a mom and a photographer I was in my element and ready to capture all of the beauty that was in store for us! Bet you can't wait to see the images right?? Well that is not going to happen :(
I had some of the most amazingly beautiful pictures of Brandon running on the beach and Kate feeling the sand between her toes for the first time on Disk #1. I took so many that I went to disk #2 and later in the afternoon took a few more shots... On the way home I went to get disk #1 and it was gone. Gone, in like it has been over 3 days of searching for it gone! So as I grieve over those pictures that in my mind were all ready to be blown up into large canvases I will choose to share a couple of fun shots from disk #2.

Thanks to Amy for taking these next shots of Joey and I, we especially like the second one! You do have "an eye"... See Mark?? Amy is great with the camera, what an awesome birthday present that would be!! (Wink-Wink!!)

Ever So Serious

2009-05-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ha Ha!! I am not sure where or why, but I am so going to use this next set of photos someday!! I was testing out the background and lighting for a "Zesty" photo session that I was about to take with my new fabulous chair!! I find it so hard to take myself seriously!! Have a great Day!

Opinions please :)

2009-05-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

I recently had a client tell me that they like the fact that I don't "over-edit" or "use too much photoshop" in my photos. This compliment makes me need your help! On Saturday I had a fun time shooting the senior portraits of Mr. David... There were a few images that I could not help the temptation to "play" with and I think that I like the turn out, but what do you think?? Is it appropriate to add funkiness to a photo for a senior session, when my client is most likely at their "funky" stage in life??
The first shot is a typical Mason Jar Photography edit and the second is obviously a photoshopped piece!
I really like this next one edited but what do you think??
There are many other great shots that I will be adding SOON, but until then shoot me some comments on your thoughts. Oh, and I will be giving both versions of the images to David!!

Baby Kate sneak peak

2009-05-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

I have had a busy weekend photography wise and I am just starting to sit down and do some editing... No joke, it is 4:10 in the morning and I woke up about 2:00 just itching to get to these images!!

I had all of the props in the world ready for shooting baby Kate's 10 month old pictures and she was just not up to it! She is not into posing right now... but that was OK, because this sneak peak into this session is why i got into photography! Isn't the love and excitement here between a mom and her daughter just beautiful?!

Double Take

2009-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I love new born photo sessions and this next one in particular because it was the first set of twins that I have ever shot!! Meet my friend Katie's 8 week old sons Carter and Nicholas!!
I was having fun plying around with the boys and trying to capture each of their faces while using their brother as the background!
In a new born session I always try to get a picture of the baby's feet. I love how they show how tiny they are at this moment and lets face it- they are just so darn precious!! At first glimpse you might just assume that these feet belong to one baby, but notice how they are both the right foot!
Dad's never seem to mind getting in front of my camera. Especially after I tell them that I really am just taking advantage them for their arms and am just going to cut off their heads!! Ha Ha!! But in all seriousness these images of a child in their Daddy's arms mean so much. It shows how dad is their protector and how much love he has for his children... "sigh..." The boys fell perfectly into place here molding their bodies into a heart shape!! I could not have planned it better!!
I am pretty sure that Big Sister Lilly shares my sentiments on this topic.
This next image has a very quiet feel to it but speaks volumes to any mother's heart
While the boys are in such a beautiful calm and angelic stage of their lives... I just had to show the current stage of Lilly! She is just a few months older than my little man and as equally full of energy!
I could take pictures of this beauty for days and while mom and dad were getting the twins dressed we had a chance to play for a bit!

Thank you Katie for allowing me to capture this time in your families life! I am looking forward to watching your kiddos grow!

"Where-o-Where has Stepheni been?"

2009-04-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

As some of you have noticed this blog has pretty much been stuck on a February afternoon for quite a while... I have even been getting emails sent to me as letters of concern wondering if I was OK or how my business is going. To those of you that sent your regards I appreciate them and I am doing well!! I just happened to run into a period where I have little or no internet access to my daily routine.

I have done a few sessions since our last post and I will try to get them up as soon as possible;) BUT I must satisfy my family first and show some cute Brandon photos!!

We were really enjoying the great sun this last week and I was doing some yard work when my little man wanted to do some work in the dirt on his own...
How AWESOME is this?? He is a dirt lover through and through and I just let him go crazy when ever we get the chance! This next image is one of my absolute favorites of all time... How can you resist this face?
As I was going through these shots they reminded me of some pictures that I took of him last year, before he was one. The similarities are uncanny and completely accidental!

In these first 2 he has handfuls of dirt and of course Phoebe is trying to get in the mix

-January of 2008-April 2009
The neighbors on the other side of the fence are still as fascinating now as they were then!
-January 2008-April 2009On both occasions he was wearing tan colored pirate shirts "Arrrrrg"!!
-January 2008-April 2009
Yes it may seem trivial to some but I thought it was kind of fun and it just goes to show that as many things are changing in our lives, some things are more so the same as I may have noticed! If these images repeat themselves in the future, (or even predict it) I am more than OK with knowing that my little man is a sun bathing, dirt loving and hard working kind of guy!!

2009-02-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

Today is my Brandon's birthday and I am so excited to be celebrating it with him. These last 2 years have seem short in the sense that time seems to have flown by at a rapid speed and yet it seems that I have known and loved this little man for my entire life!(I know I sound cliche here!) I wake up to him every morning and can not help but smile as he calls for me "maaaaammmmmmmaaaaa" even when all I really wanted was a bit more shut eye! Then to be greeted by many kisses before he is off like a lightning bolt of energy tops it all off! I am a better person for having Bubba in my life and even in times of stress all I have to do is look at him and know that things are better than OK.
Here are some photos of him that Joey and I took last week.

Our visit to Bradley Lake Park

Coloring as a family... One of Brandon's favorite things to do

Celebrating his 2nd birthday with his Grammy and BopBop on his routine Saturday visit

Happy Birthday Brandon! I am so excited to have you be rockin your special birthday hat today!!

Ben's 2!!

2009-02-15T06:11:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the awesome pleasure of hanging out with my friend Jessica and her big flirt of a boy, Ben!! I have known Ben since he was super tiny ((Gotta give a shout out to Mom and Baby groups!)) and was thrilled to be able to capture this fun stage in his life!
We started off the morning playing one of Ben's fave games, "peek-a-boo". This smile lights me up, it is so contagious!!This was the first time that I had got to see Ben walk... and boy could he go! I think I caught him checking out his own shadow, which I must add that I enjoyed capturing!!

Jessica is one of those "SUPER-MOMS" that all of our friends look up to. Her love, strength and encouragement for Ben is beyond any words that I could type here and if you know Jess- you know the kind of love that I am trying to describe.
After hanging out by the lake Ben got the special reward that he had been so patiently waiting for... Time to go play with the kids!!
Remember when I said that Ben was a big flirt?? Well he IS!! Not only did he "woo" me over but he had the eyes for this sweet little girl on the playground!!
Thanks again to Ben and Jess for hanging out with me at the park! I love you guys!!

Attempt #1

2009-02-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

I know that it has been a while since my last post, things are just a bit crazy around here!
I have been trying to get some Valentine's day/ Birthday photos of Brandon... It is definitely still a work in process!! He is so funny!!

David and Sariah: The bridal party

2009-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

I must for warn you when I say that these next images could be considered anything but traditional! The sun had almost set and we had yet to shoot the bridal party. So I grabbed the guys as quick as I could and headed out... I had fun playing with different camera modes and "bouncing" my flash around until I got a couple shots that I thought would be fun! When I got home, I could not help but play with these images in Photoshop and Lightroom... I LOVE them! Here are David's groomsmen, the Leale brothers...

Then there are the ladies

Together they sure make a fun group!

David and Sariah: Just the 2 of us

2009-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

These are the photos that I have been so excited to share! David, Sariah and I headed up to our local golf course to spend some good ol' quality time together! As the photographer, this was my favorite part of the day! Not only because it allowed the couple a chance to focus 100% on each other and have some great photos taken, but David and Sariah CRACK ME UP!! This couple has so much fun together and the joy that they share was super contagious! The one obstacle that I had during this session was shooting through the heavy fog of the day. BUT look how cool this turned out because of it!
We thought we would start off by playing a little golf... well if you could call it that ;)

After we were through with the clubs, we decided to play a little game of "how many ways can David catch Sariah"? (Did I mention that we had a ton of fun?)

It was time to get a little more serious and romantic, so we headed off to a more woodsy area of the course to be a little more isolated. "sigh..."

Sariah was singing to David here and the two of them were just so happy to be officially married and to share their first dance!
I have to give props to Sariah here, because it was crazy cold out side and she never complained! By the time we got back to the car my feet were numb, so I can only imagine how she felt with no sleeves!

David and Sariah: Slide show II

2009-01-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Let me just take a moment and say that picking out the music for this slide show was the toughest part of making it! I went through so many songs with so many "just not it" lyrics and I stumbled across this amazing group Low Strung. I have heard one of their songs before, but this entire album blew me away!
To watch the full wedding of David and Sariah click here!!

David, Sariah and Alorah uniting

2009-01-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

Meet Alorah!
She is David's beautiful daughter and played a big role on her daddy's wedding day... the "butterfly girl!" Yep, the "butterfly girl!" When she was informed that she was going to be the flower girl in the wedding she quickly objected and insisted on being the "butterfly girl" instead! David bought Alorah a special butterfly necklace for the occasion to represent as a reminder and a symbol of her, David and Sariah uniting as a family.

There were people and flower girls every where and the time was coming for Sariah to walk down the isle. I was starting to get concerned because she had not eaten yet and she was getting nervous...
So her maid of honor and I grabbed the closest food possible! This lady is so a girl after my own (Italian) heart!

This is Lynette, the maid of honor. She and Sariah have been best friends since they were 10 and 11 years old! The discussion that they shared before the ceremony I am sure will always be remembered by the both of them!

Well if you would like to see Sariah be walked down the isle by her Daddy and the groom that awaited her... you will just have to check back in! I have another slide show!! :)
If you were one of the guests at the Leale wedding and are waiting on an email from me to announce when the pictures will be up for online viewing... We are almost to that point and I promise that I will let you all know when those cute images of your kiddos are available! ;)

The Art of Dunking!

2009-01-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am going to take a break from showing you wedding photos and share with you my awesome morning!

I have been waiting a long time for this day.
To share with Bubba this special ritual.
I knew long before I was a mom that some day this time would come.
I knew my role...
To teach.
To teach the Art of "Dunking"!!

David and Sariah:: Getting ready slide show

2009-01-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

Love. Excitement. Emotion. Anticipation. Reflection. Friendship.

These are just a few of the emotions that were flying through the Leale home on Saturday morning. I felt so lucky to be a part of this moment with them and to be able to preserve their memories in this time capsule called photography.

To see a slide show of David and Sariah getting ready... click here!

David and Sariah:: Getting ready

2009-01-21T12:14:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I had the privilege to shoot the wedding day of David and Sariah Leale. I was excited and anxious for the day because I have only known the bride-to-be through our fun and long phone conversations over the last month or so. I actually met up with Sariah's mom Lilulani first and once she greeted me with a big hug, I knew that if her daughter were anything like her the day was going to be great!
This is Sariah when we first met!
Sariah had warned me that David was a fun guy and that it might take some work to get a "serious" picture from him... This is how he ran down the stairs to greet me when I arrived!
How awesome is that??
Over the next 2 hours there was a lot going on in the Leale home.
Make up, getting dressed, singing, creating the bride's bouquet, making sure that everything was in order and ready to go and of course a ton of laughter!
I was enjoying myself by going around and trying to capture those little details Tomorrow I am going to show the bride and groom dressed and ready to go as well as reveal their first slide show of their special day!!

Baby Jonah Part II

2009-01-19T10:45:00.001-08:00

So after a crazy week here, I am finally sitting down to what will be hours, heck days of editing! I have over 1100 images to go over from the Leale wedding that I shot on Saturday and still baby Jonah's pictures to go through!!! One thing at a time right? ;)
So without further ado, here are a few images from my time spent with Jonah and his momma Michelle!
Michelle is absolutely in love with her Jonah's little pudgy body, and so I aimed for ways of showing just how cute and chunky her little guy was at 4 1/2 months!

I like this image, because even though we were trying to get Jonah to sit up on his own... he still some times wobbles and his mom or daddy are always there cheering him on, holding him up and catching him when he falls. I think that it must be a maternal thing, because I know my Momma still does all of that with me! :)
Isn't there some thing so sweet about a babe's profile? I couldn't resist getting these because Jonah's "serious face" is one of the sweetest ones out there...
One thing that I make sure with every shoot that I do is that we all have a good time!
I always love the little bear bunting outfits!!

Thanks Michelle for hanging out with me and teaching me sooooo much! Your little guy is quite the charmer and it was fun playing with him!

Sneak Peek of baby Jonah

2009-01-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

Ahh!! If I only had a bit more time today, this would have been a full post... but for now here is a sneak peak into baby Jonah's portrait session that took place on Wednesday!

Happy Friday to every one!

Clark part II

2009-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

I am sorry for the delay in posts, but as promised here is more photos of baby Clark with his Momma Jenny.
The fun part about this shoot is that Jenny and I were on the same level before I even began! She knew all of my tricks because she was taught them too!

She knew to wear a black tank top~ It is great for adding contrast, shows some skin, is simple and it can even be used as a back ground while holding baby... She also knew that all we needed was a window! Shooting in the often dreary North West can and will always be tricky... but after attending Mera Koh's workshop last December, Jenny and I both agree that all we need is a window with some great light and we are good to go!! No need for that stuffy studio feeling atmosphere and no need to tear your house upside down thinking oh, what will be in the photos! Black tank top, a window, a great subject and a good photographer... and "presto!" You have all of the ingrediants for some great new born shots!
No matter how many baby sessions I shoot, I can not get enough of the bond between a Momma and her new baby. It is just beautiful and it is an honor for me to witness.Jenny had one of those ideal labors that once she started having contractions, she still had the time to run around and do errands! (So not like my birthing experiance!!) Not only was she putting the car seat in the car and all of those other baby things, but she had time to do a last minute paper mache' mold of her belly!! How awesome is that?!
One of my many favorite parts of babies are their lips. How they pucker up and how they seem so big when they are first born, I LOVE THEM!! Check out Clarks puckered up expression!
I think that all of this camera business was making Clark tired...

sneak peek image of baby Clark

2009-01-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the best time hanging out with my new friend Jenny that I met at last month's Mera Koh workshop. This gal is awesome!! She attended the workshop just one week before giving birth to her little boy Clark. I will post more on this session later, but Jenny... remember you saying that you just couldn't wiait until he smiled??

Kate's 6 month session part II

2009-01-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

When I saw Kate's cutest little winter coat I knew that we needed some pictures out side to show it off!
The wind was catching her off guard a bit, but you could see it in her face that she was loving it! I could not help but remember when my Bubba was that age and the wind made him so happy... "sigh"...

I told both Mark and Amy that they did not have to get all ready for these images and that I was just going to take advantage of them and make them be in the back ground! Lets face it, as parents we are always in the back round cheering our kids on and making them happy!
This one is Joey's (mu hubby) favorite picture of the group. I think it is a dad thing, but this image definitely stood out to him.

This is a game that I remember playing with my little brother when he was tiny...
1...2...3...WEEEEeeee!!

I look forward to shooting Kate's Valentine's day session next month and am really looking forward to meeting her adorable cousin, Jonah!

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with me to document your little ones contact me via email at masonjarphotography@yahoo.com

Kate's 6 month session

2009-01-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

I enjoy watching Kate grow up and being able to document her through images that show her as who she is today! I had the pleasure of meeting up with her again this past weekend to shoot her 6 month photos and I am so excited to show case some of them here!!

I went to her house this time to get a good feel for Kate in her surroundings I prefer this over a studio set up any day!

My favorite quality to capture on little miss Kate is always those bluest of the blue eyes!

Kate's Daddy Mark so is in love with his little girl! He is always there doing whatever needed to help out and boy is he wrapped around her little finger!
She is at her "my toes are just the coolest things ever!" stage

I was telling Kate's mom Amy that if I ever have a girl, she is in trouble! I was having so much fun playing "dress up" with Kate and those hair accessories are too darn cute!!
My big goal for 2009 is to get my website up and running. It takes a lot of time, a lot of creativity and a lot of great images. These next two pictures stopped me in my tracks and I am so excited to have them for my portfolio!! "Eeeks!!" What a beautiful baby!!
In the next post we will head out side with Kate and her parents so that she gets a chance to feel the wind in her hair!

New hair for the New Year!!

2009-01-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

From a girl that has rocked both the long hair and the short hair "dos" I can tell you that cutting your hair off can be a SCARY thing!! I started going shorter back in the fall, but really took the plunge for it over this holiday break...

and...

I ABSOLUTELY love it!!
I need to give props out to my hair designer, Dannielle Matison of 'A Head Of Times Salon' here in Puyallup, for keeping my short hair looking cute and not "old"!! She cuts about 4 or 5 of my girl friend's hair and does a great job at it!! I tried to scan her business card and it didn't come out as nice as the real deal, but here it is!

Her Salon is address is
206 39th ave sw suice C
Puyallup, WA
I have to recommend some one when they do such great work and I must say Dannielle is awesome! So the next time you need something new done with your hair and may be a bit scared to do so... call this girl up and tell her Stepheni sent you! :)

While we are on the hair topic... look what happened in the Mason house hold on New Years day..

Don't wory, Brandon's hair is still in tact but you really aught to see the looks that Joey gets when he takes his son through a store! Hilarious!

Engagement Session: Aaron and Kathy part II

2008-12-30T23:15:00.000-08:00

So, where did we leave off? Oh yes! Kathy and Aaron's wedding day is taking place on June 6th and I am so looking forward to being able to capture those special moments for them!!
For our next destination I joked around with the couple saying "you will just have to trust me" as I took them to a vacant old teriaki restaurant! Kathy has these vibrant blue eyes that I knew would stand out against this beat up building's background.

I would bet that this is where Aaron had the most fun during the shoot... He was giving me the "America's Top Model" poses and they cracked both Kathy and I up!!
And of course laughter is contagious!!
We could not leave with out steeling another kiss for the camera!!
I seriously pulled over on the side of the road and made these pore guys jump out of their car real quick to capture this shot! I know they were both thinking that I had gone mad, but the image turned out pretty cool and I appreciated the fact that you allowed my spontaneity to come into play!
Thanks Kathy and Aaron for hanging out with me and for choosing Mason Jar Photography to preserve these special moments for you! I had a great time with you on Sunday and I looking forward to doing it again come June!

To see more of Kathy and Aaron's engagement session stay posted in the next couple of days to view their slidshow!

Engagement Session: Aaron and Kathy

2008-12-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

It was certainly cold outside on Sunday, but love was definitely in the air! After a long duration of contact via the web and email, I finally got to meet love birds Kathy and Aaron. Our fingers were crossed for good weather due to the fact that we had already rescheduled once because of snow, and the night before this shoot it was raining terribly. But... We saw a glimpse of sunlight and off we went!

We started off just playing around at the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

I was laughing as I was editing these photos, because I did not realize at the time that I was having Kathy and Aaron kiss a LOT! Luckily the couple didn't seem to mind! ;)

I would love some feed back on this next image... I was having fun in photoshop giving this picture a classic vintage look. Do we like??
It is images like this next one that makes me love what I do! Can't you just feel the love that Kathy and Aaron share for each other? She looks so comforted and happy in his arms. "sigh..."
This is kinda fun. We walked over the bridge to the Glass Museum where the Chihuly glass is displayed in the ceiling. We had many stares from bystanders as I was lying on the pavement to snap the next shots.
I had to wait a bit for this shot because there was a man who either did not notice my large camera in my hand, or he just wanted to be in the picture! Thank you Aaron and Kathy for your patience, I love the outcome!
Kathy and Aaron are getting married this next June. As a little surprise to them, I made little cards that spelled out their wedding date while sitting in the Starbucks waiting on their arrival. I should have apologized to the lady sitting next to me, for I am sure that the fumes of the marker got to her head... ooops! What can I say... when you have a great idea, you just got to roll with it right? :)

Tomorrow I will post some of the second half of our session

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to put out a little Merry Christmas on my blog this year, since I never got around to sending out cards! Oops!! I did have a couple of pictures in mind that I thought would have worked great...

Your typical winter scene

Everybody loves Santa Photos right?

Hey, a picture where we are all in it and all smiling!!

And just for fun I thought of throwing in my favorite family photo of the year!
(Taken before my friend's annual Hick Party!)