It's almost time...

to say "Happy Thanksgiving!!!"

I'm at work with the time dwindling down to when I can race out the door and begin my holday activities. I think I managed to get some work done but probably not a lot. My brain was on the fritz. The only thing I could manage to think of was the words to every Christmas song written this century. I'm thinking it's probably because this morning brings us Thanksgiving but they've been piping Christmas music over the PA system for three days already. I cannot believe how slow time is ticking by. I went to the water fountain, I hibernated my laptop, cleaned out my items from the fridge...a whopping three minutes have elapsed.

I used to teach high school science. This must be what students feel like at the end of the school day. I'm distracted with daydreams of turkey (my favorite), mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Aw, sigh. Oh, and Beyonce has a special on TV. So excited to begin the day.

I'm so thankful
-for my husband, Scott, who I think is hilarious and cracks me up every day. The only person who finds him funnier is, well, Scott himself.
-for having a secure and stable day job. Yes, I'm getting furloughed next year but we'll make it through.
-that our dog, Charlie, is free of any health situations. He seems happier and we're much happier not having any more vet bills.
-for being able to learn so much more about photography and being able to meet more people who love photography almost as much as I do.
-for being blessed with the most awesome couples, babies, and families on photo shoots. I have been so fortunate to have sweet clients who I still try to keep in touch with, they're that amazing.
-and of course, loyal friends and family who are there to support me and make me laugh every week.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Beth and Mark Family Day at Waimanalo Beach

I have some amazing friends at The Cutting Zone hair salon in Kailua with adorable kids. They referred one of their favorite clients, Beth, to me and I was thrilled when Beth contacted me. Not as thrilled as Beth whose two sons were returning to Hawaii with their families to celebrate a special birthday party with Beth, her husband, Mark, and her daughter, Emma, all who still live here. She wanted to take advantage of having all three generations together and capture those precious moments forever. She especially wanted pictures of her three precious grandchildren, who quickly charmed me in one short afternoon.

We met at Waimanalo Beach. The clouds looked heavy all day but not a single raindrop fell until the day after the session. We did experience a lot of wind, huge gusts that kept the afternoon cool. I was inspired to think I may want to try doing a winter family portrait in full Christmas knitted sweaters on the beach. It is definitely getting cold enough to try out. We did some family portraits and then focused on the grand-kids. I wanted to make sure Beth and her hubby, Mark, had an abundance of pictures of their grand-kids.

(Here's Beth...she was just sitting and resting when I saw how picturesque it was and grabbed my camera)
(This love story started with Mark and Beth)

(...who had three beautiful children, Ian, Emma, and Kevin)


(I had fun trying to figure out the oldest and the youngest)
(They seem to really love each other)

(joined by Ian's wife, Chantel, and Kevin's wife, Tennille)


(Kevin, Tennille, and "M" and "N")



(4 year old, "M," was one of my favorite models. So many different expressions)

(Her little sister "N" wasn't too far behind with her playfulness. The family were celebrating her first birthday)

(Kevin, Chantel, and their new little addition "T")

(When I'm not in a home/studio setting, I get creative using the parents to hold babies so I can get these cute close-ups. Prepare to fall in love with little "T")

("N" again)





(This is my favorite from the day. Absolutely beautiful. Boy, I wish I had blue eyes)



(Thanks so much to this sweet family for sharing these moments with me)


To view or purchase these images and more from their session, please visit here.

Prayers wanted for Joy

I have a really good friend, Joy. Her name fits her so well. She's a sweet-hearted girl with big blue eyes and a fascinating quick tendency to laugh at anything and then blush. I heard someone once say that they of course loved Joy for many reasons, but the best reason they gave was that Joy laughed at everything they said. It made them feel real funny and popular. Joy is full of joy. And those of you who may have done photo sessions with me might know the girl who helps me carry everything and holds on to everything, because I just lose things in seconds. She's an amazing photographer and assists me in so many ways.

Joy (on the right) during a Manoa hike w/ friend, Abby.

Joy is the middle child of ten children. Count them, TEN!!! She created a photo album with them all numbered here. Her parents are pastors of a church in Ohio and her family is extremely close. They were all homeschooled and they fill their weekends going on hikes together and being nutty. Joy grew up in Hawaii and returned here to take care of her grandparents. Yesterday, she received a phone call that was truly devastating. She learned that one of her younger sisters and one of her younger brothers had been in a car accident. Both were attending a school in Colorado training to become ministers. They were traveling to Portland, Oregon to fundraise for community outreach in a van with 14 other students and were in an accident. Joy's sister, Katy, 18 years old survived but her brother, Josh, 20 years old, did not.

My prayers and heartfelt sympathies are with Joy and her family as they grieve this enormous loss so far from each other. Joy is waiting here in Hawaii until she learns more news. The rest of her siblings are anxiously waiting in Ohio with the support of their church congregation. And her parents are traveling to Idaho right now to be be with Katy, who is still hospitalized with a possible bruised lung and spleen. Please pray for their safe travels and for Katy's full recovery. I was so fortunate to meet Josh when he came to Hawaii. So handsome with this sweet baby face. He's just a year younger than my baby brother and I am reminded that I need to hug every chance I get. We will miss you, Josh, and never forget you. Read here to see Joy's latest words as a big sister to her baby brother.

1/11/08 Earlier last year I was kinda going through a rough time and all I wanted was a hug from God, for Him to hold me in His arms. Well it was really starting to drag me down but on friday night there was a Holy Spirit rally and while I was up there I was still discouraged and wanted the embrace. Anyway, many people prayed for me ( I'll write later on what they said) but all of a sudden a man that was praying for me before I don't know his name, came from behind me and gave around my shoulders a hug it was wonderful then spoke in my ear from behind while hugging me and said this is a hug from my Heavenly Father and that He loves me. At that moment I could feel the presence of God and He answered my prayer. Even when the man knew nothing about it. (found in Josh's writings)

Sneak Peek for Beth and Mark's Family Session

Here's a sneak peek for a 3 generation family session at Waimanalo Beach.



Mark and Beth were on cloud nine to have their entire family together to celebrate a first birthday party. They have three children and three grandchildren. And I usually only post one picture as a sneak peek but I know these proud grand-parents would be disappointed without seeing at least one of their grandbabies...so here's their oldest grand-daughter.



Isn't she beautiful? Wait until you see the rest of the family. Which you can, just check back here next week.

Beka and Mike's Family Session

Who: The family of Mike and Beka
Where: Kakaako Park
When: early morning on Halloween

I went to college on the east coast, determined to get the most different experience possible from living in Hawaii and also to see snow for the first time. I ended up at Boston College which I L-O-V-E-D but it was ironic that I traveled 5,000 miles away and still hung out mostly with people from Hawaii. And that's where I met Mike, the local boy/business major who even lived across the hall from me with my high school classmate, Mark. And sometimes we would get really lucky when he would bring his sweetheart (his high school sweetheart!!!), Beka, to visit. Beka was and will always be drop-dead gorgeous, and just as sweet as can be. Mike's roommates all seemed to get a little tongue-tied when Beka came to visit.

Fast-forward a few years and these two lovebirds got married, spent a few years living in Japan before returning to live back home, and have two beautiful kids who are quite the characters. Beka and Mike wanted to have their session done at Kakaako Park, a place they love to bring their kids to walk and bike on the rolling pathways. We had to reschedule our initial session time because their son felt under the weather so we moved it to early Halloween morning. So, you'll see some adorable pictures of little Miss "M," the Supergirl Fairy Princess. Little "J" donned his superman cape but, true to his superpowers, he ran faster than the speed of light and I think I captured his back only as he flew up and down the hills.

Meet the family: Mike, Beka, Miss "M," and Little "J"





This family loves to smile...

and laugh....
and love =)


Litte Miss "M" was my joy to photograph. She was not shy and loved the camera and, obviously, the camera loved her. She has a bubbly personality and won me over by the hour's end when she reached out and held my hand while we were walking. We're best buds now, just waiting for her call.





Little "J" was a little more shy and just took you in with these big brown eyes. These next few pictures are from early in the session because he took off like a rocket when he saw the sloping hills around us. It was just your typical morning of playtime for him.




I love kiddies. I photograph weddings and family sessions but I crack up when I photograph kids. Something about having a camera pointed at them and counting to three brings out these expressions and faces. I went through a series of ten images and they had a different funny face in each one. I can't pick a fave...I'll have to put them all.

Here is the concentration while eating candy faces.














Little Miss "M" was enchanting as a fairy/super girl/ballerina.

This next storyboard is a lesson on why a photographer should always give the family room to have ideas of their own. I always go in with a plan of what I want to try out but sometimes the family will bring ideas of their own. I told Beka to bring a few toys to let the kids play with and they brought so much toys, we had four grown adults carrying them around the park. I must have been talking out loud to myself because I'm scouring the park for the best places with soft light or shaded light. Because Mike said 'hey, i know the light may be too bright, but what do you think about us running down that huge hill right there." So we tried it and I loved the way they came out. So, kudos to Mike for this series.

If you are want to see the rest of the images from this session, please visit www.keaosphotography.instaproofs.com where all images and prints are available for purchase.

Sneak Peek: Mike and Beka's Family Session

Sneak Peek of a Halloween Morning Family Session

Where: Kakaako Park
When: Saturday, October 31st

(I caught a glimpse of a beautiful ballerina with angel wings)