A random ramble, with a good lesson!

Okay, as many of you know already, Chris and I decided to combine forces.  He has been doing his thing with photography for years.  I have been doing makeup for some time.  Before we made the decision to join together, I had my own blog.  So this sharing thing is well, getting easier with time…lol.  Kidding! We work well together and I am honored to be able to work alongside him.  Helping when I can and learning SO much in the process.

I love makeup! I love artsy, fartsy things (that is not even a word, but it makes me laugh!).  So from time to time, I will share some makeup tips, stories, blurbs about the adventures I cross.  I cannot promise perfect pictures, his hilarious sense of humor (he makes me laugh SO hard!).  But I can promise to do what I can to make it a fun read!  Maybe even educational once in awhile! LOL!  Guys that read this, you may even be able to surprise that wife, fiance or girlfriend once in awhile and she will fall even more in love with you!  This is an old post from my previous blog,  that has a lot of good information. Please leave feedback, we love to hear your thoughts and get to know you better! ENJOY!

So now for a beauty topic!  Yeah! *claps excitedly* So, you may know those tools that help us look our best each day. That help glide color onto our “canvas”?  Yes,  I am talking about your makeup brushes.  Let me ask you this…When is the last time you cleaned them and I mean really cleaned those puppies out?   I bet it’s been awhile.  Before I started into this field, I used the brushes that came with the makeup I bought. *shrug*  Because surely they wouldn’t put it in there, if it wasn’t what you were supposed to use right? *insert buzzer sound here* WRONG!

Makeup brushes are essential in a great makeup application and if you don’t have them…I highly recommend investing in a good, quality set.  However, your makeup brushes are like hair and we are talking the kind, you have on your head (not literally) but they need to be washed and cared for.  Once a month is a good cleaning and if you use more makeup than normal in a month, then twice is great.  The reason for washing is simple, BACTERIA.  You wash your face each night (or should be doing so!) You wash your hair several times a week (or should be doing so!) You use your makeup brushes on your face most every day and near your eyes and nose.  That “breakout” that you had last week…well it may not be from the source you thought it was.  It could very well be bacteria from your brushes.  So, here are some tips to care for those prized little possesions!

1) A mild shampoo (I like to use baby shampoo)

2) A clean towel or paper towels

3) A cup or a brush stand

4) Warm water

&

5) YOU listening to your favorite tunes on the ipod! (I do this all the time and I even dance!)

BRUSH CLEANING:

Get the head of your brush wet in the water, pour a bit of shampoo in the palm of your hand and gently make a circular motion, while “washing in the shampoo. Rinse and repeat until water runs clear. Try not get the entire brush wet because your brushes do have glue, to hold the hair in place.  Too many times and they could start to fall out.  Gently squeeze the water out of the brush and softly run over the towel.  Then let dry, don’t let it lay flat on the towel because of a chance of mildew forming (Yucky!) Make your way through each brush and you will be living bacteria free!

Well, I hope this finds you all well and in good spirits.  Wether you are tackling your to do list like I am, or you have performed a 5 star superman dive back into the middle of your bed remember…give it your best & do it in style, YOUR style!

*hugs*
~JD~

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Contest Finalists!

We would like to thank you all for your entries.  We wish you the best of luck!  We will leave these up for ONE week, please get friends and family involved.  Have them LIKE us and vote! Each family posted the reason why THEIR family should win and we enclosed their submitted pictures, below their entries!  Now it’s at your fingertips friends! Vote for your favorite family!

POWELL-GREGORY FAMILY… I am entering my family because I would love to have a family picture in our new home. We have 4 humans and 2 dogs I would like to include in this picture. We have overcome many obstacles as a family and another was recently thrown at us with a very serious “hidden disease” is what it is usually called with some tumors found by my brain. Having a family photo on the wall to look at would mean the world to me while I battle this illness. We are a very close family and enjoy outdoor activities like BBQ’s, camping, hiking, and just walking around the neighborhood with our dogs. It would be nice to have some pics done here in our new backyard. My kids have worked hard all year long and maintained excellent grades keeping their GPA’s up above a 3 pt. My husband is the sole supporter right now which puts quite a bit of stress on him financially but once I am able to see the surgeon and have the tumors removed (hopefully they do not grow back) I will be going back to work full time to help pull my weight around the house financially. My kids and husband are very supportive and have never once complained…it would be nice to give them something to remember…something to show them that I love them back.
Thanks for reading my story. Best of luck in this contest!!
Jenni Powell-Gregory


McGLOTHLIN FAMILY…What’s the old saying “you can’t pick your family”? Well, I would pick all 3 that I have been blessed with! My family is my life, they keep me smiling, busy, and a little bit crazy too! =) Having a “Non-Wedding” image of us would be AWESOME… and to NOT be the one taking the picture & running back to make it in the shot… would be even better! =) We’re a family that as you know, loves to live life laughing… to be able to capture that with ALL of us in “our” environment would be AWESOME!!! =)
Mac, Jess, Zay, & Mya-Mooey!


DUCKETT FAMILY…I was so excited to hear about your contests. I have enjoyed all of your wonderful photos and am so excited to have a chance to win. I have three beautiful boys that are full of personality. Your photos see a part of people that they may not even see themselves, as if you capture a part of their personality, their charm, their soul. I want to have you capture that light in my boys that I see and love.  Please consider my family.  Thank you!! and to all of you voting. Pick me Pick me..
Saedis D

SEVITS FAMILY…Hello there!  I am Amanda Sevits and I am entering the generous contest you are holding.  In this picture, I am joined with my husband Andy, my daughter Charlie, and my son Grady.

You may ask why I would want to win such a prize?  Well, I’ve seen your work before and love it!  You did my sister’s (Jessica O’Brien-McGlothlin) wedding and truly captured what memories are all about.

Another thing to point out- those Sears photos that you swore would not be allowed to have your name printed on …. well, those are kind of like all our family pictures have consisted of.  Ok, it wasn’t Sears that we went to, but JCPenny (just as bad, right?).

If you do chose my adorable family for this package, you will be fully entertained by my kids alone.  My 4 year old son will want to be around your wife the ENTIRE time.  He’ll probably tell her she’s pretty and give her a hug.  My daughter will yell and scream at you and be a sassy frass the entire two hours.  As for my husband and I, you will absolutely be able to capture our true feelings with the lense.:)

Good luck choosing!  Thank you.

Amanda Sevits


BRYANT FAMILY…Hi my name is Cindy. I have two kids named Andrew (14) and Ashley (11). We would love to have our family picture taken together. We have never done anything like this before and it would mean a lot to everyone in this family. I am a hard working single mother with two amazing kids that always help out as much as they can. (Andrew) “I want to say that this is very important to my mom I really want this for her”. (Ashley) “since this is important to my mommy I would love her to take this opportunity for our family to have our first professional family photo.”

Thanks, From the Bryant Family



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Some amazing photography, and a Birthday wish.

It’s my Birthday and some of you are about to learn something about me you may not know. I love nature. I don’t just mean I like to hike and fish, I mean I truly love nature and am constantly inspired by it and in awe of it. If it were up to me there would only be two things on our TV ever – action movies and nature shows. I watch things like Blue Planet and Life on the Discovery network. I also watch more obscure things like Oregon Field Guide and Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge on OPB. Along with those I watch any little show that involves nature I can find, especially if it involves fish. I can’t get enough of fish and the oceans.

When I was young I wanted to be a marine biologist. I love fish and water that much. When other kids in school were checking out “normal kid books” from the library , I was bringing home books like “The anatomy of a fish” and “Ocean life cycles” and “Pelagic fish of the Pacific.” Over time I decided that it maybe wasn’t for me as a lot of it involves sitting in a lab (which I would hate) but I would have followed through if I could have only done the water part of it (like the stuff you see on TV). I am a certified SCUBA diver though and it’s been far too long since I’ve gone on a dive. One of my Birthday presents was a certification brush up and I’m looking forward to going on a few dives later this summer with my buddy Chaz.

So by now you are thinking “Ok Chris, great, but what does this have to do with the title of this post?” I’ll tell you. I think we are messing up and messing up bad. We depend on our oceans way more than we even comprehend right now. Science is really still in it’s infancy as far as the oceans go and every day they are learning more and more that makes them go “Uh oh, we kinda already messed that up.” Ocean life is collapsing at an alarming rate. The truth is it may already be too late for some things, but it certainly isn’t too late for all of them. We, the humans on this planet, are solely responsible for messing it up and we alone have the power and technology to make it right.

I don’t believe we all need to start living like hipee’s. I certainly don’t (I do love granola though). But I do believe we can make a difference with our voice and pocket book. I often send letters to my local politicians (JD just learned something about me) about the mess on the Columbia river (gillnets, pollution, spill, etc.) and I believe it makes a difference. If we are quiet and think it’s someone else’s problem, or “they” will fix it, we are sadly mistaken. The truth is I think most people just truly don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know that there are bills trying to set up marine preserves that are getting shot down by oil companies. They don’t know that oil companies are trying to tap into existing marine preserves and what that would mean. Same is true for logging, construction, factories dumping waste, and on and on.

My wish is that everyone gets informed. Read something you normally wouldn’t. Watch a show you normally wouldn’t. See what’s going on out there on our planet and then decide where you stand. I’m not asking anyone to become and activist. Hell, I don’t do as much as I should. But just knowing the facts when it’s time to vote would make a HUGE impact. Talk about it with your friends, talk about it with your kids. Little things that take almost no effort like that can actually make a big difference. The bottom line is “they” is actually you and I.

This video is a great place to start. Not only does it have some amazing imagery, but it has a powerful message as well. I have seen Brian Skerry’s work several times before (he shoots for National Geographic) but never heard him speak and had no idea he loved the oceans as much as he does. Kudos to him for speaking out and trying to educate people. I hope you enjoy the video.


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Dinner and a B-I-G surprise!

Our adventure with John and Liz left all of us starving!   After a hike like that and then running around the streets of Portland, we needed a bite to eat.  Fortunately, I called my friend who had our daughter and asked her if it would be okay if Chris and I were to grab something to eat.  She said, “YES” and we were off to Claim Jumpers.  I have only been there once and Chris had never tried it.  All I can say is HOLY COW! You can share everything there, the portions are gigantic!

Many of those that know us in real life, know that we (Chris and I) don’t do much without our little Chiquita banana with us. We are a trio and that is how we travel most of the time! However, as parents, best friends, and partners in life, we do need some “one on one” time here and there. SOOOO…this was a nice treat to have dinner together, just the two of us.  We were hungry and tired from our fun engagement shoot.  We were indecisive and couldn’t settle on any one item.  I am sure we were “those” customers and our server was thinking “Seriously, people the options aren’t that hard and it’s not written in Greek or anything.”  However, she held up her patience and was polite and attentive the entire time.  I couldn’t help but think that this has been our second or third time out, where the service has been really great.  Is it because people are trying to please with kindness in our “recession” or have we just been lucky!? I don’t know, but I LIKE  it!

We are sitting there enjoying our amazingly, HUGE, scrumptious dinner.  Talking about life and our little lizard that we have been building a new habitat for.  When our server, “sheriff” (They all have little sheriff type badge, name tags) comes to our table and says “Look over there, they are getting engaged RIGHT now!”  Low and behold, we had just received our entrees and this gentleman is down on his knee, proposing to his girlfriend! I don’t care who you are and especially if you are a woman, this melts your heart! It’s like a movie!  The entire area of the restaurant we were sitting in, was watching and we cheered as she said, “YES!”  Chris and I continue eating and I see this gentleman taking pictures with his cell phone…I said to Chris “We should ask them if we can take a picture for them with our camera.”  Chris said “Sure go ask them.”  So, I abandon my warm dinner and approach their table, we have our introductions, I tell them what we do and they “would LOVE a picture, because they don’t have any together.”  What are the odds, that we had JUST finished an engagement shoot, and had our gear in the truck?  So “Mr. Amazing” goes and gets the “tools” from the automobile.

We get a few pictures for William and Vena and their evening engagement.  Documenting the beginning of their lives together. We believe someone will be moving from Alaska sooner, rather than later. ;P  Also, that someone may need some intense massage therapy, from helping some little kids, throw a bottle into the ocean. It’s funny how kindness, when given with your whole heart and expecting nothing in return, finds it’s way back to you.  We made our way back to our dinner “out” and even though it is, luke warm now and being boxed up… We wouldn’t trade it for anything!  For it’s the happiness on William and Vena’s face that make it worth it.  That makes our “job” a great one to have!  CONGRATULATIONS William & Vena, may this life shower you with many blessings!

JD & Chris


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John & Liz | Downtown Portland Engagement Session

Monday night was our engagement shoot with John + Liz.  They like to laugh, joke and have a good time.  John and Liz were given a location,  by a friend of ours who is an avid outdoors woman.  For fun, she takes 40 mile bike rides up the Columbia Gorge.  She recently went on a weekend hiking trip with her group.  Long story short- this woman owns the trails, maybe we could call her “trail blazer” and not as in the basketball team. Anyhows,  we meet John and Liz at Macleay Park.  It is in the trendy district of Portland, secluded in a neighborhood. It is like a hidden gem, this park has some amazing trails!  However, poor Liz had flip flops on and we were packing the camera gear, and I think we all felt a bit less than a *insert cough here* “trail blazer”!  There is a really cool stone house at the top of the trail and you have our setting for this adventure!

After we found our way back down the trail, which was a bit easier in the humid weather.  We made our way into downtown Portland.  It was a bit chilly! It looked and felt like we were going to have a huge down pour of rain.  Through it all, John and Liz stayed in a great mindset.  Touching, hugging and smooching once in a while too! It is so fun to see two people IN LOVE and just watch how they  interact together.  Especially when you can see that they truly enjoy, each others company.  I guarantee in this life and the span of their relationship, these two will always be laughing!  Here are a few images from their night.  John and Liz we look forward to your wedding day on 8-9-10! Woot! Woot!


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