This is my daughter Leela's passport photo that my favorite lab owner took a few days ago.  She is 2 1/2 years old.  The thing that strikes ME about it is that she looks so mature and I can see the adult in the little girl.  I don't capture that look when I am photographing her and so it was really interesting to see and to know that she takes a different picture when she is looking at someone other than her mama.

Same is true with my couples also...for portraits I always have the wife or husband stand right behind me.  I love how they literally light up when gazing upon their beloved, makes for a very beautiful expression...

 

 

 

 

 

AMBER.and.KYLE COOK 15 Year wedding anniversary. 

I actually shot these two a few weeks ago but since I am hanging on to film because of my love of it, I have to wait for my lab to print them for me.  My lab is the best quality and the owners are like family to me. Best service lab in Kauai!  So until I make the shift over, I utilize my hybrid system of shooting in film and scanning the negatives to digital files.  I thought about buying the Nikon D200 but still the print quality does not reach the film print richness of color and saturation when comparing untouched originals.  I know it will get there soon and then I'll jump on!

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 These two were quite an inspriation to me.  After 15 years of marraige and 5 children,  wow! These two are as in love as ever.  Plus they had very good advice of the highest integrity of how to raise children with loving guidance. They did not bring their clan with them on their vacation here so it was nice to hear the stories and get a picture of what their family life was like.  They made it all seem so easy!  They were very encouraging to me.  One piece of advice I really liked ...don't let them where headphones to CD players, games etc...it separates them from the other family members, and you never know what they are listening to!

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Aloha!

Its been about 2 weeks since my last entry.  I really planned on making my blog a daily journal but I didn't realize how busy I would be this summer!  Thats a good thing, but I would really like to keep up on this and let readers in on whats happening with me! 

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So...I just had my 37th birthday on August 19th, yay!  I was actually working a wedding that whole day so didn't celebrate on that day too much.  The wedding by the way was great, the bride was one of the happiest brides I have seen, they are all happy, but she was really savoring and basking in the experience.  She was so fun to be around!  We had the ceremony on the beach and the reception up at the Hanalei Bay Resort cocktail lounge, which is a perfect spot for a small reception of 25-50 people.  A wonderful couple, whom like her sister said during the toast truly "compliment eachother".

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Yesterday I had a massage as a belated birthday gift. ohhhhhh what a difference bodywork can make.  My friend and healer extrordinaire comes to our house for private 1-2 hour massages!  I don't know what I would do without her, as my back gets pretty sore carrying a 2 year old and camera bags everyday.

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And after resisting for many years about wearing a watch and navigating the time truly island style, I have finally given in due to the fact that my mother-in-law bought a beautiful silver watch for my birthday, I love it.  So now I am like everybody else.  I must say though that I was NEVER late and I always knew the time within 5 minutes...I know the sun!  Its my job!

Its been a crazy couple of days, a lot of driving time around the island to some different locations.  Kauai though is one of the most beautiful drives, can't complain too much.  But Kapaa and Lihue are very full of traffic even to a stand still often.  This just happened in the last five years and our state doesn't have a plan yet.  I am heading back into today to meet with my assistant friend Nina and review/critique her work...Pic of the day is just to give you an idea of the beauty of the North Shore, Hanalei Valley, ahhhhhhhhhh...

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Aloha!  I  have had a few days of R&R visiting with my sister Stacy who is on island finally!  It is so good to spend time with her, there is nothing like a sister!  She and my daughter are true buddies, she loves her aunty "Boo".  I have also had a chance to play with some new actions from Kubota Tools see my pic of the day below.  I also have been experimenting with Gary Fongs products and can't say enough about his awesome lightsphere that attaches to the flash head creating a wonderfully soft, beautiful light on the subjects.  Thank goodness, now that he is a retired millionaire he can share his secrets with us!

Good Morning!  what a beautiful day in paradise, tradewinds are blowing, sun shining and lots of fun weddings to look forward to!  I am going to start posting a "photo of the day" of some of my recent shoots.  Today's pic of th day is a beautiful bride from a wedding I shot last week, Frank and Cher,  it was a wild and exciting day and their families were so awesome!  I had such a great time being a part of a really spectacular event.  Friends and family came from as far as NY.  What a day!

Aloha! I thought I would post some pix from a recent family portrait of the SWEETEST family visitng Kauai. We did their portrait down at the beautiful Ke'e beach around sunset. This is my favorite spot and this family was just awesome to photograph. If ever on Kauai make sure you check out Ke'e beach... and better yet, make sure you get your very own photo session there.

A rainy afternoon and I am gearing up for a photo shoot with really cool couple from Ireland, very private ceremony on the beach on the North Shore. 

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The mist is hugging the mountains right now and will make for some breathtaking shots, perfectly soft lighting, great for portraits!

 

Heres some more beautiful tropical flower pics, including my daughter, my muse!  we just came back from the south shore where we shot a very special baby blessing for Greta, 2 years old.  Manulele was the Kahuna that performed the auspicious ceremony in the warm waters of Po'ipu.  Little Gretas parents helped adorn her with delicate tropical flowers and basked in the chants that surrounded them with Aloha.  Check in again for the photos if that special event!

Jennifer

 

 

 

Here are some photos shot this morning up our street of the very rare exotic night bloomers that only bloom during the full moon and then fade and wilt within 24 hours!  WOW