JAZ Workshop 101 Recap ... Eugene Oregon Photography Workshops

Well, I survived my first ever JAZ Workshop, and it was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! How could it not be, with this sweet, fun bunch of people? The camaraderie was perfect, and truly blessed me. I can't wait for the next one! Stay tuned for the announcement!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Gearing Up for Saturday's Workshop! ... Florence Oregon Photographer

I'm having fun making my final choices on which images to use for illustrations, etc., as I prepare for the first ever JAZ Workshop, to be held this coming Saturday! I'm SO looking forward to it. The general focus will be taking creative control of your camera... I thought I'd share a few images I'm grabbing from a dunes hike with the kids last week:

The following two images were both taken from the same spot (crouched down so low I was sure I was going to topple into the mud), with the same lighting, with the same settings... everything was the same. The only thing different between the two was where I focused. They were both taken with the aperture at 1.4, on my 50mm. All I did was change my focus point from the (dead) flower detail in the foreground to the grass in the middle of the water:



I love how simply focusing on the foreground flower transformed all those teensy light reflections on the water into a backdrop of giant "light bubbles" (officially known as "bokeh" or "specular highlights".)

The next two images were also taken with my 50mm, and I love how just slightly tilting the camera brought a greater sense of width and movement:




If you'd like to be added to the waiting list for the next JAZ Workshop, shoot me an e-mail: jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

A little more love...

So, this isn't exactly photography-related, but sometimes the artistic bent goes beyond photography, so I thought I'd share this idea for any of you who are interested... One of my favorite things to do as a homeschooling Mom is to craft alongside my kids. I sometimes do what they're doing, and sometimes do something similar, but with a bit of grown-up flair. While they were crafting their Valentine's Cards this year, I made this card for Corey. I'm calling it my winter heart tree. I love the white on brown, and it was a fun way to use up paper scraps (by punching hearts and birds--and in Kendra's and Micah's case, sharks and dinosaurs and all kinds of unique "leaves"--out of the scrap papers)!

I'm not going to tell you all the mushy-gushy stuff I wrote on the inside, but I do want to share how truly, truly blessed I am by my husband. As I reflected on I Corinthians 13, I realized that I have been given a man who fully embodies what love is: He is patient. (In the extreme.) He is kind. He does not envy. He does not boast. He is not proud. (He is supremely humble, despite his many accomplishments.) He is not rude. He is not self-seeking. (He lays down his life for me, and our children, daily.) He is not easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs. (This could possibly be due in part to his terribly bad memory! LOL.) He does not delight in evil. He rejoices with the truth. He always protects. He always trusts. He always hopes. He always perseveres. His love for me and our family never fails. Honey: Thank you so, so much for loving me and our family like you do, and for setting this beautiful example for us. I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Whew. Enough of the touchy-feely for now... ;0) ...back to the crafty stuff: This tree could be fun as a spring tree, or an Easter tree, or any number of things! So grab a punch or two, and some scrap papers, and give 'er a go!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Family: The B's (Part II) ... Oregon Family Photography

When Becky (the B girls' Mom) and I planned this session last fall, she asked for my thoughts, and I suggested COLOR. I enjoy the muted browns of winter, but sometimes it's nice to go urban in the dead of winter, and have fun with colorful walls, and chunky benches full of texture, and bright accessories, and such. Boy, did Becky ever come through! I was thoroughly delighted when the girls showed up in their rain boots and jackets:


As I was processing their images, I found that I really liked them in pumpernickel (like below) and mica, too! I usually like to go monochromatic with images when there's a great pattern and/or texture, and their outfits had it all... fabulous color, plus pattern and texture! The shimmer of their jackets + the patterns on their boots + the iron and gritty wood we had here and there for backdrops + the brick + the lines of the siding = AWESOME, in either color or monochrome:


Big sis Nicole:


Middle sis Nichelle:




I love the "dog pile love" feel of this one:








Little sis Neisha:






As I always do with clients, I asked Becky if there were certain shots she was looking for... She completely made my day when she replied, "Oh, just something creative..." How fun is THAT?! Every time I'd go to set up something zany, she'd say, "Oh, that's cute!" And I'd think, "I love her." ;0)


I'll leave you with some "photojournalistic-esque" snaps from the "in-between" moments as we walked around... These girls are SO. MUCH. FUN. You can absolutely feel the love and joy between these three:










Becky, Nicole, Nichelle, and Neisha: Thank you so much for such a FUN afternoon! Let's do it again tomorrow! ;0)

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Happy Valentine's Day! ... Eugene Oregon Portraits

I thought I'd share a little more of the fun I had with the giant candy hearts, and also share some super sweet Valentine's Day pics captured by a couple Photo Momma friends!

The hubby and I are trying to be better about getting out for dates, and trading off with the O Fam for child care, so their girls get to join us for a 1/2 day of homeschooling every other week. (It has proven so far to be a great motivation for me to put some extra effort into planning fun projects and such for the kids; knowing I'm going to have 4 little ones to corral!) Phil did an amazing job of secretly getting the girls into cute, coordinating pink outfits without Heather knowing a couple weeks ago, so I could snap some pics in the driveway for the kids to use in making Valentine's Cards this week... Oh, how I love all the glowy cheeks in this one:




My fellow Photo Momma, Jess, was able to find the same giant candy hearts, and she found a super fabulous vintage suitcase, and look at the cuteness that ensued:



I LOVE Jess' sense of style... from the shoes she wears to the bags she carries, to her home, to the way she styles her kids... she just has it, ya know? (It's not fair, really. I was absent the day they handed it out.)




You can see more cuteness on Jess' blog!

And last, but certainly not least... Only Amber , with her signature "warm, relaxed, ethereal, breathing-easy-in-the-country" style, could pull off a dreamy, sun-drenched, Valentine balloons shot like this:


I'll leave you today with a "love" verse the kids and I have been studying:
"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." -Romans 12:10

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Family: The B's ... Eugene Oregon Family Photographer

I had SO much fun with the B girls and their Ma today! I'm sure glad we didn't postpone it! The forecast called for a 100% chance of rain... but we had beautiful sunshine throughout the session, and only caught a few raindrops as we hopped into our cars!? My cheeks are still hurting from all the laughing and smiling... It makes me want a sister or two for Kendra.

Lots more to come from this session!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Featured on Amy Larson's Photography Blog!

I "met" Amy through a mutual friend, Christy, who has taught English as a 2nd language around the world for most of the last decade... When Christy visited us recently, she showed me an album featuring some of Amy's photojournalism. The images were phenomenal, and I looked Amy up online (she's in Tennessee) to see some of her portrait work!

Well, a couple e-mails later, Amy was asking if she could feature me in one of her new "Meaningful Monday" posts!? Of course I said I'd be completely honored! You can click here to check out the post, and her blog.





Thanks so much for this fun privilege, Amy! Now, come visit!! ;0)

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Portrait: Ashley (Part II) ... Eugene Oregon Portrait Photographer

Here are a few more favs from yesterday's shoot with my sis-in-law!









We had just a wee little bit of fun. ;0) Case in point:






There were several other notable moments, but this is a G rated blog after all, and besides, you might be eating...

I think Ashley looks super good in black and white:


This last one just might be my favorite among favorites:


Thanks for the super fun morning, Ash! I look forward to getting you in front of my camera again!! Love ya!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Portrait: Ashley ... Eugene Oregon Portrait Photography

Isn't my sis-in-law bee-yoo-ti-FUL??!??!!! We got to get out in the sunshine and play a bit this morning, grabbing some portraits for her to use on her photography site.



More to come!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Alaska Revisited

I was just talking with someone about the dream of visiting Alaska, and I remembered that I had wanted to go back and post a few more photos/thoughts from my once-in-a-lifetime trip last fall! I had shared a poster I designed from different Petersburg, Alaska snaps:



...but I wanted to go back and share some of those images full-size:


The most cozy, perfect bookstore I've ever set foot in:



The images I end up with are rarely exactly as I envisioned them, but this is one of the rare exceptions. As we roamed the docks of Petersburg, I was looking for a rope hole to frame a weathered door knob, and found precisely the shot I was looking for:




And now, for a little behind-the-scenes action... I love these of Amber snapping the wedding dress, with Alaskan waters as far as the eye can see in the background (yup, there were icebergs in that water!):




She caught a few of me in action, too. We were initiated into the Alaskan experience with a wiiiild four-wheeler-ride:


Check out my muck boots... not your classic wedding attire, eh?! And the MUD splattered on my WHITE jacket... (Yes, I am the world's biggest idiot; taking a white coat to Alaska. I have NO idea what I was thinking... The locals are probably still laughing about me.)




Amber snapped those last two shots of me as I was getting this:


What FUN!!!!! Oh, how I would love to become a destination wedding photographer!!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com