jen walsh photography

The Cabin | Sapphire Village, Montana

jen walsh — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:52:36 +0000

As I have been doing more and more portrait sessions, I have to admit that photography “the hobby” has become more and more like a job. I’ve been picking up my D700 less and less and turning to the point and shoot or cell phone to take shots when hanging out with the fam. I feel guilty at times, but life is so busy these days that the thought of taking time and effort to actually get the shots as well as doing the production after makes me cringe. And even though I may feel guilty, I have decided that it’s capturing the moments that matter–not the professional look of those moments (for everyday occurrences, anyway). It’s been a good thing so far.

I recently read a post written by photographer, Katelyn James, where she discusses the same thing. She went shopping and took pics of her Christmas decorations to stay inspired, and in turn, that inspired me to pull out some old pics that I took in Montana in September of 2010.

On a day of our vacation, I escaped alone with the car and drove around taking pics and exploring the scenery. It was so much fun. I love love love driving through that country and admiring the old age and timelessness of everything. Old houses and barns are frequent along the highway, often with brand new crops growing a few feet away. I’m so curious as to how someone abandons a house. I’m sure there’s some reasoning for it, but it seems like such a foreign idea to me. Anyway – It was a fruitful drive and other pics from our trip came out pretty nice as well. I’ve decided to post them here to expand my creativity and inspire myself to keep doing so.

Here is the first set of a few to come. I figure I’ll just do a series since I have so many. Also, more often than not these shots will not have people in them. For that, you can visit my personal blog (lots-o point and shoot and cell phone pics for your enjoyment).

These particular shots were taken on a trip up to V’s grandfather’s cabin. He lives in a town called Sapphire Village where most of the people that live there own rights to a sapphire mine. Some live there permanently (like his grandfather) and others come up seasonally solely to mine for sapphires. It’s quiet and it’s peaceful–quite the change of pace from our busy life in Arizona.

On this day, a few horses were grazing by the fence. I’ve always loved horses. I can’t explain why, but I’ve always felt a connection with them. I’ve never explored that, but love being around them when I have the chance. When I saw these horses I had to go over to them. Not only was I excited to snap some pics, but I was excited for E to pet his first horse!

The blond horse was pretty over me after a few pictures, but one of the brown ones stayed close by and his curiosity allowed me to get to know him pretty well with my lens. I don’t remember where the other brown one went. I don’t think we were ever formally introduced. :o)

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It was fun revisiting these pics. I had just tucked them away and forgotten about them after we returned from our trip. So, it was great to finally get them out and work on them. I feel lucky to be able to visit Montana frequently. It’s beautiful there and it clearly allows me to keep my creative juices flowing. I can’t wait to get back there.

Swan Family | Phoenix, Arizona

jen walsh — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:11:04 +0000

A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege to do a session with a favorite family of mine. I’ve known Liberty for quite some time now. Our friendship has grown over the years and I’ve since watched her get married and recently welcome a new little man into her family–Bennett.

At this time, Bennett was 8 weeks old. I’ve never photographed an 8 week old. It’s a tough age because they’re so little and still trying to figure everything out… smiling… moving their hands… moving their feet… where do I look? When do I cry? It’s all very confusing for them.

They all did great though. Even their “pup”, Buddy.

Thanks so much for inviting me to your home, Liberty and Mike. I had a lot of fun working on your photos.

Lively Christmas | Scottsdale Civic Center

jen walsh — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:48:52 +0000

This weekend I had the honor of photographing a photographer friend of mine, Courtney, with her hubby and puppy, Ryan and Molly. They were adorable and their pics came out adorable too! I love doing sessions with babies and kids, but it’s refreshing to be able to do portraits for adults. They sit still… listen… smile… all on cue!

Here are some of my faves…

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Olivia | Phoenix, Arizona

jen walsh — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:27:01 +0000

I had been waiting for little Olivia’s arrival since I had completed her mom’s maternity/family session a few months earlier. I was so excited when she arrived because it had been a while since I had shot a newborn (not including my own!).

She was adorable. She was awake almost the whole time, but thanks to a hair dryer, we were finally able to get her to sleep. Thankfully.

Thank you Crystal and Josh for inviting me to take these precious photos of new little Olivia and your family. Love that little Tatum too!

Crystal | Scottsdale Civic Center

jen walsh — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:59:55 +0000

I was super excited to be asked to do Crystal’s maternity session. She’s a beautiful person, inside and out, and I couldn’t wait to capture her second pregnancy in photos. We decided on the Scottsdale Civic Center because she wanted green. It was my first time shooting there, so I was pretty excited.

Unfortunately, they were over-seeding the grass. If you’re not from Arizona, over-seeding the grass means that they’ve scalped the summer grass, planted the winter grass and are watering the heck out of it to get it to grow. Winter grass is beautiful. It’s green, soft and lush. Amazing. So, it was disappointing that the grounds were soggy and patchy. We made the best of it though and I think the session came out amazing. It turned into a maternity/family shoot, which was fine by me. Her family is so adorable, as you can see…

3 Lovely Ladies | Montelucia Resort

jen walsh — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:25:04 +0000

This weekend I was invited to do a photo shoot for an old high school friend of mine. Being in town for a girls weekend, celebrating her mom’s 60th birthday, she wanted to get some photos taken of the girls: her mom, her sister and herself. She picked the Montelucia Resort up in Scottsdale. The resort is absolutely amazing and the grounds are beautiful. It was a delight to shoot there.

Besides the 111 degree weather, we all had a great time and it was really fun to be a witness to the great relationship that all three of them have. Thanks so much for inviting me to take your photos, Jill, Jamie and Brie!. It was an amazing time!

Now, here are some of my favorites from our shoot.

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Brea | Scottsdale, Arizona

jen walsh — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:52:59 +0000

Little Brea. I had the privilege of photographing this cutie two weeks after she was born. She’s about 4 weeks younger than Katelyn, so it was fun to get my hands on another little baby. Brea was really awake for the entire session–which made things challenging–but we worked through it were able to get some great shots.

Here are some of my favorites…

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Katelyn | Tempe, Arizona

jen walsh — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:45:04 +0000

One of the many perks of having a new baby in the house is having a brand new human to torture with all of my photography needs! It’s so fun to be able to sit at home and do little shoots with my new little Katelyn. These photos are from her 2 week photo shoot. It was a pretty hectic day for her–lots of awkward feeding and sleeping moments–but we got the job done and she was awesome through the whole thing.

My favorites are all of the pink dress photos. The other backdrops and props got a little out of hand and boring as we both got tired and I got lazy. I guess that’s a downside to being at home, taking pics and not being paid. :o)

Here are some of my favorites from the day.

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Gwen | Phoenix, Arizona

jen walsh — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:22:49 +0000

This week I was lucky to be invited to photograph new baby girl, Gwen. This little one was a joy to photograph. She smiled a lot in her sleep and her mom had lots of cute outfits and hats to put her in.

I learned a lot about lighting in this shoot. One side of the house was darker than the other, so I naturally picked the lighter of the two. However, as the session went on, the other side of the house became full with sunshine perfect for an indoor newborn shoot. Needless to say, I quickly set up shop on that side of the house and got some really great shots.

We really had a lot of fun dressing up and posing Ms. Gwen. Thank you so much for having me!

Here are some of my favorites.

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Henry | Scottsdale, Arizona

jen walsh — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:10:54 +0000

Just shortly after finishing Kiernan’s photos, I was lucky enough to get to take 2 week old Henry Alm’s photos. He’s incredibly cute and sweet and let me tell you, there is definitely a difference between photographing a 3 week old and a 2 week old. A big one.

Mom and I had some fun with Henry and she was great to let me experiment with some cute settings around the house. It’s a lot to ask when a newborn pees and poos every few minutes.

I actually went back when Henry was 3 weeks old to take Dad and Henry shots and snap a few of the new family. Henry wasn’t feeling sleep or cooperative, but we got the job done and got quite a few cute shots of the wide-eyed little man.

Here are some of my favorites…

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