Cloudy Beaches!! {Southworth, WA Family Photographer}

I love looking for new locations!  The "T" family was looking for a casual beachy feel for their session, and I think we found the perfect spot for them.  I never know whether to be happy or sad when the clouds roll in on days that I have a session, but I am begining to LOVE a cloudy dramatic sky :)!!  This family was beyond fun to shoot.  Mr. "A" brought his guitar and his energy, and little Miss "A" is as sweet as she looks.  Thank you "S" family!!

PS - A few clients have now ordered their Holiday cards and I have to tell you they look incredible.  They also come in five different finishes...matte, gloss, linen, watercolor, and pearl (I am so getting the pearl :))!!

A Day at the Beach with Nana P!!

Many of you may or may not know that my mother recently moved to Port Orchard. She only lives about 10 minutes away, and I honestly have no idea how my little family has managed these past 10 year without her!! It has been incredible to have Sunday dinners with my siblings, and just know that she could be at my house in minutes instead of 3000 miles away. I appreciate all that she does for my children, and I am so thankful they will know her like I do.

Here are a few shots I got during our recent location search this week.

Alaskan Skies!!

I fell in love with these three shots because of the various light they each have to offer. I hope you enjoy them as well :)!!

PS - Thanks Court for helping with my lame spelling, you are my grammer guru (Did I spell that right?? :))!

Giving Back...{Port Orchard, WA Photographer}

You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $600 worth, to be exact. Whether it's canvas or albums, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $200 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Kitsap County, WA. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story by Oct. 31 2009 To: shannon@shannonmphotography.com

The winner will be announced on November 7th 2009 so they can have their pieces of art by Christmas -- get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,

Shannon Morgan

Also if you are not in Kitsap County, WA and know someone who is deserving check out www.givingisawesome.com to see if there is a photographer closer to you who is giving back as well. Also a huge shout out to all the other photographers participating in this amazing event!!

More Alaskan Edits!!

Slowly, slowly, picking at all the Alaskan pictures from our trip. You will probably see them trickling in for months to come :)!



This is a trappers cabin, which are very common in Alaska. Hunters and Trappers build them and then use them a few weeks out of the year. Most will leave them accessible to people to use, in return you leave behind something that future travelers can enjoy. We stayed in this little cabin for one night because there was a lot of bear activity in the area.

I just loved the textures in this shot.


And I had to throw one snapshot in of a Red Salmon. See the joy in my husbands face, and my son's fingers barely touching the fish :)!!

Holiday Family Portraits.....

Holiday Cards 2009

Come Check Out....

My website!!!!

It is officially complete. After months of working on it, I am so excited to announce the launch of my new website. Featuring my galleries, session information, and private client proofing galleries.

So stop by and look around. I would love to hear what you think :)!!

www.shannonmphotography.com

A few More of my Favorites....

I am exhausted. I attended my first photography workshop yesturday with Michael Andrew, we went from 9am-10pm pretty much non-stop, and today I am feeling it. I look forward to announcing a few exciting things in the next week or two so stay tuned. Meanwhile here are a few more pictures from my awesome session with the "O" family!!

I am crazy about all of these, I don't think I pick a favorite :)!!

Childhood Memories!!

I am still catching up from my trip to Alaska, and am so excited to post pictures from my session with my long time childhood friend. It was so fun to catch up with her. Not only do I have amazing childhood memories that I have shared with her, but I think we were able to capture a few of her own children. These four kids were beyond fun to shoot. They were so willing to do anything that I asked, and had me giggling countless times at their silliness. It was a true pleasure. I have so many favorites from this session.


I can not get over how handsome and big he has gotten!!

They are such a sweet couple!!

The camera LOVES this little man :)!!

Could this shot be any cuter?


Thanks again "O" family!!

Thank YOU!!!

I just really wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to those that haven chosen me to photograph your family and those that follow my work and comment on my blog. Honestly, I appreciate it more than I can express. I truly LOVE what I do, and having others notice and appreciate it is still incredible to me. So THANK YOU!!!

And what would a post be without some pictures. A few more from our trip. "B" in front of an ice cave, which he thought was pretty cool.


This picture I find a little spooky. It just goes to show you that they can be right over the brush line watching you and you probably wouldn't even notice :)!! We saw three bears at this spot, them and us drooling over an amazing fishing spot chuck full of salmon.

Trying Some New Things.....What do you think?

This shoot was not only fun because I got to work with old friends, but also because I shot in my home town. We went to four different locations in under 2 hours. Normally this is impossible, but because they only had little Miss "L" we were a lot more mobile. I was able to try a few new things, and I have to say I am pretty excited about how they turned out. Thanks for being such great models "C" family!!

Where does the time go??

While visiting my home town of Healy, AK, I was fortunate to shoot my long time friend and her growing family. I have known her for as long as I can remember, and seriously where has the time gone? I don't know, but I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with her and her husband whom she met in Africa while serving a Peace Core mission. They have the most beautiful daughter!! Oh my goodness I could have shot her all day :)!! Thank you "C" family, I hope you love them as much as I do!!

I think he has the greatest smile :)!


So Miss "L" is known for her stone wall faces, and she made me work to get a few smiles, but I still think she is perfection with or without it :)!


My new favorite photo. I think it just tells such a beautiful story.


This is a geniune Alaskan cabin. Owned by an old family friend.


Kay, so this one might be my new favorite photo... Oh, I just can't pick :)!


Thank you "C" family, I love you guys!!

A few Landscapes....

I seriously am drowning in pictures to edit, and even though at times it is overwhelming, I wouldn't want it any other way :)! I was lucky enough to have two sessions while visiting my home town with some old friends and their growing families, so stay tuned for their posts in the next few days.

So in between kids, life and photo session editing, I try and squeeze in a few pictures from our trip. These two aren't the best photographes but they are a good reflection of what our trip was all about, beautiful landscapes, and lot of FISH!! Fish are the reason we take these crazy trips, or at least the reason my husbands plans these trips 11 months out of the year :). And this trip didn't disappoint, there were lots to be had, hence the presence of all of the bears that we saw. Where there are bears there a fish :).

I tried and tried to get a cool shot of a fish jumping out of the water, and this was the best shot I could get. The red you see under the surface of the water to the right of the jumping fish is all salmon waiting to head up a creek to spawn.