April 30, 2008 I can't end this month's blog without a new photo of these three amigos. My fortune-telling instinct tells me that Kobuk and Layla are going to be lifelong buddies.  They're constantly testing each other with ankle biting, rolling around on the floor followed with paw races back and forth in the yard.  It's tough keeping an 8-month old golden retriever calm just one day after her spay day. Flash is being a good sport as she watches from the sidelines.  She's announced her superiority once or twice today.  I don't think they care.

April 30, 2008 Our Alaska Weddings link is up and running.  I ran into a few delays while trying to select the images and then organize them into appropriate categories.  Still, I'm excited that it's finished (well, the updating is never actually finished!) and I'm pleased with the final product.  Keep checking back as it is a work in progress.  So many images to choose from with so little space to show off. You'll see lots of personality reflecting what I like most about photographing weddings: Alaskans enjoying a day of love and fun with friends and family in our beautiful state.  Browse through the site and enjoy the tour.

April 29, 2008 An invasion of dachsunds landed in the studio for their Warhol "15 minutes!"  Thankfully, their human brought a few extra hands to help from the sidelines. I've been told that I have a lot of patience when it comes to photographing so many dogs at one time.  Perhaps.  But the beef jerky pieces, squeaky toys and Yummy Chummies certainly help.  You can imagine how my tax deductions must look!

April 29, 2008 Sable is an eight year old Rottweiler  rescued  by Friends of  Pets.   Ed adopted her when she was just a puppy.  Now, Sable will represent Friends of Pets as its Dog Jog 2008 Mascot! Sable lost her left back leg to cancer two monhs ago.  She's  completing a series of Chemotherapy and plans to lead off Dog Jog festivities in July. Our studio has been a proud sponsor of this fundraiser ever since its inception.  Mark your calendar and plan for a day that will absolutely be one for the dogs.

April 28, 2008 Annabelle and Salem took time out from fun romps around the studio for this cuddle, one of many fun poses we captured.  Annabelle is almost two years old.  Salem is about seven years old.  A rescued German Shorthaired Pointer Retriever, he's a gentle giant who definitely brings out the smiles in this beautiful little girl.

April 28, 2008 Layla's first day at the studio.  Flash (left) isn't completely thrilled this morning as she usually sleeps off the weekends on Mondays (she's such an afterhours party girl.)  She'll have a bit of a break tomorrow because Layla is on her way to The Pet Stop Tuesday for her first true series of shots, microchipping and, thank goodness, a spaying.  At eight months old, we're trying to beat the clock before nature makes its call. p.s.  Check out this link for The Pet Stop. We captured most of the images you'll see on their site.

April 27, 2008 We introduced Layla to the Jensen Zoo this afteroon.  Layla was rescued by our friend Kathleen a couple days ago.  Kathleen has two golden retrievers (Riot and Brinkley) who are littermates to Flash.  She knew I was looking for a rescued golden (before we added Kobuk (not a golden) to our family). So now we have "the great experiment" with five dogs in the house.  Layla has a lot of adjusting and updating to do.  She's unspayed, not current on shots and very nervous about life in general.  I'm sure she'll find her true self quickly around our house. Stay tuned for updates.  Lots of posturing going on between the dogs.  And plenty of vying for human attention.

April 26, 2008 Great Grandma, Grandma, Mom and kids celebrated a Stencel Family four generation gathering with portraits. Lavon's newest great grandchild, Mitchell, is just seven weeks old.

April 25, 2008 Flash avalanched through the snow most of the day.  More than 20 inches blanketed our yard in Anchorage's Upper Hillside.  Today was supposed to be a celebration of spring with the annual Heart Run.  The Front Row Seats Band, directed by yours truely, would have blared trumpets, trombones, tubas, woodwind and percussion under just about any conditions had the event not been cancelled for safety reasons.  Flash was just fine with the decision as she doesn't care for my trumpet skills.

April 24, 2008 Breckenridge and Doug may have been a couple weeks ahead of schedule when they visited the studio with their G Q sunlasses  - especially considering the prospect of 20+ inches of snow that arrived the day following their session.     ( ughh. ) Breckenridge and his dad are an accomplished team with a history of agility training and frisbee competitions under their collars (and behind their goggles). The relationship between Breckenridge and Doug remind me of my roots as a photographer.  I love seeing these bonds between people and their four-legged, furry companions.  It's the soul of what my Talking to Animals exhibits are all about.

April 23, 2008 Laura and Leah, styled it up for portraits this afternoon.  They came to the studio looking for a perfect gift for their parents.  Problem is, they're not good at keeping secrets so time will tell. Leah is a teacher for the Anchorage School District.  Laura is a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines. Both were great fun in the studio reminding me, yet again, that I have such a great job!

April 23, 2008 Kenny just graduated as a home schooled student in Anchorage.  He's about to take on his next journey as a student at Oral Roberts University.  While there, he plans to pursue a degree in the arts, specifically drama. Kenny found our studio as a referral from his father, Dr. Ken Friendly, pastor of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Anchorge.

April 22, 2008 Tracy and Zach joined me at The Rock, one of my favorite safari locations, for their engagement portraits.  We also worked our way to Falls Creek and took advantage of the beautiful moss and rushing water. The weather was perfect although a haze blanketed the inlet.  It turns out that the haze was brought on by both smoke from wildfires in Russian as well as dust storms in Mongolia's Gobi Desert.  It's true when they say that Anchorage is at "The Crossroads of World" (for better or worse)!

April 21, 2008 Mayor Mark Begich formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate today at the Boys and Girls Club in Mountan View. More than 250 supporters (and lots of fellow paparazzi) showed up to hear the announcement.  The crowd also helped celebrate a special birthday for Mark's mother, Peggy, following the press conference. I've photographed the mayor and his family for several years, spanning back to his days on the Anchorage Assembly.   More information on the campaign, including more of our images, can be found on the campagin website www.begich.com.

April 20, 2008 Scarlet and Sherman (below) took command of the Jensen Zoo on Sunday.  Both of these magnificent St. Bernards are gentle giants.  They wore themselves out in hot pursuit of fun with Flash, Drew, Princess and Kobuk. Kobuk, to the right, tried to watch from the sidelines  -------->

April 19, 2008 Secret Star Emma (4 years old) took a break from her concert tour (possibly opening for Hannah Montana at a stage near you) to model some of her favorite fashions.  In fact, she opened the photo shoot by capturing the first photo all by herself!  Shown in the center is a portrait she snapped of her favorite fan, Delta, her very special Golden Retriever! Look for sell-out concerts in the near future!

April 17, 2008 We welcomed Kobuk into our family today.  I wrapped up a 300 mile roundtrip drive to and from Nikiski to adopt this gentle soul from Alaska's Extended Life Animal Sanctuary.   Initially, I thought I was on my way to adopt a Golden Retriever named Gris (whom I have no doubt will find a forever home).  But when I met Kobuk (nicknamed Buck) our eyes and noses made contact and it was love at first sight and sniff.  We guess that he has Bernese Mountain Dog, German Shepherd and other assorted varieties mixed in.  Special thanks to Tim for being Kobuk's guardian angel until he found our family. On our arrival in Anchorage I took Kobuk to The Dog Wash Resort before he met his new mom, Carol.  Sean and staff operate this excellent business and Anchorage is lucky to have The Dog Wash in town.  A huge thanks to them for their support of rescued companions.  Plenty of photos to come, but here are a few.  He's such a sweatheart.  Kobuk will be added to our Jensen Zoo page soon.

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April 16, 2008 Kendra, almost three months old, resides in Cooper Landing - about 100 miles south of Anchorage.  A Westhighland Terrier (Westie) she's at about the stage where her ears are starting to stand straight.  Kendra has mastered sitting on command and today learned the basics of sitting pretty.  You can see younger puppy photos of Kendra by visiting my March Blog.

April 15, 2008 New and returning members of the Anchorage Assembly were sworn in tonight at the ZJ Loussac Library Assembly Chambers.  This year's elections bring four new faces to the Assembly with two members returning as reelected.  The Assembly inlcudes seven other members who did not face reelection this year. I've been the official photographer for the Assembly for the past several years.  The official Assembly portrait will be posted here in the next 2-3 weeks.

April 15, 2008 Oh, come on ..... it's April 15 and the snow is still hammering us on the hillside.  Flash and Drew love it.  I'll be driving in it tomorrow morning with high hopes that roads between Anchorage and Cooper Landing are groomed and free of ruts.  I'm guessing that we'll see another 5" - 8" before the night turns to dawn.

April 14, 2008 Joey is a 21 year old Flame Point Siamese cat.  I was invited to photograph him at and around his home today.  He's certainly one of the oldest cats I've ever photographed.  A gentle soul, he tolerates a pair of young two year old cats - shown in an artful pose to the right - and enjoys long naps of retirement under a heating pad when he's not cuddled upon the back of the living room couch.  The image on the left shows a photo of Joey with his mom as I was using a specialized diffusing lens called a Lens Baby 3.0.  This lens allows me to specify a target area of focus while blurring the remaining area of the image dramatically.  I think it shows a very creative sense of emotion in their relationship.

April 12, 2008 Valesa and Cooper brought their smiles for an executive portrait session.  Valesa is a successful real estate agent with ReMax Properties (she sold my family's last house and helped us purchase our current home!).  Look for more results from the session on her website www.valesa.com.    Valesa was born and raised in Alaska.  We met a few years ago as she was completing her bachelor's degree at Alaska Pacific University while I was doing public affairs work for the college.

April 12, 2008 Haley, Janeen and Lauren (L-R) had plenty of fun in the studio this weekend.  Our studio is co-sponsoring Janeen's entry into the Mrs. Alaska 2008-2009 competition.  I kicked off the session by turning the camera over to her oldest daughter Lauren who snapped the first portrait of her mom.  "Lauren has the artistic gene in the family." says Janeen.  I agree!  A sample of her first official studio work is shown below to the right.  Lauren not only loves to draw - she has a beautiful singing voice just like her mom.

April 11, 2008 Wiley dropped by for a day of portraits as he steps closer to worldwide fame.  His image will appear in the Golden Retrievers of America annual magazine.  Wiley last came in for photos when he was just a few weeks old.  As you might gather from this photo he's very well trained and just as sweet as they come.  Then again, I'm very partial to Goldens!

Cama'i and Lucas were in the studio today after their human saw our Talking to Animals 2008 exhibit at Border's Books (the exhibit is now moving to the Providence Hospital Heart Center and will be available to view again April 30.)  Lucas (L) is a border collie mix.  Cama'i is a Cane Corso (Italian Mastif).  These two are great buddies and they loved the camera. Cama'i (pronounced "Cha-My") is the Yupik word for "welcome."

April 9, 2008 Ali celebrated her 4th birthday by visiting the studio for portaits with her mom and baby brother.  She's always excited to see us (and Flash, of course).  It's so much fun watching her run up the pathway to the studio in anticipation. Ali had fun playing on an indoor swing I recently installed for little princes and princesses.   I've wanted to have a swing like this for many years.  It brings back memories of when I younger and our family enjoyed a small rope swing in a rustic log cabin near Summit Lake on the Kenai Penninsula in the late '60s.

April 8, 2008 Giaana, a sparkling young senior from Unalakleet, plans to study dentistry after graduating from college. We're so pleased that she selected our studio for her portraits after finding us on the internet.  Yeah, Giaana!! The session was a great opportunity for me to use our new inside brick wall and you'll also see another example of our beautiful Old Masters Blue canvas background.

Following the studio portion of the session, I took Giaana and her father, Gary, up to the Anchorage hillside to take advantage of the fresh snowfall.  Toward the end of the session, I asked Gary to sneak around behind Giaana and shake a snowy tree at my signal.  The result was a surprise reaction and ultimately a light dusting of snow on her hair and shoulders.  The fantastic sunlight and additional reflective light added by my assistant, Kelsey, completed the magic of the moment and the final image.

April 7, 2008 Harley thought he was safe from the view of my lens as he peered from under a staircase prop in the studio.  I saw the wrought iron mustache neatly imprinted on his face and couldn't resist the moment.

 

April 6, 2008 Drew and Flash loved the fresh 13 inches of snow on the ground at 7:30 a.m.

Oliver, on the other hand, enjoyed soaking in the warmth of the sun while waiting for a stray piece of movie popcorn while we lounged around the house the rest of the day.

 

April 5, 2008 Just wrapped up this year's pro bono work for the Spirit of Youth Awards.  We've been helping SOY for the past several years.  Click here to see photos of the awards banquet. We're also about to conclude work on our annual contributions to Anchorage's Good News Great Kids program.  Our portraits of 10 amazing young adults are appearing in the Anchorage Daily News daily until the awards banquet in a few days.  Click here to see last year's recipients and to learn more about the program.  I'll post a link to this year's winners in a few days.

April 4, 2008 Welcome to our new website.  We're still pounding away on the keyboards to complete the first phase of this project.   Please email your comments and suggestions.