Jackie & Pontus engagement session

Jackie and Pontus came across our website and decided to include an engagement photo shoot into their trip to Ellensburg (her home town). The two live in New York now and met in Seattle. Pontus is originally from Sweden. :) We didn't have to look very hard to find a great location, because Jackie's mother has created a beautiful garden surrounding their Ellensburg home.











After we took some portraits at the house, Jackie mentioned she loved Chau and Shelly's "silhouette" picture at the Sculpture Park in Seattle that we did last April. So we walked up to Craig's Hill around sunset and worked on some silhouettes. They turned out great! You are a very cute couple, Jackie and Pontus and we had a GREAT time at your engagement session!

Article related links:
Craig's Hill, Ellensburg WA

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The Wedding of Mark & Caitlin

This last weekend Caitlin and Mark got married in Yakima Wa and the temperature went over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! But the heat didn't stop anyone from having a great time at this funky garden party. :) The wedding went perfect, without one little problem, largely in part because of Caitlin's outstanding wedding planners: Lisa Chambers & Michelle Engvall. In Caitlin's words, "I didn't have to worry about a thing! I just relaxed all day!"


YouTube link





Of course the bridesmaids worked hard to help Caitlin get ready while the guys got ready in about 5 minutes and just relaxed.



They were both super excited to finally see each other! We positioned Mark in the living room and he waited (alone) while Caitlin made her way down the stairs. It was a beautiful moment!

Wedding Planner: Lisa Chambers & Michelle Engvall
Catering: Gasperetti’s
Cake: Shirley’s Cakes
Floral: Gasperetti’s Floral
Dress: Ann Taylor
Groomsmen Attire: Banana Republic
Harpist: Rebecca Sauerwein
Band: Kennedy Brothers
Rentals: Party Palace
Officiant: Gavin Gaukroger (friend of the bride and groom)
Hair and Makeup: Capellos
A/V: Roy’s Audio

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Callie, senior at Kittitas High School

Senior sessions are always a blast! You choose your own session location and we try to stay on
our toes and have a unique session based on your personality, your outfits, the surroundings,
and whatever else is unique. It helps us stay creative and get our inspiration from you and what
you base your session around. And it's fun this way! :)

Callie's session, the last senior we photographed, was no exception.



Callie's session was at her own home property (also Ellensburg Saddle Company) and we started
just at the right time to get nice low sunlight as well as the sunset. We used her horses,
the barns and her dog, you'll see a few of them all below.

Article related links:
About Ellensburg Saddle Company
Ross James Senior Photography Website

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Shelly's Trash the Dress featured at Don't Box Us In

Don't Box Us In, sister website to Trash the Dress, held a "before and after" contest and we were selected!

"Many thanks to those of you that sent some of your before and after images. It
was difficult selecting just a handful to feature but here are some of our
favorites, show-casing the great post-processing skills of our readers:"


See the article here.

A little about Don't Box Us In:

The staff of Trash the Dress has decided to create a website that features today’s best Artistic
and Creative Photographers. We have a great thing going with Trash the Dress, but we thought
it we be great to show off the other amazing shots, besides the dress trashing, that are being
created by photographers who have been given creative control.

We aren’t saying that your photographer shouldn’t be capturing the traditional formals or
group shots….we’re just saying that when it comes to your wedding portfolio, if you are looking
for amazing creative shots that will really set your pictures apart from everyone else, look for a
creative photographer. Creatives don’t like to be boxed in with titles such as Portrait Artist,
Photojournalist, or even Fashion Photographer. A good creative photographer uses a mixture
of styles to create the ultimate portfolio for his or her clients.

Article related links:
Shelly: Trash the Dress session
www.dontboxusin.com
www.trashthedress.com

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Ryan & Darcy at the Tacoma Club

We just got back from photographing a beautiful wedding in Tacoma, Washington. Here's a slide show with almost 50 photos that highlight Ryan & Darcy's wedding day. Take a look:)


[Youtube link]

Ryan & Darcy got married at the Tacoma Club, inside the Wells Fargo Plaza located in Tacoma, WA. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and the Tacoma skyline was beautiful. With all of the natural window light, we couldn't resist this shot of Darcy's dress and her shoes.


Doesn't she look beautiful?


Once Darcy and Ryan were both ready, the big moment of seeing each other for the first time arrived. After a tearful embrace, they headed outside to take some portraits in downtown Tacoma.


We found some great sidewalks and alleys just outside the Wells Fargo Plaza.



Next, we headed back to the Plaza for some Bridal party portraits.



It was a beautiful ceremony full of emotion and joy, with a gorgeous reception catered by the Tacoma Club.

Article related links:
www.RossJamesPhotography.com
Wedding Location & Catering: http://www.thetacomaclub.com
Wedding Dress & Bridesmaids' dresses: http://www.davidsbridal.com
Flowers & Cake: "Wedding Wishes by Paulette"
Wedding city: http://www.cityoftacoma.org
DJ Services: "Jimmy G"

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A Wyoming Proposal

To do something for the first time is always an adventure. And this photo shoot was definitely just that. It was the first time we did a photo shoot in the state of Wyoming and it was also the first time we ever photographed an actual marriage proposal!
Colt and Jessica both live in Orlando, FL but they had a trip planned to Northwest Wyoming to visit family and Yellowstone National Park. Well, Colt gave us a call and included us in on his secret plans :)
The mountains and rock formations surrounding the location that Colt chose for the proposal were incredible. And we saw so many wildlife creatures I couldn't even keep count.
This is the moment it happened-

She said Yes!

The next day we had a session to create their engagement portraits in the town of Cody, WY. We started in a coffee shop, Grizzly Creek Coffee Company, and then found various spots around the town.















Melissa is always making fun of me for how I look when I'm going for a different angle and I caught Melissa laying down this time so I had to include that :)

Article related links:
Pahaska Tepee Restaurant
Wyoming's Rib & Chop House
Experience Cody/Yellowstone Country
River Runners rafting
Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone.net

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BABY ELYSE

Newborn baby Elyse’s parents decided to celebrate her birth with a newborn baby session. Well, sort of newborn (she was born in March). The studio lights and the click of the camera didn’t phase her because she fell fast asleep in her dad’s arms and we were able to get some newborn portraits they’ll cherish for a lifetime!

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Family Session on the Roof

This family session was for the parents of Tasha, Jack and Brian, just before the last of their kids moved away from home. We met at their house and the parents left us to come up with something different... something creative. So, we were in the grass, on the fence, in the empty swimming pool, and finally- on top of the house!
After some of the family saw the photos we created, they agreed that the one on the roof would make the perfect father's day gift for dad. Here it is:



You may remember Brian, the one on the left in the top picture, from his senior pictures last year. He just graduated high school in Ellensburg.







And here is the family's new canvas portrait just after we hung it in their livingroom. The final print size was 48 inches long and 21 inches high.

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BIRCH BAY FAMILY SESSION

This family session actually happened in April, but we had to keep the pictures a secret until a surprise wall portrait was presented as a gift in May. The family always gets together in Birch Bay, WA on Memorial Day weekend, and this year was going to be extra special since it was their mother’s 70th birthday party. So they thought, “Why not surprise our mother with a family portrait of us at Birch Bay?” So unbeknownst to their mother, we all met in Birch Bay back in April and photographed the family on the very beach that they spend time on every year as a family.






Well of course their mother was ecstatic and completely blown away by the 46" family wall portrait now hanging on her wall! Her daughter-in-law, Evelyn, wrote us an email to let us know how it went and said, “We had a fabulous time and Joan was so excited and overwhelmed with joy! Here is a picture for you to view [of the day she received it]. Thanks for everything!!!”

Article related links:
www.RossJamesPhotography.com
See where we were on Google Maps
Birch Bay website

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A Cowboy Wedding

We had a great time documenting Rick and Venesa’s wedding day this past weekend. It was a romantic, relaxed day with a western theme all the way from the cowboy boot flower pots to the bridal grand entry on a vis-à-vis, horse drawn carriage. And what two better Belgian horses to pull the carriage than Sonny and Fred from their engagement session [see here]! As we photographed Venesa getting ready, and the moment when she and Rick first saw each other, we were swept away in their exciting day full of cowboy boots and Wranglers.

First, we'll start off with a quick slideshow of the day

[Youtube link]

And a few of the photos:













Wedding ceremony entrance:









Venesa and Rick, we wish you guys a lifetime of happiness and thanks for allowing us to share your big day!

Article related links:
www.RossJamesPhotography.com
Springwood Ranch - venue
Happy Trails - horse carriage
David's Bridal - dress

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Caitlin & Mark's engagement session: Yakima, WA

Caitlin and Mark's wedding is coming up next month so we just barely squeezed in an Engagement session. We believe that doing an engagement session always sets us way ahead when it comes to the wedding day. Besides creating the best engagement photos we can, we get to know the couple and become familiar with photographing them. Almost like practicing for the big day. With Mark and Caitlin we found out they like casual looking photos but also don't mind taking some direction to different ideas. Our end result was creating genuine moments of fun and romance!



We started at the residential property of their soon to be wedding in June. Next, we headed to downtown Yakima to add an "urban flair" to the session. ("Urban" only meaning side streets, colorful grafetti, and old trains. That's about as urban as Yakima was going to get. :)







We finished the night at outside of the First Presbyterian church



Overall, we got some fun portraits that really showcased their obvious love for each other. Congrats on the engagement, Mark and Caitlin and we can't wait to capture your wedding day next month!


And Melissa made me add this last one... She likes to make fun of how I lay on the ground...

Article related links:
www.RossJamesPhotography.com
First Presbyterian Church of Yakima
The Depot Restaurant and Lounge - They have a good plate of Nachos!

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Monica & Brian's Engagement Session: Spokane, WA

For Monica and Brian's engagement session we met them downtown Spokane and relived the day Brian proposed by walking to all the places they went together that day. Brian first surprised Monica by standing in a mall display window next to some mannequins with a SURPRISE! sign. Monica worked there and he knew she would be walking by... I can't think of a better way to surprise her!

So we thought we could get away with taking some photos in the mall where this went down but we pretty much immediately got kicked out by a security guard. So we made our way to the restaurant RAW sushi & island grill [website] where the couple ate dinner the evening of his proposal.


Then we made our way to Riverfront Park [website]





I took this below while Melissa was photographing Monica and Brian. That's Melissa with the camera, she shoots primarily black and white (like the 2 above). This bridge is where the proposal actually happened.


Monica and Brian - we are really looking forward to your wedding day!

Article relate links:
www.RossJamesPhotography.com
Brian Wilkins - Swiftpage CSR
RAW sushi & island grill
Spokane Riverfront Park

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Ali - class of 2009 Ellensburg team member

Here's our first class of '09 senior session. Her name is Ali and she is our team member at Ellensburg High School. Using our Senior Myspace Website [check it out here if you haven't already] we made available an application for soon-to-be seniors to apply for the team member position at their school and get a free session. We just designed this Sale Card with pictures from Ali's session...

FRONT:


BACK:


So Ali will help us spread the word about the sale which is $42 off the senior session price until June 13th. A student, or their parents, can reserve their senior photography session for anytime this summer or early fall.

But back to Ali... as you can see her photos came out super great! She had some really great ideas and brought lots different clothes. And she was willing to do whatever it took to get creative... like laying on an old mustang, standing in a window barefoot with broken glass around, and modeling for us inside the downtown D&M coffee shop. Yeah, it was a lot of fun!

And it felt good to be photographing in our home-turf of downtown Ellensburg once again =P






What did Class of 2008 seniors say about Ross James Photography?
I enjoyed every minute of working with you!
- Emily, Thorp HS

You made my senior year so much more amazing than I could've ever asked for in pictures!
- Ali O, Cle Elum HS

You were so creative & entertaining at the same time!
-Laurie, Ellensburg HS

I have gotten so many compliments and couldn't have made a better choice when it came to my senior portraits.
- Shelby, Ellensburg HS

READ more & SEE more about our Senior Photography [HERE]

Article related links:
www.RossJamesPhotography.com
Ellensburg High School
D&M coffee
Ellensburg Downtown Association
SaveDownTown.org

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Ron "Cookie" Jackson in The Seattle Times

Last week, The Seattle Times ran an article on Ron Jackson, or as some of you may remember from the University of Washington's Huskies football team in the early 80's, "Cookie Jackson". We were honored when he asked us to do the head shots for the story. You can read the article here. Ron set 100-meter and 200-meter dash records in high school and at UW as a running back rushed a total of 1507 yards for the team. Ron went on to play in the NFL for the Washington Redskins for one pre-season.

Ron and his family lived in South Africa for 12 years developing church leadership and, more recently, building an orphanage. They are now living in the states, but travel back to Southern Africa three times a year to continue their efforts. Melissa and I are really excited about the new orphanage because next year we may be making a trip over to South Africa and provide our photography services to spread the word about the new orphanage!

Here's a couple photos of Ron Jackson:

Article related links:
www.rossjamesphotography.com
Church Health Development
Flashback | Ron Jackson makes his move to help aid South Africa

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Shelly: Trash the Dress

"Trash the wedding dress?" We know, we know... trashing a wedding dress is a little bit crazy, but before you start wondering why a recently married bride would "trash" her expensive wedding dress or why she would even want to, let me explain the idea behind this type of photography session called "Trash the Dress":

The idea behind a "Trash the Dress" session is based on "creation, not destruction"according to the official website www.trashthedress.com . While the wedding day is all about romantic, heart fluttering portraits, "Trash the Dress" sessions are all about edgy, fashion inspired images that take place in unexpected locations. Many brides are choosing to create extraordinary bridal portraits after their wedding day, instead of storing the dress in a closet, never to be worn again. And if the dress has to get muddy or wet in the process, so be it. It's not for everyone, but if you're thinking about trying it, ask us about the 50 ideas we have for amazing "Trash the Dress" sessions. (A bathtub in the forest, a golf course, romantic canoe ride, baking a wedding cake, swimming pool, and the list goes on...)

For Shelly's session it was raining in Seattle and her dress did not get trashed... just a little wet :) We revisited the Seattle Sculpture Park where we created some of Chau and Shelly's engagement photos (click here if you haven't seen them).


This look familiar? Your probably remembering this photo we did last year, same people same place :)



more at the Seattle sculpture park


a nearby parking garage





We made these indoor photos after a very nice dinner at Nijo Sushi bar & grill in Seattle. I had the Franks & Beans sushi and Tempura green tea ice cream. It was amazing :) But anyways, just down the hall was some stairs and some spot lights hitting the wall and we turned it into our last set for the evening.





Chau and Shelly's rings on chopsticks while we were waiting for our sushi.

Our Website- www.rossjamesphotography.com

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Chris & Tana's wedding day

Here's for all of you who are just waiting to see some of Chris and Tana's photos on May 3rd at the Party Barn (Springwood Ranch). We're still working on editing all of them, but for now here's a short video slideshow (24 photos).


[youtube link]

Chris and Tana- we really enjoyed working with you and hope you are having a blast on your honeymoon in Florida!

Our Website- www.rossjamesphotography.com

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Maya & Conner

Our friend Erin stopped by today and her lovely children, Maya and Conner, gave me a great opportunity to try out some new lenses and camera that we picked up recently.


While Melissa and Erin were chatting I ran around the yard with the kids. Maya chased me with a dandelion and Conner climbed on things. :) Thanks for the practice you guys!

Our Website- www.rossjamesphotography.com

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"Jive at Five" in Richland, WA

Commentary by: Ross

Melissa recently had an opportunity to perform with Jive at Five, a Big Band Jazz ensemble, of which she’s been a member since 2006. The big band was performing for Navy Submarine Veterans at the annual “Submarine Ball.”


The band plays jazz standards which Melissa will sing on about half of them, and the other half are instrumental only. The band has attracted swing dancers (and just dancing in general) every time I've seen them perform... whether there is a dance floor or not, there are people dancing!



So of course I had to bring a camera! =P




Below is Steve Haberman, a professional pianist, which the band was honored to perform with. You can learn more about his radio show, which features live jazz and Tri-Cities’ area events at www.groovetc.com. You can also hear some of Melissa’s live recordings at www.MelissaJamesJazz.com

Our Website- www.rossjamesphotography.com

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Little Ellie is 4 months old!

So far, we've captured Ellie's life at 4 days old, 6 weeks, and now 4 months old. We managed to get a few awake pictures with mom before naptime. Luckily, she fell asleep by a window so we were able to utilize natural window light. Thanks for letting us photograph her, Randi and Jeremy!






You may have noticed lately there has been a "Subscribe by email" link at the bottom of our posts. By subscribing with your email address you will get our photoblog posts emailed to you! Try it out

Our Website- www.rossjamesphotography.com

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Introducing our New Black & White Style!

commentary by: Melissa James
I've been fiddling around with a new black and white film style and we're ready to start using it in our photography sessions. Look for blurred lines, soft focus, and romantic themes. (Perfect for brides, babies, and maternity shoots). Just think, Ross is the digital pro (and photo genius) and I'm the old school side kick. A perfect team! Ross agreed to let me try out my new style on him. What do you think? He's not a bride or having a baby, but it works. :)

Our Website- www.rossjamesphotography.com

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