Photography: Grand Opening of Defiance Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Photography: Casey Gray, Senior
I have been back home in Kansas for close to a week now, and one of the things on my to-do list was capturing senior photos of my younger brother, Casey. I can’t believe he’s actually a SENIOR. But we had a great time snapping photos yesterday, and it means a lot to me to be able to capture a little bit of this time in his life.
Photography: Defiance BJJ
A few posts ago, I shared that Caleb and I had been working on a podcast for the guys of Defiance BJJ. Last night I attended one of their classes for adults in order to get some shots of the guys and attendees in action, so here are some of the shots.
Photography: Art on the Ave
Art on the Ave, according to the website of 6th Ave Business District’s website, is “an annual music and art festival hosted by the 6th Ave Business District, Tacoma WA’s Most Eclectic District, along 6th Avenue from State St. to Alder. In its 19th year and attracting thousands of patrons, it is Tacoma’s largest arts-based yearly event.”
My new camera arrived the day before the event, so I was stoked at the timing that allowed me to have a new rig for the coolest art fair in Tacoma.
Fortunately for A on the A, it was PACKED. Unfortunately for me, the sun and crowds were a bit overwhelming, so I only managed to snap a few photos. Here are my faves.
Photography: Annual Company Day At The Rainiers
Most of you know that I work at a Tacoma accounting firm, The Doty Group. Throughout the year, there are awesome opportunities for us to get together and take some time to enjoy our team. Today was one of the favorites: Family Day at a Rainiers game. Complete with a face painter and balloon artist, we attend a day game and enjoy an afternoon BBQ. Though today’s game was off to a bit of a slow start, the R’s finished strong with a Home Run and a W!
Of course, I stayed pretty busy chatting today, but managed to grab a few snapshots before it was over.
Photography: Kate and Luke's Wedding
Last November, I used a social networking app to start making some lady friends in the area. If you’re familiar with the path in my life, you know that it has involved a lot of moving around. I’ve always managed to make lasting friendships everywhere I’ve lived, but as I got busier with work, I was finding it harder to know exactly what to do to find people interested in the same things as me (without having to pour a lot of energy into activities that I wasn’t sure I’d love). A lot about self-care is making sure that the energy that you are spending on your environment is nurturing and worth your while.
This is how I became friends with Kate, and I am so thankful that I did! A fellow transplant to the PNW from the Midwest, she is also in the Professional Services industry. There’s a lot to making new friends that can be incredibly difficult to read or hard to deal with, but we instantly hit it off.
She recently celebrated marrying her partner in crime, Luke, and the details - down to the silliness in their vows - were so sweet and reflective of their partnership. I felt honored to be able to capture some of the spirit of their day!
Congratulations to this awesome couple & their families.
Podcast: Defiance Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
For a while, Caleb and I have been doing some work with a couple of really awesome guys who have a BJJ team here in Tacoma - Defiance Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It just happened to be a fun coincidence that we all live within like four blocks of one another. I helped with some Instagram growth and strategizing, and Caleb has been helping with Google Ads. They have some really great content with videos from Mike Baltierra Photo and as they’ve grown, it’s been so cool to see how much people are enjoying their team’s vibe.
Last week, they came over and we recorded a podcast-style interview with Stu and Jesse, where they answered some questions about how they got involved with BJJ, what some benefits of BJJ are, and why their team is different than some other ones in Tacoma. Stay tuned for the release!