Shokay part 3 - my favorite | commercial shoot

OK, I know all the Shokay clothes I've posted so far are adorable, but when I received this collection, I knew it was my favorite! All the outfits are simply darling, with the best coordinating hats. And the workmanship and details are just amazing.

Some of you have wondered what sizes these clothes are available in. The answer - any size! They're standard sizes go up to size 6 yrs old for kids, but they custom anything for any age and size - including adults!


makes me feel like going on a Sunday afternoon picnic.






*love* this.

Shokay part 2 - children's luxury handknits | commercial shoot

More wonderful outfits from Shokay.

And I must say, when photographing commercial shoots, it is rather convenient to have a model always on hand, available to do whatever you tell her to do. =)

I love this dress with its bit of Chinese qipao style.


I really like the bold color - though you can customize the colors on any order.


These mittens and scarf match the cardigan in my last post. And the top of the mittens are flapped so that they can open and fold back, exposing the fingertips when it gets warmer.


Love the details and colors on this hooded cape.


And one last one for fun.


So which is your favorite?

Shokay - children's luxury handknits | commercial shoot

Ok... finally ready to post about my exciting project I mentioned in my last post. Sorry to keep you in suspense. =)

I mentioned a while back that I met one of the co-founders of Shokay.

Well, I am very excited to have the opportunity to photograph for their upcoming catalog, featuring their new line of children's clothing.

All of these products are handknit and can be custom made to order. The feel of the yarn is *nice* and soft and warm. And ultimately, their sales go back to helping give sustainable income to impoverished communities in China. An all around feel-good business, I'd say.

While their new catalog is still in process, here's just a few glimpses from one of the shoots.






(isn't this design beautiful?)

More to come soon...

we have finally arrived

before we moved, one of the few things that hannah understood about China was that after we got there, she would be able to ride a bike. (we didn't want to purchase a bike for her earlier in the States and then have lug it all the way here) almost everytime we mentioned we would be moving, she would respond that she would then be able to ride a bike... or play with her new toy kitchen (another object we held out on opening until after we moved).
well, on Christmas day, when Luke rolled her new bike through the door, she exclaimed, "Oh! Wo men zhongyu dao Zhongguo le! Wo men zhongyu dao Zhongguo le!" (Translation: We have finally arrived in China!) so yes, I guess our move is now official.



(excuse the blurry, not very professional looking picture =) )


I have another exciting project to share about in the next few days, so stay tuned!

andy+katina | engagement shoot

a couple friends visited us from Shanghai last weekend, and one of the items on our agenda was to take their engagement photos. when i first met andy and katina, i thought they made such a handsome couple. so i was definitely excited to get to do this session. the session was a lot of fun - along with a bit of a workout as i made them hike up and down a mountain. =) but they were open to try anything and had lots of their own ideas too. i'm still wading through the *tons* of photos we took, but i know they're eager to see some, so here is a small sneak peek.
it's also a breath of fresh air for me to finally be posting some people pictures on this blog, rather than inanimate objects. =) because photographing people is what i really love in the first place.







some landscape you can't find in the States - a bamboo forest.


and finally they were determined to get a jumping shot - it made for a lot of laughs.


congratulations andy and katina. we're very excited for you guys.

carols, cookies, care packages, and the christmas story

Merry Christmas everyone!!

With Christmas not as widely celebrated around here, we've had to largely depend on our own means and creativity to remember the Christmas season. In some ways, it's not such a bad thing. So our Christmas this year has consisted of...

Carols
lots and lots of singing these past few weeks. there's nothing like christmas carols to warm the heart. hannah's favorite is "gloooooooooooria in excelsis deo"


Cookies
lots and lots of baking going on... literally made hundreds of cookies. homemade cookies are a rare commodity around here, and people were impressed and happy to receive them.


Care Packages
lots of packages have come in, to our pleasant surprise. and thanks to some loving friends, we even got to make our own paper ornaments and hang lights for decoration.


Christmas Story
finally, it's been good reading the Christmas story a lot of times, and being in wonder of the greatest Gift of all.


May your Christmas be filled with joy and wonder, as well.

thanksgiving, part 2

another big thing i was thankful for this Thanksgiving was that our shipment of belongings finally arrived right on Thanksgiving Day!





The move-in process was fast and impressive. Who knew one person could haul so much on their back.



So we've been busy unpacking the past couple weeks (i.e. my excuse for not blogging lately) and making home more "home". It's nice.