This is my dad.

I've had this image in my head for a long while and I finally made it a reality. I didn't watermark it on purpose because it would take away from every item in this picture. I created this for myself. For my children. For their children. To show them all what he is to me. What he loves. What he collects. What inspires him.

My dad. In his shed. "The" shed. It's THE shed, ya know? It contains relics that have made a larger impact on my psyche than I ever used to realize.

My dad is a bug collector. He has cigar boxes full of specimens he trapped, humanely euthanized (ask me sometime how you euthanize a bug), pinned in place, labeled with dates and who found them where. My name is in those boxes over and over. As are my brother's and sister's. And his own and my step-mom's. Even some from my grandparents. And others.

My dad is a procurer of vintage men's shirts. His daily uniform since I can remember has been one his "shirts" (I put it in quotes because they're his "shirts"), shorts and Converse All-Stars. Although lately, he's on a Jack Purcell kick. (Bad pun.)

My dad is a brilliant artist. He has illustration abilities I can only attempt to emulate. I am lucky to have inherited even just a sliver of this man's talent. He is the reason I do what I do. My biggest inspiration.

My dad is a Lego maniac. I'm sure it killed him when I was little that I was never that into Legos. He tried to get us to play with them. But they bored me to death. But my children, Lego-obssessed, never stop talking about Grampaw's Mini-Fig collection. Or his self-designed Lego scenes. Like the one he's been working on recently, the underwater volcano, complete with a vein of molten rock flowing up the center of the volcano and the Lego sea life that has found respite and sustenance upon and around the flourishing underwater ecosystem he built from scratch. Did I mention he did this with Legos?

My dad has always been my voice of reason. Even when the reason sucked. He's a no-nonsense truth-teller, even when the truth hurt. He picked me up when I fell. Taught me to ride a bike. Taught me to draw. Taught me to drive. Taught me to camp. Taught me to fish. Taught me about film and photography. Taught me about graphic design and art direction. Taught me to not give a crap about what people thought of me because I was different. Taught me to follow my artistic inspiration, no matter how weird others might have thought it was. He was there for me even when it was inconvenient for him. My list could go on and on.

I am always proud to show him off and to sing his praises because I am proud of him. Proud of who he is and who I am because of him. Happy Father's Day, Dad. Love you.

Service Highlight • Custom Wall Design

We are continually adding to the services we offer. Custom wall design is one of our newest services. If you have a wall in your home you'd like to dedicate some beautiful images of your family to, one fee covers your photo session, cost of the collection, delivery and installation in your home. You can even see the collection on the wall before you hang it with our virtual wall design service, which is also included in the fee. All you have to do is send us a picture of the wall you'd like to design (or we can come in and do it for you!), with a piece of 8.5"x11" paper taped to it for scaling purposes and we will provide you with a mock up of what your selected collection will look like. All of our framed prints and other types of wall collections are from our amazing lab, White House Custom Colour. The collection we are using as an example is our Classic Black & White Collection. It's a clean and simple, classic way to decorate a wall with beautiful high-key black and white portraits we took in-studio.

This is an image captured of a wall in my new office I'd like to see some sweet pictures of my kids on. I took the picture with my iPhone 5. Note the letter-size piece of paper. That is a key element in getting an accurate mockup of your collection. Your wall picture doesn't have to be fancy...it just needs to show the whole wall and some of the surrounding space. 

We never pass up an opportunity to rave about our lab, WHCC, and the products they offer. From traditional framed prints to metal prints to canvas float wraps and everything in between, we are proud to provide our clients with their products matched with our work to create beautiful custom decor to fit any aesthetic.

So remember that TPD Studios is your one-stop shop for decorating your home with portraits (we do fine art, too!). We shoot, design, frame, deliver and install!

And, of course, any opportunity I get to showcase my two favorite little people, I will take. :)

Mommy & Me • Kristen & Liam • Kelsey Creek Farm • Bellevue, WA

Happy June, everyone! It's my birthday month and I am so excited to see the sun keep coming out! Gotta love light! Speaking of sunshine, this pair is close to my heart and I have had the pleasure of getting to know 2-year old Liam since he was born. He is a very inquisitive, special little person who loves rocks, tractors and running. He is a tough customer when it comes to getting those perfect smiling portraits you have to walk away with at least one of but if you know me at all, you know I love a challenge! And when I go back through images of him, I always have a big smile on my face because he's just such a fun kid and there are always some great moments captured. Kristen, his mama, is pretty easy on the eyes, too, and how sweet are they together? If you're looking for a quick, easy and fun weekend activity, Mommy and Me shoots are where it's at!