As many of you already know, I lead a ministry called Love Walks which among other things serves in Mexico on a monthly basis. Almost every month I bring my camera down. And I struggle. I struggle to live within two tensions. Being 100% there with Love Walks and being 100% in the photographs I take. It is extremely difficult.

I don’t know that I’ll ever get this balanced. Perhaps that shouldn’t be the goal. Either way I’ll continue to try and capture the spirit of the people, the purpose and the place. Enjoy these images from our last trip! (see more at www.facebook.com/lovewalks)

A couple years back I did an internship with Food for the Hungry. While there I had the privilege of getting to know Pat, an extremely gifted leader and passionate man of God. In the years since I’ve been blessed to get to know his family too. So, when they contacted me to take senior portraits for Ashley, I was excited to do it!

For the shoot, we worked our way through Old Town Scottsdale, enjoying the beautiful weather as we went. I have to give a special shout out to Ashley’s mom who doubled as my lighting assistant for the day, doing a great job (she may have uncovered a hidden talent)! Ashley is extremely photogenic and was a blast to shoot. Ashley congratulations on this big step in life, and what it represents that is now just over the horizon. Best of luck in wherever you next steps take you!

You never know how the people you meet will end up crossing your path later in life. This can be something you avoid…or…it can be a pleasant surprise. This story happens to be one of those pleasant surprises! In 2009 during my two months in Rwanda I helped host a team of folks from a church in Scottsdale that is doing a development project in western Rwanda. One of the members on this team was Nathan. I was surprised with Nathan’s demeanor when I met him. At that point he was in his final year of high school, a gifted athelete and extremely well rounded guy. But more than that he was humble, and he cared about people. Impressive traits at that point in life! I saw Nathan periodically since Rwanda, but recently reconnected with him and his now fiance, Taylor.

Nathan recently proposed to Taylor and they are set to get married early next year. I’m so excited to reconnect with Nathan and get to know his equally amazing bride to be. We had a blast taking engagement pictures in downtown Phoenix, you can tell from the images that they do just fine in front of a camera! I also want to give a special thanks to April, who accompanied us on the shoot, helping me at many points along the way!

Nate and Taylor, I had a blast with the both of you, I’m so excited for the path you’ve chosen together and can’t wait to shoot your wedding!