Today I scanned some negatives.

This picture was taken in the summer of 1999. It’s of my friend Heather Roberts at her house in Salt Lake City. We had just spend that Sunday afternoon at her friend Kim McKay’s cabin at Sundance. A girl named Amy Ferguson was there and she was the real reason I was there, too, as we had just started hanging out and I wanted to see her again. So Amy and I sat on that deck, on a lovely Sunday afternoon at Sundance, and kissed for the first time. There’s a picture somewhere, of our feet on that deck chair, but I couldn’t find it when I was scanning these negatives.

Heather and I drove back to Salt Lake and I sang happy songs the whole way home. Probably something from the band Cake.

At Heather’s house I asked if I could take some pictures of her–you know, like I do, as I will, and I shot a couple rolls. There’s a few pictures that are all right from those rolls but as I was about to leave, she stepped inside the house and I saw that this was the picture I had to take.

Ten months later I married Amy.

Two years later this picture was selected to be in the Utah Art Council’s permanent collection and appeared on the cover of American Photo Magazine.

One of the things I love about photography are the memories and stories that are inextricably attached.

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Justin photographs happy people and beautiful events and he wants to photograph you.

Claire, photographed in Provo, Utah

Ben Silbermann

Here is the brilliant Ben Silberman, founder of Pinterest, photographed in Salt Lake City. He was the keynote speaker at Alt Design Summit and got a standing ovation at the end of his talk. I asked him if people recognize him now, on account of the success of Pinterest. He said, “Thank goodness, no. I would hate that.”

Ben Silbermann

Sadey got married earlier this year and then had this really good idea to give her new husband some pictures of herself as a Christmas gift. Very thoughtful, I’d say. Way better than some socks. And I was flattered she asked me to photograph her.

Meet Sadey.

Angie, photographed this summer when it was nice and hot outside.

Fun fact: Angie’s husband David is also a photographer. You can see his site here.

Megan’s the oldest in a family of awesome. She and her sisters are all funny, friendly, and have great style. If you get one of her sisters on the phone, it’s impossible to tell them apart. They sound the exact same. Same giggle, same voice inflections, same exact sound.

Megan told me that her two year old daughter wouldn’t like me and would most likely cry the whole time I was there. I’m happy to say that didn’t happen at all, and in fact, when I was walking out the door after taking these pictures, her daughter called out “Goodbye Justin. I love you.” And that’s a lot better than crying.

Megan is a writer, a great writer, and keeps a blog here.

There are some people that I am always secretly hoping they’ll ask me to photograph their family. Lucy has been on that list for a while, so that made my day when she emailed and said she wanted family pictures. Meet Lucy and Andrew, photographed at their home in Provo, UT.

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Interested in family pictures like this for yourself? We should talk.

Family portraits in Provo, Utah.

I bought a new soft box today and took it down to the studio to test it out. Here are some results. I don’t use strobes too often, but hey, maybe that’s about to change. I like how these turned out.

By the way, whenever I can, I get all my gear and supplies at Pictureline.

A couple years ago Maddie accompanied me to a wedding in Logan. She’s fun, easy to talk to, and has an amazing voice. So I was happy when she called and asked me to photograph her.

After I took some pictures of her I asked her to sing. One song wasn’t enough. I  asked her to sing three. I think it’s the most lovely sound we’ve had in that studio so far.

Meet Maddie.

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Do you need headshots or portraits for you next acting gig or upcoming project? Let’s talk. 801.916.6993.

David and Lisa Jones, artists, photographed last week while I was in Rexburg.

Diane is fun, interesting, a great listener, and once brought me brownies. I liked her long before she brought the brownies, but that kind of thing never hurts, you know.

Meet Diane and Larry.

Mario and Wendy are moving to California. See, Mario is a poet. He received a masters degree from Purdue and then, along with 2,000 other poets, applied for a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. Stanford gives out five each year and this year Mario was selected. It’s a two year fellowship, an amazing honor, and he leaves next week, taking his little family with him.

Today they came to the studio to view their pictures. As we sat together looking at all the images, I thought about how Mario’s life is going to change. Great things are coming his way. Their life isn’t going to be the same after this, and I thought about how meaningful it’s going to be for them to have these pictures later on, these little memories that mark this specific time in their life. This is the beginning.

Thanks for coming, Mario and Wendy, and best of luck at Stanford.

The poet, Mario Chard

And now, enjoy this beautiful poem from Mario Chard.
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Our neighbors have a daughter leaving the nest. She’s off to college and headed to Idaho this week. So that seemed like a perfect reason to photograph her and her mother. Good luck up there at BYU-Idaho. And if your roommates try and talk you into spray painting the water tower so it says “Sexburg” instead of “Rexburg” just tell them it’s been done before.

mother daughter portraits

College bound

Here’s a fun story that I think you’re going to like. Lacy came to my studio to be photographed with her mother and her two sisters…

Lacy

The mom, Kathryn

Sister, Keri

Sister, Madelyn

We talked a little bit so I could get to know them, you know, like I do. And then I started taking pictures. Everyone individually at first, then each daughter with their mother…

mother/daughter portraits

mother/daughter portraits

mother/daughter portraits

Sisters

mother/daughters

It was at this point that the conversation turned to Madelyn’s pregnancy. (Madelyn is the one on the left). She said something or other about when it was due, and then, Lacy said something like, well, she’ll have a little cousin about 8 weeks younger than her.

Someone's having a baby

That’s right. Lacy (far right) is pregnant. And she planned to come to my studio, then wait until just the right time to tell her mother and sisters the happy news. She wanted to have a picture of that very moment. Well played, Lacy. Well played.

Celebration

A happy day

Congratulations, Lacy. And thank you for allowing me the honor of being able to photograph such a happy moment. I just love the way this played out.

Fun facts: Chris is a writer. She’s bright and beautiful. Plus, her husband’s name is also Chris Ross. (They even have the same middle initial). How many people do you know that has the exact same name as their husband. I hope no one with the first name Brenda can make that claim.

Meet Chris Ross.

Chris Ross

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In other news – If you haven’t had a chance to see the 30 Strangers exhibit a the BYU library, this weekend is your last chance. The show comes down on Monday.

This week I was the guest guest judge on the popular blog I Heart Faces. It’s a resource for new photographers wanting tips and inspiration. Each week they have a theme and invite people to submit an image that goes along with that theme. You can read my interview here and see this week’s winning pictures here.

Tomorrow I’m having a photography workshop at my studio and looking forward to that. It’s the same workshop I gave at Evo Conference earlier this month (beginning SLR photography) and I plan to announce some dates this fall when I’ll repeat this same workshop. Ashley Thalman will be joining me tomorrow to make sure those participants get lots of individual attention.

Next week’s another busy week. I’m photographing a wedding on Friday and throughout the week I’ve got some engagement portraits and some family portraits lined up. Did you just get engaged and you want pictures of you and the one you love? Call me. 801.916.6993. Pricing info for portraits and weddings can be found here.