Yesterday we went U District street fair with our friend and their little cute and pretty daughter Sophia.  It was just so super sweet to see them (my son Anton and Sophia) holding hands walking together.  They got along so well and created nice ‘peer pressure’ for each other, such as Anton will drop his game and play ‘jumping over blocks’ with Sophia and Sophia will eat apple with skin the first time.  We definitely need to schedule more play time!       

I went to the zoo with my son Anton last Friday.  We checked the new Penguin exhibit.  It happened to be the live feeding time…they dumped a bucket of live baby trouts.  Before the penguin can find them and despite the constant ‘Get away!’ from the caregivers, the more resourceful seagulls and crows were already starting the feast.  It’s pretty funny.  These opportunists really know how to ‘take advantage of the system’.  This guy was just bluffing 

Last Sunday I had the absolute pleasure photographing Zoe and Gary tying the knots at the World Trade Center in downtown Seattle.  The weather was nice and everyone spent a happy evening celebrating this wonderful wedding.  Apparently Zoe and Gary put a lot of thoughts into reflecting this international union, from a Celtic bank to the tiny candles with ‘Double Happiness’ in Chinese.  I wish I could have spent more time alone with the lovely couple.  But in the end, it was a great event!

Vendors:

Venue: WTC

Wedding gown: La Belle Reve

Flowers: Loves Me Flowers

Cake: Sharon’s Catering and Cakes

Videographer: Ken Smith

Wedding Officiant: Len Smolen

To view more, click the link for a slideshow!

http://www.jackzyoung.com/Webshow/Zoe_Gary_Wedding/index.html

It’s about 2:30PM Sunday afternoon and sunny, we just left our friend Bibi’s house for her lovely daughter Sarah’s 5 years birthday and now on our way to go hiking at Rattlesnake.  My wife and I looked at each other and our son Anton sitting in the backseat…whew…a big sigh of relief!  Reason?  As our son handled the party really well.  As some of you know, our son is with this so call high function autism.  The first time we went to Bibi’s house for her younger daughter Emma’s birthday, he refused to enter the room…just too many strangers!  But this time we did some pep talk before and I took him there early to give him plenty of warm up time and he did great!  Yes, it was a big deal for us

From there we went to Rattlesnake.  My son may not be as athletic as his dad, but he loves walking and hiking.  Twin Falls was a routine last year and we are planning a longer hike this year.  But for this Sunday, a walk around the lake was very rewarding!

Sarah’s hitting hard:

Emma and Anton:

Bibi and her two lovely daughters:

Another loving family:

big tree trunks:

A fisherman’s cast:

This past Saturday was warm with a lot of people walking around in downtown Seattle, and that’s where Zoe, Gary, and I did their e-session.  Gary is from Irish so we started off at one of the many Irish pubs close to Pioneer Square called Fado.  I wanted something definitely Irish so I ordered a Guinness.  But Gary wanted a beer.  He said he was not too crazy about ’stout’.  OK, I did not always want chicken noodle either :-)  After we got our fluids down, we headed out and simply walked around.  Gary and Zoe were very good being relaxed in front of a camera!  We planned to end the session at China town as Zoe is from China but we were running out of time.  Still, we had a lot of fun and made some very nice images.

Zoe and Gary will tie their knots on May 10th, 2009, at the World Trade Center Seattle.

The conference was conducted last week and was held at Tulalip Casino and Spa.  There were many great speakers and teachers.   I myself was especially fond of Michael Buschmohle , Pamela Ziemann, and Peter Merry.  Things I have learned (and learned again for Peter Merry’s case) are invaluable to me personally and for my business.

But I do like to say this first: Tulalip Casino rocks, period!

There are 28 casinos operating in the state of Washington and I have been to two of them.  The first visit was to the one in Auburn many, many years ago accompanying some visiting friends, and then last November I was doing a wedding at Muchleshoot casino.  No impression, except I was surprised by the almost full parking lots at Muchleshoot.  For Tulalip, I have seen it’s getting built, first the casino and then the tall building next to it.  I have seen the traffic jam on the I-5 off ram, and yet I have never made an attempt to stop and pay a visit.  It was just one of these many casinos you see almost everywhere you go, right?

Well, how wrong I was!  I still haven’t visited its casino site as the conference was held at the resort site (the tall building), and I was blown away!  We were given tours to its spa and many themed rooms.  One word: ‘Wow!’.  Even their standard room looks and feels better than most hotels’ standard rooms.  It’s a common feeling among my colleagues: who would have thought!

Of course my mind was also busy on setting up imaginary bride to different cool locations and/or spots, and there were many.  This place will definitely one of my favorites for bridal session photographs.

I must disclaim that I do not receive any incentives for praising about Tulalip.  I am doing this because I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by its quality.  In the Communication seminar, one of the common mistakes is ‘prejudice’, a pre-formed opinion based on insufficient knowledge.  If there is anything I could have learned from this experience, it is to keep an open mind.  In many situations, my knowledge is not sufficient.

What a pleasant day that was last Saturday!  I had been looking forward to this day since I got to know this very nice and fun couple last year as I knew it’s going to be another beautiful and fun wedding!  Stephanie and Cory wed at the beautiful Broadmoor Golf Club.

The weather was sunny and warm.  We started off with the bridal party outside and of course Stephanie wanted to do something fun…therefore the jumping bridal party shot  As before, Mary ran a smooth show.  The ceremony was intimate and sweet with laughters.  And later, with the Design Band from Portland, you were guaranteed for a great party!

To see more images, click the link below to play a slideshow!

http://www.jackzyoung.com/Webshow/Stephanie_Cory_Wedding/index.html 

Venue: Broadmoor Golf Club Seattle

Band: Design Band

Cake: Mike’s Amazing Cakes

Flowers: Foressence

Paster: Matt Woll

Coordinator: Emily Garrison

Pianist: Benet Fleck

Guitarist: Kent Chasson

Limousine: British Motor Coach 

agit Valley.  Thousands of snow geese stop over feeding on the vegetation before continuing their migration.  It was an amazing sight.  After taking a few close up images, it became obvious that if that’s all I can get, watching them feeding and quacking, it’s going to be quite boring.  A nearby farmer had some kind of loud bang going from time to time but the geese just ignored them.  It’s quite comical.  After for a while, I was just about to give up, and then all the sudden, a collective loud sound of tens of thousands wings flipping and all geese were airborne.  It was absolutely worth the wait.  Wow!  And then I saw it, a little dark figure flying above the flock.  It’s a raptor, maybe a hawk, just passing by and this little predator caused all the commotion.  I got my shots.  Thank you hawk!          

Last night I visited Stephanie and Cory at their beautiful home not far from Microsoft (hint, Stephanie is one of the MS wizards).  We chatted about their wedding plan and exchanged ideas about world peace while I snapped away.  Both Stephanie and Cory were playful and very fun to be with.   We had such a great time.Stephanie and Cory will tie the knot on Feb. 21st, 2009 at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle.  I am looking forward to meeting Cory’s parents and family and am excited about to see Stephanie’s parents again.  The wonderful Design Band will be there too.  I am very excited about this upcoming wedding!    

Our friends Sophia Wong and Holly Yang invited us to this nice Year of Ox Gala last night.  It was hosted by Hong Kong Association of Washington at Sheraton Hotel.  In addition to having this wonderful opportunity to catch up with our friends, we have also enjoyed a fashion show by the famed designer Luly Yang.

We had a great time!  Thank you Sophia and Holly!

Sophia Wong and her business partner

Holly and her husband Sean

Jack and his wife Ping

Luly Yang’s models