Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I don’t know one person who hasn’t been deeply touched and devastated in their own way due to the mind blowing earthquake that took place in Haiti just weeks ago. The footage of the mass destruction and the loss of lives is enough to keep me awake at night. The horror to have your husband/wife or worse yet, child missing or found dead, just turns my stomach. My heart goes to everyone involved but especially the children. Perhaps it’s because I myself am a new mom, but I just can’t get the images of the injured and children out of my head. Already there were so many children who were deemed orphans before the quake hit but now the number of parent-less children is overwhelming.
John and I immediately donated what we could to a wonderful cause called Convoy of Hope. But I really wanted to do more.
Myself along with some of my lovely photographer friends are coming together to put on a little portrait event to help raise money for the devastation in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake.
We are all giving our time and talents to do portrait sessions all day on Sunday February 21st, for donations. ALL proceeds will go directly to the cause.
If you have been thinking about getting professional pictures (your kiddo’s, family, senior, pictures with your sweetheart or anything else) done or if you haven’t had a chance to donate yet, this event is for you. We will be making 30 minute appointments for all day Sunday February 21st, 2010.
If you are interested in securing your portrait session please email me directly at PortraitsForHaiti@jfkstudios.com and I will promptly email you back with more information and get you scheduled. Appointments are being taken on a first come first serve basis and spots will fill up quickly, so email today! 
Thank you to Julie Watts, Jessica Hanaumi, Emma Smith, Shannon Hodson , Amanda Mays & Kim Charie for volunteering your time and talents to help make a difference.
It’s been a crazy (but great) couple weeks, and I’m guessing it’s only going to get crazier (and better) from here.
Lately we’ve;
- Finalized our design plans with the architect
- Received our final plans
- Applied for our building permit with the City of Renton
- Down-selected a group of general contractors to bid on the project
- Managed the bid process, clarifications, revisions, costs, estimates, etc
- Selected a general contractor
- Became overwhelmed reviewing a 52 page lease agreement and hired a lawyer
- Made modifications to the lease agreement, more lawyer stuff
- Signed the lease agreement
- Picked up a key.. WOOHOO!
- Drove to the park, walked over to our space, open the door and took some pictures.. see below
Building starts as soon as the building permit is approved, and that should be less than a week! More details to follow…
Thursday, January 14, 2010
It’s pretty normal that I get to re-connect with our brides sometime after the wedding whether it be for some family pictures, or a session to document a pregnancy and new baby. Honestly, that is one of the things I love most. Having relationships that continue to grow with those who start out as our “clients”.
Nerelys contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I could do some professional head shots for her. While really all of my portraiture to date has been of a personal nature, I was totally excited to do this. Not only for Nerelys but to give myself a new adventure!
We hung around the Downtown Park in Bellevue for a bit then headed to The Bravern. Here are just a few of my favorites from her session.
Jenna and I had a chance to run down to the park Sunday afternoon and take Ellie’s 7 month pictures. Not only do I feel blessed to have such a cute little girl, but she’s just so easy to take pictures of!
Fact is Jenna spends time nearly every day taking some pictures of Ellie. She is probably numb to the flash all together but it reminds me of the movie Men in Black, and the quote “How many times have you flashy-thinged that poor woman?”
Anyways, here a couple of my favorites, John
Ellie’s adorable hats by Mon Petit Chapeau
HAPPY NEW YEAR! And what a way to bring in the new year indeed! We spent our New Years Day watching two amazing people devote their love to one another! These two have been through everything from the grueling college years (where they were both studying to be lawyers at that!) and even spending a year apart while Stacy pursued her career in another state! What a relationship these two have. It was truly amazing to watch these two celebrate a day that was so long coming!
We arrived at the Grand Hyatt in Seattle where all of the bridal party was getting ready. They had some of the largest suites we’d ever seen. The rooms connected to other rooms and those to even more! IT was great for the ladies because there were like 6 bathrooms and each one got it’s use! There were 9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen so the space was definitely needed.
When John & I were on our way to Seattle to start our day, it was raining and blustery. However when we got into Seattle, it was dry and calm. We had planned to do the bridal party pictures out around Seattle. After the unveiling we took Stacy & Joe (in their beautiful old school Bentley) to Pikes Place Market to capture some pictures of just the two. As soon as we got outside it started to down pour! Not a good thing since we were planning on trying to shimmy around 20 or so people for pictures. Long story short, we were able to call the party to stay at the hotel and wait for us there while we captured these amazing images of Stacy & Joe around the closed Market.
Back at the Hyatt, we were lucky to have this awesome place for pictures.
On to one of the most beautiful ceremony’s we’ve had the privilege to be a part of, made it official! Stacy & Joe were now husband and wife!
A few more pictures of the bride and groom on the streets of Seattle and it was time for them to gather and mingle with guests during the cocktail hour.
Each of the bridal party were introduced followed by Stacy & Joe. This was a very entertaining moment as their entire bridal party was definitely the most energetic and fun groups we’ve seen this year!
The perfect way to start 2010! Stacy & Joe, thank you for asking us into your lives and to share such a special day with you! Congratulations on your marriage and many many blessings to you both this year and in the years to follow!
To view more of Stacy & Joe’s wedding images as they become available, please click here to sign their guest book.
Photographers: John & Jenna Karwoski | Seattle Wedding Photographers
Venue & Catering: Grand Hyatt
Church: St. Matthew Lutheran church
Flowers: Garden Party Flowers
Cupcakes: Look Cupcake
Transportation: British Motor Coach
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Jenna and I really only planned on exchanging stocking stuffers for Christmas this year but Santa had other plans. Jenna’s 5 year old point-and-shoot had been very good to her, but its glory days are long gone. So what was Santa’s replacement you ask… The Canon PowerShot G11
OK, so truth be told I helped Santa a bit with the research and spent several hours testing the G11 against the new S90, the SX200 IS and others. The G11 is obviously no replacement for a SLR, but for a reasonably sized point-and-shoot that can go in your purse or in a jacket pocket, it packs quite a wallop. A couple of the things I found useful;
- A high ISO of 3200. With enough light, distortion is not bad… much better than any others I tested.
- A 28mm wide angle zoom lens (the 35mm equivalent is actually 28mm-140mm) with a maximum aperture of 2.8
- Great controls with easy to access and use dials to set mode / ISO / exposure compensation
- Ability to zoom while shooting video
- 2.8″ LCD monitor that swivels out and around. Great for taking the perfect self portrait or shooting from weird angles.
- It’s pretty quick to focus (especially with the AF beam assist turned on) even in marginal light.
- Ability to adjust exposure and flash compensation seperatly (and a shoe for our big flashes)
Our last wedding of 2009. What a way to end the year. We met up with Kelli and her bridal party at The Woodmark in Kirkland. Kelli’s list of close friends is just a testament of how awesome this woman truly is. All of these ladies have been friends since they were kids! It is just so awesome to have so many great friends lifting you up and supporting you on such a meaningful day.
It’s almost a given that something will not go exactly as planned on your wedding day. For Kelli, it was her dress… I know what you’re thinking, “OH NO! Not the dress!” Well, thank goodness it wasn’t something that a little patience and delicate fingers couldn’t handle. Kelli’s gown had buttons that went all the way down and for those of you who’ve had a gown that buttons, you know that it can be a time consuming task to get them all fastened. Thanks to her great friend (who’s manicure was caught in the crossfire) Kelli’s gown was finally fastened. There was quite the celebration of this accomplishment.
Not seeing one another prior to the ceremony, their first look was at the alter.
It was a beautiful traditional ceremony. The recessional was accompanied by a bagpiper who played during the impromptu receiving line.
Sean proposed just down from Kerri Park in Seattle. It was great to get them back here for some pictures.
Let the party begin! The reception begins with toasting from some of those closest to the new bride and groom. After, it was time to get down and boogy!
We had such an amazing time getting to know Kelli & Sean. Thank you for letting us into your lives and for sharing your special day with us.
If you would like to view more of their pictures as they become available, please click here to sign their guest book.
Photographers: Yours truly – John & Jenna Karwoski – JFK Weddings
Church: St. Anne’s
Venue/Catering: The Woodmark
Flowers: Fiori Floral
Band: Martin Ross Band martinrossb@gmail.com
Gown: Ania Bridal, Portland OR
DJ- Sean McKerricher – Perfect Sound Entertainment
Cake: New Renaissance Cakes
Jewelery: West Coast Diamond and Gem – Robert Santucci
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
I guess I’ll say this is the beginning of lots of new cool and exciting things Jenna and I are working on, and I can’t wait to share with you what were up too. You may have noticed that our old blog address http://blog.johnkarwoski.com brought you to this new strange place http://www.jfkstudios.com/blog . Try not to be scared, its nice here 
For now, please take a look around and feel free to tell us what you think, John
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
From the first time we met Will & Alison, we were excited at the opportunity to work with these two! What a dynamic couple! Two of my favorite things about Alison, are her beautiful & sincere heart and the the other… she gets these amazing expressions on her face that can make just about anyone smile! Will, he’s quite at first but one of his best traits, I’ve learned, is just how much he adores Alison! Their love for one another makes John and I remember why we do what we do. We just couldn’t be happier for them both.
Alison works for the fire department and Will, lets just call him “Officer Will”, proudly part of the Bellevue Police Force. The fire department, where Alison works, was nice enough to let us use some of these great props. And a friend of Will’s dropped by to lend us a prop too.
Both of these two come with an amazing group of family and friends. The toasts were touching and we just felt privileged to be a part of such an amazing day.
Alison & Will, thank you for sharing such a special day in your lives, with us. You are both amazing people and together, now as husband and wife, you guys are unstoppable! Congratulations!
If you were a guest and would like to view more of Alison & Will’s pictures as they become available, please sign their guest book here.
Photographers: Yours Truly
Church: Bastyr University Chapel
Venue & Catering: The Bellevue Club
DJ: Austin Beaver, NiteLite Entertainment
Florist:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
While I (Jenna) didn’t have a little sister of my own growing up, from the time I was about 12 or so, there was Nina. She is the little sister to my best friend growing up. Now, all grown up and beautiful as ever, John & I had the privilege of capturing her special day.
After years of dating, Paul finally popped the question last year about this time. A years worth of planning, finally her wedding day was here. Everything that she’d spent time on, making each detail just so, was about to come together. Nina’s sister (one of my dearest friends) Barbi, flew over from Ohio to be a part of her little sister and best friends, day.
Joined by both of their family and friends Nina and Paul exchanged vows.
Thank goodness the weather report was wrong. We were able to capture these beautiful moments down at the Kirkland Waterfront.
What a beautiful day! Nina & Paul, John and I are so very happy for you! Nina, you have become such an amazing and beautiful woman! I’m so glad to be part of your life and we are so grateful to have been there to capture your day for you!
Congratulations Nina & Paul! If you’d like to see more of their pictures, as they become available, please click here to sign their guest book.
Photographers: Yours truly
Church: St. Madeleine Sophie, Bellevue
Reception Venue & Catering: Hilton, Bellevue
Flowers: TJ Blooms
Entertainment: Emerald City Productions
by Jenna
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