Living What I Love

Fall shoots

A few favorites from recent family + engagement shoots this fall!

 I think I really captured Astrid's sweet essence here. =)

Such great brothers!

Katy + Sam + Murray the dapper dog <3

Marie, Bryce + Finn

Shot some fall photos for friends to use in their Holiday 2016 cards and we had the perfect fall evening with beautiful light. We took these downtown Ballard, one of my favorite places in the city. Marie's parents were visiting from Indiana so we got some with the grandparents, too! <3

Spring shoots

Hello again! Been awhile, so here's a few fun shoots from the spring, starting with a 5K with a local chapter of great org Girls on the Run, which encourages girls to run and promotes a healthy self-image. It was a freezing, rainy day and I was so impressed with these girls' positive attitudes and with how much fun they had, despite the weather.

Next: some maternity photos for Beth and John, who two months later welcomed a healthy baby boy!

And finally, a portrait session with the lovely Inger, who gets told she looks like Jodie Foster a lot - I have to agree! I love doing portraits, and we lucked out with a gorgeous Seattle sunset.

Coming soon: Baby Hamlin!

Nicole and Eric are expecting their first baby in a matter of weeks, so it was high time to document the just-before-becoming-parents stage! Can't wait to meet him.

 

A baby girl to-be!

Jessica + Russ are expecting their first baby this fall, and it's a girl! Capturing soon-to-be parents is so fantastic. Excitement, a little apprehension, and wide smiles. Wishing you both the best on this upcoming adventure, it's a big one!

Beth & John are tying the knot!

Nothing like love in the spring time ... and especially during cherry blossom season in Seattle. These were shot at the Arboretum on a perfect sunny day right at the famed trees' blooming peak. It's a small window - gotta catch it while it lasts!

Recent favorites

A few of my favorites from recent shoots this winter:

Love this one. =)

Beautiful child! Beautiful family.

Kristen + Eric Are Having a Baby!

A (fun) foggy fall maternity shoot in Volunteer Park:

Matt + Filiz

...are getting married! An incredibly fun shoot with amazing people who I'm honored to call my friends. September in Seattle really delivered on this one, too.

 

The latest and greatest

Some favorites from a super-fun family shoot on Saturday in Redmond. This little guy is just too cute. Love it when the grandparents can get in some shots, too!

The golden hour

This shoot was at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens, late in the afternoon when the sun was perfectly filtering through the trees and made for some beautiful photos. The little guy is only 3 months old, and I could definitely tell how much love his family has for him! We had his parents, aunt, cousin and grandparents all together, and no matter how many times he got passed around, he was a pretty content (and sleepy!) little guy.

I love the grandmother's sari and the bright colors she and her daughter both wore. Take note: bright colors make for gorgeous pictures!

Laughter also makes for great photos. =)

Granddaughter + grandfather

Father + son

Mother + son

Grandparents + grandchildren

Toddlers: keeping me on my toes

I thought this little guy was quick the first time I took his photo; I was wrong. Good thing I wore shoes that were easy to move in! A few of my favorites:

Rose, Travis + Adrienne

Favorites from a family/holiday card shoot for close friends of ours last weekend in West Seattle:

Aniruddha + Pragnya

Last week I met up with Aniruddha and Pragnya who are recently engaged to do a photoshoot at the Sculpture Park. Even the rain couldn't keep the smiles off the faces of these two! =) And talk about true love: they are currently living in Seattle, WA and the Netherlands (separately!). It was awesome to do an engagement session again. We had so much fun and definitely made the best of the less-than-ideal weather. Wishing them all the best!

Fall + families

Work from a family session I shot this past weekend in South Lake Union. Check out these kids' gorgeous, curly hair!

Late September family shoot

Another lovely family who I worked with a few weeks ago with a beautiful four-month-old baby girl, and grandparents visiting from China. There's just something about those grandparent visits - crossing oceans to see their newest family members ... it just really pulls at my heartstrings. =) Maybe I just miss my own grandparents who also live far away; not as far as China, but far enough that I don't see them often enough. I hope this sweet little girl gets to see her family a lot over the years as she's growing up. They certainly adore her already (as do her parents!)

mini explorer

I had a few family sessions this weekend and had so much fun meeting more tiny people! Filtered sunlight, crisp air and an empty park made for a perfect shoot. This is Luna, who's 18 months and very, very busy, and very interested in the natural world (rocks and sticks and leaves) but not so much the dirt - her dad had to brush it off for her. =)

Family.

A sunny, warm day in Seattle, a happy, smiling baby and a light breeze mixed well for a great family shoot this past weekend at the Olympic Sculpture Park. I loved little Lily's expressions! Babies at this age are so fun to work with.

Saturday morning

This past Saturday I drove out to a cool little tucked-away park to meet up with a super fun family of three to shoot some photos. Their son was 14 months and man could he move fast! Probably half the shots I snapped of him were blurry; luckily I always keep that shutter clickin' and am left with plenty of great ones. =) When my photos of him were in focus, they turned out great - he just had this little glint in his eye all morning that was too cute.

Baby M's First Birthday

I had the pleasure of shooting the first birthday party of Baby M last weekend. She had the biggest, prettiest eyes and had everyone at her party wrapped around her finger. =) Can you blame them?

And what a party it was! There were gift baskets and bubbles and squirt guns for the kids to play with, a bouncy castle, a mini swimming pool and SO much food. It's so great to see families and friends brought together to celebrate, and I had a fabulous time getting to know Baby M and her parents and grandparents.

Maria's senior photos

My sister brought her friend Maria along for the senior session I did while I was at home. It was fun for them to get to bounce ideas off each other and make faces behind the camera at the other. ;)

Maria's photos turned out awesome and it was great to get to know her. Wishing her an awesome senior year!

P.S. I'm now living in Seattle, WA, so if you or anyone you know need senior photos taken, give me a shout in the comment section!

Maddie's senior photos

Incredibly hard to believe that my little sister will be a senior in high school next year. I was home for a few days in between getting back from our big trip (more on that to come!) and our move to Seattle, so I shot seniors for Maddie and her friend Maria, whose photos I'll post tomorrow.

We had a blast and *the* most perfect summer day. We shot these around Williams Bay, which was fun since it's where I grew up. No matter where you are, there are always great photo ops to be found!

Sorry to brag, but my sister is so beautiful. See for yourself:

 

And also, hilarious. Giant glasses courtesey of the Dollar Store.

So proud to be your sister, Maddie! You're amazing.

 

 

BC | KM Collabo 3: Faces

A third collaboration with Brett where we each chose five of our favorite and possibly unshared portraits.

I love photos of people (and puppies, obvi). This was a really fun collabo.

by KM

by BC

by KM

by BC

by KM (ppppssst.... this IS BC! ;)

by BC

by KM

by BC

by KM

by BC

hot lips.

i was recently inspired by two fellow bloggers (anna at door sixteen and jules at pancakes and french fries) to rock a lip color other than my usual, boring sheer-ish gloss. and a lipstick at that. lipstick! i.e. what i falsely assumed only my grandmother (her favorite: clinique), j.crew models, and drag queens wore. though i wish i had the cojones to wear a great red with the aplomb of anna and jules, i went with a rather shocking pink instead: lustering by mac (the best). i kind of love it. excuse the grainy mirror-reflected self portrait; i am luckily much better at photographing *other* people than i am at snapping shots of myself.

the moral of this story: ladies other than j.crew models and lady gaga *can* rock bright lips. you just have to put it on and own it. ;)

Old photo love v.1

Sorting through my boxes of photos today (remember when people printed their photos?), I came across a stack of photos I've been meaning to share for awhile. I don't know how or where these photos came to be in my possession, but I treasure them and have grand plans for a family history wall someday when we have more wall space and I have the full collection of both sides of Chad's and my families.

I am fascinated by old photos. My answer to that question, "If you could have a superpower, what would it be?" has always been time travel, hands-down. There is nothing more intriguing to me than learning about my ancestors and hearing bits and pieces of my personal family history. I would give anything to go back in time and ask my great-grandparents why they were deciding to leave Sweden and Germany and the Netherlands. Were they the first to leave? Did they like it here? Did they miss home? As time travel isn't exactly on the horizon just yet, I'll have to settle for looking through these great old photographs and making up stories of my own. I love the formality of them, too - no such thing as digital photography or snapshots, a photograph had to be planned for, often paid for, and the result is so lovely. Bowties and dresses, Sunday best. I love it.

I do know enough to narrate these a bit. My dad's side of the family all came from Sweden in the early 1900s. My great grandfather, Oscar Kullberg, came from central Sweden and landed in Rockford, Illinois, with his brother Henning. I know that Henning eventually moved back to Sweden from a letter I was lucky enough to have translated to me from Swedish to English last summer while visiting relatives in Sweden. My grandfather was then born in Wisconsin and eventually became a watchmaker; a trade he passed on to my dad, who has owned and run Kullberg Jewelers since my grandfather became unable to do so in the early 1980s. Without further ado, the Kullberg Family:

I'm not 100% certain who this lovely lady and little boy are; I know they're somehow related to me, though! And I adore the moon; I think it's genius.

My great-grandparents, Selma Svensson and Oscar Kullberg, with their three children. My grandfather Walter is in the middle.

My grandfather Walter, so handsome! The back of this photo is labeled, "June 16th, 1929." It must be right around the time he and my grandmother Dorothy Tekla met, because the following photo of her has the same thing written on the back.

My grandmother Dorothy. What a cute smile she had!

Proof that photobooth photos are forever great. Hi grandpa! I think this was around his watchmaker school years.

This guy with the impish grin, looking like he's up to no good? My dad! No date, but I'm guessing this is around 1960, when he was about 6 or 7.

My dad on the left with his big brother John, around 1959. That's Williams Bay School in the background - their and my alma mater. =)

I love this photo. Check out those boots! And that hair! It's taken from such a cool vantage point, too. Props to the mystery photographer who shot this one. My dad could build, take apart, and rebuild a whole bunch of things from a young age, from dirtbikes to Volkswagon Beatles.

The early 1970s, man. My Uncle John, grandma, grandpa, Aunt Mary, and my dad on a pier over Lake Geneva. Groovy outfits + hairstyles, and the camera around my grandpa's neck makes me smile. Miss you, grandma, grandpa, and Uncle John!

That's all the family history I have for now. Stay tuned for a future post about my mom's side!

today

i get my husband back. he's been gone all summer at his internship in seattle. let's just say i'm pretty excited for his flight to get in tonight!

smiling faces

To start your weekend on a happy note: check out these beautiful kids! I was out shooting for 826 tonight at a local nonprofit and although I was supposed to be taking photos of other things, my lens kept turning to the kids instead! Have a great weekend everyone + remember to smile, whenever possible. It just makes things better.

 

Okay, so, not a kid. But if you don't also think this puppy is pretty dang adorable, you might not be allowed back onto my blog.

aviator shades.

I forgot to add this one to the earlier post with photos from the anniversary photoshoot. I think this photo is really cool, and also it makes me laugh, because my dad has been wearing those SAME exact aviator glasses (ahem, clip on aviators, a man's gotta see out the cockpit) for about 35 years, and now that they're back in style again he looks so HIP. This post will make him laugh, too. Here's to your hipness, Dad. May all your style choices be so cyclical.

Seniors - done!

I finally finished sorting, organizing, and editing the batch of nearly 400 senior photos of the three boys I shot back a few weeks ago. Time to share a few more - I was really happy with these and I really hope the guys and their families are, too. My senior photos certainly weren't half as cool... bummer. Where's that time machine when you need it?

wild blue yonder

Took a few cool shots of my dad and stepmom at the small airport where he keeps his plane. I was worried about the sun being too glare-y but I think they turned out pretty great. The blues are SO blue. They've been married 20 years this year, so it was kind of cool to mark it with a photoshoot.

I loved this last one so much I made it the home image on my website.

Kate Kullberg Photography

Stay tuned for more photo goodness from the great state of California....

Class of 2011

While I was home in the LG last weekend, I worked with three Elkhorn High School boys and took their senior photos. They were all nice kids and super easy to work with. One of the guys had even had his braces taken off for his photos! That's dedication. We dodged rain all afternoon but it ended up making for some awesome photos. Special thanks to the moms who acted as my personal umbrella holders for part of the shoot - I couldn't have done it without them! I haven't edited them all yet, but here are three I already showed to the families.

Cowboy, baby.

Came home tonight to find this guy hangin' out in our living room, strummin' away. All plaid shirt and gee-tar. I liked it.

Liked it even more when he surprised me with "Fields of Gold." He just taught it to himself today.

Published, holla.

Last week, I got word from a random iPhone app company called Schmap, who wanted to ask permission to use a photo I took of the Stockholm Public Library in Stockholm, Sweden, for their app.  Obviously, I said, "For sure." Here's a link if you want to check it out! Kind of a cool app, too, for all you iPhone users out there.

http://www.schmap.com/stockholm/sights_vasastaden/#p=242290&i=242290_10.jpg

Also, speaking of getting published, a few months ago I was VERY, very excited to have one of my submissions to Pictory Magazine chosen for the "Life Before Your Eyes" showcase. Pictory is an online photo/writing magazine that was started recently by Laura Brunow Miner. Every month or so, there is a new showcase with photos and text from talented and creative people all over the world. Ms. Miner and usually an esteemed guest judge are the ones who pour through all the photos and stories and decide what makes the cut. Truly an honor to be chosen, and in case you haven't seen my submission, here it is:

http://www.pictorymag.com/showcases/life-before-your-eyes/#pictory-254

Here's the photo again, of my dad and the RV-6 plane that he built by hand:

Rock on, Dad. Another person livin' what he loves.

3 weeks = too long.

To not see this face.
Look at that face! You'd miss it, too. Being in London and Dublin for school is awesome, sure, but not NEARLY as awesome as eating dinner on the couch while watching "Dexter" with this girl. Nope. Two more days.

Missin' these guys.

 
The last two years before we packed up and moved to Michigan, I was an assistant teacher at an all-boys school in San Francisco.  All boys! These guys were my third-graders last year.... and lately I've been missing them... even their fart jokes. I found them to be hilarious, inquisitive, charming, weird, and adorable. Sometimes all at once. I had the best time teaching these guys. Now they're big fourth graders, almost fifth graders. I hope to get back and visit them in the near future. I'm sure they're still making fart jokes, surprising their teachers with their brains and their spirit, and growing up into amazing young men.

Reader, I married him

Lucky me.

Recently

I've been having fun with my new Canon 50mm f/1.4.  My friend Erica was a lovely and willing subject... but Cooper wasn't given a choice. I love how he looks uber-bored in the second photo.