Tag Archives: puyallup photographer

A Big Welcome to Adelaide

Hello friends,

As many of you know, we lost our doggie last year. Bowen was a great pet and dog for our family and we miss him greatly. You can read more about him here: https://chrismckennaphotography.com/2022/04/goodbye-to-my-sweet-doggy/ . His death left a huge hole in our lives.

Having said that, we decided that we were not going to immediately get another furbaby. We thought it would be best to wait about 2 years and reevaluate at that time. Doing that, we thought, would give us the ability to travel more freely and without having to worry about pet care for a while.

Fast-forward about 5 months and thousands of Instagram post feeds of puppies and awesome dogs and we arrive into late September/early October and a decision to start looking at getting a puppy in the new year. So I went looking for a local breeder of our favorite Australian Shepherds and found one that was less than an hour drive from us. We visited and fell in love with their expecting couple (“Longshadow on the Meadow” & “Longshadow’s Simply Simon”) and decided to adopt one of their offspring.

Adelaide was born a week later and we brought her home to live with us in early December.

It’s been 15 years since we had a puppy in the house and it was nice to have another to help fill the void. But with only the two of us to share the duties (versus 4 last time we had a pup) it demands a lot of our time and certainly a lot of patience (I think that God helps us forget the amount needed to raise a puppy otherwise one would never get a new one). Her training is going well, when she decides to listen, and the potential for her into her adult life is great. But she’s been a huge blessing so far and we’re grateful that she is part of our family.

I’ll try and post pics of her here periodically but you can always follow along on her Instagram social media account (click the link).

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Family Portraits, Portraits Also tagged , , , , |

Underwater Photographs of Hawaii, 2022

Hello friends,

Happy new year!!! Wow, can’t believe that we’re almost a full month into the new year and I’m only saying that now.

Anyway, it has been almost 6 months since my last trip out. In August, we traveled back to Maui, Hawaii for another set of dives into the ocean. We started with a quick boat trip out to Molokini to dive along the back side of the preserve, then dip into a local beach, a few more from beaches on different parts of the island, a few more boat dives, and finally a close-out dive at another beach.

We encountered a lot of fish (including rarely seen Frogfish and some other species I hadn’t seen before), some turtles, other divers and snorkelers, waves, sun, sand, and lots of fun times. And as a special moment for me personally, I completed my 400th logged dive along the way. To some of you this milestone may not be a big deal but for me it was a big deal. I should have hit 400 2 years ago given all the time I had spent in instruction and my own learning, but certain world events have limited my time underwater and have shrunk my own dive circle quite considerably.

I hope you enjoy the photographs I’ve posted below.

And until next time, Maui, ALOHA and MAHALO for great times.

Blessings,

Chris.

(If you want to see more of my underwater Hawaii photographs, click into the search bar and enter “Hawaii” or visit my smugmug account)

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography, Underwater Also tagged , , , , , , |

Photographs of Underwater Nassau, Bahamas

Hello friends,

Way, way back in May of 2019, I planned out a trip to the Bahamas with a dive group I belong to: SeaHorses Dive Club. It was set for May of 2020 and we had a very solid group going. But then Covid hit and all travel plans were scrapped-as you are probably aware.

We pushed out another year to 2021 and as luck would have it Covid was still an issue so we pushed out 1 more year. And despite the restrictions that were still in place in terms of travel, we made it in May of this year.

My original group of 25 or so was cut to just 6, excluding myself, but we had a great time anyway. The divers of the group spent time on 6 wrecks, 8 reefs, 10 overall dives, and with too many sharks to count. Those that were snorkeling got time on 2 reefs from a boat, which also included time with sharks on a dedicated shark snorkel. All our trips were with Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, which I highly recommend if you’re basing out of Nassau.

We all had such a good time. I cannot wait to get back. The Bahamas offer some spectacular diving. The best dives for me, even with my limited trips.

Anyway, my pics from the trip are below. I hope that you enjoy.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography, Underwater Also tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Watch Him Sk8

Hey Y’all. Thanks for tuning in…

Today I would like to introduce you all to Connor. This is Connor’s senior year, and he wanted to document his favorite sport during his senior photo sesh. Who am I to deny??;)

Connor and I met up at the Allen York Skate Park in Bonney Lake just this past Friday. I was really excited to see what he could do…and Connor did not disappoint! He is a thrasher! And showed me all of his tricks. It was awesome!!

Take a look at some of what Connor can do..and take notice of the sweat on his face…He was all-in!!

Thanks, Connor, for giving me a great show! I wish you the best senior year ever!!

~Lynette

Posted in Portraits, Senior Portraits, Sports Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Pictures of Tulum, Mexico pt. I

Wow! Where has this year gone? We’re already near the end of June and I still haven’t posted any pictures of trip to Playa del Carmen y Tulum, Mexico earlier this year.

I had the opportunity to join a number of local divers who where traveling to the area with our friends at YSS Dive to dive in the Caribbean and in some of the Cenotes. For those of you that don’t know what the Cenotes are a type of pit, sinkhole, cave/cavern created by the collapse of limestone bedrock, exposing groundwater underneath. They are typically, and most commonly, found in Mexico. but there are also known cenotes in Australia, Belize, Canada, Dominican Republic, the USA and Zimbabwe. The cenotes that we were at were, obviously, large enough and deep enough to dive in.

First up were a couple of dives in the Caribbean. The seas were kind of rough (the weather on those days wasn’t great) and we were in small boats but still managed to get a few dives in including one to the wreck of the Mama Vina where we encountered a rather large Bull Shark (it was not a threat at all).

After those, we went inland and dove at Dos Ojos and Dreamgate Cenote. While I have had a number of dives in the open salt waters around the western hemisphere, I have never dove in pitch black, dark, freshwater cenotes before. What a unique experience that was. In some of the pictures you will see some of the rock formations that we came across and perhaps even a couple of the small, freshwater fish that were present.

I definitely plan to return and dive some more of these Cenotes in the near future. The open water around Playa del Carmen I don’t need to dive again (that doesn’t include nearby Cozumel), not sure why but I wasn’t impressed with what I saw (visibility wasn’t great, current was strong, boats were uncomfortable, and there just wasn’t new or unique sea life that can’t be found in better locales).

I hope that you enjoy the photographs. I’ll post a few non-diving pictures after this post.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography, Underwater Also tagged , , , , , , , , , |

2022 Bahamas Highlight Video now online

Greetings Friends,

I’m not going to prolong this since I will be posting photographs later, but wanted to let you know that a highlights video of my underwater experiences in the bahamas earlier this year is now online. You can video here or follow the link and head over to my YouTube channel.

Or watch on Vimeo.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography, Underwater Also tagged , , , , |

Family is Everything

Last weekend I was blessed to shoot a family photo session. If you remember the weekend weather…it wasn’t great. We even arranged to reschedule if, by 8:00 Saturday morning, the rain had not let up. Wow! Not only did it not rain, but the sky was just about perfect! As a photographer, I live for mornings like that; when I don’t have to worry about harsh light, shadows or squinty eyes. For me , it was a dream:)

This was our first time meeting (at least the extended family) and knowing what I know about family gatherings…you just never know what you’re gonna get (haha). Well, I am happy to say, I got it good;) What I observed in this family dynamic was an abundance of joy. They were genuinely having fun with each other and truly loved spending time together. And, this day was a special birthday celebration, as well. Rarely do I find this much harmony within a family.

What an honor it was for me to photograph this gorgeous family and document this precious time in their lives!

Family is EVERYTHING!!

~Lynette

Posted in Family Portratis, Portraits Also tagged , , , , , , |

We Won a 2022 Telly Award!

Hello friends,

We are excited and thrilled to announce that we have won a 2022 Telly Award (winner banner) for our production of “Around 2021“, a compilation of video that I shot around the region last year. It is a first for me to win at this level, especially since I haven’t really done much with video in the last few years-at least professionally.

The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 to honor excellence in local, regional and cable television commercials with non-broadcast video and television programming added soon after. With the recent evolution and rise of digital video (web series, VR, 360 and beyond), the Telly Awards today also reflects and celebrates this exciting new era of the moving image on and offline.

The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work created within television and across video, for all screens. Receiving over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents, Telly Award winners represent work from some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world. The Telly Awards recognizes work that has been created on the behalf of a client, for a specific brand and/or company (including your own) or self-directed as a creative endeavor.

To say that I am excited to have received such a prestigious honor is an understatement. However, I am humbled to have been invited to submit and be even considered for such an achievement as there are so many talented individuals and production companies creating and producing so many beautiful and entertaining programs and I would never want to presume that what we do is anything greater or more significant.

I want to thank you all for your support over the years and encouragement to keep going.

Blessings to you all.

Chris.

p.s. you can find the video at this YouTube link or on Vimeo.

Posted in Drone Photography, Landscape and Nature Photography, Photography Tips & Techniques, Shot of the Day Also tagged , , , , , , , , |

Paige is Graduating!!!

It was such a privilege to meet up with Paige for her Senior Photo Session. And extra special because Chris and I are friends with her folks. In fact, we shot their wedding a few years ago…and now it’s time for their oldest to graduate!! We were blessed to have had some amazing weather on one of the only dry days these past couple of weeks.

Paige is an amazing young woman who is an honor student and plays water polo for Rogers High School. As you will see from the pics, she LOVES sunflowers!! We had a great time on the waterfront and in downtown Tacoma…and she was awesome!!

Congratulations, Paige! You will do great things!

Blessings,

~Lynette

Posted in Portraits, Senior Portraits Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Goodbye To My Sweet Doggy

This past week we had to say goodbye to our sweet and beloved dog, Bowen. He was a 14 year old Australian Shepherd and he was a deep and loved part of our family.

Bowen entered our life in 2008 as a puppy, like most dogs do. He was a gift to me from my family for my 40th birthday. He quickly integrated into life with the McKenna family-even life with the other dog we had at the time. Like most puppy’s, he missed his birth family but he found comfort in his new family and quickly came to love us. At least that’s what he told us.

His teenage years were not untypical for dogs. He spent a lot of time chewing on slippers, learning his manners, and chasing the girl dogs around. We didn’t allow him to get his drivers license because as you know-lack of opposable thumbs. But the walks we took in the neighborhood and the time he got to spend chasing birds took his mind off that.

Later in life he found work in keeping the crows and squirrels away from the bird feeders around his yard. This was his calling and he was so good at it he earned “employee of the year” for 12 years running, 2010-2021. He reluctantly retired in summer 2021 after an L&I claim forced him to “let the crows have one every once in a while.”

In his spare time, Bowen liked to take walks with his peeps, run around the yard like he was possessed, chill by the fire, eat treats and occasional people food, chase his ball on the beach, and relax on the couch watching “Gold Rush” every Saturday morning with his daddy.

I know it’s cliche to say but he was my best friend. He followed me everywhere I went and he was never far from my side when I was at home. It has been a hard week for me since his passing and it will continue to be for a while. I will miss him deeply.

Goodbye, Bowen.

Love, Chris.

Posted in General, Shot of the Day Also tagged , |