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  • Welcome to my Blog!

    Hi my name is Schona, I am an on location custom portrait photographer for Longview (WA) & Kelso Washington including the surrounding areas. I specialize in High School Seniors, Engagements, Weddings and Boudoir. Here on my blog you will find my most recent work, specials and personal stuff like pictures of my friends and family and whatever else I can dig up.

    I love being in front of the camera just as much as being behind it so enjoy my ever changing Bio pics. :) I hope you get to know me a little bit more with each visit.


    A little info on Me:

    I love Jesus-I love My hubby-I adore my kids-I enjoy my job-I prefer natural light-I am a tea drinker-I watch musicals-I like spending time with my friends-I am into drawing-I scrapbook-I sing karaoke-I love music-I love to take self portraits-I am goofy-I am ticklish-I drive a Ford-I really enjoy meeting new people-I use Professional Canon gear

    Call me at 360-957-5918 or email me at schonakesslerphotography@yahoo.com

    I look forward to hearing from you soon.


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Karaoke fun – Kelso Washington

It is no secret that I love to sing! If you didn’t know before well now you do.:)My hubby and I even went to great lengths to get our own professional quality karaoke system for our home. We enjoy hosting karaoke parties at least once a month for friends and family to come sing with us. Well Saturday after my daughters seventh birthday party we had a get together and sang some songs. We decided we needed to record some and post them to facebook because that’s how we roll. lol. My hubby Adam then decided to take it a step further and wear wigs and have some fun so we did. It took a whopping 25 to 30 mins to upload each video so we only have two on here so far. I am sure we will be uploading plenty more to facebook in the future.

I hope these make you laugh or smile or both! We love to have fun and though they are not perfect or the best quality…we love them and had a blast. Enjoy!

7 Comments Rock

Local Artist – Jeremy Jones

So I have decided to start doing little FYI posts about our Local Artists/Musicians/Business Owners and such.

I would like to introduce you to Jeremy Jones. Jeremy lives in Cowlitz county and I met him through the church we both attend on Sunday nights called Oasis. I have a set of 10 questions I borrowed from another person and here is what Jeremy had to say:

1. What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
Finding a new way of writing songs, playing my guitar or even a new way to sing.

2. What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?
Writing or trying to find a new sound, I really don’t like writing a new song and having it sound like everything else that I have written.

3. What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).
I’m writing whenever I can and that is pretty much all of the time. I should be recording here soon I hope lol. I’m hoping to be going on tour with my cousins band, there is talk that we may be going to London but we are not quite sure yet.

4. What’s the most unusual place you’ve ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording?
Well I have not played at very many places so I really don’t have any stories to tell yet.:-)

5. In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), affect the music you create, or your taste in music?
Well nobody or nothing has ever affected my music, I have always been my own person.

6. When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yeah I wrote a new song about two weeks ago and it is about not letting your heart harden and asking God to keep my heart soft.

7. As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people…and why do you think that is?
Yeah I listen to all kinds of music I never listen to just one kind because there is just so much out there to hear. I love music.

8. Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)                                                                                                                                                  I do like Indie. Rock maybe a little more but I love all kinds of music really.

9. Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I really love Muse, the song, “Uprising” from their album “The Resistance”, it just gets my day started.

10. What’s the saddest song you’ve ever heard?
Well that would have to be Rascal Flatts, their song “Things that matter.

You can often find Jeremy with a bunch of other cool Artists over at the Intermission Coffee House across from Fred Meyer on Ocean Beach Hwy in Longview,WA on Friday nights for Open Mic.

I don’t think he has a fan page yet on facebook but you can find him and add him to facebook. You can see videos he has made of himself playing and singing… good stuff.

For his mini photo shoot for this post we met up at Zojo’s coffee which is located on 14th right in front of Fusion Bubble Tea in Longview,WA. We got some really neat shots from inside the shop and outside in the rain. Find Zojo’s coffee on Facebookas well! I was so glad to learn they use Oregon Chai…love that stuff!

blank Local Artist   Jeremy Jonescup of chai tea
Location:
             ZoJo Coffee
             1335 14th ave
Longview, WA, 98632
Phone:
360-442-4111
Tues – Thurs:
8:00 am – 2:00 pm
Fri:
8:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sat:
9:00 am – 2:00 pm

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Another sign of growth – Kelso WA Photographer

Kai just turned four in the begining January and Zeke turned three at the end of January. They have been stuck to their binkys since the day they were born. Well almost a week ago already they both went to bed without one and slept just fine. We are now on day 4 or 5 of being binky free and I love it! I tossed all of the binkys I could find two days ago. I questioned if I was making the right choice or perhaps I was acting too quickly but my boys are still alive and kickin’! :)  It is so nice to not have to turn the house upside down in search of a binky to calm the storm. This is one hurdle of many we will face and I am glad we made it over it with flying colors!

I took this pic in January thinking we would be saying goodbye then…but that didn’t happen. This poor binky was mangled and the tip was barely hanging on by a thread of rubber but they still used it. lol. Boys!

blank Another sign of growth   Kelso WA Photographerbinky from kelso wa

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First trip to The Melting Pot – Portland Oregon Fondue

Last Saturday my hubby Adam and I went to the Melting Pot in Portland with his cousin Brian and his wife Erika to celebrate our fifth year of marriage and as a late Valentines day treat.

 It was neat that we had to go down a set of stairs under the city sidewalks to enter the restaurant. We had reservations luckily enough Erika had gotten them the week before or we would have been turned away at the door. We were quickly seated at a table for four near the bar at a table with a burner in the middle. The staff was very friendly and helpful throughout our stay. We all knew that we would be spending at least two hours eating and a pretty penny that evening so it wasn’t such a shock when we opened our menus to find that what we all wanted would be around $98 per couple. That price tag didn’t include our drinks at $10 and $5 each or the tip. What it did include was a four coarse meal that was very, very filling.

 We were started off with salads of our choice and then our waiter/cook came to our table and made the cheddar cheese fondue right at our table in the middle. Mmmmm it was very tasty but I prefer Swiss cheese fondue over the cheddar any day. (One con to going with others is that you have to agree on the fondue choice and the broth to cook your meat and veggies in along with the chocolate at the end.) We all did compromise but I am very picky and would have loved to have it all my way. lol. After we ate all of the bread, apples, veggies and fondue the waiter came back to find out what type of cooking style we wanted. We had no clue so he suggested the fondue Court Bouillon which is a homemade, seasoned vegetable broth. He then brought the bouillon out along with our meat trays and more vegetables. You get a pot of this bouillon on the burner in the middle of the table and you put your food on skewers and cook it in the pot. I ate steak, fillet Mignon, chicken and raviolis while my hubby ate the lobster tail, shrimp and a bratwurst. Just when you think you can’t eat anymore then comes the desert! We all agreed on the Original milk chocolate with a swirl of crunchy peanut butter. Our trays had strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, brownies, cheesecake and pound cake to dip and we were all in heaven. I think the chocolate was the messiest part…so does the white skirt I was wearing, and my arm too!:)

After two and a half hours we were finally through all four of the coarses. We were all stuffed and couldn’t imagine eating again until the next night.:)

So I give the Melting Pot two thumbs up! The quality was amazing and I wish I could afford to eat there each and every night of the week. If you have a special someone you should definitely go check out your local Melting Pot. You could go alone…but there is more fun in numbers. It has a romantic feel to it and I wouldn’t suggest taking young children. Go enjoy a night out and splurge! Take your camera too.:)If you go let me know what you thought of it.

So here is a little slideshow of our trip. It’s only an hour drive but it’s to the Big city you know. Enjoy!

Comments are always welcomed below.

 

 

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9 of 52 – Barnwood floor – Photography Challenge

Here is my ninth week challenge. I got my new faux Barnwood floor rugs in and am in love! They totally look as if you are on an old rustic floor that has been there years and years. Can’t wait to take more photos with them in it. 

 This is my son Kai…he is my middle child and just turned four years old in January. He is quite the ham but still has trouble sitting still. lol. No big surprise with that though is there? The little guy needs a haircut pretty bad as he has inherited my cowlicks. (sp?) He loves to give hugs and kisses…and doesn’t just reserve them for us…he will give them to strangers on the street, at the grocery store and where ever he goes.  People just love him.

blank 9 of 52   Barnwood floor   Photography ChallengeBoy on wood floor

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