I recently had the honor of shooting the engagement photos for my good friends Kristin and Mike.  We spent a nice afternoon at the Olympic Sculpture Park, and I must say – they are truly photogenic!  Add that to the long list of superlatives I could lavish upon them, and you’ll realize why they are so perfect for each other.   I thought I’d share the best of the photos from the shoot.  The first one is the couple’s favorite, but the last one is my fave, so be sure to scroll all the way down!  Kristin and Mike plan to be married in August 2010 at Blue Ribbon Cooking & Culinary Center.

And… Welcome to the BBetz Photography blog!  We’re very excited to finally launch the site and officially announce the creation of BBetz Photography.  First off, I’d like to introduce myself – my name is Ben Betz, the principal photographer – I know, big surprise given the company name .  I’ve been taking photos ever since I was a little kid and my parents gave me a Fisher Price camera that took 110 film and those 8-use flashbulb sticks (see below).

Vintage 110 camera gear, circa 1988

At the age of 7, you could say I was hooked.  Twenty years later, my cameras are a lot bigger – and more expensive – but I still love taking amazing pictures just as much.  Pretty much anytime I’m allowed to bring a camera somewhere – I do!  Just ask my fiancé – she’ll tell you it’s true!

So that brings us to today (well really several months ago, but it’s taken me a while to find the time to build this site).  After years of shooting friends’ weddings, various special events, engagements, “I’m 30 and never had a prom so we’re gonna pretend like it’s prom” photos, etc., I decided it was time to do this for real.  And thus, BBetz Photography was formed.  Yep, just like that.

First up for us is a couple of events and an engagement shoot, the holidays, and then it’ll be 2010 already!  If you’re interested in having us photograph an event or wedding, click on our contact page and we’ll be in touch!

And finally, I’d like to share with you one of the first pictures I ever took in Seattle.  I’ll give out a free 8×10 print to the first person to correctly identify where I took this photo. Just leave a comment with your answer. Or, tweet me at @bbetzphoto with the answer.

Thanks for joining us at our new site, and I hope to photograph you soon!