hi, my name is diana palmer, but you can call me yan. i'm a photographer in the u.s. of a. and the world champion non-joker. it's really not that special, all you have to do is be really good at saying non-funny things as if they were hilarious.
oh and you can reach me at 208.866.9967. give me a call; i have a funny joke i want to tell you.
yan photography is based in Denver, CO (formerly based in Boise, ID and Provo, UT), and is available for travel worldwide.
are moments like the one marty and i had two nights ago while falling asleep:
marty: (in that trippy place in between sleep and being awake–think heavy breathing)
me: hey! i just made up another joke, you want to hear it?
marty: ughhhoo
me: okay. what do you call a panda in a swimming pool?
marty: whaaaaaargggh?
……………….wait for it
me: a panda in a swimming pool! (insane, obnoxious laughter)
martin: (in spite of himself): hahahahahahahahahaha
me: i am totally winning!
martin: winning what? who are you playing against?
me: the panda!
martin: hahahahahahaha
me: see, i win again!
*we both fall asleep smiling
…….
what i love most about marriage is the silly nonsense. the ability to make the lamest joke in the world and be appreciated for it. then the ability to follow that joke with something that makes absolutely no sense—to anyone but you and him. happy sigh.
what do you love most about marriage?
and speaking of marriage, i’m working on editing this loveliest of lovelies wedding:
Amanda-Marriage is the best- it’s nice to have that one person who you can share everything with- including weird jokes, haha. And WOW, what a gorgeous bride! Can’t wait to see more!
January 26, 2012 - 5:00 pm
Shaylee-Isn’t marriage wonderful? Oh, wait, I’m not even dating anyone. But I am excited to see this wedding!
January 26, 2012 - 5:57 pm
Rhonda Duron-you are so funny! marriage is so great and this reminds me to be goofy with just the hubs a bit more.
January 26, 2012 - 6:25 pm
Laura Reaux-Hahaha I love you! You and I would SO get along.
January 26, 2012 - 6:26 pm
Laura Reaux-AND these 2 photos have me going “Maaannnn! I want to shoot like that!”
January 26, 2012 - 7:27 pm
Toni Raper -ummm, can I say the make up sex? I remember this lady, a dancer right? Looking foward to the post to come!
i never wanted kids. the number of times i fantasized about being a mom as a young girl was -2. ladies at church would ask me to “babysit sometime,” and i would smile and nod, then pray they’d never call.
when i found out i was pregnant, 2 days before my 1 year wedding anniversary, i cried. not happy tears. i clung to marty, terrified, and tried not to think about anything at all.
the next day i went on a run. we lived on oahu , and let me just tell you that sweating in hawaii feels like secreting sticky glue from your pores. i ran my normal route to the end of laie point, cursing the hawaii sun because i was so freaking hot. i was so uncomfortable i started to worry. not about myself, about something else. then suddenly a feeling rushed through my chest, shocking me and relieving me all at once.
love.
fierce, crazy love. a desire to do anything and everything to protect my baby. and i know this sounds incredibly dramatic, but the fact is, it was dramatic. the change was so night and day, i could hardly believe it myself. the fear i felt finding out i was pregnant was replaced by love and curiosity. what would it possibly be like to become a mother? it became something i definitely wanted to find out.
when i look at this post–that is waayyyy too long because i suck at editing sometimes—when i look back at the families i photographed in 2011, that is what i think about. how family changes everything even when you don’t want it to. its a miracle and a curse, and its the most beautiful power i’ve ever witnessed. it will always be my favorite thing to photograph.
p.s. can you find the one photo that was actually shot in 2010?
heather nan-Oh yes, you have had some incredibly, delicious families to photograph in 2011… wonderful work! (Do we get a prize if we guess the right image? Cause I have an idea… like hanging out with you when I visit Denver in 10 days?)
January 17, 2012 - 2:06 am
Haley -Wow-that about sums up an unbelievable year for you and it only gets better from here on out. Such good looking clients you have and the way you portray them – ah-mazing! I saw the 2010 image; stuck out like a sore thumb . But you just had to include it because it’s so freakin’ adorable!
January 17, 2012 - 7:22 am
Toni Raper -wow how impressive!
very very Yan and very very beautiful!
second image b&w is my guess.
January 17, 2012 - 7:44 am
Kaila Regina-Beautiful in a million trillion bajillion ways.
January 17, 2012 - 8:51 am
maren -Such beautiful work! Congratulations on your successes. If I may say so, my favorite is the little girl in the white sweater clinging to her mama’s leg. Melts my heart.
Emily Clark Montgomery -You probably don’t know this, but you’re on my bucket list – “have my family photographed by Yan”. And it’s because of gorgeous images like these that move me. So I can only imagine how I will feel when it’s my very own family featured in The Best of 2012!
melissa stover-i didn’t want kids either, until that first pregnancy.
those are all amazing!
January 17, 2012 - 10:33 pm
Paige Smith-I love every single one of these. You capture the normality and joy of families so beautifully. Seriously.
Having you shoot my family is also on my bucket list!!
January 17, 2012 - 11:29 pm
Brooke Schultz-Absolute magic. Pure magic.
And I just wrote a lot of things about your sharing about your first pregnancy, but I’ll just say: thank you.
farhad yassavoli -hi and thank you for your lovely shots?
what is your camera? and your lenz?
January 19, 2012 - 1:40 am
Shannon Rosan-These are some of the best family portraits I have seen in a long time. I’m so glad I stumbled onto your blog!
January 19, 2012 - 10:03 pm
Jessica-I looked at about 10 other photography websites before arriving on your page. I must say, this is by far the best work I’ve seen. Love, love, love the lighting, scenes, poses, . . . everything. LOVE IT.
January 21, 2012 - 2:43 pm
Karleen-I’m such a big fan of your work!! What an amazing collection of family photos!
January 21, 2012 - 3:10 pm
Katie-You are the REAL FREAKING DEAL. Seriously, when I am blessed enough to have a baby, you WILL be photographing my family.
January 21, 2012 - 8:56 pm
Meredith S-you’re a FANTASTIC family photographer!
January 22, 2012 - 6:18 pm
Kristen-holy smokes! beautiful year in families! congrats
January 25, 2012 - 3:31 am
James-What a lovely set of photographs! You are the master with light, love it !
elizabeth pellette-These are all just so stinkin fabulous.. wow.. beautiful body of work you just shared.. real moments… real connections.. well done
January 26, 2012 - 2:49 pm
kemy -lovely families and lovely photos! you’re amazeballs amazing!!! i’m quite partial to one of those families your work is beautiful!!!
January 27, 2012 - 5:18 pm
Melissa-I could not love your images more. Seriously. I think every single one of them punched me in the heart and I LOVED IT. Love. Just… love. Come to Tennessee. PleasE?!
i feel like someone who’s won one of those high school awards like, best hair, or best style, or most likely to succeed.
so.
much.
odd (odd but it makes you feel amazing, but you kinda know that in the long run it might not mean anything at all, actually)
recognition.
except my recognition was for sucking. ha. how ’bout that. not the way i’d always fantasized about a viral yan post going down, but it is what it is.
and your support?
has been incredible. beyond that. its been miraculous.
yeah i knew this business was hard. but i didn’t know my experience would resonate with so many-i didn’t know, didn’t want to think that so, so many of you were going through the same thing, or worse.
your words and support left me in a literal state of shock. i couldn’t eat yesterday. i couldn’t move from my couch. i couldn’t pay attention to my kids –okay, i probably could have and should have tried harder there to do so, but i’m making a point here—it just felt like every single last bit of me was engrossed in trying to wrap my mind around what was happening. and that meant i had to stay on my couch. glued to my computer.
for like 4 hours.
to me it went like this: i had blogged, i poured my guts out, i clicked post and in the first 3.7 minutes i began to question what i had done. wondered if it was as momentous as it felt, wondered if anyone would ever read it.
and i started to feel silly. and insecure.
but you did read it.
a lot of you did.
and you linked it.
you tweeted it.
*i realize i don’t really need to give you a recap here, but for the sake of flow, let’s keep going*
you reposted it.
and before i knew it i had 200 comments, an overflowing inbox, regards from south africa, hater posts written on the subject, and someone asking me to do a workshop in sweden.
yeah.
all of which made me feel a million times more silly than i had in those first few minutes when i thought no one might read it at all.
silly and overwhelmingly grateful.
THANK YOU.
i can’t help but feel i should spend the rest of my life saying thank you.
but for now what it comes down to is the decision i made yesterday. a decision i made before writing that post, before spilling my guts, before all the eyes in the photo world suddenly turned to me–
and its that i want to let people reading this blog know me. whether 5 of you are reading it or 5,000, i want you to come here and find something real. and i guess that means letting you all love me and hate me some too.
i hope you stick around.
lastly, here’s a song i’d like to dedicate from me to you, hot 9 at 9 – call in to your local radio station- style.
please listen. its an old fav of mine and i feel it speaks to all of us who are struggling.
Toni Raper -Yan, I didn’t comment on your last post because there were already so many words written expressing my thoughts. You’ve paved the way for us to feel okay about the times when we feel like we are losing it/falling apart. I love it that you believe in yourself and are not afraid to tell everyone that you are good, that you know your stuff and you’ve worked hard to be this good. We should take a leaf from your book on this. Let’s OWN our talent people! And yeah, I’ll be sticking around
January 14, 2012 - 9:13 am
Nikki Martinez-Yan, whatever you share I’ll follow. You just rock like that. Um, didn’t watch the video though cause its super early & I’m laying in bed next to two snoring men;)
January 14, 2012 - 9:52 am
Natalie -I love you diana, always will.
January 14, 2012 - 10:29 am
Tori-I think you’re freak’n fantabulous! Rock on chica!!!!!!!
January 14, 2012 - 11:46 am
nicke-i think you are an amazing photographer. i would love for you to take pictures of my family. possibly this summer in boise. could we maybe work something out?
January 14, 2012 - 11:49 am
Kelle Branson -Just a Facebook post from a local photographer whose is also my friend and I have shared with many! I am fortunate enough to pay for her services and we also own our own company. I will be very surprised if this does not get picked up nationally! You are a gifted writer ! I feel sure your talent is extraordinary and you made your mark for many people, possibly by accidental/ purposely sharing life’s frustrations! Marketing genius! I don’t know you or am I in your field but you are quite simply way cool!!
Dylan-^agreed. so much awesome in you Yan. I’m happy you’re able to share it with us through your photos and this blog. I can’t wait for your future posts about being wayyyy to busy.
January 14, 2012 - 9:46 pm
Livvy -Keep doing your thing Yanalicious. The world loves your honest art.
January 15, 2012 - 8:54 pm
Candace-Love your post. Love your work. I’m actually very happy that you wrote about your struggles as I too am a struggling photographer. Just moved to a new town, trying to get my clientele base and it’s so hard. I don’t have money to spend on marketing but I do it anyway. Etc….
I don’t wish struggles on anyone but it is good to know that I’m not the only one. I honestly feel like there are a lot of photographer’s out there like us that just don’t want to admit it. Thank you so much for pouring out your heart!
January 17, 2012 - 10:46 am
Peyton-Leigh-I want to thank you for being bold (or crazy?) enough to put the truth out there. I was never bold enough to step out and open my own photo business even though I had always wanted to do something in photography. I saw some other long-distance friends do it and I thought “hey, I can do it!” So I did. Let’s just say, it has been a big disappointment so far. We are fairly new to the area so I dont’ have a ton of established friends and family here to help get the ball rolling. It’s very frustrating and depressing to not get phone calls in. You start to question your work (at least I do, anyway). Everyone else seems to just immediately get this booming business to where they are turning away clients, which made me wonder what was wrong with me since mine didn’t do that. Thank you for making me feel like I am not alone! Your photos are gorgeous, btw!
January 20, 2012 - 7:05 pm
kate craft-You my dear are absolutely freaking amazing!!! My goal this year among other things it to put it…me out there. To really fallow my gut find the customers I want to shoot who value my work for what it is. To write more and enjoy that again. To make this job less of a job and more of the love that it was when this crazy ride started. Thank you for being an honest voice and keep up the good fight.
January 22, 2012 - 7:21 pm
Emilie-I’ve just moved from France to Montreal, so yes I’m totally with you. Thanks again for your post and your honesty!
Oh by the way your pics are to die for! I would hire you in the second if I had to!
January 24, 2012 - 3:35 pm
paia -these are hard times, huh? almost makes you feel like the sunshine is just about to burst through the clouds. i think when you have struggled for a very long time without a great relief, you have to have the downers in a bad way. i keep thinking, a year from now you’ll be looking through different lens–post postgraduate school. it’s important to unburden often during these kinds of times. take your burdens to the feet of one who can carry, and is waiting to do so, so you can get perspective and relief. do it, anna. love you. nana
January 24, 2012 - 3:43 pm
paia -that’s probably why beautiful spirt faye faye came first. i love that picture of her as a toddler throwing her hands to the skies with her beautiful face smiling upward to the heavens. do you have that photo? post it sometime. love it. a prelude of things ahead and what must happen. inspite of those days as undergraduates with a little baby, you had a relatively peaceful life. how fitting to have that life in Laie, Hawaii–yet it seemed hard then. three children later, still at it, makes one grateful we don’t get our trials all at once–only as we are able to bear them. so many people cheering you on; count the times when they’ve come through for you. remember also, this IS your life–smell some of the flowers along the way, your children will be out of toddler stage by the time this struggle slows down. they’ll be teens before you know it. cherish the moment with them. love you, nana
January 24, 2012 - 9:03 pm
shawn and chelsey-wow, haven’t checked your blog for a while but love your sick of it post. and i’m guilty! how many years have i been saying “ooooh, i really want to book you – but i just can’t afford it” wa-wa-wa…. right? too many years. times are super hard right now! you ARE an amazing photographer. i’ve truly never seen one better; but since shawn has applied for over 100 jobs with not one single interview yet and i’m going on maternity —ahem, unpaid— leave soon, we really, really need to hold-off on a booking. does this comment just make you mad??? ha! i’m sorry. don’t think i’m a big huge flake. i’m really not. just broke. like down to pennies. with our credit cards maxed out i hope you drum up tons of business from your posts. i think you will. i don’t think it’s business suicide at all. i, for one, appreciate you keeping it real!
love you LOTS!
xo
January 27, 2012 - 12:09 am
lindsay hurst -what the, hater posts? carazy!!! you, yan, are true blue, through and through.
i hope you drum up tons of business from your posts. i think you will. i don’t think it’s business suicide at all. i, for one, appreciate you keeping it real! 
by yan
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