Computer + digital photography = mousetrap

It’s more time consuming and alluring than I imagined, this tiny mousetrap. I love giving you updates and insights to my fun, but it’s really difficult to juggle my ideas and spin all these plates as I get lured into this technicolor world of over saturated images . I think I am artistically sidetracked most of my day. I have become addicted to the instant gratification.

You too?

Recently I have been asked to create  invitations, business cards, and advertising layouts for various clients,  because I love PAPER, and I ADORE fabric! I am finding ways to combine my addictions, and hopefully make some people happy in the process! Here’s a little test sample I ended up rejecting from my files …………..

His eyes haunt me with that colour and expression!  So irresistible, it  keeps me up at night remembering about how he smelled of vanilla wafers and chlorine.   CUTE!  Sometimes I only get about 15 minutes with a toddler, then they are done… this little guy wanted to hold my camera,( good taste) he even drooled a little when I told him he could help me “push the button”… and he did! CUTE again!

Hypnotized to this screen, I watch the magic appear processing the images…I look forward to this weekend when I am actually out shooting sessions again in the great outdoors where there is plenty of fresh air and sunshine. I DO love these long summer days… and plenty of  late evening light to shoot in! Hooray for Daylight Savings Time… can’t we just stay here?

p.s.(disclaimer: NO! the above test ad is not intended to be politically or socially incorrect…I just used that remark as a test…  when I was little I used to think the words summer blonde were “some are blonde” LOL!)

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

She sparkles like golden sunshine through stained glass windows, and her laugh lassos everyone in around her….

meet “MK” …aka Megan!

Megan you ARE amazing! Congratulations on graduating high school, and medical training ! You will be a wonderful nurse, and friend to all you meet in your future endeavors.

I totally enjoyed our senior grad session … I smiled so hard my eyes hurt!!!

I also appreciated your talent of wardrobe changing so quickly in the front seat of your mom’s truck! Now that you could put on your resume….

“works well under time restraints, compliant, super-positive attitude”…and has gobs of cute stuff to wear! LOL!

Thank you again to your mom, Melissa, and of course your boyfriend George for coming along to watch me “catch the light” so I could paint it into your images! So sparkly, so sweet, so FUN!

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

A little peek at Becca and Dan’s wedding last Friday night,

there are SO many crazy, beautiful, amazing moments… here’s just a random collection I grabbed to

give you an idea of the beginning of their story together, forever………….

Forget traditions… this is YOUR day.

They decided to do a “First moments…First look” before the ceremony to get to see each other and spend those first moments together, and not in front of a huge crowd. Dan was thrilled with the idea, and Becca was happy to get great images in daylight so their guests weren’t waiting on the photography after the ceremony. Dan told me,
“There is no way I could have waited to touch her seeing her for the first time at the ceremony, this was so much better, no nervousness or anxiety, just perfect. I just want to hold her and kiss her forever”

more to come in a few weeks ……

“my gift is how I see life… my art is telling your story”

there’s one in every crowd…

In the event anyone may think…I think I “know it all”,  I don’t. Absolutely, I do not. But there’s always this one guy at every event, the professional photographer or semi-pro, that wants to help me. I can take criticism, and suggestions with the best of them, thank you, I appreciate your help… but I’ve got this, trust me. You are a guest at this event, I am the one the couple contracted. So you just sit back and relax, and I will tell the story through my eyes ...again, thank you! And NO, I’m NOT going to fall off of this chair…I was a gymnast for gosh sakes….and I have been known to bungy jump and climb boulders quite a few times without falling to my demise. But thank you for coming to my rescue. I appreciate that.

OH and BTW, I LOVE your suit, it fit you very nicely, and I know you were very proud of your little girl you gave away at the altar…. I was too!

Thank you to my assistant Yolanda… she grabbed this image of me sniping some shots of the bridal party last Friday night… and the handsome guy trying to catch me…. ?

He’s MY best friend (and my other assistant), and I love him.

I am almost finished post-processing the wedding event…but I have to fly back east to work for two weeks, and then I will be back. Hopefully I can skip sleeping, get these images ready for proofing, and then I will post some sneak peeks for you to dream about………..

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

I have the privilege of knowing some of the most academically brilliant, emotionally well put together, and athletically amazing senior graduates of 2010…

One who wants to be a veterinarian…one a dental hygienist…. one who will be a physical therapist, and the other a famous screenwriter – no doubt about it!

Here’s an appetizer of images of them to snack on while I will be editing a wedding event from last Friday……

first meet Lauren….!

and Cassidy….

and Amanda….

and Megan!!!

All of these senior grad sessions took place in over 7  locations…some of which have tremendously HUGE trees…. I  really love those trees… and the swamps…(that might have alligators??)

and tiny blooming clover, crashing waves on the beach, mounds of autumn leaves, red clay between climbing rocks, or just about anywhere I can find great light!

So…if you could choose the “perfect location that defines who you are”, where would we shoot your session?

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

I have been a little under the weather.

and…I have been slacking on keeping you informed on my “whereabouts, and what I’ve done”…but I have been busy and blessed to get to work in the most phenomenal weather between both east and west coasts in the last two months. I just have to show you a few sneak peeks as I work on designing their albums. Coming up, I have four senior graduation sessions, a family, and another wedding event to show you… so don’t give up on me, I will stay in touch.

We were able to shoot a wedding  in “frozen precipitation” ( that’s what they call it in Florida when they can’t believe there are snow flurries outside.) Twenty eight degrees … you read that right…in a garden… in Florida. Ok,  yes, the ceremony was moved inside to an atrium area (more like a wide hallway) filled with windows from floor to ceiling where we could all sit huddled together and watch the land of sunshine turn to ice. There were french doors that opened onto a wide clapboard porch that overlooked oaks draped with robes of clinging Spanish moss.  Here behind this southern mansion (where all the hugging and kissing took place) are the sturdy cypress trees guarding the banks of Lake Rowena, and the rose garden,where Jonah and Jennifer got engaged! It was blizzardish, (new word… just made it up) spitefully cold and windy, and yet Jennifer was radiant! And so was the rest of the wedding party in crimson and black. Works out well for Jonah the groom, he is a big Crimson Tide fan (so explains the hats at the reception with the Crimson Tide insignias for all the groomsmen).

The gardens were frost bitten… but the gathering was warm and comfortable.

here’s just a handful of the moments………….

Thank you for these moments… more to come as I gather images to update my website .  Jonah special thanks to you for bringing your fishing pole as promised. I LOVED every minute of those freezing temperatures with you and Jennifer down the hill on the lake. You were able to fish…I got great shots of the fun, and Jenn looked stellar( while shivering) in her grandma’s vintage coat!  A sweet day!

Funny how love can keep you warm…

and a great catch!

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

Deep in the 100 hundred acre wood lived a honey bear and his friends………..

No, that’s another story.

This is a photostory of Marc and Hollis who live in a wonderland of tall pines that sweep the clouds and fragrant magnolia trees with blooms larger than cabbage.  This morning, we squooshed our feet on the carpet of abundant flora and fauna beneath us, and used the canopy of live oaks above us to create the perfect architecture  bowing to the early sunlight.  Here with their amazingly beautiful, curiously sweet, and very down-to-earth FUN daughters… they find release from the stress of the city and all life’s storms. Hidden here, I found the secrets of glorious sunbeams and great clients. I will be back…..even if I have to airbrush six gallons of an organic pesticide on me,  carry a GPS, and pack knee-high hiking boots.

…some early risers …….. the furry-feathery members of the Schultz-Brazier family greet me while I take my lighting check…

…When Marc built their house he constructed a backyard bench swing…I spotted this “heart” in the rusty chain links… …

Hollis with her little dog Lilly…awww… and Hannah’s boots …you know I never miss taking those “shoe” shots…..Love the boots! A few mugs of coffee later… we wipe the sleepiness off our faces and NOW we’re ready!

Hands tell the story….”we always have each other”

I now have a new appreciation for morning sunlight!

And I really appreciated the vibrant saturated colours they wore….gone are the days of “black shirts and khaki pants” family sessions, thank you!

Marc and his daughters Stephanie and Natalie…..and Hollis and daughter Hannah…You guys rock! I love how down to earth you are and SO natural with a camera in your face!

Here’s a peek at some of our “riverbed” shots…………….I’m saving some of the “pillow fight images” for my website, but I couldn’t resist sharing these expressions!

so many great moments and then I captured a favorite………………kisses from Toby.

Ok, girls admit it… even though you had to be dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn for this…. you had fun!

and Kara, thank you for assisting me, YOU ROCK! Love that smiling face! ..funny how  best friends begin to look alike…..

May all my friends and clients continue to be blessed and don’t  forget to encourage one

another …

Merry Christmas everyone!

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

There is no such thing as a “typical’ photo session…blazing beams of sunshine, sand between your toes, runny noses, and promises of the perfect candy( smarties are the best!) for little grins without a sand-coated-sticky-chocolate mess… and we have the ingredients of our day with the Robinson family at the beach!

We crawled through ancient ruins (ok, these were only a hundred years old),waddled onto the decking of the marina, climbed forbidden dunes, and oops… tumbled down a couple of steps… but we captured some good stuff. Really great smiles, and sparkly eyes, with hugs and love to last forever.   Tesa, Kami, Ali, Erin and her sons, Declan and Kaden were so sweet and didn’t mind performing a couple of stunts just to get into the right “light” … but I must not show you everything… because I am saving  some of the best for my website.

But I had to share these, now.

I just want to squeeze ‘em…………………….

Who is in charge here? So hysterical… I love looking at this one, the women are beautiful and the boys are precious ….   grandpa and Dad will LOVE this one……..

I don’t know who got more exercise… me or the boys…. naptime anyone?

Awww… we gotta go??……….  but we haven’t covered every inch of us in sand yet!

Thank you Robinson Family (sorry I missed seeing you, Mr. Bill) for another great day at the beach….my camera and I enjoyed watching you.

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

…..makes me want to laugh out loud, wrinkle up my nose with a giggly smile, and hope some of the energy she emits can be stored up for my future use!

I cannot help myself , with wide eyes and great anticipation of her next move…. I follow her around. I like to watch her reactions to things through her little -girl- like twinkling eyes, but then you realize she has the maturity, wisdom and soul of a dusty, dog-eared book of knowledge. She is the spitting image of her mom, and has those fierce aqua eyes to prove it. Ally IS that smile she wears……..bright, perfect, daring life to bring her something new, something amazing, a dancing force to be reckoned with…yes, she is a ballerina. A really excellant one…I can tell by the way she almost floats off the ground as she moves.

It’s as if she might be Tinkerbell with her wings clipped……….

LUVVVVVvvvv that copper coloured hair with those aqua eyes!

one of the perks of shooting environmental portraiture for senior portraits… we never lack for natural beauties and possibly being upstaged by the elements

I seem to be a magnet for butterflies, bugs, stray animals, and little thunder showers, which is perfectly fine with me!

…no this is not a rain dance… but it did start to sprinkle… and this dress so perfect for those twirling  moments………

…those eyes…………!

you just cannot help yourself right? Tell me how many seconds it takes you to smile back?

Thank you ALLY,you are precious and I loved shooting your senior portraits… no rush, but can we do this again someday?? Maybe when you get married?  

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”

…early morning in Sausalito

… a little downtown morning colour…

I absolutely LOVED this destination wedding with Jillian and Rich, it was a gorgeous setting with perfect weather in the historic Sausalito Women’s Club just over the bay from the Golden Gate Bridge. I chose just a few of their favorites to show you, but I will hopefully be placing quite a few others that are more candid on my website later this year.

I get giggly thinking about how they are so in love.  Jillian’s family lives here in Sausalito and she has always dreamed of a wedding here someday. It was perfect. The ceremony took place in a two story bungalow style cottage which was filled with family and friends surrounded by amethyst coloured hydrangeas and huge bouquets of white flowering blooms. I actually teared up as I heard their vows, the words were precious they promised to one another.  It was a privilege to be a part of their event, and this location instantly has become one of my favorites.

I wanted to show you every morsel of the day but here’s just a taste…….

the ambiance pours through the french doors of the “Artist’s Loft” of Casa Madrona in the village

……a few perfectly chosen words in their song……….

first moments  ( a peek before the ceremony… it’s more romantic than seeing each other for the first time with hundreds of guests staring at you!)

awesome view of the San Francisco Bay from the top of this hill

Rich’s oldest daughter Elizabeth was the gorgeous maid of honor…..a great looking family!

…just like you dreamed it Jillian…AHhhh!

Sausalito at twilight… a perfect ending to a beautiful day!

“my gift is how I see life…my art is telling your story”