Video Project: Orange City, CA

When I travel, one of my favorite things to do is connect with people. Our recent trip to Vegas and up the California coast gave us a number of opportunities to meet up with great people. In Orange City, we met up with the ever fabulous Kjerstin & Joel and together with the Bui Brothers, we spent the afternoon working on a special project for KaBloom. :)

Since we were shooting in "Orange City," I thought this was apropos.  :)

Vu and Lan workin' their movie magic....

They suggested we shoot in this field of clovers. Which meant, we had to search exhaustively for a 4-leaf specimen. Apparently the odds of finding one are 1 in 10,000.

Vu had Kjerstin & Joel's comfort in mind and brought along Shoot Sac sample swatches to give them a clean and cushy spot. (Sorry Jessica!)

I shot this photo because of the clover behind Joel's ear. Later I found out he didn't even know it was there. Very sneaky Kjerstin! :)

Here's Kjerstin giving me a wink before the Bui Brothers kicked Emir and I out suggested that Emir and I take a "romantic walk"  (away from the camera). :)

Thank you ALL so much! What a treat to bring so many incredible people together for an afternoon of fun, capped up with a yummy dinner! xoxo

Friendship: In Black and White

You know that good friend you've had since high school... that you don't get to see very often... but when you do... it's as if it's only been a day or two since you last hung out? That's my friend Tam. We first met in Mr. Crew's 9th grade geometry class and became friends over isosceles triangles and pythagorous' theorem. By our sophomore and junior year, we had each other's back when it came to tangents and cosines, imaginary numbers and solving for 'x' in algebra and pre-cal.

In my 'early days' of shooting film, Tam was kind enough to let me shoot her with my old Pentax K1000 (which I still have!)  in my parents' basement with bed sheets staple gunned to the ceiling (sorry Dad!).

Now, more than 10 years later... Tam, her husband Loren and their two girls Evie & Lyla currently live in San Francisco... where Emir and I just happen to be at this very moment!

Long over due for an updated version of the photos I shot of Evie when she was first born.... I was eager to give Tam some new images to make her smile until my next visit. Here are a few of my faves...

Redondo Beach Beauty

Whenever I head out on the road, I try as best as I can to connect with friends near and far. Our journey through California brought us to Redondo Beach where we got to visit my friend Robin, her husband Eric and their gorgeous daughter Kylee. Today while Eric was at work, we took Kylee to the beach to play. It was her first time playing in the sand since learning to walk. What a treat! :)

So great to see you guys again and meet the newest member of your family!

Proud to be a Photographer!

To belong to this fabulous field that gives me the opportunity to be creative, to take care of people and give them something as special as custom images of their loved ones.... well... it's just pretty darn awesome. This week was a chance to connect with other professionals who truly loves their craft and care not only for their clients... but also for each other. Emir and I had the chance to connect with some old friends as well as meet some incredible new people we already can't wait to get to know better. Thank you to all my photographer friends (new and old!) for your companionship on the journey we share together, and a huge gracias to my all my beloved clients who so generously trust me with their memories and hearts!

This morning my genius musical friend Christian treated us to breakfast (thanks Christian! Can't believe we forgot to take a photo!) then we picked up our rental car and headed west! This part of our trip is focused on fun and photos for our own enjoyment. Here is some of what we shot along the way...

Emir makes me look good! (The red shoes don't hurt..... ;)

Shooting in the desert is always fun!

So handsome!

More as we roll onward!

WPPI Whirlwind

How crazy is THIS!? While cruisin' the trade show floor, I stumbled upon an album that someone had built using the Alphabet Book design template they bought from me! My first alphabet book design was featured on Asuka Book's Book of the Month club. Since then, I've been flooded with requests to purchase the template. If you're interested, let me know!

Proud moment, for sure. :)

We've been in Vegas since just last Sunday... but it feels like forever! The hotels (and casinos) have made an art form out of helping you slip into a vacation coma and completely lose track of time, what day it is (and how much money you've spent).

Here's a shot of the New York, New York hotel. I think it looks more like New York meets Miami (check out that color scheme)!

This is the MGM Grand where the conference is being held. They even have a lion habitat inside where you can get all up close and personal with a couple cats... made me miss our two little wild ones. :)

This is the view from our room....

The escalators are the glue that hold the whole conference together. It's estimated that there are nearly 10,000 people in attendance. The show is spread out over three floors and several buildings.

Here's Emir chilaxin' in the blogger's lounge on the 2nd floor. :) He has been such a good sport putting up with 10,000 crazy photogs! :)

Miami Boys

I spent the day chasing Ryan & Adam around various locations in Miami. We started out at Tropical Park then made our way downtown for lunch before heading to Matheson Hammocks to hit the beach just before dinner. What a treat! Shooting in such a fab city, how could we not have a blast? Thanks for going along for the ride boys!

I wasn't sure what to expect when we headed to Matheson Hammock park.... but suffice it to say that next time I'm in Miami, I'm bringing Emir here for some scene soaking!

What trip to the beach would be complete without some sand castle construction?

Mama and the boys!

Can't wait for next time gang!

Me + Illustrator = ???

Emir and I recently spent time with Ryan Holt trying to absorb his illustration genius. Illustrator is such a crazy program. You have to 'think' completely differently than in Photoshop. So, in some ways, I feel like a fish out of water. But... when have I ever let THAT stop me? :) Here's something I built while screwing around focusingly diligently on learning more about Illustrator. (Look out... I sense a whimsy new collection of Christmas cards on the horizon!)

Double the Cuteness!

Ashley recently called and asked me to photograph her twin girls. Already about 8 weeks old, they are adjusting with gusto! They were good sports, (and so was Grama when they gave her a good excuse to wash the bedspread!).

K Crew Makes a Comeback!

I'm always psyched when people I've photographed before have exciting changes in their lives that give me another opportunity to see them! In this case, it was the joyous occasion of little Liam! Valarie warned me that Liam didn't like to be naked... so we weren't sure how much we'd get away with before he demanded to get his wardrobe back. But.... he did a remarkably fantastic job of putting up with us! Here are some of my faves.

Great to see you guys again.... welcome to the world lil' guy!

Squeaky, Shiny, New!

In honor of my squeaky new blog, I thought I'd post a quick sneak peek of a recent newborn shoot I did for my friend Lisa and her husband Chad. Here's Camden, the newest addition to their family!

I love this shot. Carter had his own ideas about how to spend his Saturday afternoon, and a photoshoot was not at the top of his list. :)

Lisa is glowing in this shot!

Welcome to the world, lil' guy!