Merry Christmas to All!!

Merry Christmas!!

I hope that you have a wonderful, peaceful and enjoyable holiday- full of loving family, good friends, good food and great wine!!

Thank you so much to all of you who have visited my website and my blog. Feel free to leave a comment or two (or email me!). I hope that I can post your images here next year!

Here's to an AWESOME 2009!


PS- for those of you who watch my blog- you know sometimes I comment on how challenging some kids can be to photograph (adorable, but sometimes a bit challenging!) Well, I have forgotten to mention just how much more I would rather photograph the most challenging, rambunctious, crazed little ones rather then photograph my own girls (who almost did not live through this photo shoot!!!!)!!

PS- The older one is not Italian (talking with her hands), she's just 13!! and an audible "Uhhhhhh!" went with each hand jesture!! LOL! The younger one...well, she just egged her on when ever she could!! Needless to say.... I enjoyed a much deserved glass of wine that evening!

The "C" Family

I've known the "C" family for many years- even worked for the very talented "T" (see his website http://www.tinology.com/) But I never realized just how much their daughter,"R" looks like Miley Cyrus!. It seems to be the season of Hollywood look a likes!! LOL!

(Sorry "R", but the look a like is too funny after my Michael Chiarello look alike!!)

Perfect!

As I left my house to meet up with the "L" family, I thought for sure it was going to be a repeat of the "Blustery Day". It was windy and cold and looked as if it might rain any moment! Not long after I arrived at the beach, the wind died down and the clouds eased up (Whew!).

The light was perfect! The water was perfect! The family was great! It was one of those great sessions! And to top it all off- we had an amazing sunset!

Love Their Smiles!

You gotta love the smiles on the "M" family! Not only do they have great smiles, they are always smiling!

We had fun hangin' out in the fields on one of my favorite rustic spots- until little Mr. "B" discovered the tree! He's 3 and all of 25 lbs, but the kid is a daredevil! He was up that tree so fast! And then he wanted to jump down from at least 7 feet up. After we pulled him out of the tree he was done with photos. Done- he even pretended to be asleep so that I wouldn't take any more! Not his brother "J" though- he was ready with his Hollywood smile- and adorable glasses.

Opps!

Let me start by saying- I've know the "L" family since before they were even a family! "B" and my husband were friends before he know his wife "H", we were at their wedding in Hawaii and have gone to the boys birthday parties since they started having them!

They asked me to take their Christmas photo again this year and we decided to try the beach again ("B" is an avid surfer). The night looked promising- nice weather, no wind. The boys were in good moods and all should have gone great, right? Well, the beach was more crowded then I've seen it since summer- which of course distracted the boys (and "B" in more then one shot!) and no one wanted to look on me. And then came the powerful allure of the ocean! Finally the boys just couldn't resist it any longer and charged in fully clothed! Can you say "reshoot"? LOL!

A Blustery Day

I woke up Sunday morning, long before the sun was up, to howling winds outside. Branches crashing, umbrellas falling, even chairs and outdoor furniture scraping long the ground from the strong winds. And those winds never let up! It was a Blustery Day, as Pooh Bear might say! I had two sessions that day, and I was being to worry neither of them might work.

The first was an adorable couple. "H" called me last minute, after being referred by his sister. I didn't realize it was just going to be the two of them until we meet Sunday morning at the beach. "H"'s new wife "A" had to fly back home to Europe that afternoon, so there was little time to discuss things such as "how big is your family?". But it was a pleasant surprise! Lucky for us, the cove I chose was somewhat protected by the wind.
We were not so luck that afternoon!



You may recognise the girls "R" and "M", and maybe even little Mr. "N" from last year. The girls with the stunning eyes! We tried to do the whole family this time- but Mother Nature did really want to cooperate. The winds never let up- they howled all day! But we thought we would give it a go anyway. Unfortunatly, I didn't think about how, after all the dust was blown around all day, it might affect the clarity of the images. Not to mention it made for bad hair! We gave it our best- but this one is going to have to be a reshoot. The dust and other stuff in the air, just made for images that are not sharp enough for my taste. Did I mention that not only was it windy, it was COLD!



And to top it off... "N" puked all over at the end!

Wedded Bliss

I don't do many weddings by myself, I much prefer to work with my good friend and talented wedding photographer, Tracie Taylor. But when friends of ours asked if I would photograph their daughter's wedding, I agreed. Lucky for me it was not going to be a big one- those just put me right over the edge! Give me a screaming toddler any day :0)

We started, like all good weddings should, with an engagement photo session. "E" and "K" decided the rustic look was more their style then the beach- and when I saw their wedding colors, I think they made the perfect choice!

So much style! I loved what "E" and "K" chose for their wedding look! I love vintage! It was such a unique and fun wedding! Nothing pretentious or snobby! It was very "real"- including their love for each other. And I think my favorite "real" part is that "K" actually forgot "E"'s ring at his house in Long Beach! Mind you- the wedding was in San Clemente. They had to call one of their friends from up there, that was on their way to the wedding, to turn around, break into the house and get the ring!!

I was playing around with slideshow applications from a company called animoto and I thought I would post it here

So Sweet

Such a sweet family! "S" has revived her love of Hawaiian dance in the last few years and she wanted to reflect that in her family photo. I thought she looked beautiful in her poinsettia lei and head piece. And to top off the evening, we were blessed with an amazingly beautiful sunset! Very Hawaiian!
Such a sad and beautiful story how "S" has rekindled her love of hula. She lost her infant son a few years back and it made her reexamine what was important in her live. She told me, one of the things that made her feel "alive" was hula.
She also told me, one of the ways that they remember her son each year is by representing him in the form of an angel in every Christmas card. This year, she chose an angel shell ornament. I was so touched! Such a sad, sweet story! Such a sweet family.

Baby on the Way

One of the hardest parts of photographing maternity sessions is how dang cute some people can look when they are pregnant! "T" is the perfect example! She is due in December! Can you stand it? I was as big as a house by the time I was 8 months pregnant and my feet were so swollen! And they are going to be the cutest parents! They are both so sweet! Check back for Round 2 a little later in the week as I have more belly photos to post from their extended family photos.

Sisters

This time of year is so full of families- sometimes big families- that I forget the simplicity of just photographing kids! Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend as much time with these two as I would have liked. The park we were at has so many great places to explore! Although, I think they were done with me by the time all was said and done!

Sweet Family

The "N" family was such a sweet family. Miss "S" was just adorable and Little "K" was a quite as a mouse! He never fussed! And finally a park shoot! I love the beach, don't get me wrong- but there is only so much sand your car floormats can handle! :0)

More Catch Up

More sneak peeks to post from last week!

The "O" family was my first family session to photography with grown kids in such a long time, that I wasn't exactly sure what to do with them at first! I had gotten so used to saying things like, "Bet you can't smile" or "Who's your favorite Star Wars character?" in my best kindergarten school teacher voice- that I wasn't sure how to relate to them for the first few minutes!! LOL! And I've gotten so used to taking a ton of photos just to get that one where the kids are looking at me (and not making funny faces or crying!). I didn't have to do that with this group! They actually held still too! I did miss the energy that exudes from little ones- but I was much less exhausted!

Catchin' up!

OK- I think I might be able to catch up a bit on my posts now! Things have been crazy the past few weeks- no complaints! I've been quite busy with clients!! Thank you guys! So busy in fact, that I haven't had a chance to post any previews. I'll be working on getting you guys a sneak peek in the next few days!

With that said- here is a sneak peek at the "P" family. There were all so sweet! Dad was one of those people you would love to spend the time to get to know- his smile is so real! And little "L"- well, can you believe those eyelashes! What a nice family!

Ahhhh! Too far behind!

Ahhh! I am so far behind on posting to my blog!! I apologize to everyone! I am up to my eyeballs in sessions to edit that I have not had the time to post anything new!! I will try my best to catch up in the next few day. It's a bit crazy around here!! With the Mini Sessions, booked weekends, the girls Parent-Teacher Conferences and Halloween all bunched together... I'm exhausted! But I will catch up- just give me a few days!!

Happy Halloween!!

What Is It They Say About Working With Animals And Kids?

Wasn't it WC Fields? LOL! Actually, I had a good time trying to get the dogs and the two little ones to look at me at the same time! I'm sure I drove anyone within 20 feet of me crazy though!

Once again- another awesome night too! The fog moved in last night and wasn't gone by noon- I thought for sure we were in for a foggy night. But around 1:00 the sky magically cleared and it turned into another perfect evening. The tide wasn't as nice to us as it has been the past two beach sessions, and "A" payed the price (in the form of a wet tush!)- but I don't think we could complain too much.

"D" family, here is your sneak peak!

More Amazing Beach Time!

Another amazing evening at the beach! This time with the "V" family and their adorable girls! They were so sweet! And finally...girls! Don't get me wrong- I love boys. But there is such a contrast between photographing boys and girls- it's amazing! Girls actually stand still for more then two seconds- and some even like it!

I feel terrible though! Poor "G" had phnomia and "R" ran the Mud Run at Camp Pendelton that morning! You would never know it though!! They are true troupers! And to think- this is the first time they have had family photos done! With a family this adorable, they should defiantly do this more often!

Thanks guys- you were great! Hope you feel better soon! Here is a quick sneak peak!

I just love the light on this one!

Another Day...Another Beautiful Sunset

Another day.....another beautiful sunset- what's a photographer to do? And the tide cooperated this time too!

You may recognise this family from past photo sessions. I did their Christmas photos last year as well as a large extended family session earlier in the year. They are always such a great family to work with! The boys are so sweet and mom and dad are fun and relaxed.

I was told "C" practiced his smile all afternoon! I just had to post this one to show you all how cute it was when he showed me!