Little Led Zeppelin

A week ago I photographed this little man who came dressed to impress in his adorable Led Zeppelin tee (which you may be able to see in pictures below). Talk about a cutie! I told his mom I have a serious crush going! :) This little guy, Mr. Marv, was so much fun - game for anything and an absolute pleasure to photograph. We started our session with some fun photos studio- style and then went more casual with natural window light and a leopard blanket on the bed. We ended the session with a quick visit outdoors where I captured his little feet as he checked out the swingset (photos to be on homepage soon).

A Bit Starstruck

Once upon a time, before the crazy beautiful full life of having a family, I was a single girl with time to spare and an avid King's fan who was lucky enough to find herself seated at many a game. Times have changed, life is more hectic with less time to spare and fewer games to be had, but one thing remains constant - I remain an avid and loyal Kings fan, maybe not quite as savvy on the 'game talk' as I used to be, but they are still and will forever be my amazing hometown team. So, you can imagine my excitement last night when I found myself seated on the court mere feet away from where some of the Kings players were warming up! I was there on assignment working with the Kings awesome Creative Director, Heather Vaughan, again to capture fun pictures showing some of the cool stuff season ticket holders can look forward to like exclusive behind the scenes tours, a gorgeous black leather briefcase (seriously, Gucci ain't got nothin' on these cool bags! They should take notes!), etc. (And PS - honey, if you read this, I want to be season ticket holder! I know we just had Christmas and Valentine's Day but my birthday is coming up. Aren't 34th birthdays supposed to be like really huge somewhere??! :)) In any case! Inbetween shoots, there I was - about 2 seats over behind the basketball hoop looking up more than a little starstruck as the likes of Brad Miller sprinted here and there, casually dropping hoops as he warmed up. I was told I could take photos while I waited and even though I only came equipped with my 20-70 and 24-105 portrait lens for the work we were doing, I thought - what the heck, who knows when a girl will get a chance like this again! So, though I felt a bit silly with my little portrait lens surrounded by the pro action shooters with their awesome telephotos (and yeah, that might be a little lens envy you hear in my voice!) I got down on my knees and just started shooting. And even though they aren't exactly Sports Illustrated action quality - okay, let me rephrase that - even though they aren't even remotely close to Sports Illustrated action quality photos, they come with great memories and like all photos, that is what makes them truly special. :)

Oh, Cinderelli!

We start 'em young at our house (just kidding)! :) These were taken this past weekend while my son 'involved' himself in our household duties. It was early in the morning and there was this beautiful window light in our living room so (you know what comes next) of course, I grabbed my camera and... This is a great tip for parents wanting to photograph their kids - put them near a window! Window light produces some of the most beautiful, soft, filtered light.

Hey, what do you think this is, break time? Get back to work!

You missed a spot!

Scrub, scrub, scrub...

And don't forget that spot on the glass... :)

Wow, aren't kids great?!

An Afternoon at the Park

Last Sunday I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with this beautiful family at the park. We'd had some rain the week prior and were crossing our fingers for some nice weather and wow, did we make out! It was probably one of the most gorgeous days of this season! The park was overflowing with people - I literally had to "mark" my spot with my gear when I got there to hold it from another woman who was looking for a nice spot to settle down! In any case, it was a perfect spot for kids to just be kids and have fun running around and exploring. This is one of my favorite types of sessions with kids because it lets them be themselvs and have fun which make for the best shots. We hung out for a few hours, letting them play and capturing some beautiful shots along the way. And are they a cute family or what?!!
ps - oh yeah, and maybe next time I'll hold back on the lollipops for awhile. :)

Simple, sweet Valentine's Day traditions...

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! And yes, this post is a day late but sometimes life throws little hiccups in your plans and mine consisted of a sick little girl yesterday who just wanted her mommy. :) So, posting this a day late, I just wanted to share this cute tradition my stepmom (aka: "Momi" - a nickname I admittedly stole from my favorite character on Men in Trees) shared with me and that I just love and am, as of next year, officially stealing from her. When my brothers and sister were young, she'd start the day with heart-shaped pancakes. They also had red-themed lunches and knowing her, I'm sure the house was decked out with adorable decorations and there were other goodies to be found in the day.
Just proves the point - it doesn't have to be elaborate - just special. For us, yesterday, that consisted of: kids in bed early, yummy dinner (one of our quirky favorites - making breakfast for dinner - hashbrowns, scrambled eggs and toast with jam...yum!) and a good movie. I know, I know, not exactly Morton's and fine wine but definitely simple and sweet.

What does an artist do with sick kids on Valentine's Day? Take goofy pictures of her daughter's Valentine's!

What is it about urban grunge...

...that I love so much?! I actually pulled these photos up as a mini-celebration. Yesterday I learned that after 12+weeks I'm FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY getting my settlement from AA for losing my luggage last October. Yes, that was LAST October! The absolute bummer is I didn't know electronics weren't covered when I flew so I had a Flashtraxx, lightmeter, extra camera batteries, memory cards, etc., packed in my bag that I basicly had to kiss goodbye. So there you go - in case you didn't know, jewelry and electronics are not covered. Just consider me your little information barometer...unless, of course, I was the only one in the dark in which case maybe I need a little information barometer! :)

In any case, thought I'd share a couple fun grunge shots I took on the streets of New York. Now try to imagine a senior photo shoot with holy jeans, white shirt, flip flops and that cool, laid back Cali style we are so well known for! Are you feelin' me on the urban grunge yet? :)

CRAZY fun special!

Okay, I said I'd be posting specials, discounts, fun misc., so here we go! FIRST CALLER TODAY to book a baby, child or individual photo session for February (does not pertain to family or senior photo sessions) pays NO SESSION FEE!

Ya gotta love that! Call 916-343-3551.

Blog Tip: Look for a CRAZY fun special at the beginning of each month!

Picture Perfect by Candy

Photo Courtesy Picture Perfect by Candy

A few years ago I met a group of ladies whose friendship, professional advice and artistic creativity are a daily inspiration to me. I truly count my lucky stars for having met them - they challenge me to believe, think bigger, take risks, and even if it doesn't all pan out - they are there to hold my hand and pick me up. This is what we do for each other as a group and it has made for some amazing friendships.
So, you will have to excuse me if, along the way, I brag a bit about these ladies and continually point out how amazing they are - such is the case with this month's featured photographer Picture Perfect by Candy. I had a chance to be roomies with Candy while attending the Photo Expo in New York this past October. Aside from literally giving me the shirt off her back when my luggage was misplaced - still MIA I might add - let me tell you, there is no dull moment with her! She is a rockin mama and photog extraordinaire (that should really be the other way around but it flows better as said :))! The thing I love most about Candy, aside from continual awe of her artistic vision, is that you can be certain that with her, you will always get the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You ask, she'll tell you. I can't think of a better foundation to a great friendship which is why I'm happy to brag about this amazing lady.

Gap RED

One of my goals for this blog is sharing personal as well as professional tidbits and just fun stuff along the way. Having said that I thought I'd share this shirt that I'm completely in love with. I found this at Gap a few weeks ago. How cool is this?! I love what Gap is up to these days - their Gap RED campaign is awesome - lots of cool products for a really great cause.
Ps - you may be seeing lots of little environmental thoughts from me this year. That's just me sharing my excitement in finally being aware! This last year brought a lot of awareness in my life on many levels, environmental issues one of them. I have a long ways to go in doing my part to make our world a better, more environmental friendly place but I've committed myself to baby steps like taking canvas bags to the grocery store instead of collecting a million plastic bags that inevitably end up in the trash can! I'm sad it's taken me so long to actually be aware! I have my aunt to thank for that - her "don't you recycle?" question every time she is over finally penetrated! Thank you Aunt Lynne! ")

Back online!

Sorry to have gone MIA this last week! I caught some of the fun stuff going around and was a bit under the weather but am hopefully back up now. Hope everyone is enjoying themselves with a nice night by the fire!! :)