Sunny Spring Blues

I know, it seems like a bit of an oxymoron but this post is for my mama who loves winter rain and stormy days. She's a bit blue right now as the first day of spring has come and gone and summer warmth is sneaking up upon us. While for some of us sunshine brings smiles, for her it brings a bit of the blues. I think we all experience some kind of transitional shock with the changing of the seasons...personally, I love spring and will soak up all it's days with relish! But the heat of summer does seem to follow too quickly on it's heels. By August, I'm dreaming of the sound of rain beating on my roof - and I'm not even a winter person! So, mom, this is for you - wishing for spring showers to bring May flowers and get you through until next winter! :)

(to my girls in the East Coast who read this...specifically Alli and Hayley...please don't kill me! :) Wishing for East Coast SUNSHINE for you guys!)

Sacramento Kings Dance Team

Last week I met up with some of the Kings Dance Team again - this time to capture some pictures for the 2008 NBA Dance Bracket. I have a great time working with these girls (ladies :))because, not only are they incredibly sweet and so easy to photograph (hum, imagine that :)), but they are extremely laid back and easy-going which makes for a very fun, relaxed photo shoot. We shot this in the training facilities at Arco Arena.

Little Man Alex

Okay, seriously, does it get any cuter than this?! This little guy has so much personality! He had mom Lisa and me cracking up the whole time. At one point, inbetween setups and outfits, barefoot, wearing only a pair of jeans, he set off dancing in the living room to Dan Zanes "Catch That Train" (I had this playing during our session and apparently it was a hit!). I wish I could describe how cute it was - watching a little 1 year old who is still getting steady on his legs, kind of like a sailor who has been at sea for weeks and is just hitting land, shake his groove thing in the living room in little blue jeans with a big smile. In any case, here is the little man, photographed for his 1st birthday. We ended our session on the kitchen table, photographed using window light, with a birthday cake made especially for him that mom brought - I'll post those on the homepage as soon as they're edited! :)

Eco-Chic Design

I am so excited to talk about this lady! A few weeks ago I mentioned having to reschedule a session and how excited I was about this project...well, here it is! Eco-Chic Design is headed by interior designer Marie Brown of Lincoln, California. I had a great time working with Marie last year doing portraits for her website. You can imagine then how excited I was when she called about doing design photos as well! We met up a few weeks ago and spent the day photographing her 'beach' house which I am absolutely in love with! It was a bit dark, so we had to 'simulate' sunshine with studio flash which was a fun opportunity to create different moods and play with texture and shadow. It wasn't hard deciding what to photography, rather what NOT to photograph! There are so many fun pieces in her house. As you can see, she has an incredible eye for detail and beautiful, eclectic pieces. And, as her business is green-based, her designs are built around recycled or environmentally friendly pieces such as these colorful living room chairs which were crafted from recycled boat wood. They are unlike anything I've seen or felt - the texture is almost like soft silk. Even the paint used on her walls is environmentally friendly and free from toxins. I am so inspired every time we talk so it was a treat to spend the day with her, chatting as we went and capturing some great images to display her work! To see more from our shoot, go to Slideshows at http://www.llfotos.com/ or use the link to the right. I'll be posting more about this amazing lady!

First Squash the Smoke Role Model!

I am so excited to announce our first Squash the Smoke senior role model! As you might remember, at the beginning of 2008 I announced Squash the Smoke - an anti-smoking campaign geared toward highschool and elementary kids. It'll be a series of fun posters highlighting strong role models who have chosen to pass on smoking. The goal is to distribute the posters to local highschools (and eventually elementary schools) for display and to reinforce that making a statement, being cool and unique comes from who you are - not what you do.
I first met Jordan last year when I photographed his family at their home in Lincoln. Not long after we worked together again when I photographed him for his senior photos (check out the Forever Young gallery to see highlights from that shoot). Well, a few month ago when I learned he was voted Homecoming King, I knew he HAD to be our first role model! Not only is he one of the nicest, most courteous teenagers I know, he has a style that absolutely rocks and speaks to his individuality. I couldn't think of a better person to be our first role model for this campaign.
And how cool is this? He met me at 8:30am on a Saturday morning to do this session! THANK YOU again Jordan!!!
Okay, I'm holding out most of the photos for the actual poster - which I will share soon! - but for one quick sneak peek, check out below.

Favorite Old Haunts

Friday afternoon I unexpectedly found myself with some free time (had to reschedule a session to next weekend due to some missing key elements - I'm SO excited about this commerical project! Let's just say it involves an amazingly talented lady and her company which is green-based (so cool)...but I can't talk about it yet! LOL! Details to follow soon.) and decided to pack up, hit the road and return to one of my old haunts. I felt like a kid again - stashing my laptop away, grabbing a sweatshirt, camera and flying by the seat of my pants as I headed out the door, no definite plans in sight, other than heading to the foothills. I ended up at one of my favorite old spots - if you're a local to Nevada City, you probabaly recognize it. If you're not, well, you'll just have to join me for an afternoon photo session to see it! :) It's gorgeous! I've always tried to capture the majestic beauty of this place and have never been thrilled with the results. So, this time instead of trying to capture it all, which is my first inclination when surrounded by such stunning scenery, I purposely turned my back to what draws me so much - this beautiful, tumbling river - and decided to find richness in the details. What I discovered was a cool old bridge with rusting ironwork and faded, funky colors, texture-rich rocks, and some gorgeous light. What follows are some photos from my afternoon 'adventure'.

A road-trip afternoon wouldn't be complete without some trusty, completely fat-free and totally healthy (ha) snacks! :)

Life wouldn't be complete without.... :)

Talk about gorgeous texture...

How cool is this?! Trying out a new ultra-wide angle lens - that's taken at a position of me holding the camera simply looking down and those are my legs and monopod!! So freaky!

There's my glorious light...