Merry Christmas

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas! Here is a Christmas card for everyone and 2 fun shots from our Christmas photo session.

Endless Summer

I did this shoot on one of the last really warm days at the beach. Now I'm sitting at my desk in my Christmas Fleece PJ's and my sheepskin slippers and I can only dream of those warm beach days. ENDLESS SUMMER is one of my favorite movies, and as much as I like Christmas, I long for those long, warm beach days. These pictures sure make me feel the warm sun we had that day. I did a previous shoot with these 3 siblings, and they booked me again for some more shots for their agent. I felt like I was doing a ROXY shoot, I loved the different outfits and the cool surfboard (rented by the mom at REVOLUTION, a super cool local surf shop).

Great Neighbors

I really enjoyed taking pictures of our "old" neighbors. It was pretty chilly at the beach, but the kids were full of energy and stayed warm moving around. I remember when little Katie was born, it was fun to watch her run all over the beach (a girl after my own heart). Her big brother Matthew couldn't have been easier to work with, he was AWESOME! I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I just think you never can go wrong with white and khaki at the beach! We got some great shots, here are just a few that stood out to me.

No Pink

Okay, I felt a little bad after all the pink, so here is a picture of Kai without the pink door. Not that he minded. For some reason pink is cool for boys in Middle School, but TOTALLY (I mean how can you even suggest it) uncool for girls in 4th grade. I'm trying to keep up..... :)

Pink Door

When I did the photo work shop in OC I came across a pink door that I knew I had to come back to to use as a backdrop. Just a really yummy strawberries-and-cream kinda pink. Last Sunday we went to see Dean-o's concert in San Juan Capistrano and I thought just maybe we might find the time for a little shoot. I told the kids to wear brown and off we went South. Well, we found the time, right before it got dark and I got to shoot some "pink door" pictures. I wish the door was down the street, I LOVE it!

Converse Family

This was the third shoot I have done for this beautiful family. They requested this location because their Wedding took place here. They actually have Wedding pictures that were done at exactly the same bridge and beach. How cool is that? I love the brand new Converse everyone (except for girly Miss M.) wore to the shoot. Can't ever go wrong with Converse. I just got a pair in Chocolate, I wore them during the Wedding I did. I know, I know, very faux pas, and I had dressy shoes with me, but you just can't climb on rocks, over fences and roll on the ground to get the perfect shot with heels! The mom/son shot is almost identical of one I took of them years ago. Can't believe how quickly kids grow! Thanks, N. family, I had lots of fun with you!

Beach Maternity Shoot

My friend Tanya was visiting from Texas to be my second shooter for the Flower Farm Wedding. On the way to the airport we stopped at the beach for some maternity shots. Can you believe this is number 5!!!!! ? She looks amazing. The baby is due in January, and I can't wait to see if it's a boy or girl.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been really busy with Christmas shoots and a Wedding in Sacramento. I promise I will post soon, I just really want to get everything edited first! So on this day of Thanksgiving I wish all of you a wonderful day of counting your blessings. I'm posting some snap shots of two of the biggest blessings in my life! I took these shots right after I had finished a session at the beach. Kyle and the kids were waiting for me at a different beach. There wasn't much light left, but I captured real smiles and a special moment between my kids. It was one of those truly blissful moments.

Sunset

A couple of days ago I came out of the nail salon with my mom and Makena and this is what we saw outside. What a beautiful sunset. I just now got home from Santa Barbara where the big fire is raging, and now this picture makes me think of fire. It was so sad to see all the smoke in the hillsides today, with helicopters buzzing around. It was surreal to be walking on the pier, eating an ice cream while people were losing there homes. I hope the winds stop, so fire fighters can get the upper hand.

Creative Family

I met this beautiful family through Junior Lifeguards and they wanted some fun family pictures at the beach. They came armed with hats, wraps, a soccer ball, and lots of ideas. I LOVED that.
Everyone was game for anything I wanted to try and they had creative suggestions of their own, especially the Dad. How cool is that? It was a lot of fun for me to try new things, and we kept shooting until all the light was gone and everyone was freezing. The pictures are beautiful, here are a few of my favorites, you can click on the title (Creative Family) to view the entire slide show.