I have to be honest, I rarely photograph newborns anymore. But when your best friends little sis (so, like basically your little sis;) has a baby, you make an exception.
Welcome to the world Wells Peter! You are so loved, and so so cute.
Mila at Sea
I'm currently working on a little review of our cruise experience (should be up next week!), but today I thought I'd share some snaps I took of Mila on the boat. I found this sailor dress the week before our trip and had to get it. I mean, she was going to meet the captain after all so why not dress for the occasion? (so "mom" of me, I know.)
We went out on the deck right as the sun was sinking into the pacific. I wanted to get some nice portraits of her, but she was too excited, yelling "HI, OCEAN!!!" and was running around in circles. It was also pretty dang cold. So cold, we only lasted like 5 minutes. Maybe 10. Even still, these moments stuck with me. Maybe it was seeing Mila's face of pure joy, or seeing her handsome daddy all dressed up, or that being on the ocean at sunset is magical in itself. These pictures, as blurry and grainy as they are, are so beautiful to me mostly because of the memories they contain.
I'm really thankful to be her mama.
Upon meeting the captain Buddy told Mila to say " Aye Aye captain", so I think our absolute favorite moment of the trip was when she walked up to the captain and greeted him with a very confident "Hi Hi captain!!". That will forever make me laugh.
Have a beautiful week, friends!
xo
Project: Free Time | Jess Fong
Free time is such a treasured thing. In a life full of work, appointments, meetings, relationships, and laundry (ugh, laundry), having a moment to stop and do what we love is something we can't take for granted.
For my first personal project (that I'll be blogging) I chose free time as the theme, because let's face it... sometimes "free time" is more like a magical unicorn... it's just no where to be found.
Subject : Jess Fong | Free Time : Painting
Jess is a Campus Minister with Epic Movement and is based out of southern California. She has a beautiful soul, an adorable dog, a huge talent in the arts (featured below:), and makes the best breakfast evvaaaahh!
Oh! and she has blue hair... so she's basically the coolest.
What do you do with your free time?
The Masciandaro Family
Had a quick session with this lovely family a little while back. I've realized I don't share all of the shoots I do! So, I figured I'd change that and start with sharing a few shots of these cuties. I mean... how adorable are these boys?! It's like they came straight out of a Polo ad, I swear.
Loved working with this beautiful family.
So here's to sharing more work with you all!
Have a great week!
Camping in Big Sur
After being away for over a month, I'm just getting into the swing of things here at home, and it feels like 2017 has "officially" begun.
I've been taking a little time to reflect on last year, as well as make plans for the year ahead. And I couldn't help but think back on one of my favorite days in 2016... Thanksgiving Day.
We took a road trip up to Big Sur for the long weekend. It was a way for us to just enjoy nature and each other and not worry about what to cook, and where to be. It was simple, and beautiful and I couldn't have asked for a more special day to give thanks.
We truly enjoyed it so much. Buddy even looked at me while we were driving home and said "let's do that again next year"... and you know what? We may just have to. The only thing I would do differently is pack a few extra blankets, because I tell ya what... that gorgeous place gets COLD at night.
Little babe in our tent.
Our home for the weekend.
The colors in our tent at sunset were seriously magical!
My babes.
Smooches from my girl.
This little girl picked purple flowers every morning.
Hiking...
This hiking path was seriously amazing! So so pretty!!
Ocean love!!
Thank God for a sis-in-law who brings a bunch of pre-pasted, disposable tooth brushes.... and thank God for that view!!!
She did this a lot. Afternoon sun soaks with Story dog.
Thanksgiving dinner! Rosemary turkey sandwiches on pretzel rolls, garlic stuffed hasselback potatoes, stuffing, and mac and cheese. Just writing this makes me want a do over on this meal... pretty please.
So thankful for them.
(You can find the video diary of our weekend here!)
Hope you all enjoyed the first week of 2017!
Here's to you and all your beautiful weeks ahead!!
Cheers!
Behind "the shot"
This is my good friend, Rebecca. She's a beautiful soul with a talent for music (find more HERE!), and we could laugh about pretty much anything when together.
We had been talking about shooting a cover for her new EP 'Skyrocket'.
We planned it out and had a vision, but the journey to get there was anything but easy. When it comes to getting "the shot" it's a different story almost every time, and I thought sharing this story would be a great way to show that there really is so much behind a photograph.
So, here is goes...
We pulled up to an abandoned building, and walked through (really) tall grass to get to an opening. We then climbed over a 6 foot wall and went up 5 flights of stairs, but the door to the roof was locked. So I ran down the stairs and ran up the zig zag of the ramp (it was a parking garage) to get to the roof and unlock the door. Right as we were about to get started, we noticed we were both COVERED in green stickers from the knees down (thanks, tall grass). There were so many on Becca that they made that yellow skirt look like it was in a bunched up knot to the side. Not the "flowing in the wind" look we were going for. It took about 25 minutes or so, but we finally got them off, and got started. Becca bravely stood on a kitchen stool. I would snap, wait for a gust of wind, then snap again. We moved to each edge of the roof to find the best light, and finally, we got the shot! It was messy and exhausting, but totally worth it. And the Thai food we gobbled down after, was very much well deserved.
And yes, we laughed a lot. But it was mostly the "umm, how is this happening!?" kind.
Also, I now want Thai food.
The Shari Family | Dade City, FL
I had the honor of photographing this beautiful family while in Florida earlier this month.
It was an early morning shoot out in an orange grove. It was pretty cold, but the light of the sunrise was truly gorgeous. There's something about watching the sunrise that brings such peace.
I have to say, I'm impressed with how this lovely family of eight was perfectly on time for their sunrise portrait session. Like really really impressed. Let's go ahead and give these parents a bow, shall we?
Lee Family | Sedona, AZ
I had a photoshoot in Sedona back in November, and let me just say, Ohmygaahhh! This family is the cutest. And those kids! I mean COME. ON.
The weather was gorgeous, and the landscape was breathtaking. I'm in awe of the beauty this world has to offer and how every place is ever changing by season.. and let me tell you, fall looked really good on Sedona.
Bria + Nate | Portland, OR
Last month while in Portland I had the pleasure of photographing this lovely couple in honor of their first wedding anniversary. Seriously, how sweet are they!?
Desert Flower | Phoenix, AZ
If you've ever met Whitney, you know what a beautiful soul she is. Her energy is so warm, loving, encouraging, and she has the sweetest heart. I had the honor of capturing this beauty out in the desert, and I'd like to share some images with you.
Hope you enjoy! xo
