2009

At the end of September I had the opportunity to take a workshop from David Beckstead locally in the Sacramento area. Where I also enjoy workshops that get your mind flowing with new business ideas, this was not what I went into this one for. David is a master in the art of composition and I was looking forward to working with him and letting my creative juices flow artistically. Caroline and Dan of Tinywater hosted the workshop and were awesome to finally meet too. Actually, everyone in the workshop was fun to learn from and trade ideas with. David’s…

Sara’s father Charlie Ferris is currently my youngest daughter Ember’s kindergarten teacher, was my oldest daughter Jaz’s kindergarten teacher two years ago and was also my assistant Cassie’s older brother’s kindergarten teacher.. 22 years ago! I adore Charlie & now I also adore his fantastic daughter Sara and her new husband Sean. I had asked Sean to describe Sara in one adjective and he quickly responded “Wonderful.” I then asked him for a second adjective & he replied “Compassionate, wise, understanding, beautiful..” – Anyone can tell that Sara and Sean are crazy about each other. They are alot of fun…

Elizabeth & Brian got married at the Lions Gate Hotel in the General’s Garden. Elizabeth looked like a princess in her stunning dress and did an awesome job with all the details of their wedding- the kids tables, the guest greeting tree, the fans, the table gifts, the invitations and everything in between. They did such a wonderful job with the planning and putting together of this celebration with their friends and family. Brian and Elizabeth have two adorable children, Genna who is 6 who was the flower girl & Bridan who is 2 and was the ring boy. I…

When I arrived David Girard Vineyards I could see it was prime grape picking time… thick bunches of grapes hung from the bright green vines that covered the property. I first shot the groom and his 10 groomsmen in the vines & (up) and around the ceremony area. You get eleven guys together, and well, let’s just say that the energy goes to “eleven”, pretty quickly! Those guys kept cracking jokes left and right- clearly ready for a fun day! Next were the ladies! Ashley and her 9 bridesmaids looked stunning. Their flowers were bright and beautiful from Katie Edwards…

As you might have read in my previous blog about Tara & Tony, I shot their wedding in February 2007. Then this year in July, I photographed Tara’s belly with a little growing baby bean inside. Then on September 10th I went back to photograph the family with their new addition, Zoe! She was only 2 weeks old and is an absolute gem! I feel these images portray what having a newborn is really like… discovering, new, unknown, messy, instinctual, full-time, happy, exhausting, sleepy .. with little moments of peace mixed in. True Lifestyle Photography! I love you guys and…

Chris & Karissa were such a fun couple to shoot – so natural with each other. They were playful, funny, comfortable and “awkward”.. which is a good thing for Chris.. according to Karissa. (haha!) They “met” at a bar while hanging out with mutual friends in Tahoe during 4th of July weekend a few years ago. Chris was too shy to ‘put the moves’ on Karissa that night, but later he found her on Myspace and they started to talk. He invited Karissa to Hot August Nights in Reno a couple months later and I asked “So was it a…

My assistant and I arrived early on Sunday morning to Ironstone Vineyards. We arrived so early we saw the sun rise to show off the beautiful surroundings of Ironstone. (note: HWY 49 is much faster while everyone is still asleep!) We met Amber at 8 o’clock and she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Everyone was up and going – ready for the big day. Amber and her bridesmaids started to get ready, so I popped in the next room over to see Brad. He was busy getting himself dressed and ready to marry his girl that he has…

Entering the room where Ryan & his Groomsmen were getting ready, there was music playing, the TV was on, beers were open & the guys were kickin ‘back, relaxing & slowly getting themselves ready for the wedding after just coming back from the pool.  Ryan was busy helping his groomsmen get their ties and boutonnieres on properly. While on the other end of the Inn, Melissa was getting her hair done, her makeup put on and covering the  last few details of their wedding to make sure their big day went smooth as ice (ahhhhh nice cold and cool ice).…

Well, apparently Gretchen loves pink! (you think?) After a wonderful engagement session up in high country I knew this wedding was going to be a fun one. Gretchen and Matt decided to see each other before the wedding. This can be a really nice way to go and can really cut down on the time needed to take photographs after the wedding. It gets you to your reception faster! However, the best part is, that they get to see each other all dressed and ready to go (almost in private) and then have a few quiet moments with each other…