Families

When longterm clients become longtime friends, I know that my business is exactly everything I’d hoped it to be.  That’s what it is like with the Anderson family.  I met them when their youngest child Ryan was still an infant and have been blessed to watch them grow and evolve as a family ever since.  Even with their busy schedules (full-time jobs for both mom and dad, plus part-time soccer coaching, along with soccer playing for the kids) they still are able to find time for annual family photography.  Even if that means a sunset arrival for their afternoon session!  Doesn’t matter; when…

It was one of those sunny, golden fall afternoons that make me pinch myself: not only do I get to live in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, but I also get to follow happy families around while they enjoy the outdoors, trading jokes and snapping photos.  (And I call this “work?”  Ha!)  With the loving, energetic, incredibly photogenic Jen family as my clients and a bright blue sky overhead, it was a great day at the office for sure. The Jen sisters are close in age and also very close to each other.  Watching them goof around was so much fun and…

One year ago, two of my longtime clients brought a beautiful baby girl into the world.  How lucky was I to get to document her first birthday!  I love photographing celebrations, and there have been many of them in her family’s life.  It all started with an engagement session for Mom (Michelle) and Dad (Tim), followed by a fun and easy going wedding at Fausel Ranch, then the maternity, newborn and six month sessions for sweet baby Madelyn. Time flies and I am so grateful to have been part of these major milestones!  I am always gratified and humbled when I…

It’s not easy as you might think it would be to get many generations of family together in order to capture this moment in time. It can take some planning, some coordinating and some flexibility but it’s generally never regretted. Kudos to my friend Carol who did just that this summer while her family was in town for a visit. In fact, we did this several years ago over the Christmas holiday too. Living close to Goldridge club, we were able to utilize the playground which always keeps the kids engaged. Lots of smiles and lots of grandkids (ok, and a few…

When Kevin approached me to create a photo montage of the Pollock Pines schools in his district – Pinewood, Sierra Ridge, and Silver Fork – I knew this was going to be a special and very meaningful job.  You see, for 6 years Kevin has been my kids’ school Superintendent, and our community has gotten many good opportunities to get to know him.  Always approachable, he would stand outside the school entrance at drop off to socialize with the students and their parents.  Everybody knew Mr. Monsma!  This hands-on approach has always been something I really admired about him.  This summer he moved on to a…

After about two weeks of gorgeous spring weather here in the mountains we awoke to Nyron’s first birthday session and rain in the forecast just like Kailey’s maternity session. Since it was his actual birthday, we decided to not let a little rain get in our way(just like when he was in Mom’s tummy) and all met to capture the smiles of this growing baby resembling more today, “a little boy”.  It does go by so fast. A bright red wagon, a colorful bunch of balloons gathered by Dad earlier that morning as he was getting off work from his EMT shift,…

The Bartolo Family- With their youngest in Philadelphia embarking on the first year of her college adventure, Jim and Tammy decided that it is finally time to downsize and sell their beautiful home in Pollock Pines, that Jim actually built. There’s a lot of love in that home. And, with all of the girls and grandma Josephine in town and available over the holidays, it was a perfect time to capture them all in their home, the home they all grew up in (even Jim…ehhh, maybe not- likely still working on it). And I can say that because I’ve known the Bartolo’s for awhile so…

I have been photographing the Anderson family now for more than a decade. Like me, they have two tweenage/teen children that are busy with sports and social activities. And, like me, getting on their family schedule can sometimes be a military operation, especially as parents Jessica and Brett also coach soccer multiple times each week. That’s exactly how we found ourselves almost at Christmas before we scheduled this year’s session. What a blessing in disguise, however, since we decided to shoot at the family’s Folsom home to avoid the uncertainty of winter weather. The Andersons have a beautiful house and are…

Little Grayden has a special place in my heart. In a heart-opening demonstration of the circle of life, I photographed his birth less than 24 hours after I received the news that my father had passed away. Clearly it’s an emotional experience I will never forget and I will always feel a connection to this family as a result. Since then, sadly, Grayden’s parents have separated. Dad, Tom, works in Redding and doesn’t get to spend as much time with Grayden as he could if his job was closer and so he asked me to capture them together recently, during…