Sly Park-Pollock Pines

Kate is part of McClatchy High School’s Class of 2025 and will be graduating in another week or so.  What a fun time we had out at Sly Park Lake and Forebay Reservoir, chasing the evening light and creating a diverse series of images to capture her big, bold and playful personality. Did we have fun? You bet! She loves fashion design (go figure:), volleyball, soccer, reading, boating and hanging out with friends and family. She will attend UCLA this fall (woot woot) and in 10 years she sees herself living in NYC and working in the fashion industry and…

Each year I donate a handful of photography sessions to various fundraising raffles. This particular session was donated to CASA El Dorado, (Child Advocates of El Dorado) who provide support, empowerment, and a voice for the abused, neglected, and at-risk youth in our community. They do important work for El Dorado County and I am happy to support them. As it turns out, Jenn Krueger, the fundraising manager for CASA, won the family session. We headed out to Sly Park after the holidays to capture her family while the kids were all in town. Her parents were also visiting so…

I first met the Bryant family when they moved to town earlier this year from Carmichael. Jaxon ruled the roost as most curious toddlers do- often preferring searching for rocks and other miscellaneous items as compared to those pesky photos! But alas- enter some “to die for” sunset light on the lake and trees, and some mom and dad playtime and we were able to capture some gorgeous photos of the whole family too! That cute little bow tie….. I’m looking forward to Jaxon’s birthday session next month!

Beautiful Sofia. We had originally met at 24 Carrot Farm for their gorgeous flower backdrop but we got started a little late. Just as the last little bit of sun was tucking away over the hillside and Sofia drove in, we decided to split her session so we did half of it up at Sly Park Lake where the light lingers a little longer and then came back to 24 Carrot the next day, a little earlier for the flowers and some warm sunshine. It worked out great and I was happy to accommodate Sofia as her family have been…

“And we are starting a new life” was the title of the first photo session blog post that I did with the Skalos family. It’s also the lyric to a great Van Morrison song. At that time the Skalos family were new to Pollock Pines and wanted to document their family. Claire (bear) was a toddler and Ava was a big bump in Shannon’s belly (see the log of posts at the bottom of this one). That was in March of 2022. Over the next 2.5 years, I captured not only Ava’s first year but also their growing family. This…

I loved getting out with the Sierra Tribal Bellydancers last week for some refreshed marketing photos. While it was a very busy two hours as we ran around and chased the late afternoon light before the sun dipped below the trees,  these ladies were prepared (as was I) and had two camping spots reserved with tents set-up for costume changes and parking.

Karina and Colin will marry this October at a family property in Placerville. It’s going to be a big wedding with lots of guests, but laid back like the vast property they are celebrating on. Karina and her brother Nate were some of my earlier clients when I started my business in El Dorado County. In fact, I must not have started my blog yet as I am unable to find any of their photos in a previous post. I was so honored when Karina reached out about their wedding photography. I’ve had alot of full-circle moments and this is…

After their beautiful and intimate ceremony, we headed to Sly Park Lake for a “just married” photo session. It was fun to run around in my stomping grounds and find the perfect spots to capture their love and to celebrate with them.

The Colby’s moved in across the street three years ago. Shortly after that, my daughter Ember started babysitting for little Kai who was a precocious 2 years old and that opened the door to a broader friendship with our families.  Elora Soleil who shares a middle name with my Ember Soleil, joined their family two years ago. Kai is now 5 and Elora is 2.  I’ve had fun over the years getting to know their family and getting to photograph them. It’s such a life treat to have lovely neighbors. This session was about capturing them in their mountain home…