Event: Christmas + Graduation Party

Last month I photographed a fabulous Holiday/Graduation bash at my parents-in-law's house! It was a very fun night with friends, family, and midnight lasagna!

Congratulations Megann on earning your Bachelor's degree! We're all very proud of you! =)

I love the gazebo lighting above the dj! DJ Whitey White kept the party dancing all night!

I adore capturing special moments between friends!
Dancing is about movement, and when you take a picture with a quick shutter speed, the movement is lost. I enjoy experimenting with shutter speeds with I photograph people dancing. It's about the essence of the moment, not the details.

View Proofs

Merry Christmas!

"Oh, hello friend" winter giveaway

"Oh, hello friend" is doing a winter giveaway with really cute & crafty prizes. The giveaway goes through 12/17/08 at 9pm PST. Click the image below for details on entering! Enjoy!

Oh Christmas Tree!

One of my favorite parts about Christmas is the tree. I love everything about it. The smell. The decorating. The way it brings Christmas cheer even when there are not yet any gifts under it. Our Christmas tree arrived as a surprise last night (Thanks Lyss!!!). After retrieving my boxes of ornaments from my parents' attic today (where they kindly let me store them!), I got down to business.

I'm not the kind of person with a pristine, color-coordinated Christmas tree. Coordinated, sort of. I have a few dozen jewel-toned bulbs and a wide gold ribbon encircling the tree. Sentimental, definitely. I love the mismatch of life on my Christmas tree. I have ornaments from friends, ornaments from family, ornaments I made myself. I was surprised how sentimental I became when decorating the tree. I always want to celebrate life with my beautiful mismatched tree.

My baby's first Christmas ornament is almost 30 years old.
My cousin and her daughter make different ornaments for the family every year. I have about 8 of them on my tree, and they make me smile.
This pretzel ornament is so kitchy, but I love it. I remember the day my mom took this picture. We were in the back yard and I DID NOT want to open my eyes. I don't know how my mom every got me to cooperate! The photograph is old and faded, and the prezels have cracked, but it's perfect. Simply perfect.
My mother-in-law brought this cool ornament back from China!
Help! There's a monkey in our tree!
This little guy doesn't have a story. He's just cute. That's it. =)Happy decorating!

KD Bracelets & More

Let me tell you a little about KD Bracelets & More...

I met Kim & Debbie (the "KD" in KD Bracelets) back in November 2007, when we were neighbors at the El Toro "Bulltique." We spent two days chatting across the sides of our booths, checking out each others' merchandise, and getting to know each other. The "Bulltique" was one of the last craft shows I did, and I'm glad I was there. Since November 2007, we have built a wonderful friendship & business relationship.

Kim is the jewelry designer of the mother-daughter duo. She creates beautiful one-of-a-kind jewelry, and often incorporates Swarovski crystals & semi-precious stones. She does all of her own wire wrapping, and the higher end the pieces even have a custom "KD" tag which distinguishes them from other jewelry designers. KD Bracelets & More keeps up on the current trends, and is up-to-date without being trendy. I photograph all of their jewelry, so I have the privledge of seeing the entire collection up close, and it is gorgeous!

Two collections, "Beach Chic" and the "Bridal Collection" are featured on the website. If you're interested in purchasing anything, you can reach them through the Contact page of their website.

Kim designs some wonderful chunky pieces:
And there are plenty of delicate pieces, as well:
Beach Chic!
Last but not least, here are Debbie & Kim:


www.KDBraceletsAndMore.com

Palasik + Barr families: Anytime Session

Recently, one of my favorite couples brought together both sides of their family for an Anytime Session. It was a great opportunity to photograph each side of the family individually, and get some of the whole family together ... parents, siblings, "other halves" ... the whole clan!

Here's "his" side of the family. I love playing with sun flare!
And "her" side of the family...
I've always said that I love photographing people laughing, people truly being themselves. I have a new not-so-top-secret way of doing this. I just love the way these next 2 images turned out. They're totally natural and relaxed.

The Dorsey Girls: Anytime Session

I recently had a wonderful Anytime Session with the Dorsey girls. The sisters were absolutely darling in their matching white dresses. They looked downright pixyish, especially in the woodsy setting. Sisters have such a special bond, and I truly enjoyed being able to photograph the girls together, and include their big brother in a few photographs, too!
No, I didn't totally miss that there is some guy sitting in the background. It's the girls' big brother! I don't think he knew that he was in my frame, but I loved having him there. I think it makes the picture even more interesting!

Friends Thanksgiving

I just wanted to share a few images from Friends Thanksgiving, a day after Thanksgiving celebration that our friends have been having for several years. It was fun to spend time with new & old friends, and enjoy all the delicious food!

Here are some of the girls, before dinner:
After dinner we played a (mostly) friendly game of Left-Right-Center.
Bob won the second round of Left-Right-Center. Here he is counting our winnings ... none of which (hint-hint) made its way to my wallet! ;-)

I Heart Cali

"I bought my dog! And it's a girl!" she wrote.

I squealed with excitement as I read Christy's text. I knew she had wanted to buy one, but sometimes even when you have your heart set on a dog it doesn't happen right away. Sometimes life has to match you up with the right one. I think Cali was worth the wait. She is gorgeous and sweet and mellow and playful and all-around fabulous. I could barely stop cooing long enough to photograph her. Here she is!Cali is half lab, half golpher! =)
I did this move at my last yoga class! ;-)I love love love the sun flare! Last but not least, here's a photograph of Riley, looking handsome in his new lobster collar!

Simply Stuffed

Bob and I had a really nice Thanksgiving dinner with our parents tonight. I love big family events, but a more intimate Thanksgiving dinner was a delicious change of pace. Dinner may have been small in numbers, but it was still large in festivity. Laura's place settings were Martha-esque, and the food was delicious. Right before we ate, I noticed incredible light outside, so I ushered our parents out for a few shots.
And the table... =)

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this day of gratitude...

I am grateful my marriage, family, and friends. I am surrounded by such wonderful and supportive people. I am thankful for the food on our table, roof over our heads, and comfortable bed to sleep in. I am grateful for our health, freedom, and safety. I am grateful to share a Thanksgiving meal with family today, and with friends tomorrow.

I am truly grateful for every experience, good and bad, that has happened over the last year (and there was certainly some of both!). I think every experience plants seeds of desire. I'm tending to my seeds, and am so incredibly grateful for the experiences on their way to me. Over the past year, I have grown in ways I never expected. I truly appreciate the people, experiences, and activities that made me ask for more. I am more in tune with myself than I have ever been, and I am grateful for this, every single day.

When the rain stopped this morning, I went outside and caught the sun starting to peek through the clouds:
Happy Thanksgiving!

The Big Read

"Success to crime!"

Perhaps I should back up a bit. You know, start from the beginning. I don't hope any actual success to any actual crime.

"The Big Read" is a program run by the National Endowment for the Arts to revitalize the role of literature in American culture. Nearly 400 communities have hosted "Big Read" events, which include with components such as panel discussions, lectures, and theatre/film screenings. "The Big Read" has featured books from "Farenheight 451" to "The Joy Luck Club", and "The Maltese Falcon" to "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

November was declared "Los Angeles Big Read Month" by the L.A. city council, and the book of honor was The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. I was able to attend the Kick-Off celebration for The Maltese Falcon at the Barnsdall Theatre in Los Angeles. The Department of Cultural Affairs brought together period cars, an actual falcon, a jazz quartet, celebrity narrators, the Long Beach Shakespeare Company, and even the mayor of Los Angeles!

Back in 2005, the Long Beach Shakespeare Company produced the first authorized stage production of The Maltese Falcon! I grew up around The Maltese Falcon, and it was quite fun to be at the premiere of the play! At the "Big Read" kick-off, the Long Beach Shakespeare Company did an excerpted version of the play, with a number of narrators between scenes. One of the narrators was my mom (looking lovely, I might add!):

All the kids, and especially the girls, loooved Austen Parros!

The cast did a wonderful job performing this excerpted version of The Maltese Falcon.
"'You're a damned good man, sister,' he said and went out."
And the Maltese Falcon, you might ask? It's "the stuff that dreams are made of."

Enjoy! =)

Fun with Long Exposures

I had a little spare time today and decided to play with long exposures on my camera. I did a series of moving long exposures to see what I could come up with. It's something a little different than my normal work ... enjoy! =)

Isn't this next one creepy? I look like a ghost...

Happy Election Day!

I am SO glad that November 4th is finally here. It's an important election year, and it seems like there is a lot more passion this year than in the last few presidential elections. Everyone I know is talking politics & wearing their blue or red affiliations on their sleeves! I was glad to do my civic duty this morning ... & even more glad that the political ads and robo-calls are over!

The other cool thing this year is all the freebies that restaurants are giving for voting! Here's a list I got from this website:

Starbucks: Starbucks said it would give voters a free Tall coffee on Nov. 4. The freebie was announced during a national TV ad last night (Nov. 1) on Saturday Night Live. All you have to do is say you voted, the commercial said. Limit one per customer. To view the ad go to, http://www.youtube.com/starbucks. (Nov. 4 update: Now, Starbucks is stating that EVERYONE gets a free coffee)

Anaheim White House: Diners ages 21 and over will receive a complimentary bottle of champagne for voting. The restaurant will offer a $44, four-course dinner that night. In an unusual twist, the award-winning fine dining establishment will also have plasma TVs in the restaurant so diners can watch live election coverage. More info: Address: 887 South Anaheim Blvd. Phone: (714) 772-1381. The free bottle of bubbly is valid, per couple.

Krispy Kreme: The doughnut chain, which has two locations in Orange County, is giving a free “star-shaped” doughnut to voters.

Pizza Hut: The chain expects orders to surge on Election Day. To encourage diners to plan ahead, Pizza Hut is will give a 20 percent discount to all online orders scheduled for delivery or pick-up on Nov. 4. (One catch: The deal is valid for new online customers only.) To order, go to PizzaHut.com.

Ben & Jerry’s: All ice cream stores will give one free scoop of ice cream to customers from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. This deal is good for “everyone” not just voters, says spokesman Sean Greenwood. I can only imagine the lines.

Pat & Oscar’s: Voters get 20% off on Nov. 4. Dine in only.

Zov’s (Tustin, Irvine, Newport Beach): Voters can get a free slice of Apple Pie with purchase.

Daily Grill (all locations): From 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Daily Grill will give a free appetizer to voters. Happy Hour will also be expanded with prices ranging from $2.95 to $3.95 throughout the evening. (Bar only).

Salt Creek Grille (Dana Point): A few cool things going on at this Dana Point restaurant. First up: free money. In the bar, the customer who comes closest to guessing the correct “percentage of total votes” for the winning presidential candidate will win a $200 restaurant gift card. During happy hour, the restaurant will offer $3 beers. Servers will also pass out free Brandt beef sliders and house-made chips twice during happy hour. That night, the chef is offering an “All-American” Prime Rib dinner — three courses for $27.95.

Scott’s Seafood (Costa Mesa near South Coast Plaza): Show your “vote” sticker, and you get $10 off your lunch or dinner check.

Morton’s The Steakhouse: Presidential Martinis will cost $11, a $1.50 off regular price. (Tell me: Is this really a deal?)

Michael’s on Naples (Long Beach): The Long Beach dining establishment will televise election coverage on a large-screen plasma TV, and offer a “bailout recovery” prix fixe dinner for $35. It will also serve complimentary gourmet pizzettes to voters. Phone: (562) 439-7080.

I'm off to Starbucks for my free cup! =)

He's baaack!

Look who showed up today ... with a buddy! Meet our favorite freerange bunnies: Buggs & Frosty! Aren't they cute? =)

Bunny

Something cool happened today. We were adopted ... by a bunny! I opened our kitchen door this morning, and a bunny was sitting outside. I immediately grabbed my (new!) Blackberry and took a few pictures, afraid that the bunny would disappear as quickly as he came. I grabbed a few low res shots then went back outside (later on I brought out my 'real' camera for better pictures). I was afraid to touch him at first. Do bunnies bite? I had no idea, but this was no wild bunny. He was clean, sweet, and not afraid to let me pet him. He's a little bit dirtier now from his day romping in our backyard. Tonight I'll go around to the neighbors with kids, and ask if anyone lost a bunny. If not, well, I think we have a pet! The beauty of it, of course, is that he adopted us. Now if only he'd tell us his name ... and if he is a he or a she! =)

Question of the Day

Here's a fun little something I found! The question will change every day. Enjoy! =)

First Set

The first set of Christmas cards arrived today! These postcard style cards are have a luscious watercolor texture & are tres chic! I can't show much ... I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone on their Christmas card list! Here's a peek (just a little one)...