Plus One!

I am so happy to share that my first bride and groom, Brandy and Devin, recently let me know that they are expecting a baby! I am so happy for Brandy and Devin as they start a family together. With their permission, please join in me offering a very big loving congratulation! :)

Helping a fellow photographer

When I heard that Heidi Walker's equipment was stolen -- all $20,000 of it -- my heart went out to her. As a photographer, all of our hopes, dreams, and income comes from our equipment. She was shooting with Dustin Izatt that day, and you can read about what happened, and how you can help on his blog.

Suffice to say that we all learned a lesson about not leaving our gear in our trunks, even for a minute, the value of insurance, and (most importantly) the value of those around us. Yes, some dirtbag ripped off Heidi's equipment (and I hope he gets caught for it!!!), but we're also learning how many good people there are, complete strangers to Heidi, who want to help her out. What an amazing network of photographers. People are good.

I hope that enough people donate to Heidi's fund to replace her equipment and restore her faith in people. You can donate through Paypal to dustin@dustinizatt.com (he promises that every cent will go to Heidi .. just put "for Heidi" in the transaction), and Dustin is also donating the profit from his templates and one-on-one consultations to Heidi.

Lets all pull together here and do the right thing, for Heidi and for us all.

Wilson Creek Winery Wedding: Kelli + Kelley (Sneak Peek!)

On Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing my friends Kelli and Kelley marry each other at the Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, CA. It was a beautiful day filled with friends, family, and lots & lots of dancing! After the ceremony I snuck Kelli and Kelley into the Barrel Room for some intimate portraits together. Here is a peek at one of my favorites. I'll blog more images from the wedding in a few weeks.

Kelli & Kelley - Thank you for allowing me to photograph your wedding day. It was an absolute pleasure. I wish you an relaxing & romantic honeymoon in Oahu!

On Efficiency & Effectiveness

Yesterday I was mentally beating myself up for the amount of time I spend on Facebook. I love Facebook, it works for me and for my business, but I couldn't figure out what the heck I spent my morning doing! I walked into the kitchen & noticed the flashing red light on my Blackberry. I am on a LOT of mailing lists, and an normally quick to delete mass-sent messages, but I am glad I read this one:

"Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals. Efficiency
is performing a given task (whether important or not) in the most economical
manner possible.

Being efficient without regard to effectiveness is the default mode of the
universe. I would consider the best door-to-door salesperson efficient—that is,
refined and excellent at selling door-to-door without wasting time—but utterly
ineffective. He or she would sell more using a better vehicle such as e-mail or
direct mail.

This is also true for the person who checks e-mail 30 times per day and develops
an elaborate system of folder rules and sophisticated techniques for ensuring
that each of those 30 brain farts moves as quickly as possible. I was a
specialist at such professional wheel-spinning. It is efficient on some perverse
level, but far from effective.

Here are two truisms to keep in mind:

  1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
  2. Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.
  
From this moment forward, remember this: What you do is infinitely more
important than how you do it. Efficiency is still important, but it is useless
unless applied to the right things."

(Email from Dan Oaks at DVO Enterprises)

I am a pro at professional wheel-spinning. If you substitute Facebook with email in the letter, it would be me to a T! I occasionally think about creating a schedule for myself, something that would give backbone to my day when I do not have appointments. After several wadded up versions, I created a schedule for myself. It's a work in progress; I expect to change it as my needs change (and hopefully as I become more of a morning person), but I think it's a great starting point.

The thing I am happiest about is including meditation and reading in my schedule. I LOVE the way I feel when I meditate, but I haven't done it on a consistent basis since last Spring. I am also in the process of making big changes in my business, and being the best ME possible, so I am including enriching business and life books.

Here's my first go at creating a schedule:

8am - Wake up
8-8:15am - Meditate
8:15-8:45 - Make coffee, check Facebook, etc
8:45-9:15 - Read business book
9:15-10 - Shower, dress, get ready for the day
10-12 - Business: Email, phone calls, Quicken, etc
12-12:30 - Lunch and Facebook
12:30-4 - Photography: Edit, blog, etc
4-5 - Introspection & branding brainstorming
5-5:30 - Read business book
5:30-6:30 - Tidy house
6:30-10pm - Dinner, tv, etc
10-10:30pm - Read a personally enriching book
10:30pm - Bedtime

I started the new schedule this morning! I hope it'll make more productive days, and that I won't feel like I've been spinning my wheels on Facebook all day!

No offense Facebook ... I love you, but we spend too much time together.

Holiday Special - Book your session today!

I've had a lot of interest in the holiday special, but just wanted to make sure that everyone saw it! Contact me today to book your session!

Here are some samples of my card designs:

Anytime: Pumpkin Patch Session

A few weeks ago, my good friend Julia asked if I would do a family session at the pumpkin patch. I have the pleasure of photographing Julia, Kevin, and Jakson frequently, as Jakson is my favorite little 'nephew.' You might remember their maternity session or newborn session. The pumpkin patch session was no less fabulous than the others! I am excited to show you the images, but before I do, I have something special to share:

I was going through my files and re-discovered the shot when Kevin and Julia found out that Jakson was going to be a boy. They had a 'gender party' before those were even the thing to do! It wasn't truly a party -- just family and a few friends, there to share in the excitement as Kevin and Julia found out what they were having.

It started with a Nordstroms box. They picked out both pink and blue clothes, and gave them to the Nordstroms cashier with the sealed envelope from the doctor. A few minutes later, Kevin and Julia returned to pick up the signature box containing their future of either dance classes or football/baseball/golf practice.

This is the moment where they found out! I love the happiness in their faces!





Fast forward 7 months, and we have Jakson at the pumpkin patch with his mom and dad! Isn't he a cutie? :)








And the covermodel shot goes to ......

Little Luxuries: A great massage!

I lay on my stomach, eyes closed, face nestled between white towels. I breath in the scent of cedar, then deeply exhale.

I think it is so important to treat ourselves well. Treating ourselves well takes many forms. Sometimes we need to stay home, rest, and allow our mind and body to refresh. Sometimes we need to say 'no' to things that we don't want to do, or let or go out & experience new things that we DO want to do! Sometimes we just need to indulge in something that makes us feel fabulous!

Today my indulgence was indulgence. I love day spas and I love massages. I would love to get a deep tissue massage at my favorite spa twice a month, but as a self employed person, a spa treatment is a treat, and not a regular occasion. I recently found the next best thing: hour-long reflexology massages for only $20! The rooms are not private and the cedar aroma was from the furniture, not essential oils, but for an hour I let go of my mind as every muscle in my body was massaged and beat up a little. That's how I like my massages: firm, slightly painful, and effective! And for $20, plus a tip, I may have found my twice-monthly massage location!

"If you aren't good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you'll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren't even giving to yourself." -Barbara De Angelis

Lorrie Rocks her Dress!

I am so excited to show you these Rock the Dress images for fellow photographer Lorrie Prothero. We did the photoshoot in honor of her upcoming 10-year anniversary. Lorrie rocked it like a pro model during her Seal Beach Rock the Dress shoot -- she didn't even flinch as the tide rolled over her! It was a lot of fun to meet new photographer friends and enjoy the Seal Beach sunset. I think Lorrie had a great time too ... just look at that laughter in the images. I love it! :)

Thank you to KC Witcamp for doing a beautiful job on Lorrie's make-up!

I couldn't even get close to narrowing the images down to 10 favorites. Here are my absolute favorites for the Seal Beach Rock the Dress shoot, and there's a slideshow below. Enjoy! :)







Please enjoy the slideshow:

Lorrie: Rock the Dress ... Sneak Peek!

Occasionally a photographer gets her turn in front of the lens. In honor of her upcoming 10-year anniversary, Lorrie Prothero pulled out her wedding dress to rock it in ways you just can't do on your wedding day. A Trash the Dress (as they're usually called), or Rock the Dress (as I call it) session is the perfect chance to put your wedding dress back on on and PLAY! Oh, and the dress was a little big on Lorrie. How awesome is that?!? ;)

Maggie + Todd: Anytime Session

Last month I met up with Maggie and Todd for a fun 'anytime session' near their home. It was like an engagement session, except that these two have been happily married for a couple years already. We played in Marina Del Rey with Eli & Sydney, then took the dogs back to their place & headed to the Santa Monica pier. There are so many interesting locations, colors, and people along the pier, and we even stopped for a moment to watch the trapeze school (remember "The Catch" episode of SATC? ;)

Maggie & Todd - Thank you for a fantastic session, and dinner afterwards! I had a blast with you guys! :)




Hello gorgeous!






And ... now that the news is officially out ... I can share Maggie's first official maternity photograph! Congratulations Maggie & Todd! :)

Destination: Napa

I just got back from my first trip to Napa! It was such a relaxing get-away weekend/girls trip. I really enjoyed exploring Napa & the cool, bright day in San Francisco. Thank you to my mother-in-law, Laura, for taking me on the trip, and to Pam & Tom for letting us stay at their place! I had a great time!

This is the vineyard we stayed on, in the early morning light:

I love small, interesting details





We visited the incredible Castello di Amorosa, which has a Medieval ambiance






...and an incredible view!

Lucy was a celebrity, all over Napa and San Francisco! The Castello di Amoroso bartender especially loved her!

Lucy didn't love all the pictures taken of her. No animals were harmed or intoxicated in the making of the following images:



This is how she really felt about it ;)

More of the vineyard we stayed at: