Family fun in Encino!

It's been too long....I know, but I've been shooting alot which is a really great thing! My maternity leave starts next week and then I get to really start working on my website and hopefully get most of it done by the time the baby arrives.

A few weeks ago I got to spend some fun time shooting this family at their home in Encino. They were expecting a new baby boy at that time, but I know for sure have now welcomed him into their lives because his due date was March 31st. I hope they are well and am wishing them so much fun and love.

And one last picture of my girl, Alice (the dog) because you know I can't resist!

Lola, revisited

Not sure if any of you remember, but a few months ago I did a photo shoot with the incredibly beautiful 2 year old Lola. After doing a first round of editing of her pictures, I lost them in a weird sort of way on my computer(long story) and had to start the edit over from scratch so that I could provide her parents with some beautiful pics of their little girl. I'm actually very glad that I got a chance to edit them again because I have learned so much in the last few months and looked at the pics in a completely different way. I'm very happy with the final product.

This is my favorite picture of the bunch!

some Rocky love

I have been so busy editing pictures for my website that I don't have that many new pictures to post. Lee's sister Debbie and her kids were visitng last weekend and I did take some shots of them, but again - been busy making them look pretty. I wanted to at least post ONE picture today, so here is the Rockster taking a nap.

Making lemonade out of lemons...

Not sure if anyone remembers that my friends April & Lindsey of Sweet Monday Photography let me tag along with them to a wedding in September, but they did and it was such a wonderful experience. They are amazing photographers as well as amazing women. Spending a whole day with them shooting was such a valuable experience that I can't ever thank them enough for. I feel so lucky that they haven't just been mentors to me over the past few months, but friends as well. Thanks ladies for letting me tag along and for dealing with all of my questions - I had such a blast!!

Unfortunately, it took me months to start editing the wedding pictures which was unexpected, but being pregnant and sick, working full time, and moving took a toll on me. Everything photography unfortunately took a back seat for a few months, but I'm BACK and ready to go with my work. In going through the pictures, I've found some incredible surprises and a few disappointments, but I know that comes with the territory. One picture in particular that I was certain I could not salvage was a shot of the bride and groom as they had JUST walked down the aisle. Lindsey suggested that I wait for them to exit the ceremony space while she and April got them kissing, walking down the aisle, etc. Well, I was perched - ready and waiting for the bride and groom to come around the corner. I had taken a test shot of the space to check my camera settings and THEN my flash didn't recycle quick enough - AH! Right as they walked around the corner, they kissed (they're FIRST kiss that wasn't planned), and my flash didn't go off!!! Oh, and they got married later in the day so it was pretty much dark by the end of their ceremony. I was so bummed, but I realize that these things happen and you have to move on.

Well, as I was going through the pictures, I decided to play w/ the exposure in Lightroom and see what would happen to the image if I manipulated it a ton. By bumping up the exposure significantly, I was able to capture an image, but it is SO grainy. Instead of throwing it out, I decided to embrace the grain and try to give the photo a vintage look. I've gotta say that I'm happy with the result and love the fact that I took an unfortunate situation and turned it into something wonderful!

Until I have more pictures to share, here is the "vintage" shot. Thanks again to Sweet Monday Photography!!

Happy New Year!

I'm a few days behind on this post, but want to wish everyone a very happy new year!! 2009 is going to be an exciting year, not only because of the new edition to my family, but because of the strides I plan to make with my business this year. I have many resolutions and plenty of goals and you'll all get to see just how realistic they are after giving birth to a little baby boy :) 2008 was an amazing year of learning in so many ways and although it wasn't always easy, I wouldn't want to erase it from my "history" or change 1 thing (ok, maaaybe 1). Last year has brought me to this moment in my life where I couldn't be happier or more excited to embark on a new journey of love, happiness and lots of hard work. I hope that when I'm sitting at my computer a year from now writing a blog post about 2010, that I will have met my goals and made myself proud, not only in business, but in family and friendship. Here's to 09!

As for pictures this week, I wanted to blog something fun and I think I've picked the perfect subject. When Lee & I were in SF celebrating Christmas with the Sestili's, the whole family toured the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. They have a great aquarium where we got to see some VERY cool fish. I took a bunch of pictures, but these jellyfish were hands down my favorite. So while I go through all the christmas pictures and decide which to keep, please enjoy a few of my favs.

Cousins

2 weekends ago, Rocky & Jones had their cousin Pikkle over for 2 nights and 2 full days which was SO much fun! Rocky of course doesn't like having any other dogs around, but funny that when they are around he acts more like a dog and less like a baby :) He and Pikkle took their walks together and he was very much a gentleman making sure that she was next to him at all times...so cute! Jones loves Pikkle so that is never a problem and he used to be so into playing with her (she's very playful), but this time he wasn't so interested. We think it's because of his older age. On the Saturday morning that Pikkle stayed with us, we took all the dogs over to the high school, shut them into the bull pen, and threw some tennis balls around so they could get exercise. Rocky doesn't chase the balls, but I can normally get him to run around the grassy area for a bit. After we got home that day, all of the dogs were VERY tired which was our plan. Here are some pics....

And since Jones doesn't get enough love on this blog, he gets his own photo

Living on the west coast

One huge benefit of living on the west coast is the AMAZING sunsets that we get almost every night...especially living close to the Ocean. Here is a sunset seen from our patio last week.