Christmas Day!
It was my third Christmas with what I call my "mill valley family". I love being surrounded by kids, awesome food, & music - its the perfect Christmas dinner for me.
Christmas Studio Surprise
Last night Nick and I exchanged gifts, as he will be in San Diego this christmas. His gift to me was my logo plasma cut into a piece of steel. It totally took me by surprise, and filled me with confidence, gratitude, hope, and excitment. I feel blessed to be dating a man who wants to support my vision.
I can't wait to show you pics once it is hung outside my studio space.
Thank you so much Nick!
The Newest Little Elf
Highlights from one of my last Holiday Card/Family Portrait photoshoots:
crab feed 2014
I finally have a home fit for a crab feed. On Saturday night I had a few friends over for crab & garlic noodles. We got our crab at Loch Lomond Live Bait in San Rafael - I highly suggest going there, as the character alone is worth every penny. After our feast of epic porportions, we danced, but I really don't think I was in any shape to be taking pictures at that point... Here are some of my favorite pics from the night.
K & A & L
I finally got to shoot these three. I've known them since their wedding - In fact, I opened the church doors for A on her wedding day. I love their spirit, and think this shoot captured the family that they are.
Family Portraits - Party of 9!
My former neighbor called me all the way from Minnesota to book a Family Portrait session while she was in town for the Thanksgiving Holiday. After a couple more phone calls and texts, we decided to shoot in Lucas Valley, just before sunset, and have the family wear blues & grays.
I am so happy with the results! Thanks K! So great to see you and the family again.
Feist Family Pics 2014
Congratulations Kirstie on new sweet baby Holland. Here are my top choices from this year:
Baby Grady
Here are some snippets from a mini-shoot from Saturday morning. A mini-shoot starts at $150, and is 20-30 minutes at your house or an agreed upon location. All of these pics were taken at Grady's house, and the shoot lasted about 25 minutes.
maternity shoot #2
I am just starting to broaden my "maternity" portfolio. Alissa & Corry were gracious enough to play with me out in Lucas Valley last weekend. They are expecting a New Years baby!
With Alissa's teamwork, here are some snippets of what we created:
Family Portraits at Muir Beach
One of my favorite families in Marin wanted to shoot a Muir Beach this year. I jumped at the chance! I did have to battle with the sun....... but I brought a continuous light that I could adjust accordingly, and then did some adjustments in post production. I am happy with the results.
baby dre
Newborn shoot with Melissa, Ryan, Baby Dre, and Max!
September 11th Memorial
I was fortunate enough to barely make it to the September 11th memorial at 850pm on my last night in nyc this visit. The footprints are moving, intelligent, and thoughtful. I am wondering if anything other than the footprints was needed? I did not care too much for the other things. The footprints force you to calm down and reflect.
I wanted to go stand at "my" tower, and think about my life when the towers were a part of my daily commute. I had just graduated from college, and was working my first office job in Jersey City, NJ. I lived in the West Village, and would walk down to the WTC every afternoon for my oddly houred shift of 3-11pm.
These are my pictures taken from where my daily entrance was - i had waited 13 years to finally go back to that physical place from my past.
As the water falls, you think about the colors of the towers, and people falling. As the water falls even more into the black hole, and then up again to to crystal-like steams - you think about rebirth and renewal.
We got to meet for lunch together, and talk about when she was younger.
