I’m going to be out of the office, learning & meeting & perhaps imbibing in Vegas until Wednesday! I’ll be attending WPPI with about 10,000 other photographers.   I promise to return smarter, funner & in need of a quick nap. 

For emergencies, please give me a call at 310.498.8284.  I’ll be returning all emails on Thursday March 11.

Enjoy the week!  Basil & I will miss you

It’s funny, Downtown LA is just a quick trip down the 101 for me, and I’ve never shot there before.  The fabric district & I are getting pretty tight.  And I have a deep-seeded love affair with the flower mart.  But I’ve never had the opportunity to shoot there before.  So, when Elisa & Eli decided on the Walt Disney Concert Hall and surrounding area I was giddy!  I absolutely adore the Concert Hall and had never spent any time there.  One of those "Oh, next time we’re in the area" kinds of things.  It is stunning and created the perfect backdrop for a fantastic couple.

Elisa & Eli will be getting married in April and I’m so happy to be shooting their wedding downtown!  They’re a quiet couple, not quite open to the entire world.  They are my favorite kind of people, the ones that you have to sit with, talk with, get to know slowly over time.  Just opening up a piece of themselves at a time.  It’s a good balance to my own word vomit.  Reminds me to slow down.  To linger in the hugs and cuddles.  Because they do.  They were fantastically happy to kiss & snuggle with each other while I lookd on with my camera.  A superb relationship. 

Elisa & Eli - Thank you for spending a lovely (if windy) afternoon with me!  I couldn’t be more excited to be getting to know each of you.  Your wedding will be fantastic and I am so looking forward to it!  See you super soon!

I realized today that I hadn’t blogged.  For way too long.  I’ve been busy busy busy, but nothing to interesting for the blog yet!  Really, it’s just been editing & album designing & shooting ladies that are entirely too sexy for the blog!

So, we’ve been relaxing and hanging out with Mr. Basil.  Getting to know him really.  The first few weeks were tough.  Hard, awful, what-did-we-just do?!  But we know him and he knows us and I finally feel like we’re all settled in.  We’ve discovered that he loves turkey & tearing apart plush toys/bedding/pillows.  (That part is awesome.  My office is constantly covered in teddy bear innards.)  He loves dog parks and only playing with the absolutely enormous dogs.  Great Danes are his favorite. He snores & sleeps with his eyes open. He adores people and makes sure to visit with each & every person in a room.  He’s the best cuddler there ever was

And we love him.  So much!  I want to hug & kiss him all.day.long.  I haven’t taken too many shots of him… dogs are super tough and I don’t have the patience for it!  But, we played a bit this afternoon and he was such a good model!

When we were on a walk the other day, a woman asked me why he looked so sad. I said that was just how his faced looked.

To say that I’m OBSESSED with the work that Carissa of JL Designs & Events does would be a massive understatement.  Her work is breathtakingly beautiful.  Stunning.  Without a detail overlooked.  Absolute perfection.   And her Valentine’s Day Collection is amazing. 

She’s teamed up with My Sweet & Saucy to create a pop up shop just for the next few days.  Delicious sweets and amazing florals in a one stop shop for the most perfect Valentine’s Day a person could ask for!   So, stop by and claim one of these pieces as your own!  Visit her blog for more information.

I like to be good at stuff.  Well, I don’t think you’ll meet many people who like to be bad at stuff.  But I like to be really good at anything I do.  Anything.  I have a hard time doing something halfway or taking the shortcuts.  The last few years I’ve put all of my creative juices in to photography though.  My free time, my creative energy, it all went towards photography.  So, with the "slow season" this past month or so I’ve been branching out a little bit.  Sending those creative juices in a few other directions.  Allowing myself to stretch and use some different muscles.  It’s been so much fun and I’m so happy to be getting better in some creative arenas.

A friend of mine was taking a sewing class at The Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica and I was so excited to join her.  It was so.much.fun and I’m so happy that I attended.  My mother is an amazing seamstress, and her mother was too.  Yet, somehow I never picked up the skill. 

This class piqued my interest and I’ve most definitely jumped on the sewing bandwagon.  I bought a sewing machine just today and am so excited for it to arrive. I have big plans for pillow cases and tote bags and drapes and hemming my own pants.  I’m going to save so much money!  Well, either that, or I’m going to spend a bajillion dollars on zippers that I tear, pants that I shorten too much and fabric that is bloodstained from too many finger pricks. 

My very first project!  A pillow, made all by myself

There’s something incredibly adorable about a new family.  So many changes and milestones.  So much love and laughter.  It makes me grin from ear to ear!

Craig, Kelly & Mia are one of those insanely adorable families.  Mia just hit the nine month mark.  She’s standing and laughing and learning so much everyday.  Her four tiny teeth are super cute and the grin she gives makes you melt.  I am obsessed with her chubby cheeks and her puffy feet.  You can feel that she was just the most perfect addition to this family.

Craig, Kelly & Mia - Thank you so much for inviting me in to your new home and allowing me to document your growing family!  It was incredibly special and I hope that you enjoy the images we created!

I never pick locations for my shoots.  I’m more than willing to bounce ideas and brainstorm, but I never want to choose.  I feel that it is so incredibly important for the location to be representative of the couple, to be comfortable for them, to be a part of them.  So, when Hilary & Brian mentioned shooting in the snow, I was insanely excited.  They spent their college days snowboarding at Big Bear and Brian proposed at the top of the mountain last year.   The snow and the mountains are absolutely representative of who they are and I was so happy to capture them in that environment. 

There was SO.MUCH.SNOW.  Since we live in Los Angeles, the desert, I assumed that heading only an hour away would give us about 6 inches of snow, maybe a foot if we were lucky.  Clearly, I did not do my research.  There was so much that, if I didn’t step in the right place, I’d have snow up to my knees.  It was crisp & clean & crazy cold.  And it was perfect.

Hilary & Brian were absolutely perfect models in the crazy hard shooting conditions.  Moving was, um, less than easy.  But they laughed & played.  Brian was most definitely in his element, not so much loving the photography part of the trip, but the rest of it :-)  The fire, the sledding and the snowballs… I’m pretty sure he loved that.  Hilary had sparkly eyes and was so happy to be there with him.  So happy.  It was incredibly perfect.

Hilary & Brian - Thank you so much for introducing me to LA snow!  And to hot chocolate on the back of a pickup.  And propane tank heaters.  It was a fabulous trip and I had so much fun with the two of you!  I couldn’t be more excited for your wedding!

When we arrived there was a heavy fog and we were starving.  So Brian set up camp on the truck bed; lawn chairs, hot chocolate, sandwiches & the most amazing heater EVER.  By the time we’d finished eating the fog was gone and we were left with an amazing location.

Candice has one of those laugh.  Contagious.  You can’t help but double over laughing when she throws her head back.  And when Jared is the instigator, she laughs bigger.  You can see that they just get each other.  They play together, and then, in an instant, are cuddly & kissing.  Super adorable.  They took the time to relax with each other and I could see them connecting.  A little pit stop in the craziness of wedding planning.

They chose two locations that were perfect for them.  The Lab & the park where they had their first date. Six years later, Jared proposed in the same park.  I love that the location held so much significance for them.  That it meant so much to them.  I think the images will mean that much more!

Candice & Jared - I had such an amazing time with the two of you.  You were perfect models and made my job super easy!  I couldn’t possibly be more excited for the wedding!  Thank you so much for choosing me to document such an important time in your lives.

I love vineyards.  There is something so intriguing about the vines.  Rows & rows of vines.  Thinking about the grapes that they grow and the wine those grapes will produce.   And in the winter they were incredible.  Bare.  Such nice symmetrical rows where each piece is a knotty mess. 

Before we even arrived, I knew I wanted to shoot in the vineyard.  And I was thrilled that all of the ladies (and maybe even the men, but maybe not really) wanted to shoot a bit.  So, we arrived home on Saturday from a day of wine tasting, a super quick wardrobe change and the fastest 40 minutes of shooting I’ve ever done.  We were racing the fading sun and there was so much I wanted to capture.  It was 40 minutes of pure ridiculousness, laughter & fun fueled by amazing people, a fabulous location, a little bit of rain & quite a bit of wine.

Jess, Josh, Paola, Eric, Natalie & Greg - You are all rockstars and I couldn’t be more blessed to have the six of you in my life.   You inspire me.  You make me laugh.  You’ve given me a home.  Thank you for being some of the best friends a girl could ask for!

Jessica & Josh were one of the very first couples to ever book me.  I didn’t even have a sample album when we met!   I thought they HATED me and nearly fell over when she called to set the date. They booked me for me and I am eternally grateful. 

I met Natalie in 2006.  Online.  Our first date in 2007 was magical.  If Chris ever leaves me, it will most definitely be for Greg.  

Paola is an absolute inspiration for me.  In business.  In the gym.  In the kitchen.  If it weren’t for her, I would be broke, fat & malnourished.

A few weeks ago my friends Chris & Allie of The Reason were in town and they introduced me to my newest obsession… The Instax.  I absolutely loved the camera and the images it created.  I NEEDED to have it for our trip to Sonoma.   So much so that when it didn’t arrive in time, I went out and bought a second one that I could take to Sonoma with me.  

While Chris shot with our "real" cameras, I played with the new toy camera.  Obsessed.

The drive up.

Lunch of Champions.

There was a FABULOUS grocery store around the corner from our house.  So beautiful that I photographed the cheese display & the veggie display.  The salads were in granite bowls and there were TWO cheese experts to help us with our selections.  Delicious.