Last time I photographed them Capri was in Kari’s tummy and Dylon was a little peanut.  He’s grown so much physically but his personality too.  We really hit it off!  And I have to boast that I was invited back by him for a “playdate”  I use so many tricks to keep kids attention that they tend to think I’m this funny, silly lady!!  With my puppets, voices and ridiculous banter I guess I’m entertaining.  It’s endearing anytime I make a mark on a child, even if it’s because I’m trying to get smiles.

They have 175 images on their way, below is my very favorite 19.  Love you DeAngelos!!!!

They chose South Shores Church on Crown Valley Parkway to say their vows.  It was really important to her to have most of her photography taken there, therefore the reception at San Juan Hills Golf Club is less noticeable in the collage that I’ve pulled of some favorites.  I did get one quick moment before darkness set in of them by the pond outside as the clouds moved in over the hills.  Being overcast allowed for interesting light and a mood for their view with South Shores perched on the hill above Salt Creek Beach.  In April there’s always the threat of rain, so I’ll take clouds and be thankful that was the extent of weather for them!

Vanessa and Andrew have over 1200 images on their way, this is just a sneak peek of highlights for them.  They both have such supportive parents and family.  And such infectious smiles, they can light up a room!  Can’t you just feel the love?!!!

Today is Earth Day– the day that we should all take extra special notice of what our planet provides for us and give a little back.  We celebrate Washington’s Birthday, our country’s independence, even Groundhog day gets some media attention so why not do your own personal celebration for Earth!  This year I am in my mountain home in Big Bear surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of spring.  I’ve already donated to the Nature Conservancy this morning.  I purchased my new “adventure pass” here in town which allows me to leave my car anywhere in the middle of nowhere in the entire region of Big Bear.  (Yes, I do off road in my X5 and it handles like a champ)  The day is young, therefore a long beautiful hike is on my agenda too.

So you may ask “What can I do in my life to give thanks to Ms Nature?”  There are lots of things!!!  Plus it teaches your family, friends and children how to appreciate and be involved in taking care of our existence and future generations.  Here are a few things that may sound good to you!  Please keep in mind you can do this any day of any week of any month too!!!

- Go to www.nature.org.  It’s a wonderful, comprehensive website where you can do as little as donate some cash or as much as join to do charity work anywhere in the world.  The coolest part of this organization is your gift of as little as you wish can be put toward whatever is most urgent or you can actually pick what your dollars go to assist.  Anything from purchasing an acre of rain forest to planting trees in a specific region or a few square feet of coral reef.  Isn’t that awesome?!!

-Check out www.therainforestsite.com.  We all troll Facebook on the daily.  We check our favorite websites habitually.  How about making a practice of each day going to this site and clicking on the bar to donate towards wildlife habitat.  Their sponsors are who actually puts in the dough, so it’s 100% free to you to do.  They say it takes 21 times of doing a repetition to make it a habit.  Within less than a month you could do this on auto-pilot along with all else you log into on your computer.

- This idea I personally think is fun.  It is inspired by “Earth Hour” that is a newer concept done once a year where for only ONE HOUR you use no electricity.  Preferably this would be in the evening when you would normally have lights on, tv, stereo, etc etc running.  What’s an hour out of your day?  Use that time to connect with your family, read a book (with candle light or a head lamp) Hey, you can even light up the house with candles and get some romance goin’ !!!

- So simple and such a huge impact… go to your favorite big box store and pickup some CFL lightbulbs.  You know the ones that look like a McDonalds swirly cone?  They may be called “smart bulbs” or “energy savers” but for one box of those bad boys you can really conserve on the energy to light your home.  Dual payoff is not only your carbon footprint but your electric bill.  Who couldn’t use a smaller bill each month right?

- We all love our Starbucks.  But how bout you delegate a favorite mug to become your coffee mug at your run to the Bucks?  Instead of using their cup and sleeve every time you relish in your grande, skinny, vanilla latte you can save a few cents off your coffee purchase and the waste of their cup.  I personally use a ridiculously stupid mug with George Michael on it in the “Faith” era.  It’s so dorky that it’s funny (and a great conversation piece I must add)

- PLEASE, I BEG YOU, give up on those stupid plastic grocery store bags!!!  They’re so horrible for the environment and so wasteful!  Get yourself some reusable bags and I promise you’ll feel so much better about yourself at the checkout in the market.  Some places like Sprouts even take .5 off your bill for each bag you fill.  Only a nickel but that adds up over time.  If you’d typically use 4-5 bags each weekly shopping visit, that’s $13. a year!  And that’s dinner for two at In N Out-LOL.

- Most people know all about Edward the sexy Vampire from Twilight but few know about all the vampires that take place in your own home.  When you vampire it simply means you leave things plugged into the socket.  Your toaster, Your phone charger, etc all suck small amounts of electricity for no reason other than the 2 seconds it takes you to plug it into the wall when you go to actually use it.  Again, it’s about creating habits.  This is a great one… and goes back to the benefit of a smaller bill to cough up.

- A lot of us tend to reach for the thermostat to get comfortable when it would be just as effective and a whole lot less energy to put on a sweater, some slippers or in reverse fire up a fan directed at us in the room we’re using.  My heater runs my electric and gas bills through the roof in the winter months here in Big Bear.  It’s insane to be spending $500 a month on those two utilities but I do.  And that’s living very conservatively.  So in hearing that don’t you want to mock me by having an even lower bill to brag about to me?  I leave my home at a brisk 62 during the day then down to 56 when I go to bed.  I could probably even go lower but I worry for my fur kids.  I love dressing cozy and would rather be a bit chilly than too warm so this works for me.  Find out how low you can go!

- If you want to take it some steps further here is a fun link of 101 things you can do to reduce.  There are plenty of small things beyond some basics I discussed

http://www.squidoo.com/Carbon-Footprint-2

This is actually a GREAT story of how I came to photograph Phil & Letty’s big day.  It started back in 2002 when I first met the groom.  Man, was it a super “special” first impression.  My very first titanium Apple laptop took a complete digger late the night before.  Because this was years ago and I’ve learned so much since I wasn’t sure what had happened, how to trouble shoot and if I was going to lose all the guts to it’s whopping 20GB of hard drive (yes, that was it’s size back then)  I also wasn’t as backup savvy as I am today therefore in a bit of a panic.  Keep in mind Apple Stores ‘genius bar’ was not nearly what it is today, only formed about a year prior to my tragedy.  I’d been up all night worried, trying whatever I could to resuscitate my poor Mac.  First thing in the morning I hobble pathetically into Comp USA down the street from my house knowing they had Apple specialists there.  I approach Phil in my pjs, puffy eyed from crying and say “You’re going to be my new best friend”  He calmly (he’s a very rational, calm person) replied “Ok”  I spent hours in that store as he whipped his magic wand and sprinkled pixie dust upon my tragic machinery.  In that time we really got to know one another.  Let’s face it, I was extremely sleep deprived and grateful for his assistance therefore sappy as all get-out.  I don’t know why he’d ever want to suggest I get his card for future computer needs, maybe entertainment value, but he did offer to help me with my laptop, desktop and workflow if I’d like to learn more and have a better, more fluid system for handling the volume of what I do… especially with the digital age being such a fledgling.

His kindness and knowledge drew me in to pester the poor guy with random questions, help me with backup systems, workflow, anything to make my business smoother on the tech side. He even got nicknamed “MacDaddy” as no question didn’t have an answer or solution.  In those many sessions of disk warrior running, things that needed to upload, download or sideways load (!) we’d chat and discuss our personal lives.  He’s an easy listener as I am a snoopy snooperson!  Plus we were both always in the midst of dating someone or refusing to date anyone which provided plentiful stories and mishaps.  This background is why it’s so SO special to see him find and marry a great woman, Leticia.  And I can’t begin to explain how different it is to photograph a friend’s wedding.  It’s highly personal!  It makes my heart smile to see him finally find “the one”.  I don’t know her as well, but anyone who makes Phil happy and seems so sweet gets my two thumbs up!!

Their day was about as perfect as a wedding can be.  Beautiful weather, warm but not hot with a very interesting smattering of clouds over rich blue sky.  Everything ran on time.  Everyone was in an awesome mood. Although I didn’t do my usual recipe of photo timing I even had an unusually easy day capturing the staples along with the artsy fun stuff throughout my day.  I’d never worked at Villa De Amore before, it’s a newer winery in Temecula however I have to say it’s set up ideal for photo opts.  I am really impressed and hopeful to work there many times to come.  In fact, the images below are all the selections I have submitted to the catering director for their use and (fingers crossed) referral.  I’m sure they get some OC couples who make me convenient for the pre and post transactions… and the drive is so easy-breezy to get there from Laguna.  I’ve spent so many years doing destination weddings that an hour in my car sounds simple!

Here are some favorites from Mr and Mrs Garcia’s wedding day… I hope you can feel the joy as much as it truly exuded in person~

Because we were all planning our schedules, purchasing airfare and all the details we had to gamble on a few weeks in advance, therefore no weather forecast to assist us in picking the date.  The bay area is known for rainy and cloudy days, and of course as it approached we came to find rain all week long.  But that didn’t stop us!!!  Luckily it was “showers” not “rain” which in meteorology terms is a huge difference!  When I got into SFO around 1:00 it was cloudy… but that clean, even light that is actually a bonus.  Once we began shooting through Union Square and Chinatown the sky opened up into an actual rain.  Erika was a little worried, but I am such a believer that everything happens for a reason.  Reason #1 the streets look SO COOL when they’re freshly wet, especially when we’ve got a beautiful red pea coat and leopard rain boots as styling (Erika’s such a fashionista)  Reason #2, I learned how much they love having coffee and America’s beloved Starbucks.  This created an impromptu coffee run while we waited out the rain and yet another cute photo opt.  I doubt we’d had stopped to do this look, but so glad the weather brought us this concept.  Onwards and upwards we even had a break of sunshine for the end of our day…  The last image below was from our sunset attempt at the restaurant which he proposed.  It was our only sacrificial lamb in the day as the clouds rolled back in leaving us a pea-soup marine layer all around the coastline.  We clicked a few for their sentimental value but had to call it a day.  In fact, you’ll notice George is even holding the ring box in his hand on the image outside of the Cliffhouse, too cute.

…Out of light and my flight boarded in an hour!

Here proves that picking a location you love and a photographer who loves their career yields some magic!!!  I adore so many, I suffered to narrow it down to my favorite 29 images which depict the city, Erika and George’s fun personalities and their love~

Oh Samarra how sweet you are!!!  And watching Sonia turn from lawyer to Mommy has been so touching.  She’s taken on the biggest case she’ll ever execute, the making of a darling little girl.  I had such a fun afternoon at their home playing with Samarra and making magic with her cute little outfits.  I meant to just show highlights on this post, but it was truly painstaking to narrow it to only 16 below!  Haha!!  I can’t wait to hear the response from Samarra’s parents when they see the collection of their baby girl’s first modeling session…

Hi Jen!!!!

How are you doing? I just saw the photos of Jennifer Davidson’s wedding and you are SUCH A GREAT ARTIST!  I really mean that! I wouldn’t recommend ANYONE but YOU!  You are truly the best and you have such vision I’ve not seen with other photographers!  Keep up the good work and doing what you love!

(From there she went on to discuss some wall portrait ideas…)

Julie found me about 10 years ago.  I’ve done family portraits for her along with some corporate goodies for her company.  She referred me Jen Davidson who is now a favorite client (and we learned we’re neighbors too!)  It means the world to me when people recognize and express that I work so hard, care about everything I touch and yearn to be not just a photographer but an artist.  Exceeding expectations, even of those who have referred me forward, is of utmost importance to me.  Thank you Julie, you truly made my whole week!!!

Hi Jen-  Thank you so much for a great photo shoot on Saturday.  It is so clear how much you love what you do.  We really appreciate your way with kids and for making Mia laugh all day long!!!  I hope you got some rest Saturday .  I just received the photos and they are beyond precious.  It is going to be so hard to choose.  You did a magnificent job, as usual.

…back to looking at them!!!

Thanks so much,
a

THAT is EXACTLY why I love what I do.  Made my whole day!  Below are my standouts from our shoot day, love love love ‘em!!!

On to the motivation to log in… It’s the Nix family.  They are the poster-child for why I love what I do so much!  As I start most family blogs, I photographed their wedding… back in 2006.  Since then they have referred countless couples for weddings and I’ve had the true pleasure of watching their son grow.  Since I rely upon happy Mr and Mrs’ as my next source of bookings they have been a god-send.  Even Mark’s Mom refers me.  Last time I saw her she needed more of my business cards!  I pride myself on keeping the future of my business thriving by zero advertisement and 100% happy people who tell their friends, co-workers, relatives, etc.  I am so grateful for meeting Stefanie and Mark.  Not to mention they’re fun to spend time with!  And Gavin, phew… where do I begin with describing this little guy?!!  He’s 3 going on 16.  He’s not only ridiculously handsome but bursting with personality.  Perfect example, I asked him what his favorite song is.  I was planning to sing it (through my puppet waving his way with my non-camera hand) as to keep his attention and smiles during the shoot.  I was anticipating Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Oh no, not this hip dude!  He replied with Adele, maybe some Lady Gaga.  Reallyeee?  Yes people, he’s THREE.  I told his parents they are in double trouble with the second baby on the way!!!  They will have their hands full with two bright, witty and amazing kiddos.  I love my visits with Gavin and can’t wait to see if their girl or boy (they’re keeping it a surprise) arriving in March will also have such a big persona. No doubt their big brother will be an influence!

Here are a few of my favorites from their afternoon garden look.  You can’t help but smile when you see these!

I also love a crisp winter day for a wedding.  People in So Cal tend to shy away from this season, and I understand the chance of rain is considerably higher, but it’s worth the risk (or a good plan B) to get a day like theirs.  It was so clear!!  Then to time it perfectly to get the last half hour of the day down on the beach was spectacular.  I just might have to make a sample album from this one.

They chose St Edwards Church, Dana Point as their ceremony site.  It’s well known (mostly for wedding Kobe Bryant) and has a gorgeous ocean view while you say your vows.  The outside is very industrial but with the all white, clean look that Courtney planned it looks very modern and cool.  For their reception they wanted to keep with the beachy Dana Point feel, therefore chose the ChartHouse just up the street for their reception.  What’s perfect about a winter day wedding is it still leaves daylight at the end to wrap with gorgeous golden light for more couples shots!  Court and Ty didn’t end there… they had a big “after party” planned to celebrate well into the night.  That gives the Newlyweds so many more hours to enjoy than if they did an evening event!

I’m so happy for Mr and Mrs Sanford.  Now I can’t wait to document pregnancy, newborn and all their events to come!

Of course the economy is in the tanker for most all of us, that goes without saying.  But I had friends experience death of relatives, I lost my god-dog (yes I was a fairy dog-mother to Marla’s dalmation) and most turbulent of all I had to have surgery this year.  It was the first time being put under, first hospital stay and a longer than anticipated recovery.  Brutal.  I learned a lot about our healthcare system in the US and personally experienced how desperately we need reform.  It was an amazing lesson in what really matters, who really matters, who was 500% there for me and heavy-hearted who was not.  My take-away from the experience was how grateful and lucky I am for who I’ve got.  My friends whom were all supportive, caring and helpful during that time showed their true colors immensely!  I’m thrilled to say that I am healthier than ever before, by the way!!!

With a year of tribulations behind me I was more than ready to welcome a New Year and the hope which it brings.  I just know it’s going to be a better one!  So once I celebrated Christmas in Big Bear with my family it was time to do something extra special for New Years.  Between my accumulation of Starwood points and my friend’s airline miles we were able to throw together a ’seat-of-our-pants’ getaway to Maui!  We wanted total relaxation, beautiful scenery of nature but most of all to bring in 2012 with arms wide open.  Mission accomplished.  In a moment of delusion I even debated bringing my camera as to soak it all my sights without the pressure of “the shot”.  I was kidding no one, not even myself to entertain such an idea… of course I ended up purposely going out to spots I knew would be epic at the right time of day and hammering out stock work.  My passion for capturing a scenery, a moment, anything unique or special is relentless.

There’s nothing like waking up not only to the sight of whales but the SOUND.  I actually could hear them from my oceanfront villa.  From there we went on to snorkeling with the fishes (anyone who knows me KNOWS how much I love under the sea) an afternoon with a monk seal, birds galore… I overflowed my cup with the things of nature that ground me and make my soul smile!  The few images I pulled to share are a teaser of what fond memories I cherish from this much needed sabbatical.  I am so uber-inspired to sell stock work this year!!  I have some really cool ideas to get it out there.  I’ll be unveiling that by spring…

So here’s to our New Years Resolutions, let’s make some and stick to ‘em.  For me, some are to incorporate reusable bags into my shopping habits, take Lola on more walks (Leroy doesn’t want to), read more, learn more… just to name a few.  What about you?  How can you improve upon you, your life, your future??

And here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012.  Mine’s off to a fabulous start!!!

Sunrise, Lanai

Whales out my doorstep!

These are the stunningly surreal eucalyptus you can find in a couple spots on the island

A cloudy day, but black sand beaches always fascinate me

One of the many single width bridges along the road to Hana

We were going to hop into this lagoon but far too much of a muddy hike for flip-flops

Sunset at Ho’okipa

I fell in love with this, it’s the historical banyan tree in Lahaina strung with Christmas lights for the holidays

I watched this adorable guy come all the way into shore and layout for the afternoon

The traditional lighting of the torches at Black Rock

This one might be my favorite shot of the trip.  Isn’t it so inviting?

This year my fam spent a whole 5 days at my Big Bear home relaxing and enjoying the “white Christmas” feel.  It’s been such a splurge to sleep too much, eat too much, catchup on movies, books, snowshoe in some of my favorite trails and of course spend oodles of time with all of our dogs together.  ”The cousins” just love each other!!  One of the projects I decided to delve into during that time was to comb through all the old, poorly stored family photos.  It’s tragic to admit that every photo from my entire family history fits in one 12×16 tupperware box.  They’re all mixed up with negative packets not matching the prints, photos taken out throughout the years and what little keeps dwindling on in this pathetic collection.  Regardless of it’s sad state it was a step back in time, what feels like three lifetimes ago, to see these photos from Christmases past, birthdays, small milestones.  It amazes me how the background of a simple snapshot can be so telling as the years pass too.  Seeing the home I grew up in, it’s decor… wow.  I never realized that my parents actually hung our art work, framed, on the walls all over the house.  Instead of buying a painting or photo they took their kids paintings and drawings to be displayed it as part of interior decorating.  Really cool right?!  Another fun aspect I caught were the toys I was so excited to open and what was so meaningful through my stages.  The clothing really adds to date it too.  I was obviously a 70’s-80’s kid.  I’m sure it’s a girl thing to associate with a dress or the style that was so important to be wearing (I learned young!)

What struck me the very most had nothing to do with a personal memory or event but the relevance of these photos in general… and what I do for a living.  Photos are so ridiculously important!!!  A photo is fun taken today, worth holding on to tomorrow but utterly priceless 5, 1o, 20 years later.  The value increases immeasurably!  I love that I play a part in collecting memories for people.  Weddings go without saying, but the family portraits, the children and baby shoots are a time capsule for the kids themselves so much beyond enjoyable for the parents to have and share.  I can stare at my parents young and pull features that have grown to be mine.  I can see a single photo and it triggers exactly how I felt at that time, taking me into a time machine to that era.  It’s truly so special and amazing!  The pivotal thing I couldn’t help but be frustrated with was the quality of the paper itself and printing materials.  I’ve always taken pride in saying that all of my prints are on archival based paper.  My parents went cheap and now all of these years later I’m trying to repair and save the tonality and clarity of these photos. A giant reminder to me that quality really DOES matter, for the future much moreso than the now.  Of course a print will look good today, a year, maybe 5 years.  But at the time these images are irreplaceable is when time can take it’s toll.

My own archives proved to be poignant in displaying what I do for others.  As we flipped open each pack of treasures we laughed, we choked up, we literally relived those years together.  My favorite Christmas gift was appreciating my archive of family pictures and the confirmation of my life’s work.  Makes me sleep so well at night to know my work will carry on as a special heirloom to so many who have stepped in front of my camera.

Here are a few little gems I stumbled across that might make you smile!

On to the happy couple…

Most of my work is all word of mouth, proud to say.  So how they found me is a perfect example.  Danielle’s twin brother, Justin, used me for his wedding to Raquel.  Justin found me being the best man in Micah and Ashley’s wedding day 10 years ago.  Micah had found me because I photographed his little sister’s senior portraits.  So with a chain of 3 weddings and a senior shoot here I am showing off the beautiful day of Mr and Mrs Reindl.

I admire Danielle for so many reasons.  She’s beautiful on the inside and out which is really special, but she’s also so fun and creative.  With her Mother by her side (who is just as fun and bubbly) they planned the entire wedding with no professional help.  All the unique details, decor and logistics were set by them!  They knew that Mariners Church would be their ceremony site, then the amazing estate of her parents in Newport Coast for the reception.  It’s not everyday you have a stunning home with an ocean view, let alone the huge lot her parents had purchased next door that hosted the tented reception.  It was like having TWO backyards!  No expense was spared in their delicious menu, live band and attention to one-of-a-kind details.  Everything from wishes by the guests hung on a tree branch to a secret Winder recipe for guests to take home and cook.  Definitely memorable was their mouthwatering dessert station with all kinds of decadent treats for guests to nibble on besides the typical wedding cake.  If you have a sweet tooth you’d be in heaven!  Yep, Kelly and I were drooling!!!

I not only hope to work with Steve and Danielle for all things photo in their future, but to hang out with them and get to know them as friends.  They just moved out to Redlands for work, so only a mountain drive up to spend fun time in my Big Bear house with me!  They are so much more than “clients” to me.

Congratulations to two people so deserving of love and happiness!  Here are some highlights from their day…

We’ve done everything from laying in bed in pjs to building sets (moroccan, winter wonderland, etc) to formal wear on the beach.  This year I can’t take any credit.  Stacy is a super creative very hip kinda woman who drempt up this look and theme all on her own.  She found the location by her home in Newport Coast (a simple rock but with really cool texture) then stylized the family with layers and textures of clothing… very Ralph Lauren.  They could be an ad in a magazine!

I’m so happy to share some favorites with you.  If I wasn’t on such a time crunch with holiday shoots, card designs and orders I’d pull up each year to watch the years pass with their family.  I have them ALL!!!  Below are my very top picks from the shoot.  Isn’t Alexa gorgeous?  And PS-Stacy doesn’t age.  Yep, she looks just as darling today as 10 years ago….