I wanted to take a moment out of our regularly scheduled programming to wish all of my family, friends and clients a very happy Thanksgiving. This year has been filled with blessings and challenges and I really wouldn’t have changed a thing. In truth, it’s been one of the biggest years of my life in terms of life changes, so I wanted to take a minute to reflect and list the things I am thankful for.
This year, I am thankful for:
Chris. This year I became his wife, officially making me the luckiest woman on the planet.
Photography. Bringing this craft to the forefront of my life this year has been nothing short of amazing. I fall in love with what I do more and more each day and feel so lucky to have found my “thing.”
My family. Both sides! I’m very thankful for the family that has always been a part of my life and this year my family has grown exponentially. The Ryders and their extended family are some of my favorite people in the world and I honestly feel as if I’ve won the lottery by marrying into this bunch. Seriously. You have no idea how great my family is.
Frasier. Our little pooch is indeed our furry baby. We adore him and can’t imagine life without him at this point. He had surgery on Monday to remove a very large fatty tumor (lypoma) from his abdomen. He’s been very out of sorts these past few days and we thought he was having some complications but we just got back from the animal hospital and so far all is well. I am so very thankful that he is home with us where we can nurse him back to health.
You. Whoever you are. Whether you’re a fellow photographer who stops by to view my work silently, or through the comments you leave here. Whether youre a past or future client. Whether you’re a friend or family member who is checking to see what I’ve been up to. Or even if you just happened by randomly through a web search. I’m thankful that, for whatever reason, you have visited me here. The images I create aren’t just for me. They are for anyone who is willing to take a look. They are my contribution to this world. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
Here’s a recent shot of Frasiser. Can you blame me for being so in love with this little guy?
I hope you have a wonderful holiday, whatever you do. What are you thankful for?
Michelle and Daniel exchanged their touching vows at the beautiful First Baptist Church of Pasadena. To call this church breathtaking would be an understatement, as would calling Michelle and Daniel a lovely couple. No, Michelle and Daniel are an amazing couple and it was clear on this day just how in love they were. It was an honor to be in the presence of such love.
Michelle and Daniel, here’s to a long and happy life together!
Here are a few of my favorites from the day.
Michelle had quite a lovely dress and it took a while to get everything in place!
Daniel got a little help from his mom…
It was pretty dark inside the church by the time the ceremony started, but I was extremely happy with how the images I made turned out!
After the ceremony, it was off to the reception at the Pasadena Hilton. A few details:
Michelle and Daniel had a really funny choreographed first dance that had all in attendance laughing great big belly laughs. Michelle is the dancer in the family, but check out Daniel’s sweet moves!
Check out the rest of my favorites in this here slideshow!
Ashley and Brandon exchanged their vows in San Juan Capistrano, CA at the beautiful Franciscan Gardens. It was a perfect wedding for a perfect couple and I felt so honored to be there to document the day for them, along with Pam and Ashley of Pamee & Ashlee Photography, who graciously invited me along to second shoot.
From the get-go the day felt incredibly special. Ashley was a gorgeous bride and I was surprised by how calm and serene she seemed to be. The wedding her and Brandon planned was colorful and bright and planned down to every last detail. As you will see, I was a little obsessed with their flowers!
I had a blast at this wedding and I sincerely wish Ashley and Brandon a lifetime of happiness together.
Ashley and Brandon decided to do a First Look before the ceremony in order to have ample time for portraits while the light was still good. Love it when that happens!
We took full advantage of the nearby train station, naturally!
Some details…
I was in LOVE with their flowers!
These crazy kids not only had a wedding cake, they also had personal cakes! No, they’re not cupcakes because these things were as big as my face!
Probably my favorites from the day are these dancing shots. They feel so cinematic–almost as if I screen grabbed them from a film. Love it.
Here’s a slide show of these and the rest of my favorite images from this day. Enjoy!
The second part of my trip to Calico Ghost town is featured completely in black and white. I tend to see things in color most of the time–I don’t have a huge number of B&W images that I’ve made. But Calico made seeing things that way pretty easy and I had a really good time making these images…it felt like I was stretching my legs after an extremely long flight, or something. Mostly, it forced me to use my brain differently, and I think that’s good for all of us.
A couple of months ago I joined an online community for professional photographers called The [b] School. Through it, I’ve begun to forge relationships with local and non-local wedding and portrait photographers who have reached varying levels of success in their careers. It’s been a great resource for me as I didn’t really know too many photographers in this field personally. Well, that’s changed and on Tuesday I even got to shoot with a handful of them during a day trip excursion to Calico Ghost Town. Joe Photo organized this Day Trip and plans to organize one on the second Tuesday of every odd month for a while. This was the first Day Trip and 13 of us had a blast together while we made photos just for us–not a client in sight.
I had an amazing time and can’t wait for January’s trip. Calico had amazing textures, which is something I’m always drawn to in a photograph. I’ve decided to blog my photos in two parts: color and black & white. First up: the colors! Please enjoy:
