I have been on vacation in Yuma, Arizona visiting my family for the holidays. On December 23 I photographed an engagement session for my niece, Michelle, and her fiance, Mike. We went to the "old mall" in downtown Yuma for the session and a public golf course for some sunset photos. It was very different for me to photograph here as the landscape is not as lush as I am used to. However, there are some incredible sunsets just about every evening. Click here to view their slideshow.

On December 3, I photographed Ashley and Bobby's maternity session. Their first child, a daughter, is due in early February. We plan on having me photograph the birth as well.

On November 27, I photographed a family portrait session for Jim and Sue Avery at their home in Dixon.

Rebecca and Kris are getting married on March 25, 2006. We photographed their engagement session on November 23 at Andrews Park. The great weather we were still having was really amazing. See a slideshow of their session.

Stacie & Pat Ming had their daughter Janie (yes, same child sleeping in Santa's arms) photographed in her christening gown on November 22. It turns out that Janie is quite the little poser.

I photographed the VanLaningham family at a private residence in Vacaville (thanks to Jacqui Everheart for the use of her home) on November 21. View a slideshow from their session.

Each year, Dixon Florist has a great holiday sale that Santa comes to visit. Everyone (almost) loves to have their picture with him. Sometimes parents have to get tricky to have the portrait taken. In this case, Janie was passed to Santa's arms after she fell asleep. I think it's funny about how her parents will explain this picture to her years from now.

Amy Morgan asked me to photograph her triplets, Jack, Ella, and Andrew for their holiday portrait on November 17. After the formal portrait, I spent some time photographing them while they played.

Sandra and Ramon had the most fabulous weather for their wedding on November 12. They planned for some extra time for portraits in downtown Vacaville and Andrews Park.

Michelle Fraley had a portrait session done of her children and their cousins on November 11. We went to Black Tie Arabians in Dixon because of their beautiful landscaping.

Rick Tully is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Dixon. On November 10, we updated his professional portrait.

Sandra and Ramon had their engagement session at Capitol Park in Sacramento on November 8.

Nottingham's, a great children's clothing and accessory store in Woodland, ran a holiday portrait special with me on November 6. The photo shown here is the son of Rachel Medina, owner of Nottingham's.

Mia Murray is graduating from Dixon High in 2006. We photographed her senior portrait session at Stevenson Creek Bridge on November 4.

Every Halloween in Dixon, all the downtown businesses host a trick-or-treat for the children. I photograph all the kids in their costumes at the Women's Improvement Park. This is a cute photo of a cowboy from the day.

Carrie, whose wedding I photographed two years ago, asked me to do a portrait session of her brother and sister on October 24. It was a beautiful evening in the park.

I photographed the Miller family at Andrews Park in Vacaville on October 23. See all the fun we had.

Whew!...I've had a very busy couple months which has put me way behind in updating the newsletter.

Going back to October 21, I photographed a large family portrait for Monica Nelson at their enormous, gorgeous home in Dixon. One of my favorite pictures from the day is the last one we took showcasing a small part of the front yard.

On October 23, I photographed these two cuties, Wade and Joshua. Not only are they cousins but they were born only one day apart.

On October 16, I photographed Joey for his one year portrait session. His house had a gorgeous koi pond with landscaping, but I just love this picture of him climbing the stairs - one of his favorite activities.

Complimentary Engagement Session

In celebration of my birthday, I am offering a complimentary engagement session for all weddings booked in the month of November. The session is valued at $249.00 and includes an 8x10 image catalog, ten 4x6 prints, and one 11x14 print.

Call today to schedule a consultation, dates are filling up quickly!

The Cypress Album offers a new level of sophistication in design. Individually handcrafted by artisans, their albums are enveloped with Japanese bookbinding fabric and bound with exquisite ribbons from Switzerland. The presentation box is also covered in your choice of fabric and ribbon and are ideal for storing and presenting matted prints for weddings, children, and pregnancies.

I am excited to announce that I have added these beautiful albums, presentation boxes, and folios as an option for my clients.

You can view more photos of items on the Cypress website.

I photographed the wedding of Erica and Benson on Saturday, October 15, for Jade Studio Productions. We went to the arboretum in Golden Gate Park with the wedding party after the ceremony. It was soooo much fun and very difficult to pick one image to showcase because there were so many great ones! The wedding party was very fun and even had a race across a field (the bride won). This image is a take off the Jack Vettriano painting, "The Singing Butler." We had no rain, but were prepared for it because the morning was a little misty.

It's always terrific to receive a thank you note.......

"Rose, The photos just came through and Brian really likes them both. Thank you!!! You are our full service family photographer - which includes the "beauty queen" (KC) little Miss K-La and the horses!!! Thank you for your expert help in restoring my mom and dad's wedding picture and the frame you chose is perfection! I know my mom will treasure the wedding picture and there won't be a dry eye at the party today when it is "unveiled". The love and care that you put in to your work shows in the beauty and quality of your photos and your professionalism is unsurpassed. Thank you for working around my crazy schedule and for making me feel at ease and comfortable at my photo shoot this morning. I am looking forward to having you photograph my horse and I for the advertisement that we discussed. Again, thanks for making my photos original with the look that will stand out and catch attention. You are amazing."
Sincerely, Your Friend - Karen Duncan & Family

Stephanie Senecal, her mother, Carrie, and I went to the Davis Arboretum today for Stephanie's senior portrait session. She will graduate from Dixon High next year. I thought Stephanie had the most beautiful hair color and the sun just made it glow.

Karen Duncan had her first promotional photograph as a real estate agent done today. She will be working for ERA in Dixon. I love the colors she chose for the session, she looks great! Congratulations on your new venture, Karen!

I photographed Stephanie Hamilton's senior portrait session today. Stephanie is graduating from Dixon High in 2006.


I had a lot of fun at our session and have to thank her mom, Cindy, for assisting me.

Tori Radcliffe is a new agent for Schuster Real Estate, who will soon be opening an office in Dixon. On October 13 I photographed Tori for her business card.

KC Brett-Mertz, a senior at Dixon High, won the title of Dixon May Fair Queen this year. Yeah! to KC. These are some photos of KC and her horse, Elle.

Monique and Juden wed in Vallejo on September 24. Besides being a great-looking couple, they sure knew how to throw a bumpin' party for their reception! View a slideshow from their day.

Gabrielle Boggess and Casey Bettencourt wed at the Oakleigh Wedding Center in Fair Oaks on September 18. Gabrielle just graduated from McGeorge School of Law and took the CA State Bar. What an undertaking to do all of that and plan a wedding! Congratulations to these high school sweethearts!

I photographed the wedding of Rowena and Gary for Jade Studio Productions on September 17 at St. Mary's College. It was quite an impressive church and a very fun-loving wedding party.

Quincey Quiring and I worked together on two separate days for her senior portrait session. We went to the Davis Arboretum and Stevenson Creek Bridge. Quincey is graduating from Dixon High in 2006.

Megan Liang and Dave Jahan wed on September 10 at the Hiddenbrooke golf course in American Canyon. Dave had ten (!) groomsmen, who came from all over the U.S. to be there that day. What a great group of friends.

Congratulations to Megan and Dave.

I photographed an engagement session for Wendy and Albert in Levi's Plaza in San Francisco (where they had their first kiss and where Albert proposed) on September 11. Their wedding will be at Stanford Memorial Church on October 22. This job is for Jade Studio Productions which is a wedding and portrait studio located in San Francisco.

I've had a busy few months since my last update. I was in Rhode Island at the beginning of September to visit my brother, Mark. There was great weather, great seafood, and great company. I had a terrific time. Because I had never been there before we did a lot of exploring. I even got to have a 'slice of heaven' at Mystic Pizza in Mystic, CT. To those of you who haven't seen the movie, this will mean nothing to you. Anyways, it was darn good pizza and interesting to see where the movie was made.

Here's a collage of images from a day at the beach with Mark where he had to show off his surfing skills. No real waves, but I was still impressed!

Amy Lindsey and Shane Doyle married on August 12, 2005 at Lake Natoma Inn. (A busy month for Amy - she just took the California State Bar and is soon to be an attorney). What a fun wedding! I'm betting I probably won't photograph another wedding where the groom enters the reception wearing a football helmet and a superman cape! Congratulations Amy and Shane. Thanks to Rebecca Esty for this referral.

Dixon resident, Cecily Bernhardt, recently passed her state board to become a licensed real estate agent. I had the priviledge of photographing her for her first professional image. Doesn't she look great?!

Congratulations to my friend Rebecca Esty on her engagement. Rebecca and Jason are marrying next year on March 12. I photographed their engagement session at the Davis Arboretum. Here is one of our favorite images.