Bridal Session in the Desert

Fun, fun, fun - We had a great time at Picacho Peak State Recreation Area doing Michelle's bridal portrait session. We borrowed the awesome props from her soon to be mother in law's store, Timeless Elegance Antiques. Michelle is not going to be wearing a traditional dress at her wedding so we used a beautiful vintage gown. I loved being able to work in the desert, even though we couldn't find any of the saguaro cactus we were looking for. That is actually the moon you see in the sky in the bottom image. You can view Michelle's slideshow **here**.

Catching Up......

I'm currently in AZ, supposedly on vacation, however I'm starting to pick up quite a few sessions. It will be challenging and exciting to work in an entirely different environment. I'm also hoping, again while "on vacation" to catch up with posting all the work I've been doing on this blog.

I'll start catching up by posting my latest wedding, for Jenica and Kevin, which took place in South Lake Tahoe, NV on December 15.


This is one of my favorite images from their wedding. We actually went out the next morning, back to Edgewood Golf Course for a fun session. We did a few things inside utilizing the beautiful architecture then braved the 24 degree temperture outside for as long as Jenica could tolerate it. I was happy to get the chance to do that and really think the images came out great! You can view their slideshow by clicking **here**.

A Unique Christmas Gift Idea

Thirst Relief International

Consider funding a concrete bio-sand filer on behalf of a friend or family member. Your $50 gift provides a source of clean drinking water for those in need in the Brazilian Amazon, sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond. For the first 50 to respond, you'll receive a Thirst Relief t-shirt and a Summer 2006 newsletter to announce the gift to your loved one. To take advantage of the free t-shirt offer, all donations must be received by December 15 to ensure timely shipping for Christmas.

Visit www.thirstreliefinternational to learn how to contribute. Indicate t-shirt size when ordering.

Okay, I'm sorry for not posting on here regularly. I have been chastised too many times...,It's good to hear, though, how many people actually keep up with this blog!

So, here's what I did today for Trevor Hoffman.


Isn't he a little cutie! He is the son of Misty Hoffman, who is a regular client of mine. You have probably seen her daughter Hannah's slideshow earlier this year.

Trevor was such a good sport and a great little model. I can't wait to have him back.


Keep reading ...... I have a lot more jobs to post up here. I promise, I'll get some more up soon. :)

In early October I went to the Albers dairy to photograph their family portrait session. They have around 5,000 cows on the farm. It was very interesting to see how it all worked. The boys, Dylan and Tyler sure have a lot of fun playing around. View the slideshow **here**.

I did a portrait session for Spencer Kurowski to commemorate his second birthday at the Davis Arboretum. Spencer is sure becoming quite a little character. At our last session he was very interested in dandelions and this time it was sticks. We brought along a couple different things to keep him occupied, like a baseball, which he loved. He also had a great time chasing all the ducks. You can watch Spencer's slideshow **here**.

Ana, Ramiro, and I went to Old Sacramento yesterday for their engagement session. Although I got stuck in traffic and hit by another car on the freeway on the way there (minor scrapes to my truck - that's why I drive a BIG Dodge), the session went terrific. It was hard to pick just one image to show on here. To see all the cool stuff we captured, check out the slideshow **here**.

One of my prior brides, Carrie, brought her niece, Laura, in for a session as a surprise for her sister, Laura's mom. We went to the park at the Ulatis Community Center in Vacaville. Laura was so much fun and she brought her friend "Johnny" (imaginary) with her. She had to keep grabbing him to have his photo taken with her. Laura wasn't too sure about me in the beginning but once we started talking about ice cream she warmed up. View Laura's slideshow **here**.

I photographed the wedding of Tom and Jennifer in Saratoga, NY on September 30. We did their engagement session the day before the ceremony. I don't have the wedding edited yet, but view the engagement slideshow **here**. I absolutely loved the locations we used. The first part of the session was at the Saratoga Spa state park, where we were staying. We then went to a park in the center of Saratoga. The park was great with lots of greenery, water, and architecture.

I photographed a commercial session for Web By Design of California for the website of a restaurant in Vacaville called Reggie's Island Grill. In addition to photographing the location, they had prepared about a dozen of their menu specialities to be photographed as well. The best part of the shoot was tasting all the great food when we were done with it. I can highly recommend the fried bananas, YUMMMY!! You should definitely have dinner there. The restaurant is located at I80 and Leisure Town Road.

This is a group portrait for a law firm in Vacaville, Hodson & Mullin. We scouted locations ahead of time and actually decided on the front of the new police station in Vacaville. The whole group was a riot to work with, they were all so funny. I couldn't believe how they could ever get any work done in their office.

This was my third session with Glenda, who likes to have her portrait updated every other year. I bet you will never guess how old she is as she is incredibly youthful both in appearance and personality. Here are a few of my favorite images from Glenda's session which we did at the Davis Arboretum.

I wanted to say "Thanks" to everyone who reads this blog regularly and also apologize for getting a little behind in my posting. Many of you may know that one of the reasons I am a little behind right now is because I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro (my very first Mac) and have been working hard to switch over to the new system. The system itself has been a breeze to work with and I'm really excited to start working on some of the new products I'll be offering that I'll be able to creat on the Mac. The second reason I'm a little behind is because I flew to Saratoga, NY to photograph a wedding on September 30 - posts from there will be coming soon....so please check back! Thanks again everyone and I appreciate your patience while I play catchup.

Lindsey and Troy were married on September 9, 2006 at the Community Bible Church in Vallejo. Lindsey's father, who is also the pastor of the church, both gave Lindsey away and performed the ceremony.

It was great to have the time to run out to the waterfront in Benicia to get some terrific images. I did not photograph the reception, but it was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. For some reason, blogger is not letting me upload an image to display here, but you can still view the **slideshow** from the day.

Thanks to Shannon for helping me out!

Announcing Zachary Braeden Hodel - August 18, 2006

Congratulations to Kevin and Nicki Hodel on the birth of their first son! I got to meet and photograph Zachary today for the first time. He got a little tired of all the fuss after about an hour, but was a great model for while. I made a collage of some of my favorite images from our session. Isn't he too cute?! Here's Zachary's **slideshow**.

Ryan and I photographed the wedding of Della and Kai on September 2 in Pleasanton. They were such a fun couple to work with, they kept cracking each other up. I don't know if I've been met two people with such quick wit, smiles, and easy laughter. I know they're meant for each other. They had planned to elope but their close friends and family insisted on a wedding, which they did in the backyard of the home of one of their friends. I found out that the entire wedding was planned in just one month. I think it turned out great and I'm glad that I was available to capture their wedding memories. View Della and Kai's **slideshow**.

I wanted to post two images from the day. The first one is taken by me and the second is taken at the same time by Ryan while he was laying on the ground with his favorite lens - the fisheye.

Alex Otani drove down from Chico today for his senior portrait session. We photographed his session at the Davis Arboretum. Alex was great to work with and I'm so glad he brought his jersey and helmet, this is one of my favorite images. Click **here** to watch Alex's slideshow.

So, this post is for Kathryn to see if she will read the blog and get this sneak peek of images from her and Adam's engagement session tonight in Old Sacramento. **Slideshow**. Kathryn and Adam are getting married next year on September 22 at Ledson Winery. Ledson is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait for their wedding.

Well, it was extremely difficult to pick just one image to post from Melissa and Pat's wedding at Lake Almanor. There were just so many incredible images, especially from the next day in the meadow seen above. You can view their slideshow **here**. Congratulations Melissa and Pat and thanks for being so adventuresome in your wedding garb!!

I had posted this image way back in March from Becky and Jason's wedding. I thought it was a very cute photo of the flower girl. Well, apparently others find it just as compelling. I just found out that it won first place in the WPJA summer contest in the getting ready category. This is super exciting news because it was an international competition for some of the best wedding photographers in the world!! You should take a minute to visit the WPJA web site to view all of the winning entries.

I had the most incredible weekend at Lake Almanor photographing the wedding of Melissa and Pat. One of the great things about it was that we went out early the next morning to this awesome meadow overlooked by Mt. Lassen for a photo session. Here are some photos of Ryan and I hard at work. Ryan's got two cameras, two camera bags, the reflector, and of course the essential sunglasses. I've got two cameras, one camera bag, the bride's hat and her veil. We had a terrific time and I can't wait to sort through our 3,000+ images!

I had the opportunity to assist Lori Paladino of Lori Paladino Photography at a wedding at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club on Sunday, August 20. Lori was terrific to work with and the entire wedding party was very relaxed and funny. I put together a quick web page with my favorite photos of the day. Click **here** to view the page.

The weather was perfect and the location was a dream - I love outdoor weddings! I had a chance to reflect on what a perfect job have, while I was savoring the pan seared California Rock Cod on the outside terrace overlooking the golf course at sunset. Can you think of a better way to end a weekend? Anyways, it really made me feel grateful that I am able to share in these special moments of life that bring friends and family together.

This is an image of the ceremony site from the terrace.

I had the chance to photograph a wedding with my friend, Barton, of Barton Brown Photography in Sacramento, back in July. It was great to run into my favorite makeup artist, Cynthia Uranga, doing the bride's makeup that day. I put together a collage of images showcasing Cynthia's work. If you are looking for professional makeup for your wedding day, you should definitely contact Cynthia at cynthiauranga@aol.com, or 916-300-1601.
Her website is www.eyfordetailartistry.com.

I photographed the wedding of Jennifer and Jason at the Point Bonita Lighthouse, which overlooks San Francisco Bay, on Friday, August 11, 2006. We went to dinner in Sausalito immediately following the ceremony so we had time to take some incredible shots there. The reception was held on Saturday, August 12 at a private residence in Winters. There was nice little lake at the reception site and I even got the two of them into a kayak for some photos. Their **slideshow** is a little long, but definitely worth watching.

I also want to make sure I send a special thanks out to my assistant, Ryan, for doing such an awesome job at this wedding. So, mucho gracias! Ryan, you're the best.

The 12 Steps of Brides Anonymous

Exciting new opportunity for me.....I recently received a voice mail from a woman identifying herself as Dr. Bride. Yep, just like you I went, "huh?, this I gotta hear". It turns that Kristina Bryan, or Dr. Bride, is an Emotional Issues Consultant. Now, if you can't understand why any bride would have the need for an emotional consultant, you have (1) never been married, (2) never been to a wedding, and (3) are probably a man. -ha, ha, had to throw that in.

Anyways, Kristina is one of the neatest and most interesting persons I have ever met. She has just authored and is in the process of publishing a book titled The 12 Steps of Brides Anonymous. I've only had the pleasure of reading a chapter excerpt, but can tell you that I see a best seller here. What a perfect handbook for every bride!

Kristina and I are collaborating on a couple of different projects, but one that I am very excited about is shooting the cover photo for her book! We have a very interesting idea and I can't wait to get started on making it a reality.

In the meantime, if you want to contact the Dr., her phone number is 707-450-9865 and her email is dr_bridehere4u@yahoo.com.

Awards of Achievement

I am proud to announce that I won two awards of achievement last night for images I entered in the print competition at the Professional Photographers of Sacramento (PPSV) meeting. I scored an 80 on both images which means that they ranked in the outstanding category. :)

The first one is called Comfort Zone and features Madisyn and McKenna Kolb of Dixon.

The second one is titled Mesmer-eye-zed and features K-La Duncan of Dixon.

Thanks girls, for being such great models!!

Heather and Brian are getting married on July 7, 2007. We took a long drive to Murphys to do their engagement session. I had never been there before and really enjoyed the quaint charm of the town. We had a lot of fun doing the session, we even took a nice break from the heat and had ice cream in the cutest little shop. I'm posting my favorite image of the session, but there are plenty more great ones in the **slideshow**.

This is my new all-time favorite wedding photograph. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE every wedding that I get to do and the opportunity to capture these moments for future generations. However, there is just something that speaks to me here. It is such a romantic and loving photograph! It was taken on August 5, at Mary and Tom's wedding. There were many other awesome photos from the day - you can check them out on their **slideshow**.

I was really excited to get to photograph Hannah Hoffmann again. I did her first portrait session about a year ago. This time her mom, grandma, grandpa, and great grandma joined in. I designed another album from her session because I thought it turned out so great. See Hannah's slideshow **here**.

I photographed the wedding of Kurt and Alma in Yuba City on July 29. This day was so unique for several reasons. The bride and groom got ready together in the same house, they rode together to the ceremony, the reception was at the bride's sister's hibachi restaurant where everyone was entertained by the awesome chefs, there was a dragon dance, and the couple exited the reception under an arch of sparklers. Needless to say, this made for some incredible photographs. By the way, the entire event was put together in about two months by the groom's mother, Cathy. I think it turned out terrific! View their slideshow **here**.

I wanted to share another image I really liked from Jennifer and Jason's engagement session. I liked it so much I entered it in a WPJA contest. Cross your fingers for me - I should find out within the next week if it placed or not.

Jennifer and Jason are getting married on August 11 at the Point Bonita lighthouse so we wanted to go to San Francisco for their engagement session. We went during the extreme heat spell we were having and the 70 degree-ish breezy weather felt incredible. We walked around for a couple hours and found a lot of cool places for photos. The owner of a new shoe store near Fisherman's Wharf let us in to use his cool red wall for some photos. If you have a chance to get there, make sure you check out Shoe Envy - neat stuff and very nice staff! Here is a collage I made of the urban style images from the day. Check out the slideshow **here**.

I photographed the Kolb family on July 14 at the Davis Arboretum. We had a great time and the girls were terrific little models. I designed a 7x7 album from the images because it turned out so well. View a slideshow of the album **here**.

Jolene and John married on July 8, 2006 in Davis. The wedding and reception took place at a private residence with a beautifully landscaped backyard. Some of the neighbors got involved and had us come over to use their yard and pool for part of their portraits. I just love this picture of the two of them, that was so cute for Jolene to do that. Congrats you two, enjoy your **slideshow**.

I received some very exciting news yesterday! I am proud to annouce I have been accepted into the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA)!

It is quite an achievement to be accepted as my work has to meet their standards of excellence. It feels incredible to be a part of the this extremely talented group of photographers from all over the world! To put it into perspective, they state that, "Less than 5% of wedding photographers out there qualify for membership."

About the WPJA:

"Leading the way in Wedding Photojournalism, WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity."

"The WPJA was founded to uphold excellence in the area of wedding photojournalism. "

To read more about WPJA visit their website (www.wpja.com). Also, NEWLY LAUNCHED!—VISIT WEDPIX MAGAZINE! WedPix, the Wedding Photojournalist Association's Magazine, is a complimentary bi-monthly resource for brides and grooms, photographers, wedding planners and all wedding photojournalism enthusiasts. The wedding articles (www.wedpix.com/articles) featured include wedding photography advice for the couple, technical discussions, feature articles on WPJA award-winning members, business/marketing discussions, and many others.

Kristy and Dan got married at the cutest little chapel in Yolo County on June 17. It was a great choice for a more intimate ceremony. They had a small reception at Kristy's parent's house in Davis. Kristy's son, Levi, couldn't resist the lure of the swimming pool and had to take a dip during the party. View the **slideshow** here.

I had the opportunity to assist my friend, Lauren Cohn-Frankel, of Cohn-Frankel Photography in El Sobrante, with a wedding in Napa on June 24. What a blast! Lauren is sooo much fun to work with and the wedding was one of the most unique weddings I have ever been to. I don't even know what words to use that would fully describe the splendor of the day - opulent goth?? I hope the images here evoke the feeling of the day and the personality of Nicki and Jeremy. The wedding took place in the backyard of Jeremy's mom's house and yes both of them are wearing pink (even down to the groom's pink shoes)! The castle is actually their "guest house" and the dance floor was constructed over its moat (swimming pool). And.....they are cutting the cake with a five foot sword. Can you get any cooler than that?! Only in Napa, or maybe LA.......