This Moment

A new regular blog feature (inspired by a couple of Waldorf focused blogs I follow), I think it's a great idea to celebrate these little moments in our lives.

One little moment from my week that I am in love with. A moment I am grateful was caught on film. A moment I embraced, discovered and felt connected.

Thank you Lisa Jurado and Erin Losado for capturing this moment for me.

Looking for something fun to do this summmer? | Sacramento Sidetracks = Resource for Family and Child Activities In and Around Sacramento

Recently a client of mine shared a great resource with me for finding fun family and child activities.

Sacramento Sidetracks is a site that contains great information about places offering different activities that are family and kid friendly. It is updated often with alerts on specials and discounts that are available. It is maintained by a Sacramento mom with three children, Keilah Woodard.

She describes the site as, "YOUR ONE-STOP RESOURCE * Fun places to go with kids * Indoor & Outdoor Outings * Upcoming Events Calendar * Birthday Party Ideas * FREE things to do * Reviews of our experiences"

The website address is: www.sacramentosidetracks.com

and if you are on Facebook, the page is: http://www.facebook.com/SacramentoSidetracks

Thank you Nikki for sharing this with us, I have put it to good use several times already.

We learned about this water spray park located in West Sacramento which is only about 25 minutes from Dixon. We spent about an hour there one evening and had a great time. These are some photos from my iPhone:

We also learned about Funtastic Play Center located in Natomas about a 1/2 hour or so from Dixon. Bailey and Ashlyn had a good time there playing in the air conditioning for a couple hours one hot afternoon.

Both places were clean, well-maintained and were not crowded.  I would recommend both of them. I would also recommend checking out Sacramento Sidetracks website and FaceBook page for listings of more fun stuff.

Fun In-n-Out Burger Facebook Photo Contest

Last year, in the middle of the summer, DJ found about this little photo contest one of the Facebook Fan Pages was running for the best photo with an In-n-Out theme. This is what we came up with. Of course, we used our best model, Bailey, who really did get to eat the prop food. We won the contest - I wish I could say it was some of their yummy grub - but it was the honor of saying we won which meant this picture was posted as the profile picture for the page on FaceBook for awhile. Fun!

We LOVE In-n-Out!

More Yuma Arizona Photos

I'm feeling kinda photo-e lately. I keep taking breaks from editing to go through some other personal images and am finding lots of stuff I like. I posted these on the Facebook fan page for the State of Arizona just now. I really, really, love the sky there. I do not miss the heat though!

All images were taken by my i-Phone and edited in Adobe Lightroom. The first three were done in September 2008.



This image was done in June 2009 about one week ago.

Just another random post with a super cute Pug

I recently found this photo I took of old neighbor of mine, Patti Sousa's, precious little pug. It was taken at the first Dixon Downtown Farmer's Market in 2007. I just posted it on Facebook for Patti's page so thought I would share it here as well.

Senator's Wash - Yuma Arizona

On September 8, 2008, one day after my wedding, DJ and I drove out to Senator's Wash early in the morning. The wash is just outside Yuma and really close the base DJ lived on, Yuma Proving Ground. We used to hang out here during the summer as teenagers. However, I don't remember it being as pretty as it looked on this particular morning. One thing I love about Arizona is that the sky is always beautiful.

Bailey and Victoria Koogler

Some photos of the girls from a few weeks ago....

Victoria:



Bailey:

March of Dimes March for Babies Sacramento 2009 Slideshow

The slideshow from the March of Dimes March for Babies on April 25 in Sacramento. We had a great time being a part of this great event.

March of Dimes March for Babies Sacramento 2009

There’s a place for everyone at March for Babies! I was invited to help photograph the yearly March for Babies event in Sacramento on April 25. DJ and I are going to be 'roaming' photographers, there to capture the essence of the event to share with all the teams and other participants.

Teams will be walking for six miles, starting and ending at the State Capitol. Family Teams are made up of friends and family who want to honor babies – babies born prematurely or with a birth defect; babies who didn’t survive, or healthy, full-term babies. Premature birth touches half a million babies and their families every year. Babies born too soon are more likely to die or have disabilities. Birth defects pose another serious threat – taking the lives of many babies and cause lifelong disabilities for thousands more. So it’s important for us to help the March of Dimes help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies.

No one is working harder than the March of Dimes to understand the causes of prematurity and birth defects.

If you aren't attending this event or sponsoring a team and would like to make a contribution to this cause you can go to www.clicktosavebabies.org. Every dollar makes a difference!

Make a Referral Week - Help Jump Start the Economy

Although this post is not photography related, supporting other local small businesses is important to me. I'm pledging to make a referral to a business I want to help as part of a national campaign to make 1000 referrals March 9-13. It's a great small business stimulus plan. Click the badge below for more information about this event and to pledge your support.




Make a Referral Week is an entrepreneurial approach to stimulating the small business economy one referred business at a time. The goal for the week is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the impact of a simple action that could blossom into millions of dollars in new business. Small business is the lifeblood and job-creating engine of the economy and merits the positive attention so often saved for corporate bailout stories.

Rose Photography on Facebook

Are we friends on Facebook yet? If not, click the link in the sidebar to the right and add Rose as a friend! Stay up to date with Rose Photography by becoming a fan of our Facebook Page. Find us *here*.

Rose + DJ's Wedding

Blogged by Ryan



It was a beautiful sunrise in Arizona on the day Rose and DJ were married. The photo above doesn't give justice to what it felt like in person. I'm not a morning person but it was such an honor to watch Rose marry the man she loves. When I'm with them both, you can just tell that it's a perfect fit. The wedding was a small and intimate ceremony of 12 people. The wedding chapel was incredibly cute and everything went very well. I was sad I had to miss the reception but was glad to have been there for the ceremony. Before the ceremony, Rose and DJ did a "first look." Here we have DJ's daughter, Bailey, getting ready to open the door for Rose.





The ceremony was filled with happy emotions



And then sealed with a kiss


Details details!


Cool shots of Rose and DJ









And finally the Rings


Rose and DJ thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. It was an honor. :) All the best for what the future holds!

Of course I have to add a sidenote to this post by Ryan.  First, to thank him for being available on very short notice to be our photographer.  I was not going to do it without him.  Who else could I possibly have to photograph the best day of my life?!  So, Ryan, you did an awesome job and we LOVE you!  Thank you, thank you.

On another note, we have gotten a little behind on our editing and keeping up with blog postings and this is one of the reasons - I have had to have a little time to accommodate my personal life.  Thanks to all our clients and friends for their patience during the past couple of weeks!  -- Rose Koogler

The Koogler Family...

Blogged by Ryan

...well almost! :) The day before Rose and DJ's wedding, we went out and shot a family session in the desert of Yuma, Arizona. I've never shot anything in the desert before and I was so thankful for the scenery. I know that may sound silly because it's desert but it makes for awesome photos! Check em out:

Rick and Melanie

Blogged by Ryan

While Rose and I were in Tahoe, I thought it would be cool to do a session for my parents. The cabin we stay at runs along the Truckee river which made for a cool spot to take photos. Rose was my trusty assistant for their quick session and she did an amazing job!! :) Here are my parents by the cabin..



I made them get in the water


Dad does a pretty good dip! Nice!