Friends, Family and a photo collaboration

This is a total throwback to April 2012 and I am excited to finally have some catch up time on the blog to share some of the things I do in between my commissioned shoots.

1.  Travel
2.  Create new projects to shoot and practice
3.  Spend time with my loved ones

I travel frequently up to Mendocino County in Northern California because I have family in that area and they are so great in referring their friends to me for work, so it's a double win!

I was so excited for this trip in particular because I had been planning a "meet-date" with Sarah Wolfe of Sarah Wolfe Photography, she is quite talented (check out her work here) and lives in Seattle, Washington.  Sarah is friends with my cousin, Nadine, who has graced the blog with her beautiful face a few times over the years.

We had planned to do an afternoon of shooting and I was excited!!  It was so great to watch another photographer shoot and learn from and vice versa.  I admit, I was nervous being watched as I photograph because it's such an intimate thing for me, but I had a blast.  I feel through every shoot I do, I get to know each individual through the lens and on a more personal level than just through simply talking, it's a bit difficult to articulate exactly what I mean, but I hope that these images will explain that.

Sarah is a fantastic person to spend time with and I so appreciate her taking time to be in front of my camera and have fun.  She also photographed me, which I usually get anxious about, but had a great time!  I also had the pleasure of meeting Ashley Roberts, an aspiring and talented makeup artist.  She is absolutely gorgeous and was totally model-worthy, I loved it!

Enjoy :)

 The beautiful Sarah Wolfe.

 Meet Ashley Roberts, love her jacket and hair.

 These gals have been friends for many years, so sweet!

 My cousin Nadine (on the left) is so beautiful, such a sweet person.

 In love with these two frames, ah!!

Turlock Journal Reader's Choice Award 2012

As I write this, I am sitting here with a huge smile on my face because I am so honored, humbled, overwhelmed, excited and touched.  An emotional jumble, but a good jumble.

I was notified yesterday afternoon that I was selected as "Turlock Journal Reader's Choice Favorite Photography Business".

Me!  Little ol' me, out the many talented photographers in this city, I was voted by the people of Turlock as their favorite!  Tears welled up in my eyes reading that last sentence.  

What a surreal feeling.  Absolutely surreal.

I had to re-read the email I received about 10 times to make sure it wasn't a joke and when I read it aloud to my husband he responded with a resounding "HELL YEAH!!"  and a high five, gotta love him :)

So this has definitely kept the wonderful high from my recent trip to Hawaii going.  I'm so blessed to do what I love, day in and day out.  Because I know that I would continue to do photography even if I wasn't being commissioned to do so because I love it so much!

The people I've met on my journey in photography have been incredible, without them I would have no business.  I attribute my success thus far to the many clients, family and friends who have believed in what I do, love my work whole heartedly and love me, it is because of you all that I am where I am in photography right now.  I am just at the beginning of this wonderful road of photography, I am so excited for what is to come!

Thank you to everyone of you out there who have taken the time to vote for me, it means the world.  I am truly honored.

Cheers!

Evening on the farm

I venture out to my parents house almost every evening to enjoy the peace and solitude that one rarely has while living in town. As I grow older I have an equal love for the city and country, I love the hustle and bustle of my little city and I crave the open fields, orchards and slower pace of life out in the country where I grew up.

One early evening in March I found myself in need of some inspiration, a new personal project to dive into, so I drove out to my parents house and went to the neighbors across the street and talked to the lovely Holly Smith about her beautiful horses and other fun farm animals she had. We got to talking and before I knew it, we were on a tour of her family farm and I had my camera out snapping up every little detail.

I love that when I am looking for inspiration I find it in the ordinary, daily life that we all too often overlook.

That evening was a true representation of my life and heart in that moment, free, calm and open to see the moments in between that are beautiful.

Take a moment to enjoy the moments in between, they happen so quickly, but can be so magical.

Into the sunset

A preview of what is to come tomorrow...

I am a country girl at heart, living life in the city. A trip Mom & Dad's house is always a great way to wind down and relax.

Meet, Becky, she's a gorgeous horse.

Angie + Jose, Holiday Portrait Session, Pageo Lavender Farm, Turlock, Ca.

Happy New Year! Wow time has just been flyin by, 2011 was wonderful, had a lot of great sessions that I finally have time to share with all of you!

Angie and Jose are such a great couple! I have known Angie for 10 years(WOW!), we met in our high school women's choir and have kept in touch throughout the years. She likes to update her portraits with her husband, Jose, every year, which is fantastic!

We met, on a beautiful fall November afternoon, at the amazingly gorgeous Pageo Lavender Farm right here in the countryside of Turlock! I didn't know that we were so close to such a beautiful venue until I took a short drive from my home to meet with Angie and Jose. The farm is closed during November to get ready for Christmas season in December. So it was nice to have the place to ourselves for their session.

Let me tell you, we had a blast! It felt like we were somewhere else while doing this shoot, jazz music and old standards were playing over the outdoor sound system, the early evening sun was just beautiful and it was a quiet afternoon. Just me, Andy, Angie and Jose. Quite a romantic setting :)

Angie let me know ahead of time Jose is not a "smiler" and I told her not to worry, we would get those smiles out of him! And with a little coaxing and joking around, he smiled (a few times, hahah!) but we captured it perfectly! Enjoy my favorites!

Nadine + Jose, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.

November is always my favorite month of the year, fall is in full swing, the fall color is gorgeous, we can wear layers and sweaters and my birthday just happens to be in November! 

My wonderful cousin, Nadine, and I had planned back in the springtime to take a trip to Monterey/Carmel for a combined celebration of our birthdays (her's is just a week before mine in October) and we planned to do a nice weekend getaway with my husband, Arnaldo and her boyfriend Jose.  We had such a great time, full of relaxation, enjoyed the ocean breeze, wine tasting, incredible food and just spending time together.  It was just a really great time and we both realized that this was truly special because we had grown up together, grew apart for a short time and now are closer than ever, we are more like sisters now and I wouldn't trade our time together for anything!

Arnaldo and I really got to know Jose during our weekend together and we can definitely see the love and how much he adores Nadine, which is really sweet and makes me very happy because she truly deserves nothing but the best.  He is a fabulous guy and only wants Nadine to be happy and I love that he mentioned "...just being with her makes me the happiest, we don't have to do anything as long as we're together." 

Awww, how sweet is that ladies??

So...while in Carmel, we did a wonderful session of Jose and Nadine just because.  There wasn't a reason, I had a camera, they were willing to have a great time and we got some great images from the time we did the shoot.

Enjoy my favorites.