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!

Distinguished Artist: Yvonne Porcella, Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock

This past spring I had the honor and pleasure of photographing a luncheon to honor the incredibly talented, nationally acclaimed artist, Yvonne Porcella.  Her works were on display from mid-January to mid-March.  She has created beautiful textiles that have been collected by the likes of the Smithsonian, de Young Museum of Art and the LACMA just to name a few.

Quite talented.

At the close of her show, she was celebrated for her contributions to the art world over the past few decades and it was a packed house.  The president of board for the Carnegie, Patti O'Donnell, was the host for the afternoon and a running slideshow of Yvonne's most popular works was running on repeat throughout the luncheon.

Guests were invited to view the annual Spring Juried Art Show in the gallery after lunch and I mingled with my camera, capturing all in attendance.

I do a lot of work with the Carnegie Arts Center and I'm so proud to be a part of such a wonderful art community here in my town!

 Yvonne with the Executive Curator and Director (and dear friend) Rebecca Phillips Abbott

The Cuellar Family

Ah, the Cuellar's...

One of my most favorite families to photograph and spend time with :)

This lovely family has been featured on the blog a couple of years ago and my dear friend, Anita Cuellar and her larger than life, spunky and fun daughter, Annaliese were on the blog last fall.

I always love a reason to celebrate and when Anita called me to tell me her stepdad, Chuck, was graduating from college and wanted to do a celebratory session right after the ceremony, you bet I was there!!

The Cuellar gals are a blast to spend time with and Chuck is such a great guy.  It is always a great time with this family.

Congratulations Chuck on your accomplishments and best of luck to your future, you have earned it!  A huge thank you to Anita for always thinking of me and having me be your photographer, it is truly an honor!

Tegan turns 1 !

In January my sweet niece, Teagan, turned one! Baby's first birthday is always so fun and special and it has been such a fun 1st year watching Teagan grow into her own cute little self!

It was so neat watching her grow from a newborn to baby to learning how to crawl, very slowly and then almost overnight into a little crawling machine, to suddenly walking when she was just shy of 10 months old. Now she runs...every where! My sister in law, Amanda and I were looking back on her photos from her first year and talking about how she is now becoming a toddler, not so much a baby anymore, and her little personality is shining through now.

She is a character, loves to play, dance, sing, hang out with daddy on the couch, give hugs and blow kisses, snuggle with mommy, she is very daring and is a girly-girl too. She loves jewelry and all things girly, it's so adorable.

I photographed Teagan at home one afternoon because we were designing her birthday invitation and Amanda wanted a few prints that she could use to decorate Teagan's big girl room.

Of course, photographing babies and toddlers is fun and we worked hard to get the images we did, but it was so much fun! Teagan was like a little bullet, running all over the livingroom, me chasing her with my camera and mom trying to keep her outfit looking nice, it was great!

Enjoy my favorites, can't wait to share more from her 2nd year as the months go on!

Food, Wine & Photography

This shoot kicked off this year into high gear!

It all started with a phone call from Scott Smith, catering director for Chartwell's at CSU Stanislaus. He was interested in doing a creative collaboration with me and his extremely talented Executive Chef, Connie Bearden.  He asked me if I do food photography and I said absolutely!

We had a blast on this shoot! Chef Connie created their popular dishes and a few of her specialties for the shoot and we got to sample every dish, let me tell you, not only does her food look beautiful it tasted incredible too!!

I highly recommend Chartwell's for your dining and catering needs (small or large functions), they go above and beyond the call of duty for their clients.

Bon Appetit!

  Crab Salad with Avocado & Mango Vinaigrette    Mixed greens with Roasted Grapes, Almonds & Chevre  Cured Salmon with Creme Fraiche on Potato Blini with Capers  Tri-tip with Red Wine reduction & Chicken Marsala with Mashed Potatoes  (Left)Stuffed Chicken with Sun-dried tomatoes & Spinach & Goat Cheese with blood orange Beurre Blanc & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes(Right)Filet Mignon with Cabernet Reduction
 (Left) English Trifle with custard, berries & sponge cake(Right) Strawberry Shortcake
 Strawberry Shortcake   Popular wine offerings at Chartwell's: Louis M. Martini, Cabernet Sauvignon;         William Hill, Chardonnay; Apothic Red, Winemaker's Blend

The Latest

I know I have been away from the blog for a couple of weeks and I apologize for the absence.  The great news is I have been doing a lot of shooting, so you will definitely see some great things in the next few weeks!

So excited to finally share with you my food photography debut!  Just one peek for tonight.  I had such a wonderful time working with the incredibly talented Chef Connie and her staff at Chartwells Catering located within Stanislaus University!

Enjoy this preview, more to come this week :)

 Left: Stuffed Chicken with sun-dried tomatoes & spinach & goat cheese with blood orange beurre blanc & roasted garlic mashed potatoes Right: Filet Mignon with Cabernet Reduction

Holiday Session, The Perez Family, Stanislaus State, Turlock, Ca.

I loved this family session! The Perez Family is so darn fun and cute, we had a wonderful session back in December. The kids, Dezarae, Savannah and Alexander were very sweet, had a ton of energy (which was great!) and their mom, Angelica, was so wonderful!

During our session, Angelica and I learned we went to the same high school and graduated the same year (2002)! We will be seeing each other at our reunion later this year for sure, hahaha!

I absolutely love what I do and the fabulous people I meet along the way, I treasure each and every person I meet and get to photograph. Some of my favorites from this session are the kids just running around and being totally in their environment-being kids. Those are definitely moments that you can re-live, always look back and remember the great times you had when your children were little, because we all know (whether you're a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle) how fast kids grow and before you know it they're adults!  I've found it's the little things in life you treasure the most.

What a gift photography is :) Love it!

Holiday Session: The Couto Family, Stanislaus State University, Turlock, Ca.

This family session was so much fun! The Couto family is Laura (mom), Steve (dad) and Persephony, their adorable daughter. We met on a crisp Sunday afternoon for their shoot and had a great time!

One of my favorite families to photograph, they were so willing to have fun and be themselves. Persephony, "P" the name she usually goes by, was a doll! She was such a sweetheart, loved the camera and showed off some of her ballet skills while we were together, it was absolutely precious! Mom and Dad were so great for their own mini-shoot within the family shoot, they are very much in love! And Laura is absolutely beautiful, her style was so fun and cute!

I had to share my favorites from our time together, this family is sweet and loving, it was awesome!