Cristina & lil Nathan, City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Ukiah, Ca

Well hello there blog, it's been a while...

I have been m.i.a for quite sometime, but for great reasons! Photography has been keeping me so busy, it's wonderful, so fortunate and blessed to be able to do what I love day in and day out and it never feels like work!

Now that it is fall, I have to play catch up on my blog.  Poor blog has had no love for far too long.

That is about to change.

I am so excited to share with you a session from early in April featuring the lovely Cristina, aka my best cousin/friend/everything, and her little man, the always adorable Nathan. It's been a while since I last photographed Nathan, he is now 3 years old! Can you believe it? I can't sometimes.  He has grown up so fast and he talks so much, he is so sweet and loves his mama to pieces.

When I was visiting them in their hometown,Ukiah (if you've never been, you must, it's tucked away in Mendocino County on highway 101, 2 hours north of San Francisco) we went to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to spend some time together and take a few pictures. I really enjoy going there because it is so peaceful and quiet, beautiful peacocks roam the grounds and it's a nice place to take a stroll and relax.

Enjoy a few goodies here because there is quite a lot more to come in the next few weeks ;)

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.

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!

Family generations and a baby

Photographing the love in this family was such a sweet moment for me. It was even more meaningful to do this mini-shoot on Valentine's Day, the day dedicated to all things "LOVE". We did a 4 generational session and it was so great! Cynthia Flesher (in red) is a dear business friend of mine (and an excellent massage therapist!), she asked if I would come to her sister's home and photograph her, her mother, daughter and granddaughter while her mother was visiting from out of town.

It was such an honor to photograph and meet such a wonderful family. And how cute is little Josslyn?? She was 5 months at the time of our shoot and was as sweet as can be! She is absolutely adored and cherished in this wonderful family.

I am thrilled to share my favorites from our session, family is what life is all about. Enjoy!
 (Left) Josslyn & mom, Jackie(Right) Josslyn & grandma, Cynthia
 Grandmother, Vickie & granddaughter, Jackie   Mom & Daughter, Vickie & Cynthia

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