A New Year for this Photographer

Wow. That's really all I have to say right now. In case you didn't notice, it's 2011 already! And we're already more than a week into it! Remember my New Year's post from last year? I have the same exact sentiments about 2010 as I did about 2009 a year ago.

I once read that, as we get older, the years seem to go by quicker because each year takes up an increasingly smaller percentage of our total lifetime. I have no idea if that's true or not, but I do know that 2009 whizzed by before I knew it, and now 2010 seems to have been even shorter. Like, crazy shorter.

But it was a really good year! I know most photographers do their year-in-review in photo form, but I'm going with what I did last year and I'm going to sum up 2010 in words instead. (I like being different, ok?) Here's how I saw 2010:

I was away from my hubby on our anniversary, so I spent it watching a Chargers game at a friend's house instead. :)

We enjoyed the top layer of our wedding cake on our 13-month anniversary, and it was WAY more delicious than I ever imagined it would be! Seriously, couples, don't fear the year-old cake! :)

I met up with some awesome photographers and formally shot my first wedding!

I booked my first wedding!

I got personal and successfully blogged every day for a week as part of Diabetes Blog Week.

I took a trip to Miami Beach to attend the AIA convention, then hubby and I escaped for a road trip up to San Francisco (with stops on the way up and back). Both were awesome!!

I assisted two award-winning photographers at a wedding that was featured on TLC!

My family came out to visit us here in California--so fun!

I was booked solid for a month shooting weddings here in SoCal!
I put a collection of images up at the ZTA Gallery; opening night was amazing!

I met up with my family in Durango, CO to celebrate the holidays.

I have LOTS in store for 2011! Check back soon for more updates, including my new role as organizer of the San Diego Shooting Group! Also, I'm in the process of re-doing my website and blog, so that will be coming up in the next few months.

I already know that 2011 is going to present one of the most challenging experiences I'll ever have to go through. I'm not looking forward to it, but I know that I can and will handle it--especially with all my friends by my side. And, before you ask.... No, I'm NOT talking about a mini-me! :-P

So, how about some images, huh? :) Here are some shots from my recent holiday trip to Durango, CO. My hubby, my in-laws, and I drove there and met up with my immediate family as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We did this trip for Christmas in 2007, and we had all been itching to go back!

One morning, hubby and I rented snowshoes and took a trek up the mountain near where we stayed. I had never snowshoe'd before, and we had a blast!

One day, my parents, hubby, and I went on a sleigh ride around Haviland Lake. Here we are before we took off. (My photographer dad took the picture of us.)

Here's the stable at Rapp Corral.

The next day, we took a trip on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. During the winter months, the train doesn't go all the way to Silverton, but the trip was awesome and we had some incredible views of the mountains and the Animas River below. Gorgeous! This first set of two images was taken using the Diana lens I got for Christmas! It was my first time to use it, and I definitely need to play with it more. :)

A big snowstorm hit the night before we left! Here are a few views from my parents' room the morning we headed out.

Back home, I snapped a few images of our decorations before we took them down for the year. First, the holiday cards we got!

And here's a small image of one of my favorite Christmas ornaments and the gingerbread tree we made this year. The ornament is one we picked up when we were in Hawaii on our honeymoon. :)

Here's to 2011!

Read more...

Happy Holidays!

Here's just a quick post to tell everyone that I hope y'all have a fantastic Holiday season filled with good food and great fun!

Here are some of the presents under our tree this year. Besides the gift bags I ordered from the fab Cactus and Quail (on the right in the first image), I decided to use what I had around the house to wrap the rest of our gifts. Namely, ribbon and lace that my grandmother had given me from her stash, paper shopping bags, and a snowflake stamp I had. I think it all came out quite nicely, don't you?? ;)

Stay warm and enjoy the season! See you next year! :)

Read more...

Lauren and Frank are married!

Well, I'm not really sure why it took me so long to blog about this gorgeous, October wedding! Aimee Westcott invited me to join her to capture Lauren and Frank's special day at Balboa Park. We started off at the intimate Saint Francis Chapel across from the Museum of Man. I had never been inside that chapel before, but, wow! It was gorgeous!

But, get this! Besides the obvious same-name thing, Lauren and my wedding day had all sorts of similarities! We both lived in Washington, DC, at the time of our wedding, and planned it long-distance so we could get married in our hometowns. We both painted our toenails blue, our dresses were similar, and our cakes even looked alike! I was secretly re-living my wedding day all afternoon! So fun!!

 

We only had about 20 minutes to rock some portraits with Lauren and her ladies, but she was excited when Aimee suggested that we do them at the fabulous May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Garden at the San Diego Museum of Art. So beautiful!

I just love all the contrast in the shot below!

Here are Lauren's last few moments as a single lady! :)

Frank's mom gave a blessing during the ceremony.

After the ceremony, the bridal party met up for photos at Alcazar Garden.

Lauren's brother was having a little too much fun while holding the Maid-of-Honor's bouquet!

 

See the blue toenails?!

Getting a little touch-up during the portrait taking.

The reception was at The Prado restaurant in Balboa Park. It was the perfect setting to end this wonderful night!

I love this image of Frank watching Lauren enjoy her father-daughter dance!

Congratulations, Lauren and Frank! I hope you are enjoying your first holiday season as husband and wife in the nation's capitol! 

p.s. Check out Aimee's shots here!

Read more...

The G Family

Check out this fun family!

Sonnia and I are volunteers for a Marine Spouse group at Camp Pendleton, and I bothered her for a few months to get out in front of my camera. An opportunity for us to get together sprang up over the weekend and I jumped at the chance to meet up with her, Brad, and their two handsome sons at the Oceanside Pier for a short session! Nevermind the 49ers jerseys they're wearing.. This family was a hoot to shoot!

 Isn't Sonnia just gorgeous?!?

"The pointing shot." Sonnia and Brad's older son kept throwing his fingers up, so I asked them all to do it for a shot. Check out little J! He had no idea he was the only one pointing in the opposite direction, and his expression is priceless!

I love it when a family has a little fun during their session!

Thank you, Sonnia and Brad, for (finally!) allowing me to capture you and your awesome kids!

Read more...

Help Portrait 2010

If you read my last post or if you've been following my tweets recently, you already know that I spent last Saturday with the awesome Help-Portrait San Diego crew. We rocked our portraits this year, and it was SO exciting to participate again!

We started out at St. Clare's Home in Escondido in the morning, where our fearless leader, Jamie, had this amazing spread set up for the families! Hello, delicious!

The fabulous Chriselda had collected all of these stuffed animals, and each child was able to pick one to take home! How awesome is that?!?

We then moved to Solutions for Change in Vista for our afternoon sessions. SFC is where I participated last year, so it was fun to see some familiar faces among the staff and families!

All in all, it was a GREAT day for all of us! Following are a couple shots of fellow volunteers from the SD crew. (We used each other to test our set-ups before the families came in.) 

Child prodigy, Graham:

and Chic-Fil-A rocker Ryan: 

Thanks again to all of the volunteers who made Help-Portrait 2010 a huge success! I can't wait until next year's event! I've already marked my calendar: 03 December 2011!

Read more...