I’ve always had a love of words… when they are arranged as such to ‘say’ something ordinary in a beautiful and/or meaningful way, they almost sing to me out loud!  As of late, so many words have provided such meaningful comfort to me… written affirmations are a reminder of the simple abundances present in our daily lives…  You could say that my passion for photography, can be correlated to my desire to tell a story- so whether by way of a photograph OR with flourishing words and lingering phrases, let the story be told!

All that said…

I recently created the following wall hanging pictured below, with a quote by Henry David Thoreau, “There is no remedy for love but to love more.”

I have a limited number of weathered and distressed boards, and have considered taking special orders (i.e. different quotes) if there is an interest.

Along with my Mom and daughter Bella, I have secured a booth at the local Farmers Market for tomorrow, Tuesday June 28, 2011.  The Manteca Farmers Market runs from 4:30-7:30pm every Tuesday through August, for more info. click HERE.  I will have at least one finished board with me, along with a nice variety of specialty garden items and plants, think beautifully arranged succulents, found and upcycled items and one-of-a-kind handcrafted altered art bracelets, and unique-stylish leather cuffs, ALL designed and created by myself, Bella and my Mom.

All three of us are super excited for tomorrow, and hope very much to see you there!

I remember the first time I was smitten with a boy… it was a shyness-inducing, cheek-warming, giggle-creating, fuzzy feeling…

So, as a Mom, reliving these fond affairs through your own daughter’s cheerful experiences is nothing short of: sheer GLEE!  And though she is only 5, I find it to be incredibly sweet!

With pleasure I agreed to photograph this handsome family with a lovely daughter and TWO adorable sons. (one whom is good friends with my Bella and sweetly refers to her as “The Glorious”)!!!

It was most appropriate that this session took place at the 1897 Railtown Historic State Park in Jamestown!  The S family loves trains- so what better location to record this segment of the family timeline than at a place with no shortage of the coolest railway cars and a roundhouse!

T’was a completely relaxed YET fun-filled afternoon with this 5-some!

Without further adieu, I present a handful of my favorites…

I don’t know about you… but somewhere along this road of life, probably at the intersection of iPhone & photo app, a delicious obsession began brewing…

A thorough review all of the images I’ve captured on my iPhone (3,907), showed a consistent emerging theme: FOOD.  The perfect diet?  Or a new creative outlet???  The latter I confess… because when food is as beautiful as it is delicious- DO indulge!

Recently I grabbed an amazing read about food photography that has this inspired exploration in overdrive!  The satisfaction of a perfectly baked, broiled or BBQ’ed edible just went over-the-top!!!  The make-your-mouth-water factor is multiplied by 1.000 when every morsel is arranged artfully in the viewfinder…

With that—>

I INVITE YOU TO:

eat with your EYES!

Oreo Cheescake Pretzel Bites

Doesn’t the warm-glow of sunset at this time of year bring to mind thoughts of your favorite beach scene?

Even though time and miles have separated me from this lovely wedding in Pismo Beach last year, the sunny citrus hues and soft warm sand speak rising temps and balmy summer nights.  I felt it the perfect opportunity to catch up on posting a collage or two highlighting a few of the beautiful details and handsome couple from this top notch Cliffs Resort event!

Cheers to the Bride and Groom, a very lovely day ’twas!

need I say more….

A wedding from earlier this year.

Finally getting caught up- Not quite there, but seeing the light is a wonderful thing…

I’m going to keep it simple, three words in fact:  Gorgeous.St. Helena.Wedding!

to this sweet little gal!

As we made our way around town… stopping here and there… capturing and documenting a special milestone…

She was nothing short of happy, fun and delightful-all the way around!

Thank you to Mom and Dad for the opportunity to capture these special moments.

Enjoy xo

that I sit down, write some stuff and share some images!!

Thank you for waiting patiently as I have selfishly neglected this here blog.  Make note that I have a goal to post more often and more timely… ::crossing my fingers::

I have lots to say, beautiful images to share… really i do!!  [three weddings and a baby in fact].  AND I will over the next couple of weeks, but for now it’s all about something just a bit different today.

In between clients, sessions, e-mails, downloading, editing, stylizing, consults, etc…  I have also been up to some colorful.crafty.handmade goodness.  Many of you know this about me, some of you may not… i LOVE to craft- and in no particular order or favor-I love to sew and paint and glue and cut, tear and fold and collage.  I am completely obsessed with throwing a fabulous party.  I love to garden.  I love to decorate.  I love to stylize, and that would of course include my love of fashion.  I LOVE to re-purpose, I love fabric, lace, sequins, felt and tulle, I love paper (think old books, music sheets, sewing patterns, etc.).  I love to cook and bake, and of course I love to take photos of my various creations.  And in case you hadn’t noticed-I love my iphone camera-a whole other post for sure.  Anyhoo, you get the picture right?!  This creative (otherwise crafty) part of me, is where I truly believe my artistic mojo begins.  I can actually feel it spilling over into my photography.  Like any artist, I have lull’s in my creativity, and some years ago I realized that it is more prevalent when I neglect my desire to create or craft.  I am also a perfectionist, I am hard on myself, I’m an ‘all or nothing’ kind of gal, when I desire to do something-I will stop at nothing until it’s done.  When I have a vision-I want to run-like-the-wind with it, I am not Martha Stewart…  I just smile and say, that I am a girl, on a *huge* mission to make.do.and.capture all kinds of this and that.  I am not even close to being halfway there… and that’s OK by me.

Allow me to share with you a few of my latest projects and creations.

I plan to be back very soon to feature that sweet, adorable, baby girl I mentioned… her 1 year images are some of my favorites to date!

Until then… xo

Jett James.

With a name like his-you just know this little guy is bound for stardom!  This handsome {almost famous} young man completes the trifecta of adorable redheads that Mom and Dad have placed all their bets on!

As always I am honored and consider it a an extra special duty to be able to capture the first fleeting days of a newborn’s place in this world.  I couldn’t have been more willing to make this family smile even more-so about their sweet addition.

I present to you the handsome, the darling… Mr. Jett James!  (isn’t is fun just to say!?)

enjoy xo

Summer 2010 family vacation:  Manhattan Beach, CA.

We stayed at the elegant and sophisticated Belamar Hotel ::sigh:: this place was heaven in a beach town!  A stylish, chic.boutique hotel, with it’s modern-retro décor.  The Belamar poses a touch of LA glam with a modest, funky vibe.  Each day at 5pm the hotel staff would set out a pedestal of foil wrapped-goodness, these were an ultra popular treat with the guests, including us, who could not get enough! Yes, Hostess ding-dongs, one of the perks of staying at the five-star Belamar.

Too bad that I thoroughly enjoyed the four walls of our fabulous room for an entire day, sick as a dog, I lay cooped up in bed all day that Sunday!

I was not going to let that stop me from enjoying the beach the next day AND thankfully I was feeling myself again after about 24 hours.

The overcast skies and golden sand between my toes, the view from the pier, retro beach cruisers, the colorful lifeguard towers, the list goes on…

(*confession time* I LOVE to photograph surfers!!)

I am not sure when or what it was exactly that began my love of photographing surfers.  Capturing a group of surfers patiently awaiting for the perfect wave, the hustling motion of heading into the great waters, a moment in the midst of an intense gaze into the ocean, a restful moment at shore atop the mighty surf board…

OR my absolute fav-a handsome group of surfers appeasing me with a playful pose, all of these said moments have ROCKED my photography mojo!

(following photo taken in Pismo Beach April 2010)

SO, without further adieu, I present bits and pieces from our recent trip to Manhattan Beach…

**collage above is due to arrive this week as a fabulous 18×18 gallery wrapped canvas!!!  SUPER excited!