Pacific Grove on iPhone 6

Yesterday was hot, and I have a sunburned back to prove it.  We drove down to the Monterey Bay and spent the morning and the early afternoon on the beach of Pacific Grove's Lover's Point Park.  Save two dead sea lions rotting in the sand and seagulls stealing whole bags of Cheetos, it was an amazing Saturday.  The ocean was calm and clear, the sky was a deep warm blue, and the light was brilliant, promising the arrival of summer soon.  The kids slept through the entire ride there, and only whined a little bit on the way back, nothing a song or two couldn't take care of.  Also, Grandpa John stopped by and hung out with us, making the family fun complete.

I didn't bring my camera as I already had a ton of stuff to carry (traveling with kids is like a perpetual move across the country, even if it's just a day trip), but I had my phone charged and my eyes peeled for the good sights.  I am very happy with the snapshots I took home - my new year's resolution was to return to shooting for my own pleasure, and it's definitely working out great.

I hope you are having a spectacular weekend, too!

Escape to Santa Cruz

This weekend we visited Santa Cruz.  It was like coming home - suddenly I didn't look like the odd kid on the playground, but blended perfectly in the crowd.  The weather was magical, be it a little ominous in light of the snow blizzard that's engulfing the East Coast.  Temperatures in the low 80 confuse the heck out of my biological clock but I admit I enjoyed it.

Santa Cruz is an amazing place!  It is the land of the fifty year-old skateboarders.  There are beach bums, regular bums, and just people who look like bums but aren't.  Nearly everyone has tattoos and their hair is a bit too long, and they wear weird clothes.  Tie dye is very popular here.  So are VW vans in bright colors.  I saw an actual open top military Jeep pass by full of teenagers who were listening to Sublime as loud as they could.  The rich drive their vintage cars on Highway 1, and the not-so-rich ride bicycles and carry all of their earthly possessions on their backs.

There were a billion dollar view villas overlooking the Pacific, piercing parlors and record stores, liquor stores and cafes, souvenir shops, cotton candy and deep-fried everything on the Boardwalk, calliope music and arcades, yuppies and hippies, yoga moms, youths looking like gangsters, people smoking cigarettes and other stuff at street corners, beach goers and surfer dudes, and sunshine - lots and lots of sunshine!

And honestly, as crazy and unusual all of this seemed, I feel it's still more natural and organic than the wastelands of Suburbia.  In Santa Cruz there's a real sense of culture, of community.

We arrived at high noon so I resorted to taking photos countre jour.  I was shooting while pushing a stroller, so don't judge my composition technique too hard!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Smiles, Puppies, and Levitation

As you can guess from the title, I had a very fun shoot this weekend!  Thanks, Deb, for opening your home for me and sharing your beautiful family.  Here's a little preview - enjoy!

Boys Will Be Boys

Johnny, John and Julian in the good light during the golden hour.

Oh, and Julian finally got his first tooth!!!

Enjoy and happy weekend, peeps :)

Fun With Grandma

We drove up to Coyote Point Marina yesterday, took a nice hike in the sun, and had an improvised photo session with Grandma and the kids.  The morning winter light is amazing; the portraits I took with my DSLR, and the landscapes are from my iPhone.

A Family Affair

Today I share a photo collection of my lovely friends N&J, who also happen to be my most loyal customers so far.  This is the fifth time I take their family portraits, and every session seems to include one more kid than the previous!  And let me tell you, getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time is the best kind of practice I need for my craft.  Luckily, they are all very photogenic and good looking, so the fun is always greater than the work.  Thanks, guys, for sharing your happiness with me, and letting me try and capture it!

P.S.  The next session will be exclusively for goofy faces and poses.  You rock at it!

 

The Gang

I really ought to hire someone to take a proper family portrait of us, but until then these should do.

 

A Good Sunday

We attended a great birthday party today - there were animals to pet and friends to talk to, and although we couldn't stay for the cake, we had such a fun time.  Getting out of the house and taking photos was long overdue!

I am loving the beautiful warm light in these.  As the season changes to Fall, the sun shines so softly! 

Youth is a perpetual intoxication; it is a fever of the mind.

~François de La Rochefoucauld

This is most probably our last photo session before the baby comes in a few days.  I wanted to capture the three of us the way we are now - absolutely unaware of what life will be as four.  We are happy to find out, though.  It will be tough in the beginning, but it will also be so much fun.  I am sure of it.

My Dad too joined us this weekend, and I am quite fond of how his portraits turned out.  The light was amazing that morning - going on noon - and it kept changing in the most interesting ways as we moved through the park.  I like how the trees filtered it, and even the part-shade, part-sun headshots turned out fine.  The bokeh is almost painfully good here, and if I wasn't as partial I would have found it distracting.