Jeremy & Nicole:Rainy day love! :)

This Past Sunday I had the wonderful pleasure of photographing my new friends Jeremy and Nicole! 

It was so much fun as we darted around downtown in and out of shops avoiding rain left and right!  I was quite and experience encountering the public during a shoot as you never know what people around will say or do.   Additionally how can you go wrong when you start by hanging out at Firestone Grill and eating an ABC Burger!  :) 

We ended the shoot by going out Edna Valley to Baileyana Wine Estates  to take some beautiful vineyard pictures! 

It was such a different time to shoot weather wise and as Nicole said these pictures will be really different and they are.  The light was really unique and they did such a good job sticking it out as we all were freezing and the light was really muted.  On days like this it is all in the camera with no love form the Sunbounce or reflector!   She was right as these images do look very different in that they are not your normal sunny day bright feel that we love to do so much, but I really love the calming feel that was captured as I think it really reflects the time we spent together and their peaceful and pleasant attitudes.  

I had such a great time getting to know Jeremy and Nicole and I am so excited to photograph their wedding this summer at the San Luis Country Club!  Stay tuned for more images of this really fun couple!:)

Mikes Shooting Seminar!

The past several days Mike has been having a shooting seminar here at the studio. 

It has been so cool to watch him really poor into the lives of other photographers!   They seem to really be blessed by all of his insight and experience.  I know I have been so blessed to work with him as he is constantly challenging me on a personal and professional level.  He always challenges me to push the envelope and to improve my skill through spending time with my camera and continually gathering inspiration from the world around me! 

The second day of the seminar, we did a worst-case-scenario shoot where we put our model in a not so beautiful spot which is many times the case at events.   

Sometimes when I show up to an event, I really do not get the best of backgrounds and am thrown into shooting in a not so cute hotel or maybe a really poor lit bathroom.   With this real life scenario in mind we had a chance to shoot and to learn more ways to use our technical skills to mask the potentially un-picturesque areas ie: the entrance to a parking lot, and the side of an office building (see photos above).  

This was fun and verry interesting as at one point there were eight photographers and one model crammed into a small dark bathroom! :) 

It was a bit of a bummer as I had to leave before we got to do the ideal part of the shoot which was to take the bride into a really green field at sunset!  :( Oh well!  If you want to see some really beautiful parts of the shoot that I missed please check my sister Sophies  blog for some serious WOW! 

Any way, I really enjoyed this time of challenge and encouragement and I hope for all of you who want to improve and bulk up your photography tool belt, that you will consider signing up for one of Mikes seminars @ stepitupseminar.com.  

Enjoy a few of the pics (especially the large pic of Mike!) above! :)

Lisa & Saro

This past weekend I had the chance to hangout and photograph my new friends Lisa and Saro! It was a beautiful day and it all went so well!
We started at their beautiful home in Avila beach and then went to a trail head at the top of the ridge to capture some romantic views! I was so excited to find a new trail as I thought I had been to all of them in the area.
I really enjoyed the time we spent together both during the shoot and after it, as they invited Daniel and I to join them for some great elk Chilly and a taste of the Super Bowl Game!  Asside from the game, I really enjoyed learing all about them and the unique Italian Herritage that they both share.   
Thanks Saro and Lisa for a wonderful Sunday afternoon I cant wait for your beautiful wedding on 05/31/09!
Checkout some of the shots below. :)