working on our new house

By popular demand, I'm going to try to post with updated photos of our new home in the next week or so. I also need to take some more shots of the almost-finished office, bedroom, guest room, etc., but of course that requires actually finishing them, cleaning up, and making everything look pretty and tidy. So... those kinds of things might have to wait until 2009!



First up are some shots of Devon painting our cute little linen closet - the "Dill Pickle" green that we also painted our bedroom, with "Mountain Peak White" for the shelves. It's so pretty, I find myself wanting to find reasons to open the door!



I have to admit that Devon wasn't thrilled with me for taking these shots... but I think they'll be the kind of thing he'll be glad to have someday. And since yesterday was our anniversary and he spent it sick in bed, I have to post something involving him today, and these are ready to go.



I know I am biased, but... isn't he just a hunk of a man?



(Sorry, Dev!)





I was kind of shocked at how long it took us to paint just three rooms and one closet. Partly it's because we are doing multiple colors (plus trim, and white ceilings), and we're trying to do a very precise job. But, even so, I'm kind of daunted at the prospect of painting the rest of the house, especially now that our stuff is all moved in! It's going to look great when it's done (someday), though, so hopefully we'll get cracking on that in the new year.

Here are a few more, random shots from over a month ago - so, suffice to say, my office doesn't look so empty anymore!



Lovely view:



And some fall/ winter scenes:







More miscellaneous shots coming up!

a couple of random Polaroid 4x5 shots

A lot of my clients know that I have a vintage, 1920's 4x5" view camera. This camera is basically a wooden box with a bellows, lens, and ground glass. I could get all into the geeky details of how this type of camera works - but instead I'll just link to info here, in case anyone wants to read about it. Basically, this type of camera works with no mirror, and exposes a negative that measures 4 by 5 inches, which results in much more detail (compared to a 35mm sized negative).



Anyway, I love using a now-discontinued type of Polaroid film, Type 55, to create vintage looking portraits for my clients, and several of my 2008 clients requested this service, so I got some good shots in this year. I also took a few practice samples of myself, Devon, his sister Alyssa, and my friend Liz (all 3 of whom have assisted me this year - thanks, guys!) a couple of months ago, and wanted to share the results here.



As you can see, the camera is highly temperamental, unpredictable, light-leaky, and really fun. I'll continue to offer these portraits (either as an add on to a portrait or wedding package, or as a stand alone thing) to clients for as long as I have film. I think I have about 25 or 30 sheets left, so get it while it lasts!

After the Polaroid runs out, I can always shoot regular black and white negative film as another cool (but less instant) option as well.



This final shot, of me and Devon, is a little goofy, but I wanted to share it here because we are celebrating our 3rd anniversary on Monday! I can't believe how quickly the last three years have gone (and the 10 that we've been together, AND the 14 that we've known each other!), and I look forward to a lovely weekend of celebration as well as working on the house. Watch the blog for more portraits and updated photos of our home coming soon!

Happy weekend!

Kandis's portrait session, Santa Rosa, California

Now that I've finished with all of my weddings for 2008, I finally have a chance to catch up with posting some older work here (as well work on a ton of projects). I'm excited to share a few portrait sessions, some random stuff, and photos of the new house!

Kandis is originally from Canada and hasn't been back to visit in quite some time, so she wanted to do a little portrait session, and send her mum some photos of her. We picked this lovely park with beautiful evening sunlight pouring through the oak trees, since it would be very Northern Californian!













Isn't Kandis beautiful?! This shoot was a great reminder to me that you don't need to have an excuse to have photos taken of yourself - it's great fun to model for the camera, and it's important to get shots that represent you throughout your life. There's something wonderful about being able to have an artistic print of yourself to share with people, and I think it's wonderful to have pretty photos of yourself to look at in your hoome.





Kandis bought some frames at the craft store, and then painted them with gold and bronze finishes, and they look amazing! I think that her mom will be thrilled to receive this gift that Kandis put so much care into.



I have a few more windows to schedule holiday/ year end photo sessions, so feel free to call or email me if you're interested in doing a shoot in the coming weeks!

Amy and Brent, 1 Fort Mason, San Francisco

(click on the image for the slideshow)

It took me an extra long time to finish editing Amy and Brent's wedding photos, because I just couldn't narrow down my favorites. So, I'm approaching this blog post with nervousness... they had so many great details at their wedding, how can I possibly narrow it down even more?! Okay, so this is going to be an extra long post, but I don't think you guys will mind, because it is just a gorgeous wedding!



Amy had this gorgeous silent-film-star look (partly due to a fabulous hair and makeup woman, mostly due to great genes) that was echoed in her hair, makeup, dress, and even the venue itself, which was the old Officer's Club at 1 Fort Mason. But I'm getting ahead of myself - the shot above is of Amy getting ready at the Kabuki Hotel in Japantown. Then we drove through the pouring, crazy rain to the venue! Which had beautiful architecture and decorative elements like this chandelier:



plus many details by Amy and Brent and their friends and families, and perfect lighting by Got Light. Because there is such great lighting in the Bay Area naturally, I think many people are tempted to skip the lighting, but it is definitely one of the (many) touches that made this wedding so absolutely fabulous. The wedding date was November 1st, and though it wasn't exactly a Halloween (or Dia de los Muertos) themed wedding, the right amount of autumnal details really made the day special. Okay, I can't stop gushing! I'll try to shut up and focus on sharing the shots:



Amy and Brent glued glitter all over little pumpkins and then left some plain to complement all that fanciness:





I tried to pare down the number of chandelier shots... but couldn't much. Maybe Devon and I need a chandelier for the new house? Cause, you know, that's practical...



I think one reason I loved this venue so much is because I can imagine my grandparents coming here for parties in the 1940s and 50s... you never know, they were in SF society back when a ballroom was actually used for balls.



Just a touch of Halloween-y creepiness, cut with the most amazing chocolate cupcakes I have ever tasted. These were made by Sibby's Cupcakery, SO so tasty!





Cute little graphic design of a wedding cake cut into the jack-o-lanterns! You can tell that Amy and Brent really had fun with the details and decorations. I think that they had the ideal amount of DIY mixed in with hiring professionals... keeps it fun and personal, but also low-stress and easy. They also hired Michelle at Layer Cake Films to shoot Super 8, and I enjoyed getting to know her (and can't wait to see what she came up with!).



A little dramatic window light before the ceremony. I think Amy was nervous but she looked beautiful!





Short, simple and sweet ceremony (which is always a great way to go!):



We did a lot of great family and bridal portraits, all inside with extra flash, which I am really happy with. However, I'm going to cut to the chase and share the photos that have a little more element of play to them:







So debonair! Brent was looking pretty classic and classy himself.



Okay... now I know that I am getting known for getting a shoe shot (or several) at each and every wedding. But, I ask you, how can I not? With amazing shoes like these... I'm particularly a sucker for bright blue, and I looooooooooved Amy's shoes!



Another great part of this wedding was how much Amy and Brent completely adore each other. I can see that they're going to have a long, happy life together.



So here's the thing: they came down from Vancouver, B.C., to get married in San Francisco. When Brent and I chatted on the phone in the weeks prior to the wedding, we talked about the possibility of doing portraits out on the big lawn at 1 Fort Mason, and maybe even traveling down to the beach for some couple shots. Rain was a possibility, but I promised it wouldn't rain (ack!), seeing as how this was my last wedding of the season, and we had had maybe 4 days of rain since April. So... it was probably sunny and gorgeous in Vancouver, but it poured almost nonstop all day on Amy and Brent's wedding day in SF. Ah, well.

I had a vision of taking the wedding party outside with umbrellas for portraits, and then right when Amy got psyched up enough to give it a shot, and everyone made it outside, it started raining so hard we got maybe 2 shots and had to come inside!



Luckily, there were lots of great nooks inside to continue the fun:





Great toasts, including one where Brent's best man surprised Amy's bridesmaids with a mall-posed photo of the three ladies in high school. Awesome!



Once I find out who made the cupcakes, I'll be sure to update it..



The DJ was also great (and I need to get his name as well), and, again, the lighting really set a mood:









There was a lot of boogieing-on-down. A few kids changed into costumes, and these great masks made the rounds - after all, it was only a day after Halloween and people wanted to continue to celebrate!





After I ran my hands through the chandelier, I made Amy and Brent do the same. She was a big too little to reach, so Brent gave her a boost and I got these dramatic, lovely shots:





Thank you, Amy and Brent! I so enjoyed working with you two, and wish you happy years together.