Etc

On January 21 I participated in the #WomensMarch in #Sacramento. I volunteered my time to the Women’s March organizers to document this event after my good friend and colleague, Michelle McDaid offered up our services. There were no individual stars in this event like the many brides and grooms that I photograph every weekend capturing weddings. This event was about all of our collective voices joining together, and choosing together not to remain silent or compliant. Like those that have paved the way for my own rights, I felt compelled to continue to pave the way for my daughter’s rights…

When you’re a professional wedding and family photographer, you spend a lot of time photographing other people having fun, but don’t always capture images of your own fun times.  You’ve got to set the camera down sometime!  That was the plan when I headed to the Camp Wakka Chikka music festival Labor Day weekend: just some real R&R with family, music, food, and dancing.  Still, being a photographer, I always have to have at least one camera and lens in my bag as insurance against those “I can’t believe I missed that shot!!” moments.  Fortunately for me (but unfortunately for my…

When Kevin approached me to create a photo montage of the Pollock Pines schools in his district – Pinewood, Sierra Ridge, and Silver Fork – I knew this was going to be a special and very meaningful job.  You see, for 6 years Kevin has been my kids’ school Superintendent, and our community has gotten many good opportunities to get to know him.  Always approachable, he would stand outside the school entrance at drop off to socialize with the students and their parents.  Everybody knew Mr. Monsma!  This hands-on approach has always been something I really admired about him.  This summer he moved on to a…

If you know me, you know how much I love to travel. I enjoy adventure and the excitement of not necessarily knowing what is going to happen next. As a kid we moved around a lot so I guess I got used to seeing new things and meeting new people. I am grateful when I am able to travel internationally because it opens up my eyes to the world around me. One of my favorite things to do is immerse myself into another culture to find out more about how others live, love and experience the world around them. How…

Mike and Leslie are our neighbors. Lucky me, they are so wonderful and kind. Mike is the guy who you can rely on to be at the end of the road in every snow storm, shrinking the burm from the plow with his shovel while Leslie is the kind neighbor who would drop anything for anyone at any time. They both helped us out on several occasions when our girls were younger and, when my assistant Jerri (who was also their daughter’s best friend) faced leaving her friends behind because her family was moving to Montana in her Senior year,…