Families

Three daughters, three husbands and nine grandkids all together to celebrate Grammy Jane’s 75th

On a cool but sun-splashed day, and on the 19th wedding anniversary of Kristen and Eric, my daughter/assistant Jaz and I met the Haus family upcountry to capture some family photos. The last time I got to capture the Haus family was back in 2011.

Alot happens in nine years even separate from the nine additional wedding anniversaries.

Everyone knows the Fausel family. Whether it’s their delicious peaches or cherries you await every year(and my mouths watering just thinking about them), or the Placerville Hardware store located on Main Street in a structure dating back to 1850, before the city of Placerville existed, or if you celebrated your wedding day on their gorgeous ranch, if you are local, you’ve likely met someone related to the Fausel family.

Family photography session with The Norton family from Davis in gorgeous winter light at Jenkinson Lake in Pollock Pines, California

Fast forward to December 2019 and Xavier no longer the squishly little infant surrounded in pets but an energetic, little guy with a smile that can turn any day around

I first met Chris in Bear Valley where we were working together, Chris as a hair stylist and me as a photographer. She was just putting the finishing touches on our bride Briana’s wedding day hair, which I might add looked just as lovely at the end of the wedding as it did at the start of the day. How do you do that? (check out Acqua Hair Design in South Lake – Chris does some beautiful work!) I was honored when she reached out asking me to come to Lake Tahoe for their first family session. It was a…

Some families just have it. Sure it often takes a little to get warmed up to a camera in front of you and I get that. Though, some families are able to just settle into their own unique vibe rather easily. That was my experience with the McDaniel family. Love, warmth, joy, playful… silly. As a human, so much fun to be around. As a photographer, so much fun to capture. We met in Camino on a beautiful fall evening and spent about 30 minutes or so playing around in the lovely fall light. When our session ended I felt energized,…

It’s the evening before Thanksgiving and if you live in Pollock Pines, you likely just got your power restored after enjoying about 24 hours of lovely snowfall. While it’s hard to have the last working day before the holidays…powerless, I’m grateful for the oven. Yup, the oven. Sigh…mountain loving. But, before I retire to my own family gathering, I wanted to share this blog of some of my favorites with you. This is the 2nd year that I have gotten to photograph the Gustafson family. I went down to Folsom to their new home to accommodate their new pup, Gidget…

Well sorta….it was two Gray sessions in one weekend. We just split one session up….first was an early morning with Jack at the Cameron Park Airport before his flying lesson (really what teenagers want a family session at 7:30am?) and then the next afternoon I met the whole family at a more reasonable hour at Sly Park Lake. There’s so much love in and around this family- it’s always a pleasure. The love seeps in to those around. Melinda and I just determined that it has been since 2005 ish that we’ve known each other as our kids went through school…