A-SESSION LOCATIONS- Mountains

When Megan contacted me about her upcoming marriage to Avery I was so excited. Not only for her, not only for Avery and not only for me (as I was obviously hoping to be asked to photograph the celebration). I was so excited for the joy that this occasion would no doubt be bringing her family, his family, their families. That made me happy. I’ve been friends with the Byers family for years and got to capture both Megan’s and Travis’s high school senior photographs. It’s connections like these that make the experience of photographing a wedding that much more…

Quick- we have power, we have internet! Upload, upload, upload images, run laundry, run the dishwasher GO!  You think I’m kidding? That’s the reality around here at the moment…how long will we have power? No one knows. The last time I got to photograph the Valdez family we were at Sierra at Tahoe and along with my “sherpa” husband, we chased them around the snow slopes making captures of their favorite winter sport together. This time around, instead of a winter theme, we went with fall…because fall is really the best around here and you don’t even need any power…

When you are seven years old and slip into the lake upon arrival for photographs gently soaking your blue jeans, what do you do? Well, you just roll with it…or run with it, or jump with it, or ride with it. Does it matter to a seven year old? Not really, well…..perhaps a nudge on the knee and a nudge on the ego but after that, did it even happen? I’m grateful for Tom and Graydon and getting to capture this father and son. Tom has an amazingly big heart that his son has clearly inherited. Grateful for Graydon, grateful…

Briana and Danny came ready to party! Taking over an entire mountain-top resort in the incredible Bear Valley, California, this fun-loving couple, their friends and family, started the celebrations the night before we arrived but that didn’t stop the festivities on their big day. The whole day was nothing short of joyful with many unique and personal moments, starting with a unique and heartwarming first-look for Briana, not with Danny, but with her grandparents. It was hard not to have tears in your eyes as they saw Briana in her dress for the first time, or when they walked her…

Andrea and Paul have been married for 22 years and in that time they have opened their hearts and their home to grow their family in many ways including through the foster program. I met Andrea and Paul through my amazing neighbor Leslie who also opens her heart in so many ways to help the community. They all met through Westside Church about 15 years ago and it was Leslie who said to me, “this family needs some photographs.”  And they did! Andrea and Paul got into the foster program for the simple goal of wanting to keep families together.…

Zoie. Vivacious, fun, spunky, (my neighbor) and such a beautiful young lady. Currently a high school senior at Union Mine in El Dorado, CA playing on the basketball team, working for the infamous and adored, John Sanders at the Old Town Grill in Placerville and looking forward to graduating this coming May. After graduation Zoie plans to become a paramedic because she “wants to help people who really need it” and “doesn’t want people to go through trauma if she can help it”. LOVE her heart. In her spare time she likes to read, ride motor cross and hang out…

Elise’s world came caving in this past January when in a few short weeks she lost both her healthy father to a unimaginable heart attack and her home and belongings to a fire. I don’t think anyone can fathom this loss. Elise and my daughter have known each other since grade school and often played soccer together on the same team. Elise’s dad Joe, one of the kindest and most generous people you will ever know, was a friend of ours and his loss is felt deeply in our community. Elise graduates from Union Mine this May and like most…

When Heaven called me after being referred to my business for a Tahoe family snow session right after the holidays, I was ALL in. Well, except for that part where we needed SNOW and SUNSHINE…and in a defined period of time. That’s a tall order. Anyone who lives around here in the mountains and that skis knows that it doesn’t usually work that way.  Weather is more predictable about 2-3 days out as it changes so fast. Other than that, it can be a crap shoot. I recommended the Echo Lake area due to the elevation and better probability of…

When the Shull family arrived at Sly Park Lake, Kerri and Chris looked incredibly familiar. Then, I realized I knew them due to their -flash mob- fame. Yup, flash mob fame….not everyone can claim that. They were front and center,  flash mobbing, if you will, at a sweet 16 party this past summer. When our mutual friends, the Andersons (and my “forever” clients) referred them, I knew I was in for a wonderful session. And was it…the light and the clouds that day were extraordinary. The day after a fresh snow, Kerri, Chris and their sons James(14), Jack(11) and Jace…