Early one morning last week, my trusty assistant (and daughter) Jaz and I headed out to meet Ayumi and her mom, Akemi. A field of green, wet with the morning dew and the moisture of a rainy spring, greeted us as we captured Ayumi in the soft morning light(and a few bugs too). Later this spring, she will be graduating from high school and heading onto California State University, Fullerton to continue her interest in theatre. A beautiful young lady, a bright smile, a cute hat and all that with her bold dreams ahead of her. I’m not normally a morning riser but for this type…

Senior Photographs, Spring 2016 High school graduation: that incomparably magical time of life when one story ends and another begins. When the known security of childhood is still large in the rear mirror and yet the unknown but exciting future of adulthood is within grasp. That time when you’re so full of energy and life and hope and plans and dreams… and it’s all bursting through your very seams. There’s no way around it, this is a milestone that comes around only once. And, like all of life’s important moments, you’ll want to press pause for a moment to capture…

After about two weeks of gorgeous spring weather here in the mountains we awoke to Nyron’s first birthday session and rain in the forecast just like Kailey’s maternity session. Since it was his actual birthday, we decided to not let a little rain get in our way(just like when he was in Mom’s tummy) and all met to capture the smiles of this growing baby resembling more today, “a little boy”.  It does go by so fast. A bright red wagon, a colorful bunch of balloons gathered by Dad earlier that morning as he was getting off work from his EMT shift,…

This was truly a fabulous day. JaNee and Bobby couldn’t have been any kinder to my assistant Ashley and to me. Having just met six months ago their marriage truly brought together their family and friends(and many for the first time). January 2, 2016 was a lovely but cool and very crisp day at the lovely Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills. JaNee was a trouper(my kind of bride) who braved the brisk temperatures to ensure that she and Bobby had lots of lovely images to remember this day by. The decor was formal and holiday inspired with lots of twinkle…

The Bartolo Family- With their youngest in Philadelphia embarking on the first year of her college adventure, Jim and Tammy decided that it is finally time to downsize and sell their beautiful home in Pollock Pines, that Jim actually built. There’s a lot of love in that home. And, with all of the girls and grandma Josephine in town and available over the holidays, it was a perfect time to capture them all in their home, the home they all grew up in (even Jim…ehhh, maybe not- likely still working on it). And I can say that because I’ve known the Bartolo’s for awhile so…

Derek’s was a Senior session for a senior-senior, since he actually graduated last year and is transferring to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo to study viticulture. Derek is a snowboarder and a body builder, as well as an aspiring viticulturist. He has a wonderful smile and a lovely relationship with his mom, Robin, who acted as reflector holder and assistant during our session. ( I knew she wanted to be there to take it all in:) After the session around the family’s gorgeous property and Christmas tree farm, Robin invited me in for a cup of tea and some home-made hard…

I have been photographing the Anderson family now for more than a decade. Like me, they have two tweenage/teen children that are busy with sports and social activities. And, like me, getting on their family schedule can sometimes be a military operation, especially as parents Jessica and Brett also coach soccer multiple times each week. That’s exactly how we found ourselves almost at Christmas before we scheduled this year’s session. What a blessing in disguise, however, since we decided to shoot at the family’s Folsom home to avoid the uncertainty of winter weather. The Andersons have a beautiful house and are…

Little Grayden has a special place in my heart. In a heart-opening demonstration of the circle of life, I photographed his birth less than 24 hours after I received the news that my father had passed away. Clearly it’s an emotional experience I will never forget and I will always feel a connection to this family as a result. Since then, sadly, Grayden’s parents have separated. Dad, Tom, works in Redding and doesn’t get to spend as much time with Grayden as he could if his job was closer and so he asked me to capture them together recently, during…

We uncorked a bottle of Pinot Noir and chatted between shots. I learned that they have been together for 20 years, that they are adventurous, love to travel and are in fact heading off to Portugal for three weeks this month. By the time we were done it had felt more like a girl’s happy hour than a photo session, although we had more than enough gorgeous shots of them together.

You may remember the Orlino family from their newest addition, Eloise’s, birth back in August. It was my first time meeting Rebecca and Elmo and I only managed to capture a glimpse of their 4 year old twins, Sam and Oliver, via Skype. So I was excited to capture everyone together during a recent family session at Sly Park Lake up here in Pollock Pines. Sam and Oliver are typical 4 year old boys who can’t stand in one place for longer than a few seconds. They walked up “mountains” of rock beside the lake and down the mountains of…

Melanie and Mark were married at St. Joseph Marello Catholic Church in Granite Bay on a beautiful Friday afternoon, with a reception at Flower Farm Inn in Loomis.

Late summer in the middle of a four year drought and Elaina and Henry’s wedding day was blessed with summer rain, just as my own had been. The difference for Elaina and Henry was the fabulous undercover arches that David Girard Vineyards has and that provided the perfect plan-B ceremony site. That and the cloud cover that came to filter the sun and create beautiful light that we more-than took advantage of during out time together. I loved Elaina’s father’s speech during the reception which was superbly delivered and very moving. Another beautiful touch was that her dad orchestrated a…