Point, Click, Edit...

After a fantastic long weekend of good food and great company, I woke up this morning at the Viceroy hotel (a little mini-getaway that wasn't so far away) and realized I have a lot of photo editing in my future. This past weekend I had two fantastic photo shoots and the weekend before that I had a fun "just because" shoot that I've been working on. The great thing about it is that I love the whole process of photography - from conceiving the shoot to capturing the images to viewing them after I download my CF cards to tweaking them on my computer to make them their absolute best. I sometimes miss the quiet rhythm of working in the darkroom (but not the chemical smell!) but I get into that same kind of mode when I'm editing digitally now.

It's not a lightning fast process, however, so until then here is a sneak peek of a session I'm editing right now...

Keith and Mariah: Rehearsal

As the beautiful bride and beaming groom walked down the aisle to strains of "All You Need Is Love," I think everyone attending sighed a little. That happy, joyful sigh when all is right and you know that two people who are perfect together have committed themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. On a sunny, hot day the last weekend in July, Keith and Mariah were that gorgeous bride and groom.


I was so excited when Keith asked me to help capture their rehearsal and rehearsal dinner because he's been a dear friend for most of my life. These events are such a fun time, as friends and family gather and excitement and anticipation for the actual wedding build. Normally, the bride and groom also look much more relaxed during the rehearsal process, but if Keith or Mariah were nervous on their wedding day, it didn't show a bit. Call it destiny, fate, God's will - whatever your beliefs - but they had the contented look of two people walking down the aisle toward what was simply meant to be.


Here are just a few images from the day before the big day... Congratulations and much love to you both!

Mike and Blanca: Family Portrait

Over Fourth of July weekend, Mike and Blanca invited me out to their home to take pictures of them and their adorable little boy, Nicky. Little did I know, this photo session would be more like an aerobic workout, as I tried to keep up with Nicky! He seemed to think this lady with the camera was all part of a game, so he ran around and babbled and squirmed his way throughout the session.

We tried so hard to coax him into sitting still, but afterward as I edited the session, some of my favorite images are where Nicky is just doing what Nicky wanted to do. His expressions are only matched by how cute he is in person - he has huge dimples and an infectious giggle - and you can really tell how much Mike and Blanca dote on him.

Mike and Blanca, muchas gracias for opening your home to us, for the Taco Man and margaritas, and for allowing me to capture images of your beautiful family!

I absolutely love this picture. Blanca was singing him a Spanish lullaby and Nicky was just mesmerized and lay perfectly still while she was singing.