A few weeks ago, my sister and I drove up to Solvang to shoot Alison & Steve’s engagement session, which I blogged about here.

Since we were up there anyway, Hayley and I decided stick around Solvang for a while after the shoot.  We walked around the quaint little town, went to a couple bakeries to find just the right treats to bring back to our parents. Then we stopped by a great wine bar called the Wandering Dog, which Alison had told me about earlier in the day. What a great little place. The people there were so nice and there was actually a dog wandering around the place. After a quick glass of wine and a little chatting with some of the people there (two of whom were on their honeymoon!) we set out for a little more exploration around town and made some time for portraits in the great late afternoon light.

Here are some of the photos we took on our mini trip…

This what happens when you give Hayley a camera on a nearly 3 hour drive… I think this photo is actually really interesting. Hayley is just getting better and better.

Evidence that we were in Solvang. I just love the character that this town has. Yes, even you can lease your own windmill…

The Wandering Dog Wine Bar.

I feel bad because I don’t remember the dog’s name, but here is the resident dog– he got distracted as I went to take a photo of him.

… but I kept trying and finally got this winner. What a cute dog! Speaking of dogs, I just got a new dog and I’m totally in love with him. I’ll be dedicating a post to him in the next couple days.

I’m so lucky that I have a gorgeous sister who is always (well… almost always) willing to model for me when I can’t resist the urge to capture some good light. She’s great on both sides of the camera… Speaking of that, Hayley has been going with me to a couple shoots lately when I need help in a pinch. As most of my friends and family know, my nickname for her is ‘Monkey’  — it’s a nickname that evolved many years ago and it has stuck to this day. I could go into the story of why I call her Monkey, but it’s really not an interesting story and is more work to explain than its worth! Sometimes I catch myself calling her Monkey in front of clients while we’re on a shoot…. and I realize this may seem like a weird nickname for those of you who are not used to it. For me, it’s so ordinary and second-nature that I find it difficult to break the habit in front of other people… so if you hear me call out to ‘Monkey’ to move a light on my shoot with you, you’ll know I’m just talking to Hayley.

Monkey with her bakery treats.

What a great trip! I love that whole area up around Santa Barbara and look forward to shooting Alison and Steve’s wedding up there this fall!