I remember my first real trip up to the Bay area, and I remember I wasn’t a huge fan. Maybe because it just wasn’t home and I feel like Northern California is so different from Southern California and everything I was used to seeing. Over the last couple years I’ve had the opportunity to visit different places all over Northern California and now am really wondering why I didn’t absolutely fall in love with it on my first trip years ago. Driving around the different parts of Napa Valley, Sonoma County and all those surrounding areas, it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t scream to me “Take photos here!!” I am a photographer that is mostly inspired by people and their environments, and I totally love the settings that can be found up there because they are so different from what I am used to seeing.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of driving up to Santa Rosa for Liz and Chris’ engagement session and to visit with friends. I knew the shoot was going to be so great because Chris is a photographer himself and had a great concept for the shooting locations. Photographing another photographer is honestly a bit intimidating, but Chris was so awesome and his trust in me to photograph his engagement session (and soon his wedding!) is so great. We had so much fun experimenting with different spots in and around Santa Rosa and I’m so happy with the photos we were able to get!

We started in an area of Santa Rosa called Railroad Square, which I loved! Liz and Chris knew they wanted a shoot that was part rustic industrial, part natural, and this was the perfect place to capture the more rustic, industrial imagery.

The exposed brick was everywhere and so much fun to shoot against.

Then to the railroad tracks. I just love this shot.

This one is out of focus… and sometimes that just feels good.

Then the three of us set out on an adventure to find the perfect field of mustard flowers before we lost too much light. We drove and drove down a winding country road through some of the most beautiful hills covered in vineyards, but kept passing them by because we just didn’t feel they were perfect… We almost settled for a less perfect place just to shoot before we lost even more light, but we continued down the road determined to find an even better place. Chris and Liz’s shared sentiment about not being okay with settling was so inspiring and motivated me to want to find that perfect field even more. Lo and behold, just around that corner, there it was… the perfect hilly field of mustard flowers over looking the Rochioli vineyards, which just happen to be Chris’ favorite. As anyone who knows Chris will tell you, he is particular about his wine, and has more than once told me that Rochioli produces the finest Pinot Noir. Was this location just meant to be? I think so…

A definite favorite…

Is this place gorgeous or what?

Their dog Blue came along for this portion of the shoot. He was a little more interested in exploring than being photographed, but I did get this slightly cheesy family portrait of the three of them. I just love Blue’s expression and that he is looking directly at the camera! This moment was very short-lived… and seconds later he was off to explore some more.

A cute moment.

Another favorite.

Once we thought we took advantage of all the light we had to use, we hopped in the car and continued down the road on our way back home. We came across this old barn that Chris had seen before and absolutely loved, so we stopped for a few more shots post-sunset. This was the barn Chris originally wanted to shoot in front of earlier in the day, but I think this lighting makes it especially cool. Again, meant to be…

Love…

Liz and Chris- thank you so much for your trust and making that afternoon so fun and effortless! I cannot wait for your fabulous wedding next year! xo

The last few posts have been about the time I spent in New York last week – and here is the post for the main reason I was there- to help out Meg Perotti with Jessica & Brett’s engagement session. Click here to see Meg’s post about the session!

We knew it was going to be cold, and a few days before we left we had a pretty good idea that it was going to be snowing the day of the session. Though we knew it would be a challenge, we were so up for it! I was especially excited for the completely new experience and knew that the images we would get would be so fun and so different from anything that could ever be shot in LA.

We met Jessica & Brett at The Jane Hotel, which had this super cute cafe! The color, the decor, everything was amazing. Wish we could have spent just a little more time there..

In the lobby, through a window.

Then it was outside into the wintry, snowy, magical city.

Meg working it out from under an umbrella.

One of my favorites from the Sneak Peek.

I love both of these- their happy expressions- such troopers in the snow! Jessica and Brett- you were truly a pleasure to work with!

Jessica- you’re a beauty!

It was just a short walk to the meat-packing district.

I don’t know who put these here, or why, but I love them for it.

Life is wonderful.

Right outside Pop Burger where we stopped for lunch after our session and ran into the guy who sat right behind Meg and me on the plane from LA to NYC. Seriously? He was a makeup/hair stylist in town for Fashion Week and running into him there was just so random. Sometimes the universe works in weird ways…

In other news- I’ve got updated looks for the blog and Website coming very soon! Hope to have both of those by the end of next week.

Happy Friday, everyone!!

I am so lucky to do what I do and to have such a great friend who also in this business! Meg Perotti asked me to come to New York with her to shoot Jessica and Brett’s engagement session… I, of course, said yes because I love to travel, especially for shoots, and because I had never been to New York and was dying to experience this city! As luck would have it, today was the day we planned to do the session, and today was the only day that it is supposed to snow during our trip.

Some people would try to reschedule… we totally embraced every second of it! As we sit here in this Manhattan apartment, drying off and warming up after being out in the snow navigating the city all day, we are both editing these photos. Here is a stand-out favorite of mine so far. MANY more to follow… and be sure to check out Meg’s blog for her shots as well!

Can’t wait to explore more of the city tomorrow!

I’ve said it before, but one of the absolute best things about being a wedding photographer is getting to meet and interact with such a great variety of people. I get to meet so many interesting, new people I would never otherwise have the pleasure of knowing. However, there are times when I have the honor and privilege to photograph family and friends- people I know very well- and sometimes they are old friends I have not been able to see in a long time. Ryan is one of those old friends so I was so happy to go down to San Diego to photograph his and Elena’s engagement session last week. We had a lot of catching up to do since I hadn’t seen him in three years, and it was so awesome to finally meet Elena. Seeing them together was such a joy- they are amazingly perfect for each other and I am so happy they have found each other. I had such a great time… Here are my favorites from the shoot!

Ryan met Elena while they were both working at this school in San Diego. We thought it would be fun to start the day there…

Ryan is from SoCal and Elena is from Wyoming.

Ryan was lookin’ very handsome.

A favorite!

Hello, gorgeous.

Then we headed to downtown Del Mar after a change of clothes and a change of hair. Elena has alopecia, a disorder that causes people to lose their hair, so she wears a variety of wigs and wanted different hair for each outfit. Loved it!

I’ve never seen Ryan happier.

Thennnn… down to the beach! The evening was just perfect here… Check out those clouds! Another favorite.

I’m pretty sure these next two images are my favorite of the day- maybe even two of my favorite ever. I just love the feeling of them and what they represent of their relationship. I have just met Elena, but I feel like I know her when I look at these two images side by side… such a strong, beautiful, genuine, positive and fun spirit.

And a quick shot of us just before we left the beach for dinner. Such a fun day! So glad I got to see you guys!

For more information on alopecia, visit the site for the National Alopecia Foundation. I didn’t know much about it before and found this Website really helpful in understanding what it’s all about.

Here’s a Sneak Peek from my most recent engagement session I shot in San Diego. I’m really excited to share the full shoot soon!

In other news, who’s excited for the Super Bowl?? I’m pretty bummed that Brett Favre and the Vikings lost to the Saints in the Championship game… A Favre/Manning showdown would have been fun to watch! So, now I’m rooting for New Orleans- it would be pretty cool to see them win their first Super Bowl ever. Mostly, I’m just looking forward to spending the day watching with friends… and I’m of course excited for the commercials! 

Hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend!