Blossoms

I have an interesting love/hate relationship with the trees growing in my yard. They can be truly frustrating. My front-yard flowering pear has been suffering from a fungal disease which is rampant amongst all of this species. I've had to be very patient with it. But right now it is blooming and spectacular.

Similarly, in my backyard, just across the fence which divides our property from the neighbor's, there is a plum tree, mostly neglected and overgrown. When we trim it, it reaches toward the light and is putting pressure on the fence which is near collapse. But this morning, its pretty blossoms drew me out there at first light to enjoy its bloom.

So pretty in the cool morning light.

A Sweet Sweedie

I have a very special friend in Sweden. We connected online through a photographers forum. She's so much fun. She's also very talented and crafty. I admired a handmade bookmark she made for someone else and like magic, my own arrived in the mail. Not just one bookmark, but two, one for me and one for Bruce as well. Isn't that sweet !! And a handmade card and personalized note. Do you know how rare that is these days !!

Check these out.

BTW, the poem is in a book of black and white photographs by Dorothea Lange (May 25, 1895 – October 11, 1965), a fabulous photographer best known for photographing depression-era families. This book is about her visits to a cabin on the California Coast. These cabins are now operated by the California State Parks. We've visited and stayed a couple time and have reservations again later this spring.

Wild Things San Diego Zoo

I love big cats....little cats. I just love cats. It's awesome to watch the big cats in their roomy enclosures at the San Diego Zoo.





The rarest of these cats is the Snow Leopard. I caught him just waking up from a nap.




I escaped for a few days last week to have a reunion with my sister. She travelled from Nova Scotia to Laguna Beach where we spent a few days enjoying each other's company.

We spent a fun afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. Here are just a few more of the wild animals we enjoyed.

A Local Ramble

Bruce and I got out for a ramble late this afternoon. We like to cross the Uvas Reservoir dam and walk on the other side for about 30 minutes then turn around and come back. It's level and quiet as the trail (really an access road) follows the reservoir in and out of the little canyons and arroyos.

Our favorite turn around spot is the home of one of my favorite trees, a spreading Buckeye. Beneath it's boughs is a small seasonal stream, happily running now, one of dozens of small drainages which carries water to the reservoir.

A late Valentine

I've waited a very long time for this Amaryllis to bloom. I think I planted it the first week of November and placed it outdoors on a window-level sill. It sat there for weeks without any sign of growth until the second week of December when the first flowering stock began to push its way up. I was hopeful of a bloom after the holidays. You know, during that time when we take down the tree and start missing all of the holiday glitz. But no, it seemed stuck. So I brought it inside and it began to grow a wee bit faster, but not much. I know this because I planted two bulbs at the same time, in two separate pots. The other one is still outside and it is behind this one, but not by much.

Anyway, just in time for Valentine's Day, it bloomed. I had to share it with you. Aren't flowers awesome !!

Maurice Spotting

Well, well, I hear Maurice had an excellent visit in Columbus. He attended a luncheon and party and has made his way to the East Coast. Here he is at the Skybus Terminal in Columbus.

That TSA agent is eyeing him suspiciously LOL.

Photo courtesy of the fabulous Massachusetts photographer, Jamie Wexler.

Spring Fever

We're finally getting a pretty nice stretch of spring-like weather. I turned the car south to the little town of San Juan Bautista this afternoon. I like walking the streets of this great little town. The merchants in this town are simply amazing. Because it's a bit sleepy, they seem to enjoy talking to window shoppers.

One vintage gift shop, Happily Ever After, is a frequent stop. I love the whimsy. They were so kind to dig around in their Christmas inventory for a couple of ornaments to add to the few that I'd bought there before the holidays. Today my eye was caught by the tule and feather wreaths. So pretty and feminine.

After shopping and chatting a while, I walked down the street past the historic state park and spotted these two lovely ladies enjoying a cup of ice cream tucked in a sunny nook in the gateway to the park's historic garden. They inspired me to have my own cup of ice cream to celebrate the day.

Spring is in the air. Even the tree in my front yard has broken into blossom, weeks earlier that I can recall it's bloom timetable of the past.

Kaitlyn

Meet sweet Kaitlyn. She was such a good baby for us this afternoon. Just awake from her nap and smiling from the minute she woke up.

So nice meeting you, Jennifer. Looking forward to photographing the girls together soon.

Exercise in Simplicity

I have spent my whole life living near the ocean. As a child, I spent countless days exploring the seashore. I still love to get to the beach. California's wonderful winter beaches are a stark contrast from the Nova Scotia beaches of my childhood.

Yesterday I got to spend a couple hours walking on the beach. After a busy bridal fair on Saturday, I changed up the pace with a quiet contemplative day at the beach, walking for miles.

My photographic goal for yesterday was just to explore the area where the sea meets the shore. Hope you like my little collage.

Hecker Pass Winery's Bridal Fair

It was a fun day at the Hecker Pass Winery. The weather was beautiful and all of the vendors were in a great mood. I met some great couples and look forward to working with all of these nice people again.

I got to photograph some great bridal models whom I've worked with last year. And a handsome groom model, too. What a good sport.

I did do a bit of multitasking, tending my booth and taking a few editorial shots for the vendors.

Bridal Fair

What a beautiful day for our local Bridal Fair!!

I'll be meeting with brides and grooms at the Hecker Pass Winery. Carlo Fortino and family have put together an gorgeous new venue and an exciting bridal fair today for "La Vigna" at the base of Hecker Pass on Rte. 152.

I can see lots of beautiful weddings and happy events there in the future. Carlo is such a warm, welcoming host. He's had lots of experience meeting and greeting people through the winery tasting room.

I did a bridal shoot there in the fall. Sadly I won't have as much time to shoot today because I'm there this time with a booth. I'll admit I'd much rather be shooting all of the activity today rather than sitting in a booth. But I am looking forward to meeting the couples who are considering La Vigna for their weddings.

Monkey Business

OK, ready for a little fun.

I have a great network of photographer friends across the country. We've decided we're up for a little monkey business. We are going to be photographing my friend Maurice all over the country. In fact, he may be headed to Sweden before heading back here. These friends have promised to take care of him. He's a valentine monkey Bruce (my dear husband) gave to me many years ago. He's one of a pair. He has a lady monkey friend, Lucille. Lucille gets to stay behind.

First stop is Columbus, Ohio where he will attend a long-anticipated GTG of some of the best photographers in the country. I think he's headed to Rhode Island after that.

Have fun Maurice!!

Here he is with Lucille after a little sponge bath and tumble in the dryer. Lucille may be a bit sad, but she's never blue...she's always pink. LOL

Childrens Photography

I had a lot of fun photo sessions this year. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I do have one which stood out.





Kham Carr contacted me early in the year telling me that her husband was leaving on an out-of-state training course which would take him far away from his two young daughters for six or more weeks. She wanted very much to capture her family right now at that moment. Gracie had just turned two and her little sister, Ava, was almost one.

Kham wanted a natural session of her family in the outdoors. She had been to my website and pointed out a photo which touched her. The one she chose was one of those serendipitous shots, taken outdoors in a garden. The child was stooped to examine some little thing at her feet. I love those photos which show children engaging in natural world, showing their curiosity and wonder and so have quite a few of them on my website. I felt pretty sure that Kham and I were going to work together wonderfully based on our conversation.

Of course, the girls were delightful. And the session was magic because Kham and her husband, Graydon were relaxed and went with the flow. I began the session in the home and then we moved to the outdoors to a delightful setting on the shore of a local pond. Gracie was at first tentative but then increasingly became attuned to her surroundings and started to explore, with the guiding hands of her parents only steps away.

I love this sequence of photos. One of them graces my home page right now.









We each have different reasons for wanting to have a professional session done with our children. Perhaps we feel that the child is ready for a formal portrait, which is a tradition in your family. Or a special occasion like a birthday or event like a family wedding may prompt you to think about capturing your child or family at this time. But you might also want to consider a more informal lifestyle type of session like the one I did with the Carr family. Family laughing and playing together is certainly an appropriate time to celebrate and commemorate for the future. They grow up so darned quickly.

Welcome to my blog

Much of what you see here will be landscape photography. I’m actually a portrait and wedding photographer, specializing in children, but it will soon become apparent to you that the landscape is a compelling draw for me. I love to be out there. I’m truly at home in the outdoors and landscape photography continues to hold my interest. The other work will be my professional work, shared with the permission of my clients. I think you will enjoy that as well. At least I hope so.

Children have so much to teach. When they see something wonderful they reach out and point. See….see. They get it. Beauty is to be shared with the world. It’s our consolation and a balm from all of the tedium, mundane and routine. When I look up from whatever I am doing and see something beautiful, be it a child’s joy or beautiful light on the landscape, I know that despite all of our woes, life is good.

I welcome your feedback.