Morgan & Anne

What a perfect day it turned out to be at Trail Creek Cabin for Morgan & Ann! I rocked it with Fanny from Sun Valley Company, and wedding coordinator extraordinaire Amanda Seaward, my favorite make up girl ever Noelle Hodge, and beautiful flowers from Tara Bella. The horn section of High Street band blew the roof off the tent into the wee hours and we all enjoyed the brides brillant idea of corndogs and doughnuts as a midnight snack. (Some of us were drinking Captain Morgan in honor of the groom). All of their friends getting married this summer will have a tough act to follow! I love working with fun people that appreciate the real moments! Because your life is beautiful....

Another award from PDN?!!

Wow. Really?! Cool! (It's my 5th award this year) This one for the Great Outdoors Photo Contest, sponsored by Photo District News. 

I took this shot in Namibia on my way to the sand dunes.

Just like fingerprints for people, a zebra's stripes are unique...

click on the image above to see last years winners from PDN

cross blogged at StockShop's blog

More kids portraits

So Wendy was so thrilled with her pics, that she told her friend Jennifer. We squeezed in a little session while the flowers were still out before the family headed home. Awesome!

Kids portraits

It's so great to see Wendy's kids grow up every year. That is one of the great pleasures of my job. She makes great Christmas cards from my photos, too.

Multi-generational family portraits

I love great families. Deseray organized the family to give Carol a family portrait for her 70th birthday. Ok, she does not look 70, and the light was magical that day. You can't beat the scenery from their front yard, either. I got out the bunny ears and the whistle (mainly so the adults will laugh at me), 'hopped' around, and shot each smaller familly as well. All the parents were stoked, because I put all the high res images on a dvd and sent one to each household. Now with a copyright release form they can make prints, greeting cards, and even large canvases to their hearts delight.

Rogue baby!!

for more pics click Sun Valley family portraits

Chicago to meet a bride

So I was picked up at the airport by Jen and her finance, Tony. Together we scouted the fabulous Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago, and then on to the St. Patricks Cathedral. 

They are actually not crazy about having their picture taken, so I snuck off some engagement pics for them when they weren't looking....

In between the Drake and the church I was whisked around downtown and had a whirlwind tour from the back of their car.....

So instead of doing a full blown engagement session, they took me back to the beach house and I did some pics of the family, and a lot of their little neice, who kinda stole my heart. It was so great to meet the family - I'm SO looking forward to shooting their wedding in JANUARY?! Well, that's when they have their break from school, and they don't want to wait for next summer. Besides, in the fabulous Drake Hotel, it will all be grand.

I gave both Jen and her mom a dvd of all the high res images I took that weekend. It's so fun to give people the rock star treatment.... after all, they signed up for the Rock Star Wedding Package. I'll be flying in Tai Kerbs from Santa Barbara, and a whole box of hand warmers from Costco.

Another award from PDN! - the Faces contest...

Wow. I got ANOTHER call from PDN (Photo District News - THE trade mag for the photo industry) that the judges had chosen this image as a finalist in the Faces competion. These boys at a road stop in the middle of nowhere didn't know what to think of me.... driving ALONE in a pickup? ... with no MAN?!! ("Do you need a man? I could be your man!") Sometimes women would see me and give me a proud 'go girl' thumbs up!! Lesotho (pronounced Le-sutu) is a land-locked country within South Africa, all of which is above 6,000ft. Because of this elevation, this 'national blanket' is standard issue. One of the coldest nights of my life was in the middle of summer in Africa. 

For more pics from the Tribes series, 

check out my 'projects' on my website 

To see more awesome pics from last years faces winners gallery, 

check out pdn