Autumn in California may not be as dazzling or dramatic as the famed autumns of New England, but we still have some colorful trees sprinkled about, and whatever we may lack in leaves we certainly make up for with our beautiful, mild weather. The combination makes for a picture-perfect setting. On a California-autumn day in…
Let’s sit in the sun. Karthik leads the way and picks out a good spot. We had grabbed a couple dogs from Top Dog and headed to the well-manicured lawn on the edge of Berkeley’s campus. We eat and chat, catching up on each other’s lives– my after-school program and my photography; his long chain…
It comes upon you and envelops you. It’s so warm and rich that you want to pull it around you and curl up in it. I’m not sure how such a sound comes out of her petite frame, but one thing is certain– Alice Tong has a beautifully capitvating voice. I got ten thousand ways…
It was during onboarding, the second day of training, that I first noticed you. Stylin in your dark green cardigan & coordinated tie, wearing the orange backpack I’d eventually steal from you, talking it up and already making a name for yourself. We were strangers then, all possibilities still open. We might get to know…
Even before you can spot the water or hear the waves crashing, there is a distinct scent that floats in the air. It’s the ocean smell that welcomes you back every time. Add a setting sun, and it’s a sensory haven. The kind of scene that makes you breathe deeper, slower. As we continued down…
She teaches preschool in Arizona; he teaches high school here in California. They fly back and forth, often to meet back home in Seattle, sometimes for a vacation down in Mexico. But they are doing the long-distance thing, and doing it with grace. Even when Cami studied abroad in Italy, Eric still met her nightly…
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Laura, Phil, and Tommy welcomed us into their home today for these tasty mooncakes and some delicious homemade dumplings. Check outside to glimpse the full moon tonight!
What a gorgeous day in wine country! My friend Shu-Jon Mao asked me to be a second shooter at Sara & Phat’s wedding. While hanging out with the wedding party, I discovered some interesting ties, like the groom went to Lincoln elementary when he was little, and the bride and a bunch of her bridesmaids…
Back on Labor Day weekend, we took a day trip to Lake Tahoe. Tahoe is that great big lake on the California-Nevada border, synonymous with amazing ski slopes three quarters of the year. But we checked out the summer version: empty ski villages and a day of beach hopping all around the top of the…
Wow. Are these two not gorgeous!? Sierra and Steve were married last month, and though I wasn’t at the actual wedding, I was so excited to shoot this special session with the two. Steve and I taught at the same school last year, and we also shared a special connection since we grew up in…
Erica and Robert were married on a Saturday in late August in gorgeous wine country around Santa Rosa, California. You might remember Erica & Robert’s engagement session when we got to roam around the entire property at Kunde Estate. We had such a great time, I knew this wedding would be a pleasure to shoot….
What a great session yesterday! I spent two hours with Ilyssa shooting in different spots around her beautiful apartment complex in Mission Bay, San Francisco. I actually met Ilyssa through a mutual friend you may have seen here before– actor Henry Chu– they both have engineering degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Ilyssa is…