$1453. That’s the amount each one of these eighth graders is trying to raise to go to Washington, D.C. Not having much money to give to the cause, I contributed what I could, grabbing my camera and headed through the thick 8am fog to take portraits of each student. Later, we created a website with…
We met up in Jack London Square, the waterside district of Oakland where century-old warehouses and new businesses coexist, an area in the midst of a transformation to chic before our very eyes . When Mark pulled up and stepped out of his silver sports car, it was clear that he was a man with a…
You wouldn’t know it now, but I wasn’t really one of those little girls who spent her time dreaming of her wedding day. My first wedding experience was in high school, when I was hired to play violin in a string quartet. All I can remember from that episode is the impossibly long rendition of…
As photographers, so much of the work we create depends on who we are and how we relate to the world around us. For me, a large part of that perspective is shaped by the people who come into my life. My friends and family have long supported me in my “creative” and “unconventional” ventures…
The atrium of San Francisco’s Hyatt Regency unveils itself in a magnificent, sparkling display. It’s an expansive space, opening up like a great courtyard surrounded by eighteen floors of suites. Around the holiday season, strands of white Christmas lights are suspended from hundreds of feet in the air, and a great Christmas tree sits by…
“Tis the season! It’s more subtle in California, where Christmas lights adorn palm trees and deciduous trees are still catching up to the idea that it’s time to change colors. But it’s the holiday season! Last night I flew back home to Ohio and landed amidst a snowy wonderland. Ok, I may be overstating it,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…