A photo walk...

Took a walk with a buddy of mine to get out there and refresh my candid/snapshot/on-the-fly skills.

Got a couple that I liked, but for some reason, this was one of my favorites:

And here's a few more that I enjoyed as well.  I LOVE the holiday season!

  

More lovely families to add to the mix! The Wilsons and the Boyers! Los Gatos, CA and San Francisco, CA

Steve and Kassi I've known through our church group for probably a couple of years now.  Earlier this year they had their first kid, a son, Aiden.  He's quite lively, especially when you call him "dude".  Is he a future surfer despite parents who come from the Mid-West?  I don't know... but I think in a few years will find out!

Thanks Steve, Kassi and Aiden for letting me drag you guys around Los Gatos on a cool Sunday morning!

Kim I met at my good friend Amy's wedding about two months ago.  She's such a trooper because she managed to be on her feet all day at Amy's wedding after having Henry, Kim and Geoff's son, only a few weeks before.  They asked me if I wouldn't mind coming up to San Francisco to do some portraits of them, and of course I obliged!  San Francisco has limitless potential for backdrops.  Kim told me that her and Geoff met in San Francisco, so they wanted to really get the heart of San Francisco in their images, and we all know that nothing says San Francisco like the Golden Gate.  So we started there and moved on down to Crissy Field for a little bit, and then up into The Presidio for a few moments before it got too cold.

Thank you Kim, Geoff and Henry.  You guys are awesome!

Christmas Portraits - The Mladineo Family! - Downtown San Jose

I had the joy and pleasure of shooting my old friend (old as in "we go way back"... not as in "she's old" - HAHA!) Amy's wedding to the love of her life, Eric, a few months back and recently she called me for Christmas shots.  Well, in the end, we were rained out, the holidays kicked in, and we all got busy but we were FINALLY able to get together and get their session rolling!

A little downtown San Jose Christmas in the Park action helped the background, God smiled on us with perfectly cloudy and wintery weather, and an amazing afternoon ensued.

Thank you Eric, Amy and Ethan for being such good sports!

Christmas Portraits!

Christmas Portraits are happening all over the place, and this guy is in on it!

Todd has been a friend of mine for years now - through mountain biking of course.  I had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Mandy, and their daughter at our mutual friends Josh and Emily's home a few years ago, and now they have a son as well.  They had my wife and I over Sunday morning to do a few Christmas photos for them.  Enjoy!  And thank you, Todd and Mandy!

New gear... again!?!?!? I think we have a problem...

But you know what?  I love new gear.  Not nearly as much as I love taking pictures of my awesome friends and amazing families.  But it's fun to get that new gold box.

New gear arrives tomorrow.  Yes sir.  And this photographer is one happy campe... errr... photographer.

:)

Baby Brenna has arrived!

What is there to say, honestly?  I've known Eric for years and just met his wife recently.  And they're amazing.  And they have an amazing family that just got bigger.  Little Brenna was born just two weekends ago, and she's beautiful.  And hungry.  And cranky... not because of her parents.  They are wonderful and so nurturing.  But because of me... and the pointing of my camera in her face for so long!  But she's adorable!  What can you do?  I couldn't stop!

When it comes to new life, there's not much to say.  I truly believe that pictures speak a million words.  So, to make this one simple, all I can say is Eric and Melissa; Congratulations.  Brenna is beautiful, and I have no doubt that you both will be amazing parents.  And Brenna.  I'm sorry for taking so many pictures!  But in my shoes, you'd have done the same thing.  ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Turbo has a new little sister.  He was very interested in what was going on, and wanted to make sure his little sister was okay.  I reassured him that everything was just fine.

Second shooting...

...can be such a pleasure.  I've had the joy of other photographers taking me under their wing and offering their help at almost every turn.  To name a few, Ashley and Jason Maxwell, Jon and Joanne Encarnacion, Lindsey Freitas, and for this particular shoot, Kristen Gonzales.  It seems everywhere I look people are looking to support me, whether it be fellow photographers, friends, my family, my in-laws, and especially my wife.  Heck, even our dogs support my be sitting still here and there for the occasional snapshot.

I can't express how happy it makes me to be shooting with Kristen.  She's amazing, has such a keen eye for details and a total knack for making people smile and laugh.  She called me up a few months ago and asked if I'd second shoot a wedding in December with her, which I thought was amazing, so of course I said yes!  December weddings are a rarity, so I'm super looking forward to getting out there and shooting.  But before we set foot into a church for the wedding in December, Kristen wanted to make sure that Debra and Mike were comfortable with us, and that we got to know Debra and Mike... which didn't take long.  Turns out that Mike is building up a Santa Cruz full suspension and had a few questions and, wouldn't you know it... that's the way to my heart - BICYCLES.  And Debra, well, it goes without saying: If you can't see how sweet and kind she is by these pictures along, you may be blind.  ;-)

Thanks to Kristen for having me out!

A few edits with a different style.  Thought I'd try something new for a change.

 

 

People to keep you sane...

We all work jobs that are tough.  My wife is one of those people.  She sacrifices more for our family everyday than I do in a month.  I really believe that.  So it goes without saying that there are people (besides yours truly) that keep her sane during the day to day grind.  Jill is one of those people.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jill and John at their daughter's first birthday a few months ago which, consequently, was one of the first times my wife ever TRULY picked up a camera.  They are such a good looking couple.  And hiding under that good-looking-ness (is that a word? It is now!  HAHA!) are two people who are sweet, kind, patient, and they both have gracious hearts.  As I said, Jill has kept my wife from losing her mind for quite a while now around their office, and accordingly to Jill, my wife has been able to return the favor.  And John...  he seems to carry an air of patience.  But he's a mountain biker at heart, and that says something about someone in this photographer/mountain biker's mind... so I know when times get crazy, John gets moving.

When Jill asked me if we'd do family portraits with them, I couldn't have been happier!  It was an exciting day filled with laughter over what "the Pies" was doing.  It seemed that gravel was the most interesting toy, and crawling backwards along sidewalks is a favorite past time.  :-)

Without further adieu...