Sneak preview: Cydney and Caitlyn

Oh man do I have a treat for you! I had a session with two of the cutest sisters ever! I always have a soft spot for sisterly love because my own two sisters and I are the bestest of friends, and I don't know what I'd do without them. Here's a preview of today's photo shoot with Cydney and Caitlyn.

Some TLC from Alameda - Tyler, Logan, and Chloe

Boys will be boys and girls will be girls. As I stood at the door and rang the doorbell, I could hear voices from behind the door - little high-pitched voices talking really fast, nothing I could comprehend. When their dad Tony opened the door, I saw two quick blurs in the background run toward the backyard. These two blurs would soon be known as Tyler and Logan. In the center of their living room was everything opposite of those boys - a peaceful, tiny, dainty baby girl wrapped in a soft pink blanket wearing a pink Polo tennis dress. Smiling. Sleeping. Meet Chloe. Chloe is an absolute doll, and she was amazingly patient and calm throughout the entire shoot. Her mom and dad were absolutely smitten.

After getting a couple shots of Chloe sleeping in the house, we moved the shoot to a nearby elementary playground. I think Mark was secretly happy he got to join me for this shoot because he hasn't played on a playground in years, and he obviously had been deprived. While taking some photos of Chloe on the grass area I would look over to see if Tyler and Logan were ready for photos and all I could see were THREE blurs now - Tyler, Logan, and Mark all running around, climbing the jungle gym, racing down the slides, swinging on the monkey bars. It was endless. Needless to say, this was a very fun shoot for all of us!

So peaceful...





Blur #1, Tyler



Blur #2, Logan



Look at that lone dimple! So adorable...



Chloe thinks I'm funny :-)



Only Tyler could sit still enough for a photo with Chloe, and I had to pull his teeth to get this photo. It's hard to make a five-year old boy sit with his baby sister when he sees his three-year old brother and Mark playing without him.





I finally got a few decent ones of Logan in the very end. He was the blurriest of them all, and I was so sad because that cute little face is SO photogenic!

Sneak Preview: Chloe and her brothers Tyler and Logan

I had such a fun time getting to know this family - the boys were balls of energy and their baby sister Chloe was an absolute doll. Those cheeks are to die for! Here are a couple photos from Sunday's shoot in Alameda.

Alcatraz night tour

I should have posted these on Halloween because these photos are pretty eerie - PERFECT for Halloween! I went to the Alcatraz night tour with some folks from our company a couple weeks ago, and it was really beautiful! I thought I'd be freaked out, but the history of "the rock" and the run down infrastructure made it such a beautiful place to take photos. Beautifully dark. Here are a few from that night, some were left untouched and some were massaged to enhance the creepiness. :-)

View of SF skyline from Alcatraz. 30-seconds exposure



and one more at 6-seconds exposure. Which do you like more? I'm leaning on the 6-seconds



I loved these dark walkways with the overhanging lights.





Amy under one of the lights



Paranormal activity status. I got the CHILLS editing this one!



An exit from the jail cellars



These stairs led to pure blackness. So creepy but I love the color of the stairs.







Three jail cells on the second floor



The showers is where we entered





Crazy sun set as the ferry left the dock



Coit Tower



These were some super old ropes hanging in the Embarcadero BART station - I can't find the history on them. Anyone know?

Micah the little man - Lake Merritt

Micah, Micah, Micah. Spending an afternoon with this kid left me with this one thought - Micah will forever have a special place in my heart. He's that kind of kid. :-) He's got so many tricks and acts up his sleeve that he kept me on my toes the entire three hours we hung out! I watched him race his sister who is twice his size and listen to him tell us how he won when he had actually trailed her by nearly 10 feet. I watched him make friends with complete strangers and tell them he would see them on Facebook. I played tag with him, and when I would get too close to tagging him "it" he would turn around and face me with one hand on his hip, the other hand with his finger pointing at me, "Stop! Be good!" And then dash off laughing hysterically.

Micah was accompanied by his wonderful parents John and Lisa and his beautiful older sister Mazvita. I'm used to showing up to a shoot with the mentality of getting straight to work - fire my shutter a few times, pose the baby, fire more shots, pose again, and so on. Micah was my first full grown toddler, and I thought it would work the same way. OH BOY was I wrong! God bless his mother Lisa for suggesting we have this at an open park and treat it more like a picnic and play date than a photo shoot. I had no idea how fast these little boys are and how long they can play without taking a break. In fact, I can't remember if Micah ever took a break.

Here are some photos from our headshot session. Thank you, John and Lisa, for the opportunity to spend time with your family and especially with Micah. We're now friends as he likes to tell people! :-)



Cool guy sucking his thumb



The beautiful family. Micah would only smile because we said this photo was for his grandparents.





This is his peek-a-boo face. I know, not your typical peek-a-boo, right?



He told me this is the face he makes when he pretends to be sad. WOW, what a trickster.



Sibling love



Mazvita, his beautiful sister



He really liked Mark's sun glasses.





I asked him what he was going to be for Halloween, and he said Bob Marley. Then he struck his Bob Marley pose. I just had to post the comparison - too cute!



Isn't Lake Merritt so beautiful?!

Baby Paige at four months

Life has been busy busy busy with remodeling my blog and working on 100 other things on top of recovering from what my doctor believes was vertigo. I know, vertigo?! Anyway, I have been super excited for a while to post Paige's beautiful baby session from last weekend. Paige was one the most giggly little babies I've photographed - she laughed at all her daddy's goofy faces, her mom's baby talk, and she especially laughed at all of us clapping. Yes, clapping is a new secret weapon to all those new mommies and daddies out there!

I've known Gina for a couple years now since we both work at the same company. When she was pregnant with Paige I don't think there was a time I passed by her where she wasn't smiling. One time I stopped her and told her, "You are glowing! You look so happy." Her eyes smiling and her grin bigger than ever she responded, "I am! I am so excited and happy; it's unbelievable. I can't wait 'til she gets here." It's that kind of whimsical happiness that makes me love this job so much. New parents' undying love for their baby is infectious to everyone around them. Gina and Ben are no different. Their tag team efforts as first-time parents are comical and cute, their laughter with Paige's every giggle is contagious, and their proud faces as Paige discovers her toes for the first time is absolutely endearing.

Gina and Ben, I have not a worry in the world that you two are going to be the best parents this little girl can ever ask for. Thank you for letting me witness some of those moments and freezing them in time.



Rain boots that don't quite fit, yet.



What gorgeous genes...



We stuck her in a teeny tiny storage basket with her bunny, and she fit! So cute!





I absolutely love little girls in pettiskirts!



This one came out a tad too blurry for my taste, but I just had to post it because Paige looks so cute in her bare bum!





Tummy time! One of the very few I caught her not pouting. :-)



Paige's expression is priceless here.







"Hi, guys!"



Gum-filled baby smiles are my favorite