Friday, July 31, 2009

Sara's Senior Portraits ... coming soon!

Here's an image from Sara's Senior Portrait session I'm working on. Many more to come in a bit!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Huntington Beach

A couple of images from a recent trip to Huntington Beach with the team.


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

TK and Bethany's Wedding Reception


I had the privilege and honor of shooting TK and Bethany Scott's "second" wedding reception. The wedding was a couple of weeks ago in Minnesota, the place where Bethany grew up. After a honeymoon in Hawaii, the two were celebrated a second time by their family and West Coast friends. Held at the home of Ken and Thalia Scott, the family and extended family threw out all the stops to host a wonderful affair that doubled as a Hawaiian Luau (the family is half-Hawaiian) and wedding reception. Thrown in for no extra charge was a bit of a birthday party for TK who was 24 that day.

The 200 guests came in traditional Hawaiian clothing, adding a colorful festiveness to the already fun and joyous occassion. TK and Bethany were like seasoned wedding reception veterans and seemed to enjoy the relaxed, tropical-like casualness of the event; laughing and mingling with the host of friends and families that came to celebrate their marriage.

Capturing the event on film was a lot of fun and as the evening seemlessly flowed from traditional wedding ceremony events to Hawaiian and Polynesian dancing, it seemed as if I was shooting two very different gatherings at the same time. Fun!

The Polynesian dancers were made up of the Tippets sisters (cousins of the groom), Taylor Scott (TK's sister), Wendee Tippets (aunt of the groom) and TK himself along with his brother Travis. The groomsmen even joined in on one dance, and given they had all of two hours to become Hawaiian and learn the routine, they performed it flawlessly! The dancing was capped off by a hired professional that wowed the crowd with fire!




The Scotts put together a true "Island" feel to the reception, despite the Riverside locale!














Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Danielle: Senior Portraits

Back in the 1980's, Nike teamed up with Michael Jordan and gave the culture a new slogan "It's gotta be the shoes." As I remember the TV ads, they had images of Michael Jordan seemingly floating on air, doing things with a basketball and hoop that no one else could even dream of attempting. Unless, of course, they were wearing Nikes. It's gotta be the shoes.

Danielle has taken that idea a bit to her own heart, though you won't find a closet full of Air Jordans. Instead it's a kaleidoscope of colorful Vans. They're stacked in there. A different color for every possible occasion.

Danielle's life seems to run like an array of Vans. It's clean and simple, yet colorful. Like the bright red soles on the pair she wore to our shoot at the University of Redlands, she's got passion that drives her in school and competition. I'm sure the blue ones go well on those contemplative days where a look, and only a look, says it all. Yellow for those cheery days when her smile lights up a room and green for days of frolic and fun.

She enters her senior year at King High having amassed a successful three years thus far, and when teamed with what should be a fantastic senior year will have her leaving King in 2010 much like Michael Jordan left the hardwood on his way to the board. Flying!
Danielle, you were a true star in our 2 hours of shooting ... despite temperatures in the upper 90's, you never broke a sweat and just kept on smiling that million dollar smile of yours. Thank you for the privilege and honor of capturing your senior photos!

















Sunday, July 19, 2009

Danielle's Senior Portraits ... A Sneak Peek!

Let this much be clear: Danielle loves, loves, loves her Vans. She's got pairs and pairs of them. Name your color, any color. So it's fitting that we start this senior portrait session from the ground up. More to come -- and not just of her shoes -- in the next few days ... check back!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Rebecca: Senior Portraits



I liked Rebecca the first time I met her. That was three years ago. She was a ninth grader, trying out for cross country, a sport she had never taken on before. No matter, she looked me in the eye, smiled her dimpled smile and shook my hand. Introduced herself. She oozed confidence. First impressions go a long way.

Over the years I've come to realize that with Rebecca, you get what you see. She's a beautiful person, inside and out. She has excelled in high school. She's an accomplished runner, one of the best King High has ever produced. She maintains a GPA that few others on campus have, and when the course gets tough, she digs in and works harder. She gets it.

I think one of the most attractive things about Rebecca though is her ability to set high goals and then implement the discipline to get after them. Ever since stepping foot on King High's campus, her goal has been to become a college athlete. Not just "go to college." Anyone can say that. No, she wants to compete in college. She wants to excell in college. She wants the whole thing. I believe she'll get it, too.

You might think such a hard-driving personality would be abrasive, wearing and tiring to be around. Just the opposite. Rebecca has a truly caring heart and sensitive spirit to those around her and is as kind and thoughtful as they come. Even in the most trying of times, (which I wrote about here), she has maintained her character; working hard at team play, stayin' honest, and never, never complain. She has legions of folks who respect her highly.

Needless to say I was delighted and honored to be asked to shoot her senior portraits. They'll be a keepsake for her and her family, and in another way, they'll be that for me too.

Here are a few of my favorites, I think you'll get a sense of who Rebecca is through them. Enjoy!

How has Rebecca impressed you? Leave a comment to let her know!