New Day!

Hottie!

A quick shout out to my gorgeous bride of 8+ years while in Hollywood. Happy Birthday!! (belated blog post. Here are some other random pics of downtown.

Natalie & Gavin

Hello all! I hope you had a wonderful weekend this past memorial day! It's such an awesome privilege to live in this country with such freedom! Freedom to live our lives and pursue our dreams, to worship God freely with no fear, and to raise a family with all the opportunities afforded us by those who went before us in pursuit of a dream. Thank God for them.

We're just about off to Idaho for a destination wedding, but wanted to post a quickie and introduce you to Natalie and Gavin. We strolled the streets of downtown Carmel-By-The-Sea, tearing up Ocean street and beyond. One thing about living on the Monterey Peninsula is the ever-present summer "fog" or overcast. Some days are extremely warm and sunny, while others are cool and calm. The one good thing about overcast is the huge softbox it creates naturally for my subjects. Either way, no matter the weather, it always comes down to the people. I am blessed to have such great clients! And I am stoked to photograph two people who are truly in love. That's what shines the most, whether it's sunny or not. :) So, again, here are Natalie & Gavin. They're getting married at the gorgeous Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley this summer!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!!

Nick and Jeni

Please meet Nick and Jeni. They were such a fun and "bubbly couple! Nick is actually the brother of JJ who recently got married, of which you will see images this week. Well, these two have been married for over a year now, and really wanted some GREAT images of the two of them together. So with a beautiful afternoon a few weeks ago we conquered Oldtown Monterey and the Monterey Harbor. Nick really likes boats and will eventually take me sailing I'm sure :), so I weaseled my way into the locked docks with just a gentle request to a boat owner...who actually invited us to use her boat! Such cool people here! There's nothing wrong with asking...nicely.

A Picture Week

Okay, I'm feeling a picture posting week coming on. I so need to update this blog with current images! Habits can be hard to make sometimes. :) So, to begin the week, here of course is the latest pic of my pride and joy boy! He just had his second birthday recently and was so excited to get a present in the mail from Auntie Nikki. More bubbles, yay.
I've been entertaining the idea of getting a family dog for a long time, but wanted to wait for the right timing with my son. So, I probably jumped the gun as JK is only 2, but what the heck. Meet COOPER, our Puggle. Literally half PUG, half BEAGLE...he's what they call a designer breed and is such fun! He's 8 months old, and full grown. Just the right size for us. Selfishly, I like the fact that having a dog is a good kick in the pants to have somewhat of a regular schedule...and my wife like the fact that I'm trying to get home at a relatively decent hour for dinner. (After all, I'm still an artist and have to accomplish so much in one day!) I'm learning that fun word called Balance. So, more images to come, and a lot of my current and past clients! Stay Tuned...

Hey all, it was a crazy week last week with computer issues an what
not, but this is a new week! I'm ready for it and its gonna be great!
Lots of pics to share...stay tuned!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!
To all you moms out there, my hat goes off to you! You are so special and carry such a great responsibility. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. Thanks Mom for your love, patience, support, kicks in the butt, and kisses! If you haven't called your mom yet or given her a hug, do it now! Get off the computer and give her some love. :)

Out of focus?

Hey all, how about another kinda deep thought? It popped in my brain this afternoon after my follow up visit to the eye doctor. I got my eyes dialated today & it screwed up my ability to work on the computer vision wise, so I got to thinking. I can see far away clearly with no problem, but my vision right in front of me is foggy & blurry. I am confident about the things that I see, its just that they're not sharp & in focus. The details are unknown. So the application: I see clearly where we are going and where we want to go, but sometimes the details of how to get there & understanding of it all isn't so clear. But that's ok! The journey is great the people are wonderful. God is amazing. My encouragement to you is to keep pushing through the fog and it will eventually become clear. No telling how long it will take sometimes but perseverance is so critical. Don't give up. You're not alone! :)

This analogy is just the tip of the iceberg on how wide this could be & how deep you want to go with it, & how it specifically applies to your life. As always, I encourage you to run with it and make it your own...apply your journey & thoughts! And don't forget to enjoy the ride.

"What Are You Chasing?"

I ran across this post on a forum last week, and thought it great to share. I don't know where it originally came from, but go ahead and read it. It's well to the point. Where do you stand on the American Dream?

Here it is:

An American investment banker was walking by the pier of a coastal Mexican village when a fisherman docked his small boat nearby and tossed several large yellow fin tuna onto the dock.

The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked, "How long does it take to catch them?"

The Mexican replied: "Not very long, maybe a couple of hours, senor."

The American then asked why the fisherman didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs and was happy with that.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life which I enjoy very much."

The American rolled his eys and said, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. Here's what you should do: Spend more time fishing. You get more money, and with that, you buy a bigger boat. Then you can catch more fish, and buy an even bigger boat. If you work hard, then soon you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor. If that works out, then you open your own cannery. At that point you would control the product, the processing and the distribution. And, you could leave this little town and move to Mexico City, or LA and or even New York City. From there you could run the whole thing by phone, Fedex and the Internet."

The Mexican fisherman thinks this over for a minute and then asks, "Interesting. How long will this all take?"

The American thought for a little bit, took out his calculator and punched in some numbers, and then announced "I think you do this in only 15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said, "Here's the beauty of the whole thing. When the time is right you announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions!"

The Mexican thought this over for a little longer, staring out to sea and thinking about what millions would buy. He asked, "Okay. Millions.. then what?"

The American said, "This is the best part ~ you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

All Systems Go!

FYI, we're back on. 1-800-925-1639 Feel free to call and just say hello! :)

800 # Temporarily Down...try my cell!

Hi Folks, it was brought to my attention that my "800" phone number is temporarily down/out of service, but will be up again shortly. If you are trying to reach me, please call my cell phone directly at 831-320-9478. So sorry about the inconvenience, but I really look forward to talking with you!

Daddy Days

I know, I know...another post about my wonderful boy. So, to keep it short, I'll only say that HE arranged this in the hall. How cool is the responsibility of having someone follow in my shoes! :)

On another note, I desperately need the internet at my house. Country living is like a mini retreat everyday, but it has its drawbacks. If it weren't for my iPhone I'd be lost! It's days like today that I could be a bit more productive with a home office, but the advantages definately outway the disadvantages. I hope your day was great!

The Photoshop thang...

Hey, before I run, I wanted to say something real briefly about Photoshop. I have never ran across a more robust piece of software! I am loving learning how to do great things with it. It is such a great tool, but should remain just that: A tool. Way too many photographers are "praying and spraying" (old law enforcement term) and relying heavily on fixing the images afterwards in PS. Although there's a time and a place for it, I don't think PS should be treated like that. Maybe I'm off a little, and maybe I won't achieve those same looks all of the time, but I want the images that I shoot to be timeless, and fun to look back on 50 years from now without it looking like an obvious trend of the times. My mindset is that the image should not only look fantastic, but equally important should bring you back to that time. (More later...) The effects are fun, and look wonderful. But I have chosen to only pick a handful of images to put the MSP/PS touch on, and remain on the path to produce quality images of art that are natural. Now...that said, I do know how to have fun, and today I played around (a little way too much!), but check out this cool pic. I think it always comes down to, as with so many things, that fun word called "balance". Just my two very quick cents...Have fun.

Vegas, continued...

Okay, I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted about the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) Convention down in Las Vegas last month, and I really am going to finish telling you about it. But my wife just called and wants me home (it's after 7pm already) so I'm just going to post an image of my wifey and I at the Pictage hosted party. Moderation is always key. Now before you go thinking anything funny, we were really good in vegas. Honestly. :)