More & more, I get requests from families to do portraits because they are moving away from Southern California & want to remember their time here with some special photographs. Tomomi & Kai are relocating soon, & to commemorate their life in the South Bay, the perfect setting was of course–the beach! We lucked out with beautiful golden light at the end of a balmy spring day. Mommy & son played happily on the beach while I clicked away. Here I thought I’d weave a little story into their images–a story for Kai to take to his new home…
Once upon a time, in a land called California, Kai & his mommy went to the beach.
They raced each other in the soft sand…
Kai got a piggy back on Mommy to hurry down to the water…
And Kai was a happy boy with a stick he found, carving his mark into the earth…
And letting mommy write his name for the gentle ocean to slowly lap away…
And of course, they collected sea shells…
And Kai listened intently to hear the sea… 
As Kai & Mommy strolled near the water’s edge, they happened upon a message in a bottle!
And Mommy read the message, which was from a little boy named Tyler June…
Instructions said to mark who & where you are, & send the bottle on its way again. 
And as the sun slid slowly toward the sea, Kai & Mommy shared some snuggles.
“Shall we send the bottle on its journey now?” Asked Mommy.
“Yes, let’s!” Replied Kai.
And just like the bottle, Kai & Mommy too left the beach & went on their new journey to a faraway place & exciting adventures…
Wonderful photographs!!! Do you know where the bottle came from?
Alice, storytelling through pics and words. So poignant and beautiful!
beautiful, very touching!
These photos were so beautiful they moved me to tears. You have such an incredible gift.
Wow! What a great layout for a site. You have a real talent with people Alice, I can see how comfortable they are around you, I can see it in their body language.
Love your portraits, very good lighting, soft and flattering but very expressive. I’d love to see more of them. I don’t need to tell you that your good with kids, but I will anyway-its not easy to capture them, I’ve tried, so I am very impressed.
Again, you just have the gift of people blossoming under your eye, or rather lens.