outdoors

sleepy seven & shinya mizoguchi • musician profile • 53 magazine

music, outdoors

So excited for our friend Shinya Mizoguchi, who is featured in the newest issue of 53 Magazine online! In January, Shin asked if I would shoot him for the article, & we had a great time. So excited to read about his fantastic music, his career, his approach to creating, & to celebrate his groovy, chill folktronica. You may have seen how our pix turned out from the shoot— now, see more images & how they look in the online publication!

bye-bye, beach • tomomi & kai • mommy & me portraits

beach, little ones, outdoors, we are family

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…

au revoir, america • the francon family • beach portraits

beach, little ones, outdoors, we are family

Ah, ze French. Zay are tres, tres romantique. I like to encourage husbands & wives to get cozy in their portraits, & often when they have kids, it’s been a long time since they’ve been able to look longingly into each other’s eyes for any stretch of time. There is thus some awkward giggling sometimes, especially with a camera trained on you, & your kids running in circles. But this pair, Maite & Sebastien, didn’t need any coaching. Zay are, of course, French. So with their adorable Melissa close by, they got cozy & romantic right on the beach. And the whole family was so playful & fun–it was a great time! This was their Bon Voyage portrait, since they moved back to France this weekend. We will miss them! I hope that these photos will remind them of the SoCal sunshine–and bring them back for a visit soon!