go, lions! • the pastoor family • playa del rey, ca

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I didn’t get to meet the Pastoor family when we originally planned, several weeks ago, but as things turned out, we got to do our photo session on a perfect day, at the perfect time, in the perfect place. The golden, late afternoon sun was coming from all the right directions, shining down through the beautifully lined trees on the Loyola Marymount University campus–where Jolene & Art’s oldest son, Cooper just graduated from earlier this summer. Sister Taryn runs track at UCLA (Go, Bruins!), & Kelton happened to be celebrating his 17th birthday the day of our shoot. The Pastoors are an athletic family, & we had a really fun, high-energy session. And, in addition to the Lion & the Bear in the family, there’s also the Dog: Louis (get it? Pastoor?). No family portrait could be complete without him!

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on a mission • marco, age 6 • palos verdes estates, ca

beach, little ones, outdoors

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One of my greatest pleasures is catching up with families at regular intervals, seeing how the kids have grown & changed. For the last three years, I’ve gotten to do annual portraits of Marco, an energetic, imaginative, precocious boy whose mom is a creative, magical, ultra-feminine force of nature. Marco loves costumes, & each year, I feel honored that he tolerates my shooting away, while I follow him around, catching him being a kid. He clambers up rocky beaches & climbs trees with the ease of a monkey–it’s so inspiring to watch, & an exciting challenge to keep up with him! This year, we ventured to the coast, & he was on a mission of the imagination…

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love the name “katie” • hsin-kuo family portraits • palos verdes estates, ca

little ones, studio, we are family

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I love how being a photographer has connected me with people; in this case, the game of “six degrees” of separation has led me to my sister’s high school classmate, Amy. And, it’s very fun that Amy’s little girl is named “Katie Kuo,” which is my sister’s name. It was such a treat to be able to meet Amy & her husband Michael, & to do their first official family portraits with baby! Katie was so energetic, so ready to play, & her parents were quick on their feet! And Amy & Michael both have these mega-watt smiles that are so expressive. We had a lot of fun–& Katie was a rockstar–not a meltdown in sight the whole session! She was very patient with these three adults mugging for her & fussing over her. What a great time we had!

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games fans • new friends from reebok @ crossfit hax • harbor city, ca

sports

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This month’s big event in the CrossFit world was the 2011 CrossFit Games, where competitors from all over the globe come for a chance to earn the name “Fittest on Earth.” This was also the first year that the Games had sponsorship from Reebok, who outfitted all the athletes & are bringing the CrossFit method to a mainstream audience. One of Max’s clients, Danielle, works for Reebok & put out the word that CrossFit HAX was happy to treat any visiting Games fans to workouts while they were in town. For a few days, we got to make some great new friends from Reebok! I tell ya, that company has some fit employees! A special thank you to Danielle, & a shout out to all the Reebok CrossFitters who stopped on by. We hope to sweat again with you soon!