outdoors

oh, canada! • tomomi & dany • engagement portraits

engagements, outdoors

I had the great pleasure of doing Tomomi & Kai’s Mommy & Me Portraits a few weeks ago, & this weekend, I got to meet Tomomi’s fiancé, Dany, who is from Montréal. We had a fantastic time shooting in the Mediterranean-style plaza in Malaga Cove, & then taking a stroll on the Buena Path. Tomomi & Dany are so easy to talk to, & they’re so obviously totally into each other. I loved hearing about how they met (get this: playing World of Warcraft!), & how Dany picked both of Tomomi’s dresses for the shoot. He’s got great taste! Here’s to their future & lifetime of love together! Bon voyage!

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!

first beach weekend • redondo beach, ca • family time

beach, little ones, personal, we are family

Mid-April, & a gift from the gods–beach weather all weekend long! Last summer, I had planned to “live at the beach.” I was pregnant, tired, & honestly in need of some lazing around, so I thought how fun it would be to schlep the girls down to the beach everyday, dig a wedge in the sand to accommodate my growing behind, & lie there like the beached whale I was proud to be while they played happily for hours upon hours in the sun. Well, last summer was a bust–overcast, cloudy, & cool (“June Gloom”) all the way through the fall! And then of course, some surprising amounts of rain (& hail?). So…when the weather predictions on my iPhone showed temperatures in the 80’s for this weekend, I started packing the beach cart (yes, the most amazing contraption/parent gadget I’ve ever bought). I joked with my husband that if we had the kids greased up with sunblock on Friday, we could easily be out of the house by 3 PM Sunday.

And a glorious weekend it was. I put aside ANY plans of “accomplishing” anything–no home improvement projects, no cleaning out the garage, no getting things together to sell on Craigslist. We were out of the house in two hours flat both days, & we met up with friends who augmented our great joy at being outdoors & seeing our kids so organically entertained by nature.

And it was our little Zen’s first beach outing. I think he liked it. 🙂