i'll start by telling you that something about the breakfast hour just moves me.
also, something about eating a meal together.... it moves me.
its my favorite thing.
my ideal date.
my favorite way to spend time with people.
therefore,
i love that becky and carsten decided to begin their engagement session at the king's road cafe in LA. a breakfast engagement session. so lovely.





carsten, here's some uta barthe inspired work for you,


hot? yes.


becky, you are honestly, so pretty. effortlessly and uniquely, pretty.







here's a blast from the past,
my once a week fun look into sessions from a while ago.
alex and jane came over to my old apartment, tropicana, for their engagement session. i had the vision of that pool shot for months, stirring in my head. that's actually a polaroid, just the middle. i love it. i think i want to do more just-middles.
they love deeply and honestly
and treasure each other in such a unique way.
usually the first inquiry for wedding photos comes from the bride.
it's usually an email with a brief synopsis of their location and date, asking if i'm available.
well, with beth and todd it was different----
todd called me.
i love that.
and he shared their entire engagement story,
everything from the sailboat he rented them to the moment on the cliff when he got the ring out of his backpack and proposed. i love engagement stories.... no matter how elaborate or simple (and theirs was ELABORATE!), they always move me. that big pinnacle moment.... its a big deal. and i love hearing about it.
anyway. so.
for their engagement session we went to their favorite park,
a place where they've walked and talked a million times it seems.
the familiar is so good.


one of my favorites!

lovely, perfect--------------


thank you guys,
A+ :)
shannon
They look SO in love and you captured it perfectly!! Dig all the lovely light on the last image!
(12.02.09 @ 08:05 AM)Great pics. I love them as a couple soooo much. They are the epitome of a couple who will glorify God in their marriage, and they wouldn't settle for anything less; I love it.
(12.14.09 @ 10:41 AM)
"how about friday?"
"yeah i'm free"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> who gets engaged like this?
MARISA & TIM.
these two are special to me.
tim----- i met him my freshman year at biola and was in the same torrey group as him. go olympia.
marisa------ we did our senior art shows together (she is an IN-CREDIBLE PAINTER!), had a yes-please theme, and loved our lives. i love marisa.
when i found out that tim and marisa were dating i got kind of giddy.
it just seemed perfect.
and it is.
they were engaged at one of their favorite restaurants,
she cried so much there was a wet spot on his shirt,
and they will be married in june.
i couldnt be happier for them.
ahh!
its so fun.
and fyi: marisa made her headband and has also already hand-made a rad bouquet for her wedding. amazing? i know.
on to our picture portion of the day.
we did their session at my house.
the pink house.
it was really relaxed.
really quirky.
really perfect.
i love the light in this room :::
okay----- this one is my FAVORITE. its a total mystery to me and i love it.

i've been using it at sessions lately as a way to stretch myself to view the world in a fresh way.i honestly was really scared to bust it out.......
scared that i'd mess up and they'd all come out blank.
its film! no deleting! no checking the back of the camera!
but i think that's when the best art comes--- when you're a bit unsure.
it ended up being one of my favorite aspects of their session.
it caused me to slow down and really look. i love that.
here are the photos,
look at her ring!
i cried when i saw it,
and i never do that.
this is a good one.

i am off to my first holiday party of THE SEASON.
yeah yeah.
excited.
---- shan!
ps, check out marisa's paintings! you'll be inspired.



natalie and alexander showed up to the pink house around 2 and we went to south pasadena to hang out and explore. we discovered things i have never seen before, even though i live here and explore it often. i love how the world has a constant supply of newness.
next we had a vision of the pasadena tree-lined streets, and i decided to shoot a roll of 120 tmax 400 film on my minolta autocord, which is what is up above. i love those shots. grainy, earthy, real. i love what film does to the world. the color ones are in a fun little scroll-through gallery right below, so scroll through and enjoy :) click click.
and true confessions...... did you click through the color gallery?
do it!
--- shan
i like the one where they're sitting in the street with their backs to you.
(11.13.09 @ 10:49 PM)I love the feel of these photos, especially the ones taken with your minolta autocord! Beautiful!
(11.14.09 @ 02:10 PM)
THE WINNER IS GINA! email me your info, Gina! your fun prize is a copy of this book called blur which i am obsessed with. it's from a company called lines and shapes. perfect.
here's her answer, which MOVES ME! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Microplankton and microscopes. As if, were you to scoop up some slime from a NorCal pond and stick it under the lens, this might be what you see. A little organicness, a lot of complexity, and another world.
secondly, i have a new thing. its called BLAST FROM THE PAST...... and once per week i am going to take you on journeys into my photographic past. lots of you readers probably haven't been reading my blog for three years (if you have been....... love to you!), so i'm going to give you glimpses into some of my favorite sessions and weddings from the past few years.
this week is a special surprise though.... because i never posted this!
jacquelyn and matt did two engagement sessions----- because on their first one, i found out that matt had his pilot's license. i freaked out and told him we had to do a 2nd session. so we did. we went to the fullerton airport and took a little 1 hour trip around LA. life highlight!


love this one --------------------------------------------------------

and what makes this picture awesome? the fact that it has the griffith observatory in it!!!!!!!!!!


I'm looking 4ward 2 your Blast from de Past postings! I hope you go back at least 20 yrs.
(10.27.09 @ 07:50 PM)
Wow! I really love the shot of looking through the fence! It creates a really colorful pattern in the negative space. :)
(09.25.09 @ 04:09 PM)




Like-like-love-love :) :) :) :)
(12.29.09 @ 07:28 PM)like-like-love-love :D
(12.29.09 @ 07:29 PM)love this details :)
(12.30.09 @ 12:50 AM)love this details :)
(12.30.09 @ 12:51 AM)what a beautiful beautiful story you've created with the layout of pictures. so gorgeous!
(12.31.09 @ 12:27 AM)j.
the birds eye and lamp posts are wonderrrrful!
(01.01.10 @ 12:41 PM)