Mai and Chris wanted to have their engagement session take place in the beautiful Redwoods of Humboldt County. We met at the Chimney Tree along the Avenue of the Giants, near Miranda and stopped at a couple of different spots to take some romantic images.This shoot was in February, so it was a very COLD, /WET day in the dark Redwoods, but you wouldnt know it by these photographs. Mai hid it very well! We ended the session in a cozy little  warm spot to get a few brighter images to add variety to their engagement portfolio. Variety is the spice of life right? They were complete naturals in front of the camera. As you can tell, they are so in love and I am so excited to shoot their Ferndale wedding this summer.

While booking a senior session for next fall, I was reminded of this beautiful wedding that took place in the summer or 2016. Daniel and Jessica’s wedding at Fern Cottage in Ferndale, California was one I fondly remember. I knew it would be a guaranteed good time with “amazing food” at a beautiful venue,  and it did not disappoint in any of these categories. Daniel and Jessica are a fun loving and laid back couple, and this is everything I hope for when I photograph weddings. I wish for plenty of laughter, smiles, beautiful venues, and down to earth couples with big hearts for the people in their lives.

I remember it vividly. Sitting on the beach with my toes in the warm sand at Swimmers Delight. Everyone else had headed back to the camp, laughing and joking around and getting ready for dinner and the fun night by the campfire. I was left to enjoy the sand, trees and river of beautiful Humboldt County by myself.  It was the most peaceful time of the day. The light was so soft; almost magical. I have a hard time slowing down, but in these moments I actually could slow down and enjoy. What I understand now as a photographer is that was the magical golden hour. I still love that magical golden hour.. When I walk  home now and see the sun glistening off the grass, I just want to grab my camera and start shooting. Every. Single. Time.

Dating in Humboldt County can be difficult. Tyler and Jenny were lucky enough to meet on an online dating website and it was a perfect match. I was so excited that Jenny asked me to shoot their engagement session. I have known her for years, but hadn’t met Tyler yet. Many people are shy and awkward at the beginning of a shoot, but Tyler didn’t even notice I was there. It was all about Jenny. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, and you couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.

I have known Bekah since she was born, so it was a pleasure to do he senior portraits. She is so sweet and nice, and also a great athlete.

We met in Scotia to her photos and they turned out great. It was a fun time, laughing and catching up. One of my lighting umbrellas broke, but we continued on and got some great shots. It was nice to visit Scotia again, as I grew up right next door in Rio Dell and used to work at the Pacific Lumber Company when I was going to college.

I will be 39 tomorrow. How in the heck did that happen? That is almost 40! Forty years of life. What have I learned? I believe life teaches us many lessons. For me it is God sending me signs. Others may call it the Universe. He has sent me a few signs the last few weeks in the form of turtles. When I received a gift from one of my students that had a turtle on it, it probed me to  search further to figure out what he was trying to tell me. So I looked up the symbolism of Sea Turtles.

I don’t really talk very much about myself. I am so busy with photo shoots, editing and two kiddos that there isn’t really time, but after an insanely busy week, I am taking some time to tell you a little bit about myself: the old me, whose core is still there…just hidden underneath an extra padding of layers put on by stress . Let  me tell you about the love of my life (before I met my husband and had my kids.) We met at age 12. As soon as I felt that leather ball on my fingertips, I was hooked. And the sound of the swish of a perfect shot going through the net was the best sound on earth. I spent HOURS on the basketball court. After practice, before and after dinner. I would challenge my dad to a free throw contest after dinner ever night. Whoever lost would have to do the dishes.

It’s been a long, long while since I have written a blog, but I am caught up on editing for the night (besides personal galleries) before an onslaught of family sessions this weekend. I am truly blessed to get to work with the clients I do. The first time I met Kacy was at our session and she was one of the sweetest, kindest seniors I have met.  She was also very comfortable in front of the camera and up for anything. She didn’t mind getting a little dirty. : ) It was an overcast day, but we still got some great shots.  I have so many favorites from this session! 

Jessi’s mom contacted me near the end of the summer about Jessi’s senior pictures. I am sure glad she did. We had so much fun climbing through the barn, playing on old equipment, and getting some shots with her horses. Jessi is a Rodeo girl, and carries with her that humble, hard working atttitude. She was up for a morning shoot and that made this morning loving person happy!  As an added bonus, my kids came with me and got to see pigs, experience a little bit of the farm life and ride a horse. They were happy campers too 🙂 Thank you so much for such a fun shoot!

So far, so good at sticking to my commitment to blog every Sunday this year. I have had some great shoots in the past couple weeks, but am prepping myself for a wedding tomorrow and decided to blog about the last wedding I shot. It was a beautiful wedding at the Elk’s Lodge in Eureka.It was small and simple with no wedding party. I knew Julie from teaching with her and it was so much fun to capture her big day. The colors, the cake, the decorations. It was all gorgeous! The rain held off just long enough, and all the guest enjoyed cooking their own steaks. A a great time was had by all!