Lefty's was Just All Right

This Wednesday we decided to try another popular pizza place: Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria for our Bauman Lunch.
When we got there, there was a line of people waiting outside, we got there at 11:55 and it didn't open until noon....but with all the people waiting outside I was sure it was going to be a great place.

So with five minutes on our hands what else was there to do but have a good old fashion alley portrait session.





Bronson really knows how to work the camera!

Once they opened we realized that this was a pretty small place with not a lot of seating. We all order pizza except Jacob who went for a meatball sub.

The selection of pizza by the slice was pretty small, I ordered one slice of deep dish pizza and one slice of thin crust and they were both just okay...

but I have to say that for a Chicago style pizza place where deep dish should be their strong suit I liked the thin crust pizza better but I would take Bronx pizza any day over Lefty's.

Art Alive! 2009 -

A couple weeks ago, we were honored to shoot the ArtAlive! event at the San Diego Museum of Art - Jacob and I were able to be there to get photos of the arrangements below and it was such a great concept! Local florists who volunteered were assigned an art piece from the SDMA collection and were challenged to design a floral arrangement that the florist felt best represented the artwork - the ones above were a couple of my favorites and the hyena one was the overall winner from what I heard!
Next, there was a party that evening to thank all of the people involved and the amazing generous donors including Audrey Geisel (the late Dr.Seuss's wife!) and the honorary chair Mary H. Clark







The next evening was a special edition of the semi-monthly Culture and Cocktails which are always a blast.



Disconnected salon was doing free hairstyling - how cool!




Then, on Sunday, children were invited to do an art scavenger hunt and make their own floral arrangements (out of paper and other materials) to add to the collection on the wall that the museum had started -



Overall, a great family friendly weekend and something that I am glad to participate in to "keep art alive!"

Family Photo Session

A couple weeks ago I got the chance to go out with one of our summer photography interns, Lisa, and her family to do a photo session in honor of her 21st birthday! Lisa flew out from Chicago for the summer to join us down here at the studio, so she wanted her family pictures to show off the ocean. We met at Windansea Beach in La Jolla which is in my top three favorite beach spots in San Diego. Lisa's family made this family portrait session so much fun with their personalities.





Lisa's best friend (BFF) also came down from Chicago so we got some great shots of just the two of them!




I love that I get to photograph so many different occasions in life. Family pictures are something that will be around for generations to come and it is awesome that my job is to capture those images!

Kim and Ryan - April 18, 2009

Another destination wedding!  This one was in Tuscon, Arizona for Kim and Ryan.  This was the culmination of an insane week - I had been in New York City, Washington DC, Miami, and Phoenix - all for photography, all within the previous 4 days!  I actually didn't meet either of them until the wedding day, but it didn't pose a problem at all.  Kim and her girls were great from the moment I arrived, and we got some great pictures of the couple alone.  Ryan had this awesome old red truck, and everyone knows how much our studio loves red trucks!  We took it out to this old dirt lot and got some awesome twilight wedding pictures!  This is a very sweet couple who really cares for each other, and its always special when you can see that after just meeting them.  

Departing From the Traditional

I have spent some time on this subject before but I have to admit I love original and new ideas for the guestbook.

Last month Jared and Bronson got to shoot another fabulous destination wedding. This time they stayed a little closer to home, driving up to the mountains to Lake Arrowhead Resort for the wedding of Katie and Tyler. The whole wedding was beautiful with a very woodsy, rustic feel to it. They carried this themed beautifully into their reception and instead of the traditional guestbook they did something a little different.

They left quilt squares for each guest to sign.

What a great way to remember your wedding and the people you shared your special day with.

Giant Cheetos

Since I missed Bauman lunch this week I thought I would give you a little lunch-time blog instead. Today I brought Giant Cheetos to work...which by the way are awesome...on the bag it claims that you probably won't be able to put a whole one in your mouth.
Bronson decided to prove them wrong, he has 4 in his mouth! Warning do not try this at home.

Bring Your Dog to Work Day!

For those of you who haven't heard today is the national take-your-dog-to-work-day so of course I had to bring in my little 9 pounds of fury Riley.
She is the perfect size for the studio and she had a blast posing for Bronson and Jacob as they held a little doggy portrait session.



I brought in some of her favorite toys...for those of you with dogs I highly recommend the hide-a-squirrel, it is hilarious to watch.

I think Riley should become our new photography studio mascot!

Bar Mitzvah - a time for Celebration!

A few months ago, we got a call about a Bar Mitzvah...Yeah! Just like a wedding, it is such a blessing and an honor to be a part of such a special occasion and this was no exception. Liam, the Bar Mitzvah boy was excited and polite and his family had such a great time! We started with a family gathering at their house where they honored some family and friends - it was such a fascinating experience to see them finish out the Torah and hear about the special nature of it.






Liam's dad celebrating the completion of the Torah!
We then journeyed to the synagogue in La Jolla where they continued celebrating. The trip to the synagogue was loud, hot and dusty but such fun! That's right...I climb trees if i have to! (see the shot below).

It seemed like all of the kids had a "chinese yo-yo" or "Diablo"

Jen and Jon - June 7th, 2009

Last week I gave you a teaser of some of the images from Jen and Jon's San Marcos Wedding. I just finished up editing their wedding images and I love them! Jen and Jon have amazing smiles and they do not hold back in showing their love for each other. Currently Jen and Jon are enjoying their honeymoon in Europe and I am so jealous. I am excited about the friendship that I have with Jen and Jon and seeing that grow in the years to come. Enjoy the pictures and feel free to leave a comment! :)

Holly and Bucky - April 4, 2009

Put simply, this couple LOVES to laugh.  Holly and Bucky are a breath of fresh air to hang out with, because within just a few minutes, you are reminded not to take life toooo seriously.  It also makes them fun to photograph, because they love to have fun.  Their wedding day was exactly what I'd expect - fun-filled and light-hearted, yet full of love and care.  For those of you who are "Princess Bride" fans, their officiant started off their ceremony with "Mahwage is what brings us togever" (of course, said with the accent :) - how fitting!

Their wedding was at the Bali Hai in San Diego and we got some gorgeous weather!  April is such a good month for a San Diego Wedding.  Cheers to Holly and Buck for some great wedding pictures.