It was extra fun for me to shoot this bunch of 4, I mean 6. I had to do some serious arm twisting to get Dad to wear the mustache, but come on…these 4 were born for these mustaches (I only wish I would have put one on Truman and Ruby)

I think we all had fun…I love this series of Grandpa jumping with the kids (and his beer). He had been one of the quieter members of the group, and when we were wrapping up and the adults scattered to take care of babes and organize dinner, and kids were running around having a cartwheel contests, there was a moment  in the beautiful quiet of the canyon when you could hear the giggles and hums of his family, and he looked at me with tears in his eyes. He smiled and said,  “you might be too young to get this, but this is what life is all about”.  I assured him that I was not all that young, and he continued, “it is really nice to have the camera here and I appreciate you coming out, but this…all of them…my children and grandchildren…all here, happy and in one place…there is nothing in the world better than that.”

No sir…nothing is better…and you have a beautiful family, so glad that I was able to capture them for you!

This was my first time shooting where I was told that I was in a neighborhood of  other types of shootings…but the colors and textures all around me just about made up for it. This was a fun and unexpected shoot of a new friend I met at a photography workshop back in May. She has been living here from Sweden and wanted a shoot of her family in the City before they moved back home. We met at the incredibly cool-why have I never been here before-Clarion Alley and the colorful art made my heart skip a beat. We then took a walk down Mission St…a block or two around 16th that were a little crowded and probably a wee bit rough to be so obviously out of place with my giant expensive camera out, but I was completely in photographer mode and didn’t let myself think about it or notice it. I was in the zone and too busy watching these city kids navigate the streets on their skateboards and anticipating the next brick building location that Dad was leading us to. He was right it was a very cool building…from what I understand there is a certain kind of “photography” or videography going on inside this building that would curl my hair, but the outside has become an unofficial skate park of sorts and made for a great backdrop. This was one of those times where I realized how much I love shooting in new locations, I enjoy not knowing what is coming next and not having a plan for what I’m going to do. This was an adventure, much different than anything I’ve ever done before…but these photos are still “me” and better than that, these photos are totally Linda and her family. I hope that these photos will remind them of the happy memories they made while living in SF. Thanks again Linda!

I love this face….I actually love all of the faces this boy makes…. he is growing up so quick this one….I guess they all do, but I have to confess that this guy has an extra special place in my heart. I feel so very lucky that  I’ve been able to watch him grow right before my eyes. He had just turned one when I was honored to photograph him for the first time....

I loved this first shoot…and I loved that Mom wanted to include a special gift that he received for his birthday.

To my delight…Mom called me when he turned 2…and I chased him a little more...

and enjoyed when he showed off an artistic birthday gift from that year..

This year his gift was a little bit more noisy…

But this boy and his mom and dad were just as adorable and in love with each other as the first time I photographed them. Maybe it is because I live a life where one boy is the center of my everything…but I am in love with the shots with Luca in the middle of Mom and Dad.

Speaking of love….

sigh…

I  can’t wait to do it again next year…no, I take that back…I can wait, he’s growing up too fast as it is!! Besides, I’ll surely bump into him and Mom in Target like I usually do, between now and then!

This day when mom asked if it was ok to “just shoot at home”…I said of course, I love to shoot at home…and then she showed me the yard. I’m sure that my face betrayed me as I tried to act casual and professional. Talk about amazing, waterfront with beautiful decor and furniture for outdoor living everywhere that I turned. It took me a few moments to realize that there was also a dock (and I didn’t even know about the boat until later).

Add to the amazing location a beautiful couple, an active and adorable boy and a totally cool dog and I was pretty much in heaven.

I’m so grateful to have been invited into this home and into this family for the afternoon!

I was really honored to be asked to photograph Moriah’s sister and her family. We’ve known each other (obviously) for more than 20 years, but I’ve been so thankful to get to know Anna and her family better recently. I was a little nervous for this shoot, to be honest. Sometimes it is harder with people that you “know” and with 3 (well 4)  grown boys, I wasn’t sure how our day would go…especially since we got rained out the first time we tried to head out. But I didn’t need to worry, everyone was relaxed and we (at least I) had a really great time. These guys are a wonderful family, and I am glad that they are part of mine.

Thanks guys!!

This was such a fun shoot! Girls girls everywhere! I remember when the dad of this bunch was a high school senior and I was a lowly freshman, I seem to remember him surrounded by girls then too! None as beautiful as this group though…such easy smiles and giggles, even if I did see that the tooth fairy ended up paying a visit to at least two of them the night of the shoot! We got absolutely amazing weather, and even though we were losing light fast when we got to the beach, I couldn’t stop snapping pics of them all against that incredible sky. I love so many of these images, but when they all danced in the surf and finally started to forget I was there, my heart skipped a beat. Such a beautiful sky and such a beautiful family. Thanks guys…I mean girls and Warren!

This little man happens to belong to my “little” cousin. I call her that even though she is a grown woman. I can’t help it, there is a part of me that will always see her as that 10 year old little girl that came with me to “take your daughter to work day” and who had slumber parties with me at my first apartment. But she’s all grown up and married and a mama.

It was so fun to hang out with her and her new family and to photograph sweet Lorenzo and his amazing head of hair.

Love you guys!