Melissa McClure Blog

One of my brides ordered a gallery wrap from me and I wanted to share with you how awesome it looks! I am really happy with the new professional lab I am using for these. This particular one is a 16×20. (The yellow and white is my bedspread)

The quarter is to show you the thickness!

It comes ready to hang…just add the nail and the wall!
Above my fireplace

My first Christmas with the Selenak family I’ll have one more before I officially become a Selenak myself!

Tim and his nephew:
My contribution was the chocolate rice krispie treats in the front:
Jacie (Tim’s neice) opening her American Girl doll. She named her Abby.
Jacie, Melissa (Tim’s sister) and Abby:
I hope you all had a wonderful day and spent time with your family or friends! 2007 is almost over, which I am thankful for. Business-wise it was a fantastic year. On a personal level, I went through a lot of heartbreak with the loss of a family member and an old friend. I have a lot of positive feelings and hopes for 2008!

XOXO,
M

My future sister in law, Melissa, (see I told you I would give you a shout out!) gave us free tickets to Sea World. We used them last Friday after Tim got off work.

I have always loved experimenting with my photography, and this was the perfect oppurtunity to play around with some night shots! I purposefully left my flash at home and I really put my 5D to the test.

I’ve never actually been up this thing at Sea World and when we went to go up it, they shut it down!
We spent a long time just watching the Orcas before the big show
I thought this was sweet, Tim scribbled Love You to me in this glass. He did not draw the Shamu though. haha
Night shot from the Sky Ride over the Bay:

Us!
Merry Christmas!!!!

A few Saturday’s ago, Tim and I headed to Jen and Bill’s new home in Santee to help celebrate their son, Will’s 2nd birthday. After the party, we did a short Christmas Card session, but Will was way too warn out to take photos!

Regardless, I got some great images of him playing with his friends:

His new car!
He was so good at sharing all his toys with his buddies!

Jen had kid-friendly food only!
Finger painting!!

What a little artist!
Jen and Will:
So excited for his cupcake!

The Fam:

The Christmas card photo:

Thanks Jen and Bill for welcoming us in to your home!

XOXO,

M

A few weeks ago, after a shoot at Balboa Park, Tim and I decided to use our free passes to check out the San Diego Zoo! I haven’t been to many zoos in my life, but SD Zoo is hands down the best one in the world!

We brought both the cameras with us and had a blast photographing all afternoon!

I normally refuse to go in to the reptile section. But I’m glad Tim dragged me kicking and screaming. It was neat! And gross.

(photo by me):
This was probably the coolest thing I saw all day! This snake was shedding. That is his skin peeling off under his head! He was that really dark color before, and the pretty brown/gold color after! (photo by me)
Tim on the skyfari!
I love the Pandas! (photo by me)
For Photography sake, I wish the fence wasnt there. But for my safety, I’m glad it was! (next 2 photos by me)

We watched this guy for a long time!
(photo by Tim):

I think I will be starting a tradition to go visit my grandmother’s name on the wall to honor her memory. This goes for the Wild Animal Park too.

XOXO,

M

Last Saturday, my good friend Ann asked me to come and photographer her Christmas party that she and her fiance, Kyle were throwing.

Everything was decorated so beautifully! I loved this sign in their front entryway:

Yum!!
The gracious hosts, Ann and Kyle:
The night consisted of many rousing games of Flippy Cup! This is how the girls celebrated their victory in that round:
And this is how the guys celebrated theirs:
Then it was time for the gift exchange!
The Fallbrook girls, Ann, Kristen and Cassie:

Thanks for the fun night!
XOXO,
M

In my busy schedule, I completely forgot to post this wedding from last October! At Haji and Araceli’s wedding, I assisted the very pregnant (at that time!) Brittney Pecore. These two were married in Riverside. It was a nice intimate ceremony, and the families seemed to get along great!

Haji and his entourage!



My fav shot of the night:

I met Tiffany on Myspace awhile ago. She is also a wedding and portrait photographer and is based out of Lubbock, TX. She and her now husband Adam were looking for a photographer for their Nov 3 wedding in Littlefield, TX (birthplace of Waylon Jennings).

I was honored they wanted me as their photographer, knowing how important my role was in their day!

I had a great time getting to know Tiff and Adam in my 3 day stay in Texas!

They were married in the same Catholic church that Adam’s parents were married in!
Post-ceremony hug with her best friend/maid of honor, Randi.
Adam’s dad was nice enough to share his car! (ps can you spot me?)

Tiffany laughs hard and laughs often. Good thing Adams a funny guy!
They can be serious too…

The reception was inside a huge barn structure thing, I’m not sure what to call it. I learned a lot of new things in West Texas, like they have horrible huge cockroaches!!!
Mother and son:
I also learned what the Cumbia was! (quick lesson from Wikipedia: Cumbia is a autochthonous dance and music from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia, with variants of equally folk in Panama. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the slave population that was later mixed with the European instruments and influence.) Now you know!
Thanks to my new friends, Tiffany and Adam and also to their friends and family, I had a great time getting to know everyone!

Click here to take a look at their slideshow!!!

The song playing during the slideshow was their first dance, and a personal favorite of mine!

Yay, UPS man is my new best friend! Today he brought me my very own 100mm 2.8 macro lens! I used my buddy Ian’s lens at Jenn and John’s wedding in New Jersey.

Since then, I just had to have one! Canon is having a phenomenal rebate, so if you are in the market (or need a cool Xmas gift) check out B&H Photo.

Looking forward to getting my first offical chance to use it at Laura and Brian’s wedding later this month!

On a personal note, Tim and I went to see a movie in Mira Mesa last night and outside the theatre there is a really gorgeous fountain. Tim pulled me over to the fountain, got down on one knee and presented me with a ring. So, we are offically engaged and now I get the tedious (just kidding) task of choosing a wedding photographer! haha

XOXO,
M

When I met John and Lauren, 2 hours flew by like nothing. It was my longest first meeting ever. The same happened at their engagement shoot. I could sit and talk with these two for hours! They are so fun, so entertaining and so in love!

Lauren is a fashion photographer and John is a fabulous writer. They were married at a private residence in Pacific Beach in October. Even the morning rain didn’t get these two down!

How could you not fall in love with this face?


First Dance:
I had a lot of fun playing with the lighting outside:
Sparklers! This is an awesome idea for an outdoor wedding!


I’m so glad that I met you two, good luck in your careers and your new marriage!