Melissa McClure Blog

A few weeks ago, my good friend Kerianne called me to see if I wanted to be involved in a reality tv launch party for a new show she is doing the marketing for. 

Of course!  Any chance to shoot and see my good friend!  The launch party was for a TV Show called Hollywood Love.  It revolves around three hillarious women and their quest for love.  It stars Katie Love, Amy Stiller and Cynthia Levin.  Let me tell you, these ladies are fabulous!  Their stand up comedy was some of the funniest stuff I have heard in a long time!  You can read more about them at the link above…

Below is where the party took place, Cinespace on Hollywood Blvd.  That is the star of Queen.

Christopher from Paul Mitchell the School was on hand to do the makeup.  That is Kara Revel, one of the producers.

My dear friend Kerianne.  We actually know each other from college…in Illinois!

The people that make it all happen.  The cute blonde 3rd from the left is the other producer, Von Rae Wood.  Everyone else was listed above

Thanks for letting me in to your Hollywood Love family, you all are fantastic and I wish you the best of luck!

I head north to my little hometown of Fallbrook, CA.  The 3rd Sunday in April is always the Avocado Festival!  To all you avocado lovers out there…this is where you need to be!

 There is a lot going on at the annual street fair.   Including decorating a live avocado in to characters!  Here is one little guy that caught my eye: 

Of course Tim and I had to test out the guacamole.  And it was yummy!

It was from this place:

We also had avocado flavored ice cream by Coldstone.  It is the best.  No photos because it ended up in my belly before I got a shot!  

After we left the Festival, we took the long way home and drove by my grandparents old home.  I hadn’t been to her home for a few years. She moved to Oregon a few years ago.  But 6 months ago, the place she and my grandfather called home for most of their later years burned to the ground in the October fires.  My family was pretty heart broken by this news, even though it was no longer an asset to us.  I haven’t had the courage to go back until Sunday.  Fitting because today is exactly the 6 month mark since it burned.

They lived in the mobile home park on Reche Road.  We drove in to the complex and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  A lot of the trees were still black, but at least they were still standing.  The lots had been grated and it seems like they are ready to put new homes on that land. 

The scary part is that my grandmothers home barely burned down.  The lot 2 up from hers is still there.  Its amazing how lucky half of the park was! 

Where the orange plastic fence thing is, that is where her home was.   It was a total trip to see her neighborhood like this.  Pretty devastating actually.  I took some photos to share with my family, but here is one:

If anyone is interested in going to the avocado fest next year, let me know!   I’m already looking forward to some more ice cream! Yum!

XOXO, M

Today I met Christina Werner who is the owner of BB Weddings and Events, a wedding coordination company.  We actually have a mutual family friend in Northern California who got us in touch!

We had a nice long lunch at Oggi’s  chatting about – what else – weddings!  It’s what we know best!  Christina has been in Southern Cali since 1998 and keeps plenty busy with many awesome couples in San Diego (and even some destination weddings)!   ps She is fluent in Spanish – how cool is that??!!

If you are a bride and want some of her expertise, check out her website, pronto!  She is a total sweetheart and definitly knows her stuff!  Trust me, I grilled her with questions for my own wedding!  ha ha

It was so great finally meeting with you Christina! Glad we got to meet up and chat!

XOXO, M

Last night, a group of 10 of us met in Little Italy for a little photo fun!  We met at the Princess Pub to get a drink.  After, we wandered the streets looking for any nook and cranny.  We shot until after 9pm and then headed to Nimmo’s for a late dinner!

Here is the group (minus Kimi).  The guy in front with his killer camera was not part of our group…he just walked by and wanted in on the action!

L-R: Susan, me, Julia, Jamie, Tim, Disposable camera guy, MA5EN, Emily, David and Aaron:

Masen shooting Julia

Emily:

Julia:

Masen, David doing his daily stretching and Jamie:

The beautiful Jamie

This may be my favorite shot of the night.  Plus David let me borrow his 24mm 1.4 for the night. Mmmmmmm.

In the words of Bobbi: Work it Out!

Fierce, Emily, fierce!  I keep telling her she should go on America’s Next Top Model.  She would rock it:

Susan is always a willing model! She even did some jumping for us

One last shot of Emily. Love that video light. Off to order mine very soon…

I always love hanging out with my photo buddies!  Laughing is guaranteed in this group!

I appreciate each one of you, thanks for coming out to play!

xoxo, M

When I originally met with Norvin and Dawn, I knew I wanted to be their photographer.   So when they wrote to say they felt the same way, I was so excited!  We totally hit it off…but really, both of them are so awesome, easy to get along with people!

Thanks to Heather Elise for the referral!

I cannot wait for their wedding in July!  For this shoot, we met down in La Jolla at Bird Rock.  I wasn’t totally sure where I was, this was a special place for the two of them!

They claim they didn’t know how to act in front of the camera.  I’m a bit suspect, they were great!

 Lucky Dawn, she gets TWO engagement rings!  The gemstone belonged to Norvin’s grandmother! 

How appropriate. The graffiti artist knew we were coming… 

I picked up my mail late last night and was stoked to see a handwritten card from Laura and Brian!  They were my Dec 07 bride and groom!  I have the best clients ever!

What a cute card!  You might recognize that photo from my Blog header too!

Thank you for the sweet note and awesome Yard House gift card!  Tim and I can’t wait to go use it!  You two rock and I hope all is going well in Texas!

XOXO

Last Friday a group of 17 photographers (and 1 dog) got together for a little networking, a smidgen of posing and a lot of laughs. 

We met at Balboa Trails in San Diego with the plan to take new headshots of everyone there!  We had so much fun, and I am currently planning our next outing!  If you are a photographer and want in on the fun, leave me a comment or send me an email (melissa@melissamcclure.com)!

Hang on, this is going to be a long post!

Here is most of the group:

Photo by Samantha

My fish eye portrait

The beautiful Susan Yee: 

Meet my karaoke partner in crime, Ally:

The person in charge of the get together, Emily!  I’m very excited to be shooting with her in July:

My new good friend, Alyssa:

Emily again:

The other day I waited anxiously by my front door.  Fed-Ex was on its way…I could just feel it! 

They did not disappoint.  And neither did Canvas on Demand.  It came well packaged and in perfect condition!

It being this:

Our walls are so horribly blank, I needed a canvas to bring in some color!  Recognize that cute couple??

Photo taken by Jen Harris

It is a 16×24 wrap with black canvas on the outside.  Yum!

I love it!  Shout out to Jonathan at Canvas on Demand for all the patience and help in this super easy process!  Photogs: head on over to their site and sign up for you own account!

XOXO, M

I met Shannon and Victor a spot in Encinitas that was completely new to me!  Grandview was amazing!!  I was totally inspired once I got there!  Wow, what a view! 

Baby Brenna is due in the begining of May!

These two were a lot of fun, up for anything I wanted to try! 

Victor is a really funny, outgoing guy.  Shannon laughed through most of the session!

I love this because she had no clue I was photographing her!  She thought I was focusing on the belly, so this is totally natural!

Wow, I can’t wait to go back to that location!  Thanks for sharing it with me, and thanks to Rachel for introducing us!

XOXO, M