Traveling has been a passion of mine since I got my first passport at 6 months old (no joke!) I sat on my moms lap and made gaga sounds at the photographer. I started traveling alone at age 6 to visit my Aunt in Missouri every Summer. I haven't stopped since. Where I go, my camera follows. I love experiencing new places and capturing each one in my own way.
That is me…a blog slacker! Where did this week go to? My parents were in town to help do some wedding planning (among other things) so Tim and I stayed with them at their timeshare in Oceanside. It was like a mini vacation!
But its back to the real world! I have two weddings to blog, but here is a sneak peek of the first one, where I second shot for Kristi Klemens!
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
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:
I took quite a few behind the scene shots. That’s David Baxter squatting in the middle. He likes to avoid the camera. I got one real photo of him but I am saving that for when I need to blackmail him for his 24mm 1.4 lens! haha
Ally again. I used some Boutwells Totally Rad Actions on this. You likey?
Another of Susan, with some more help from the TRA!
Jasmine is sooooooo sweet. I love her to death already!
Emily shooting my good friend Julia:
I’ve been getting to know Susan better lately and I really think she is an awesome person and absolutely fabulous photographer!
The lovely Jamie. I would link her name…but she is slacking on the blog! 😛
I thought this was cute!
Ummm…Shootsac anyone??? Alyssa and I have the same cover!
Hiking up the hill. It was worth it, they got some awesome shots up there! I decided me and my flip flops would stay on solid ground!
Ann, another new person I hadn’t met!
Kimi (better half of David), Julia and me! Photo by Tim.
See I told you there was a doggie! Aaron and Samantha just adopted Barley!
Whew, I told you that was going to be a long one! I had soooooo much fun, can’t wait for the next one! Networking rocks!
xoxo, M
Ahhh California living…
I have a few beach sessions to blog in the next few days, but until then…
