On Friday Tim and I met up with Sara and Brian at Sunset Cliffs for their engagement session!

This was my first time meeting Brian.  It was obvious from the beginning of the shoot that he adores Sara.  He kept me laughing the whole shoot, but more importantly, he had Sara cracking up the entire time! 

Right after I snapped this, he went straight to biting her neck.  She started laughing so hard, which can be seen in the following photo! 

mmm so gorgeous.  She is going to be a stunning bride this August!

The wind started getting a bit crazy, as you can see on Sara’s hair!

There wasn’t too much of a sunset, but the clouds were fantastic!

(My view)

(Tim’s view)

Brian and Sara, I’m looking forward to your wedding later this year!  Thanks for being so fun and making me laugh my head off!

xoxo, M

Things are pretty quiet on the wedding front around here!  I don’t have another wedding until March 21st so I plan on catching up on some blogging in the next few weeks!  I have a handful of weddings I have 2nd shot at for some good friends.

The first was from last September.  My good friend Nic at Tamarack Studios brought me along to shoot at Loren and Joe’s gorgeous wedding at Pala Mesa Resort.  Pala Mesa is one of my most favorite venues to shoot at, it’s so beautiful!

Please check out Nic’s blog from the same event!

The lovely bride getting her makeup on!

I tried to catch Nic in action, but he is too quick, he spotted me first!

Joe and Loren opted to see each other first which made the day so much more relaxed!

I love the details Loren added to her bouquet…

and her dress!

Larry Samuels is an awesome bagpiper, what a great addition to a wedding!

Got some new competition out there now…

Woza!  Look at that awesome cake!  

Thanks to Nic for having me along, its always a pleasure!

xoxo, M

At lunch today, my fortune cookie said “You will have many friends when you need them”. That couldn’t be more true today. The kind words I received today in emails, twitters, facebook comments and text messages really meant a lot.

Last night around 2:30am Tim and I were woken up by knocking on our door. My poor car had been hit by a drunk driver while it was parked on our street. He hit it with such force that it completely flipped my SUV. The driver (who I found out has multiple DUI convictions and was driving on a suspended license) was coming from a bar, hit my car, possibly rolled his as well and went home to bed. Hit and run. Thankfully he left a ton of clues behind at the scene (ATM statement, baby shower invite, hats and his headlight) and was arrested about an hour later.

No one was injured, we were asleep when it happened.  He may be injured but he was well enough to drive away.

This was what we walked out to find.  The debris in the front of the photo is from his Titan.

Here you can see the cement retaining wall that my car got smashed in to.  Luckily it barely missed the utility box!

Here is the tow truck tipping the car back on 4 (brand new, two week old, expensive) tires.

The major damage, where he hit the car.

Well, that is that.  Now I am playing the waiting game on his insurance company to get a statement when he is released from jail.  I am still pretty shaken up by this whole ordeal.

I’m home!  It was an amazing week at the largest Wedding and Portrait Photographers (WPPI) Convention!  It was held at the MGM Grand which was a fabulous hotel!

I actually didn’t take my big camera out at all until the end of the week, on the drive home.  I’ve always wanted to see what was down the road Zzyzx, off of the 15 freeway.

The answer is: Nothing.  

just kidding.  There is a large dry lake bed that is full of salt and a Desert Mines Study facility.  And a small lake.  That’s about it.

We pulled over to check out the salt lake bed, here is Emily and Kim, debating the ash vs salt theory.  (It’s salt – Emily tasted it!)

me, Ally and Kim, it was a bit windy!

Here I am, honing my skills as a landscape photographer and someone jumps in the middle of the shot!

Next stop: Calico Ghost Town!

It is actually owned by Knotts Berry Farm and it definitely has that feel to it.  A bit hokey.  Not at all what I expected.

My road trip buddies, Emily, Ally and Kim.

And some more for laughs…

My roomies and I did an impromtu bed jumping photoshoot!  Thanks Charise for putting together this collage and to Jen for shooting most of these! 

And the close up of me.  Rockin’ the Colorati shirt, no doubt! (Yes those are cherries on my pants!)

I absolutely cannot wait for next year…Look out Vegas!

XOXO, M

It’s that time of year again!

The time when all the top wedding and portrait photographers in the world get together in Vegas and learn, socialize and shoot!  It’s the WPPI convention held at the MGM in Vegas!

I will be hitting up the classes Monday-Thursday and also a few photoshoots!  And of course all the fun parties at night!  

If you are out there, or even just curious about my week, you can follow me on Twitter to see what I am doing.