I am very excited to be relocating back home to the Los Angeles area in less than two weeks! We have been living in Charleston for the past 12 months so my husband can complete his neuropsychology internship for his PhD. We are both celebrating that today is his last day of internship! Congratulations, Doctor, I am so proud of you! :) This year has truly been a whirlwind bringing some very big changes into our lives. The biggest, most joyful change this year has been the addition of our sweet baby boy. I will be sharing tons of photos and anecdotes on the blog, like a proud mamma, but for now you can see his debut HERE.
I am so excited to get back to California and start working on my photography again. I did a few portrait shoots here and there and a wedding during my time in the Charleston; but between my seemingly-never-ending morning sickness and the birth of my first baby, I haven't done as much shooting as I would have liked. As I prepare for a new start in California, I am rethinking how I want my photography business to run and what I want to photograph.
I still love photographing newborns and babies and have been doing a lot of that lately with my baby. Hopefully he doesn't get too tired of the camera. I love becoming a part of a family and documenting their milestones, especially as they welcome their first baby home. I consider it a privilege to watch those babies grow up and become big brothers and sisters. So as I refocus my business, I definitely will continue photographing all things family-related {maternity, newborn, baby, children, and family sessions}.
I am thrilled to announce that I will once again be accepting wedding commissions. I started photographing weddings professionally in 2003 and am honored to have documented over 175 couple's wedding love stories. A few years ago I needed a break from weddings. At the time I was shooting two to three weddings per weekend and I was exhausted and getting burned out. So, I took a step back to breathe and regroup. I wasn't sure if I would go back to photographing weddings again. Then a little over a month ago, I shot my first wedding in two years. And, guess what?! I loved it! I realized that I did miss being a part of such a happy day and being able to document once-in-a-lifetime-moments for each couple. While I was shooting the ceremony and the couple's kiss {as well as their gorgeous details} I found that I couldn't stop smiling from behind my camera. So, that's the brief version about why I am returning to wedding photography. I will be accepting a limited number of weddings commissions in Southern California once I return to Los Angeles.
I am also very excited about some updates that I am making to my website. You can check out a few of the changes HERE, but be on the look out for a complete redesign to the layout and the photography offerings.
In the meantime, California, here we come! We left as two and are returning as three!
Somehow we had to fit everything in this photo in my Honda Civic... I really wondered if we could do it.
But as you can see, somehow Brandon and I figured it out. Our car is more full than ever before!
Our first stop was at the Grand Canyon. This was my very first time seeing the Grand Canyon, and it was well worth the drive that was slightly out of the way.
This was one of the gorgeous, breath taking vistas. I think I took over 200 photos of the Grand Canyon, but this one really jumped out at me.
It was really, really hot and bright outside. :) 
We stopped in Edmond OK to see one of my past roommates. We lived together in Hawaii for 3 months after college but hadn't seen each other in person for years. I love that EB and I can pick up right where we left off and we had a wonderful visit together. 
The next stop was in Bartlesville Oklahoma to visit my great Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob. The countryside was lush and green for miles and I loved seeing the fields that were covered with fresh hay bales.
Aunt Pat is my grandma's sister and one of the family history keepers. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with them both and loved hearing stories about when my grandma was a young girl as well as when my dad was a child. She showed me the photo below of my dad and his twin brother when they were adorable babies. I absolutely LOVE this photo of them, so I had to share it!
Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob had so many great stories and photos to share. Brandon said he loved the visit as much as I did and we can't wait to go back and visit them again.
Overall, our trip has been going well and we will arrive in Charleston in just a few more days. Having never been to Charleston before, I am getting really excited to see our new place that we'll call home for a year. Of course, mingled in with the excitement and anticipation is also the feeling of missing my family and friends. It feels like we are on vacation but will be returning to Pasadena sometime next week. I think once we get there it will really begin to sink it that we are not going back to Pasadena for a while. I am hoping to stay connected with friends and family through the blog, so I will do my best to post about life in the south.
