This past Friday we met up with Kristina and Scott in the Tudor City area for their engagement shoot and did what we do best: walk and see.

I love this moment of Scott and Kristina cracking up!

Modern Photographers recently had a contest where all the members submitted their three favorite engagement photos, and one of mine placed as the best of 2008. Initially members rated photos, and the finalists were sent to wedding planners at I-wed.org for voting. Thanks to everyone that loves this image of Caryn and Warren as much as I do!

I’ve been so excited for Sara and Andrew’s engagement shoot! There’s the obvious reason, that they’re my best friends and I can’t wait for their wedding. But they also arranged to borrow a friend’s Vespa for part of their shoot! We drove around Santa Monica for most of the shoot.

And a little side bonus… Piero gave me a Vespa ride, too! All it’s done is increase my longing for one, of course. Photo by Sara!

While some might not think it the perfect location for an engagement shoot, I was inspired. And Heather and Kristin were definitely up for the idea!

Last night I photographed something very special: a proposal! On the way home I was joking with a friend of mine that it was like faux combat photography, hiding behind bushes and pillars to remain unseen. The original plan was for the proposal to happen on the observation deck at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, but at sunset the previously empty deck suddenly had around 15 guests, so James went for Plan B and walked down to another deck, me following 20 ft behind.

I arrived early to “stake out” my spot, and took a few shots of the view to kill time.

And then a few while waiting for the deck to clear (which never happened, of course)

The moment!

I kid you not, within a second of the “YES!” this happened:

the happily engaged couple

So, I’ve had a couple shoots with Peter and one with Robin (sort of) before as well… but this one just amazed me and I had such a great time. It doesn’t hurt that they supplied marshmallows. :) I’ve been wanting to do a shoot at a bonfire for a long time, and was so glad that Peter and Robin were up to the idea.

We started at Main Street walking amongst the crowds at the farmer’s market, then moved onto the beach for a couple shots, and then Robin built us a great fire! But, my favorite shot is first, this one from the bonfire. Have I mentioned I love the bonfire?

The owner of Meleesa, the Salon, let us borrow her bikes for an impromptu ride through the alley. :)

What a delightful afternoon I spent with Caryn and Warren Sunday! Not only did the chauffer me around from place to place, they let me guide them with absolutely no destination in mind. I’m so honored with that kind of trust placed in me, and I just love the results. We had a very glowy day, and I think we only trespassed twice-ish.

We had to get a couple shots with Guiness, one of my new favorite dogs…

And then we went inside and Caryn and Warren showed me one of their habits, Rock Band.

After that, it was off on our light hunt

BNSF should definitely carry at least half the blame here…

We stopped by a dentists office. Why? Well, mostly because the rainbow kind of threw up on this building and I couldn’t resist… Of course, Caryn and War were drawn to the “Laker staircase” so we took plenty of photos there!

I wasn’t aware there was a downtown El Segundo, but that’s where we ended up next. It’s not really the happening place to be on Sundays, so we had plenty of photo opps!

Thanks, guys!

Wednesday afternoon I had a nice time driving around Cerritos for Karley and Joel’s engagement shoot. We hit the Performing Arts Center, the library, the newer sculpture garden, and then went down the road to the abandoned railroad bridge. Karley and Joel are so fun– I can’t wait to shoot their wedding coming in May. They laughed the entire way through the shoot and made it such an enjoyable evening!

At the sculpture garden are a few embankments with long, wavy grass — the kind that never needs mowing. I asked them to lay in it for a shot, and Joel immediately started yawning! Either that or hanging out with me is really boring… :)

Then we moved to the bridge just in time for sunset

Peter Brandon asked me to photograph his January 12th concert at the Orange County Pavillion. The OC Pavillion is a very nice venue, classy and elegant. And Peter, well he’s an amazing singer and wonderful performer. I’m not really one that attends concerts on a regular basis, and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I’d highly recommend finding out the next time he’s performing!

I’m SUCH a sucker for pretty lighting…


While singing the song he wrote for his girlfriend

Which transitioned into this:

She said yes!




There was champagne flowing and hugs all around in Peter’s dressing room immediately after the concert

I just want to congratulate Peter and Robin on the their engagement. I’m so happy for the two of you!

Heather and Scott are a very sweet couple, and made a good Friday into a great one! We met them near their home by the circle in Orange and walked around a bit before heading off to the stables where Heather keeps her pony. And all along the way we enjoyed Heather’s infectious laugh as we joked around about how high heels are evil.

I don’t think I normally gush, but Shawna and Scott are really cool people. I mean, really great! Plus, they chose to do some very fun stuff for their engagement shoot, so now I like them even more! We started off at Angel Stadium and Manny, our escort, gave us a very informative tour with stops in the opposing team’s locker room, a few suites, and the dugouts. Then we went to pick up Dixie and Kelsey, their also-very-cool dogs. We drove down the street to the park and were blessed with gorgeous light!

On to the images… in a mixed up order.

These next two are both from Stephanie!

This shot is just a gift to Scott. He’ll understand and I hope appreciate it!

Yesterday I met Ivonne and Nart at the studio for a little walk around downtown Long Beach for their engagement session. My favorite type of session is just walking around and seeing what we find– it seems like every walk I take I find something new!