Big Man Van....

Meet Sweet Baby Van!  

He was 6 weeks old the day we did his photo shoot and he could not be sweeter, cuter or chunkier (and boy does he look like his daddy)!  We had such a fun day shooting in the families beautiful home and the light that day was amazing.  After a couple of hours of shooting indoors we ventured outside to find a shady spot to shoot and voila...the tree!!!  Gorgeous family, gorgeous tree and gorgeous foliage to highlight them all.  I was a very happy camper to say the least.  Smooches baby Van!!!

 Van and his big sister Ava (you may recognize her from my last blog session) were the perfect hosts as were their many sweet and feisty dogs.

Van's nursery is TO DIE FOR and was designed by my wonderful friend Shannon and The Little Barn in Calabasas.  Please stop by and visit her sometime.   Shannon, her employees and her store are warm, welcoming and fabulous!  She also owns another darling baby boutique in La Canada, Baby Cakes.

Little Lady in Red

Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful....

If this is how I feel about this sweet little dumpling, can you imagine how her parents feel?  Ava was a joy to photograph and we had such fun together.  She is a natural in front of the camera and her "poses" made me laugh out loud.  Seriously, the child can strike a mean pose.  She loosened up after we talked and shot a bit and I was able to see the rare gem she truly is.  I have been lucky to have been invited back to photograph her 6 week old baby brother Van!  Lucky me...I LOVE this family!!!  Enjoy.

I

The Beach Boys

Ahhh, boys.  Don't you love em?  All snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.....  

Check out these darling kiddos I had the privilege of chasing around the beach for a couple of hours this week.  I love a good, cold beach on a winters day and these sweet guys kept my heart racing and warm! Their mom Tiffany is a goddess and a saint.  

God bless her and all mothers of boys!!!  

Enjoy.

Beautifully Anonymous...

I am feeling a bit down in the dumps today.  A little melancholy about the holidays ending.  Maybe I am missing all the extra time I had with my family and time spent behind my camera with great clients.  Things tend to slow down in the portrait photography business this time of year and don't seem to pick up much until Spring.  It is a bit of a clean up and organizational period for many of the photographers I know and most need it after the hectic schedule during the last few months before the new year.  


So what's my point you ask?  Stick with me, I will get there....  


I was soul searching today so after settling the kids down for their naps, I decided to peek into my e-mail to see if anything was there to cheer me up.  Lord, did I find something...  Lord, were you listening...


I opened a link sent from a friend about an amazing story on you tube.  The story is about a young man from Chicago who upon doing some research for a city he once lived, happened upon an amazing find.  He discovered what appears to be the complete works of Chicago woman (a working nanny) from the 1950's who in her one day of spare time per week goes into the streets downtown and shoots photographs.  LOTS of photographs.  Street style photographs (which we are now calling "photojournalistic style" photography).  Her portraits are nothing shy of amazing.  From what I can tell they are mostly in black and white but a few are in stunning color.  Regardless of her options, I am so glad she shot mostly in black and white because the of the beauty and timelessness it portrays.  Never ending, never aging.  Simple elegance and pure truth.  There is no hiding in black and white and it is sometimes very harsh in it's portrayal of the human face (although it can sometimes soften it as well).   Shadows, edges, curves and light is what you see and it is up to the viewer to imagine the color for ourselves.   I LOVE these things about black and white photographs.  There simply is no faking it.  Vivian Maier was a fabulous photographer with an uncanny eye for composition and subject and has deeply touched me in a single moment with her work.  I felt so many emotions as I looked through her work online.  Sad, scared, angry, glum, a little happy sometimes and venerable.  Mostly I felt how I imaging those whom she photographed felt at that exact moment.  This is the goal of photojournalistic photography and Vivian Maier nailed it. Again and again and again... Did she know how good she was at her craft?  Did she care? Due to the fact that most of her film lay untouched and undeveloped and many of the portraits were neatly tucked away in boxes, I doubt she cared much.  The art of photography was for her alone and unless she was tortured about sharing it, and that was her reason for not, I believe that the art was for her alone.  For me, that is stunning and sad but glorious at the same time.  She did take many self portraits however, so perhaps she was hoping to be found one day...


Is there anything that you have or do that is solely for you alone where it does not matter if anyone else knows or cares?  In our time of  facebook, twitter and other social networking , reality television and everyone knowing (and sometimes seeing) everything about one another, is it even possible to have such secrets?  


Something to ponder...

RIP Vivian Maier and thank you...

1926 - 2009

For images and a info about Vivian click:

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

For the comprehensive story and interview watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWEDOnBfDUI

Brothers, Babies and Grass Stains...

Check out the cutest duo to hit Calabasas...meet little Parker and London T! They were so cute and Parker and I hit it off bit time (we are BFF now...if he remembers me, which is unlikely for a 3 year old unless I am dressed up as Superman or Elmo).  London was a super chill baby who has cheeks and thighs that will make Pillsbury envious.  And those EYES!!! I wish I had been able to squeeze and love on her a bit... she is a DOLL!

Getting the shots with Parker and London proved interesting since Parker refused to actually hold the baby.  His mom would place her in his arms (sitting...of course) and the minute she was in his lap, his arms would open up like a starting gate at horse race and down London went.  Face first, in the clover grass. Straight down.  London is a tough little girl though and did not make a peep.  Not once!  Really!  Just laid there on her face until mamma ran to pick her up and then we tried again.  I believe some bribes were set in place (as they almost always are in photo shoots with kids) and finally, Parker held on.  God bless him because I LOVE these pictures!  Enjoy!