Beau was here last week for his senior portraits. I photographed his sister a few years back. What I like so much about portraiture is I am given the task of capturing the person’s essence and seeing them at their best. Setting them at ease is key, having a camera in your face is daunting to most. This takes a little time and finesse and a genuine openness on my part. At 46 allowing a person to see me is OK. I am what I am and am OK with that for the most part. This allows them to be the same in my presence. It is such satisfying work that given I didn’t need to make a living I would do it for free. I never tire of people and I am always happily surprised by what I find.

I saw Beau as beautiful and talented. We will see great things from him. An exceptional guitarist  and self taught; I know the kind of dedication that takes. I felt honored he allowed me to see him so that I may document this moment, a passing of a mile stone, his senior year, for all in his world to remember.

Gulp Gulp I always get choked up getting to see people in their stages.

Beau’s pictures are some of my favorites so far and I know, I say that about all the boys.

Beautiful Heather Greene now Upton’s  Wedding in Lake Almanor is finished. It was such a beautiful wedding and day. I feel so lucky I was able to photograph their wedding.

I was wondering if I should advertise in my local Costco Store ad. I thought it worth giving a shot. I’ll try anything once. Liz called me because of that ad and we had instant phone repour. I liked her very much over the phone and so we decided to meet in Chico rather than have them drive all the way to my studio we met at Starbucks. They called me a few days later and I was booked. We met in Chico again and photographed their engagement session at Bidwell Park. It was their I took one of my favorite engagement photographs. Ian and I covered their wedding in June it was such a beautiful day, beautiful ceremony and beautiful bride and groom.

I heard from Jane she was getting married and I couldn’t stand the idea it wasn’t going to be documented in a special way. It was a Sunday wedding, I wasn’t booked and she is my photo shop tutor, fellow community member and fellow artist.

Generally a photographer is usually the last to get booked for a wedding and not the obvious priority until 5 years down the road when it becomes a big regret that it wasn’t covered. I can’t tell you, seriously, how many times I hear  ”I wish we knew how important it was” or “we didn’t really pay attention to style or our photographer sucked” or “we were so uptight , because he was  weird and dominating”.

It’s really an odd industry I have entered into because the buyer doesn’t realize they have a need. Time and time again I see it in regret.

I adore Heather, she’s a lovely girl and I couldn’t let her regret not having had this day documented in the beauty it was presented. She is in love with her Ian, there needs to be a photo of that.

In the case of the wedding photographer,  ignorance isn’t bliss. Bliss is seeing how blissful we were. And with that said I am making a commitment to photograph the bliss in my family more.

So a bit of advice.  

Book a pro photographer even if it’s for just a key few hours. Uncle Ed has a great camera but you are his experimental subjects for his little photo hobby, if it was really just about the camera there would not be a pro photo industry and is that what you really want to be an experiment?

Look at the work this pro photographer does, if you are in love with it,  call them. If you like them over the phone, meet them eye ball to eye ball. Would you enjoy spending time with this person?  Because they are going to be part of one of the most special days of your life?

Heather is gorgeous, that is obvious, but she radiates a sunbeam of happy energy that discounts all the exterior pretty and draws us in. I loved documenting her special day and feel honored she let me pressure her into it! Hopefully she’ll live to be grateful for it. 

Beautiful Heather and Ian 10 years together and now married!

She asked me if I would photograph her with her mother and sister in their favorite style.

I first saw her at a wedding I was photographing. I caught her eyes sparkling with my camera while she was looking at him. I thought, I have to shoot this wedding when it happens there was such great chemistry between the two of them and she’s stunning.

I photographed them in Chico’s Bidwell Park with all the props from her mother’s shop The Plant Barn. I had so much fun!

Vintage grunge with a little country added…..

I have  been with my husband for 23 years. I have been married a long time. I  love my husband, I like my husband and I am in love with my husband. The three being quit different things.  There is no other person on the planet that can send me through  a  gambit of emotion. To say we have a passionate marriage is an understatement. I have a very rich marriage. At times it rings me out and every once in while I fantasize about moving into a little place all my own and being alone on the coast. Taking a rest from the work of my marriage.

What I have learned about marriage is getting married isn’t a marriage, it’s a party. Just like being in love with an infant, so that when they are unruly teenagers we won’t kill them, the beginning of a relationship serves the same purpose. Remembering the beginning ; long term marriages seem to have a way of tainting one’s today’s with yesterday’s injuries. Hearing marriage vows keeps it fresh, new and real for me. It also causes me to reflect.

I photograph weddings and the odd thing about being behind my camera is my ears hear everything. I hear every word of their vows. Every word hits me in my gut. Whether the couple being married is taking the the vows that I am hearing seriously,  matters not,  I am taking them very seriously. My marriage is serious business to me, a whole life,  family, trajectory of many lives hang in the balance. Marriage is not for the weak or faint of heart.  The longer I am married I come to understand for me marriage is a sacred covenant not a contract. That was the message I took away from this wedding. Even though I already know it on some level, sometimes I forget it. Sometimes I feel like it’s a contract that can be renegotiated or adjusted or absolved.

Shirley, who was there in my early married life and Yoda to me, said “Marriage is made everyday Kim. One day at a time.” I know a little today what that means.  I speak for me only, because I am by nature stubborn and a flawed human being, I look at my marriage as my sacred spiritual work.  One day at a time, it  demands  I grow up just a little more that I love a little  more, that I change a little more. Thank God I know Love to be a verb, just like faith without works is dead, so is love without right action, because when I want to move to my quiet little cottage on the coast I am shown one more time there is something I must work on and change in myself. At the end of the day I find, it begins and ends with me and it is a lesson I have to keep learning.

Once when I was having a moment where I thought my husband wasn’t taking this marriage work as seriously  as I was, I asked him. ” Honey is this a  marriage of convenience for  you?” He laughed hard and loud, and said with a big smile “There isn’t anything convenient about it.”  Now that may sound bad, but I took it as a  great sign. He’s working too and he wouldn’t if it didn’t matter to him. We both are in it one day at a time.

Photographing Weddings is good for me and my  marriage.

This week the theme was prom. Beautiful dresses, daughters and life. A time and a place for them to shine and feel beautiful. They are beautiful inside and out.

I am so happy to be photographing Liz and Jimmy’s wedding in June in Chico. They are such a sweet couple. I think this may be one of my favorite images ever.

I have been doing to test this light with Gail. Strong back light. A bit of fill light. Minimal makeup and a screen. I used my 5d 1.2 lense at 4.o 100 iso shutter speed was set at 800. Bright sun. A screen back drop to filter. 580 ex11 set on manual at 1/32 of the power. I was looking to capture her freckles on her nose. Hot Hot light. This is what we came up.

A little Calvinish

My Favorite

Some of my favorites

with such ease

preperation

At the Met

I can feel the movement

Inside the Queensbourough Bridge for a Black tie affair, outside a sandlot with a baseball game going.

On the way to the Chapel

On the way to the Chapel on the Hill, Benziger Family Winery.

All set for Dinner in the Benziger Family Winery cave

On the shores of Lake Almanor

Looking out at Mt. Lassen

calm movement

I love the lines of her Dress

On the way to the Aspens