It's almost Father's Day and this dad's interaction with his daughters were some of my most favorites taken all year. It was my first time shooting in Tucson Botanical Gardens and I could barely contain my excitement. It was pretty darn dreamy. And with these girls so bright eyed and bright colored, it was a pretty special session experience.
Here is the NG family. Full of joy and such a gentle, patient family.
...and I still have a few slots open for portrait sessions in San Jose (or Bay Area depending on demand) on June 15 & 16. Go HERE to flesh out ideas/concepts and book a session!
Judah + Chandel | San Francisco Engagement Session | June 2013
For a plant that is often called the "vine cactus" and used as "fencing" because its spiny arms keep intruders out, the Ocotillo's springtime blooms are amazing bursts of color. It actually goes by other names like Candlewood, Slimwood, Coach Whip or Jacob's Staff. But personally, I prefer "Flaming Sword." Little fiery blossoms of surprise and life.
It's like people, right? Sometimes you just don't give them enough credit and suddenly they bloom forth and you step back and think, "Wow! and that was inside of you this whole time? Such life!"
....the desert is ripe with life lessons.
P.S. I want to print the last one particularly large. Like, the size of a headboard in my daughter's room. :)
Ocotillo Buds n' Blossoms | 20 x 40 Metal Panels - Ready to Mount $220 set
Ocotillo Blossoms | 16 x 20 Fine Art Metal Panel - Ready to Mount $225
Ocotillo Blossom | 60 x 40 Fine Art Giclee Canvas | $525
No special occasion. No special anniversary. Just a time in this life with your beloved.
I loved getting to meet this couple. It was fresh and honest and full of life. It was awkward and then there was beauty in their affection and then they relaxed more.
My favorites are the ones of them strolling down a street straight out of Anne of Green Gables. The sun was delicious. But no more than their laughter.
Here is a recent sweetheart session with Jaymin & Emily
Congrats to Nia Sanchez of Nevada! Crowned Miss USA 2014 last night!
I may have danced with her at a wedding...okay maybe took pictures while she danced at a wedding, but whatever. :) stunning woman. incredible smile. a whole year of mind-blowing opportunity ahead of her. Props girl. I'm pretty sure your candid answers tonight were some of my favorites...and that red dress....oh man, that dress.
Miss USA 2014 | Nia Sanchez
So there was this girl. I barely knew her. Had had more interactions with her on facebook than I had in real life. You could tell she was on a journey--soul searching. She embraced the quiet moments, reflected, sat still, appreciated little things, appreciated people--she loved them and served them and thought deeply.
She is also a fantastic actress.
I didn't know where she was in her career as an actress but knew I would like to meet her and capture some of the spirit. I felt drawn and appreciative of the way her life made me want to sit still too.
So on a whim, I connected with her during one of my trips to SoCal. I asked to treat her to a lifestyle headshot session. Hit or miss, we would get a diversity of emotions...Then traffic argued and fussed and light left quickly and we kept ourselves confined to her yard. We laughed. We thought of ranges of emotions and type-sets to capture. And my favorite ended up just being her. The ones with her down on the steps of her home...deeply authentic. simple.
The time post-shoot was spent sipping on homemade iced tea from mason jars, sitting on her bohemian couch in her quaint white bungalow in the heart of LA. I listened to more of the story I had tracked with in snippets over the years...and it was more special in person. We talked about patience for the right things. We talked about the beauty of not knowing. We talked about surrender and faith and loving others despite our own confusion. We bonded over authors and books. We shared stuff the other hadn't read or heard of. I met her dog Lucy. I. Love. Lucy. And now we are friends.
So here she is. My beautiful friend Bridgette.
Spring is side-stepping as summer smashes through the doors this week with a very confident, unapologetic triple-digit forecast. And i suppose it's a good time to bring back Texture Tuesdays...because since slowing down to really find pieces of this hostile desert that I love--that i genuinely think as beautiful--I've been surprised...and wooed.
There is this bush called the Creosote Bush. When its leaves get wet it releases a smell that all Arizonans know to be the signal for RAIN. Often it's buds are little tiny yellow balls, but in the spring, when the desert bursts to life, the fruit appears as small, white, fuzzy balls.
Creosote Buds 1 | Desert Photography | Texture Tuesday | Fine Art Panels: 20" x 40" Giclee Canvases $225 set
430am rolled around quickly. I met Emily in PJs and giddiness with my hair/makeup arsenal prepared. We got fancy and mapped out concept and wardrobe for our early morning session in the Mt. Baldy foothills--the same place Nathan proposed one month prior.
I've known Emily since she was 4 years old. I was a clown at family birthday parties. I have watched her become an incredible woman and someone who I can truly call a friend...and soon to be sister. She is marrying my brother--a man happier and more free than I have ever seen him.
Their affection has ripened these last few years. The wait has been long and sometimes hard, but the way they love each other more freely--laugh deeply and anticipate each other--makes my heart smile like a thousand bursting suns. Delayed gratification...patience...the arduous task of waiting for the right time. the right heart. the right place.......God is so, so good. | LKM
Our afternoon was spent in a variety of obscure locations around San Diego. Doug & Brienne met and dated in this incredible city and wanted to tell their engagement story in its context. So there is green and there is city and there are small coffee shops with perfect views and cliffs and secluded shores with singing seals and sea-spray that glittered in the setting sun. There was laughing and twirling and snarky banter and sarcasm and arm-punches and lots of kissing and sunbeams in the middle of parking lots and chai and large over-sized trucks honking at the wardrobe changes made in the back of cars.
I love these moments. I love the silly and the sweetness. I love that Doug & Brienne let go; relaxed, trusted, flirted, laughed and let the sun set on a pretty wonderful adventure of an afternoon. Only one of many, I. am. sure. | LKM
Joey + Christiana // Minooka Park, Waukesha Wisconsin Picnic Wedding // Part Three
If you missed PART ONE go HERE or PART TWO go HERE. Or if you want to start at the beginning, check out their precious Waukesha, Wisconsin engagement session HERE.
- The father-daughter dance. That was one of the best/worst moments of the reception. My dad and I are extremely close and have been through a lot together. We were both in tears as we danced to "I Loved Her First..." As a little girl I always told my Daddy I would never get married because I just wanted him to be my man forever. Also...My dad, who has had a long, miserable, and at times severely debilitating journey with Lyme's Disease, felt a little better for the day.
- The weather was absolutely perfect-- for being such a bipolar weather month in Wisconsin, it really was the ideal May day... warm but not scorching, and (wonder of wonders) not a drop of rain.
- The Maid of Honor's speech. My dear friend Heidi recounted, to my horror, my former days of staunchly "preaching" 1 Corinthians 7 and singleness for the mission field. I'd stuck a sign on our dorm room that said, among other things, "As for me and my dorm, we will not text boys." When Heidi and my roommates discovered that I "liked a boy" and was in fact guilty even of texting him, they had ripped the sign into little pieces and stuck it all over my desk...
- My awesome, crazy, wonderful Uncle Rick (gnarliest busker at places like Arts Alive! in Humboldt Country, Nor Cal) and his legendary 'stache not only made it to the wedding, but fulfilled the years-long dream that he might be able to bring his accordian and place during the reception.
- Along those lines...the song from "Fiddler on the Roof" and being lifted up in the air on our chairs during said accordian-playing-- did NOT know that was going to happen!
- The cake fight. That was great.
- The motorcycle getaway. We love our motorcycle ride dates.
And just to add one more fave.... Joey is an amazing artist who hand crafts and repurposes all sorts of industrial pieces. He made Christy's ring....out of melded silver and GUITAR string...
::CLIENT REVIEW::
I'm so thankful for the friendship made with Joey + Christiana and am honored to have been trusted with their precious, precious day. Here are some final thoughts from the Kuhlows regarding their experience with LKM. Excuse the shameless horn-tooting. Or embrace it....because I sure do. It's the stuff of survival in this industry.
Q. What were you looking for in a photographer?
A. Good quality pictures with modern composition. I had been following Laura's pictures for a long time and didn't even consider anyone else!
Q. What was your experience with LKM's customer service?
A. It was great! She flew all the way out to Wisconsin to accommodate for our wedding, and worked with us taking our engagement pictures the day after our wedding. Laura always stayed happy with us through all the stresses and was phenomenal at helping us feel relaxed and comfortable with her during the shoots. It was a great privilege to have a friend shooting our wedding :)
Q. What were 3 highlights of having LKM shoot your wedding?
A. The easy laughs. Always comfortable (no awkwardness). Phenomenal pictures and albums for a great price!
Q. How did your pictures turn out? What were your favorite things about them?
A. Pictures turned out great :) I like when pictures look phenomenal without looking fake. I know a lot of editing took place to get the pictures where they are, but the end result still looks very natural with no awkward effects that distract from the content of each picture. (woo hoo!)