But one of the the things I am most thankful for, is to see my photography business blossom. I have the most wonderful clients, who I have loved getting to know. I love what I do, in that I get to make young teens feel beautiful and create lasting memories for families. I love having my clients over to the house and baking cookies for them and just loving on them. And I love seeing how they light up in front of my camera or how excited they get when I show them how awesome they look as their slideshow is revealed. Priceless!

I sorted the photos out in a few categories, starting off with my favorite subject matter, Stylish Seniors.

The above photo was included in the Inspire Me Baby Best of 2011 – inspiremebaby.com.

 And these following shots are models or friends of mine who are posing for the camera. Another one of my favorite things to photograph is Big Happy Families. Kids grow up so fast and I think it’s vital to capture them at all their life stages. 

And even after the kids have grown up, it’s also important to celebrate marriage. These are a couple favorites from my Sweet Love sessions.
I love to focus on seniors and families, but I just adored these couples and couldn’t say no. Being able to capture someone Tying the Knot, is such a privilege.

If you have been following my blog for awhile now, you know my husband and I love to travel. We have been to over 40 countries and this summer we took a bunch of high schoolers on a trip to China. It was pretty EPIC. And mixed into the year, was three trips to Paso Robles as well.
If you want to see more of my work, check out the portfolio tabs to the upper left or peruse the blog. Thanks for coming by on my photographic journey of 2011!

One of the main reasons we went to Paso was for the annual Justin Winery Holiday Party. Our dear neighbors, who are members of Justin Winery, brought us to the winemaker’s home. If you want to make your wine club members happy, treat them to five types of wine and appetizers like Polenta squares and yogurt shots. Now I am HUGE fan of this incredible wine.

One of my favorite things about where I live is that we have the BEST neighbors one could ask for. From our awesome times sipping wine or tea on the front porch to our weekly hang outs, John and I are so blessed to have these people in our lives. As Julie says, the blond in stripes, neighbors are like family. You don’t choose your neighbors, like you don’t get to choose your family, but you are really blessed when you get good ones. These people have proven to be more than just neighbors to us, but true community and family. I love you guys.

I love that we were traveling with friends that could actually take a good picture of John and I. Thanks Justin!Justin & Julie ventured up to the Justin Winery because of their common name. Little did they know at the time that Justin Winery is one of the BEST wines in Paso. And can I just mention, you guys are adorable!!!
This is Kasey, who is a bright ray of sunshine. I just love her!
So there is a short period of time, actually only one week, where Paso Robles experiences fall colors and we just happened to be there during that one week. Praise God, it was gorgeous!When we drove up at Niner Winery and saw this majestic valley of gorgeousness, I had my friends stop the car and I ventured out in my rain boots to get these perfect shots. Incredible views and oh so yummy wine. Perfect combo!We ended our trip with some yummy Pinots from Windward Vineyard, which had some gorgeous wines and views.
We left just in time before the huge storm rolled in. God is good.

For years, I have always been nervous to ask a total stranger for a picture, in fear that they would be offended that I was seeking out a photo cause they looked different than me. But since the Chinese people frequently asked us to pose for their cameras or would secretly snap photos of us, I thought it would be fine to do the same of them.

We took a Tai Chi class after we explored the Forbidden City. This dude was our Tai chi Master and he was seriously legit. I’m not sure what this guy was checking out, but there was something about him that I thought was intriguing. We went to a temple and looked at some ancient artifacts, but I love how bored the guard looked. One of my students got a shot of his partner guard texting. And these two shots were seriously my favorite. I love his eyes and sincerity in the first shot and then the missing teeth in the second just kill me. He is so freaking adorable! As we walked around the Muslim Market, I had fun taking pics of some of the workers. These two guys were cooking up some delicious Chinese food in an open air kitchen. I love the joy I can see in this face. I just imagine all the interesting stories this police officer hears from those in his community. And I know this picture is totally out of focus, but I LOVE it. We went to a retirement home and got to talk to some of inhabitants about the cultural revolution. As this lady opened the door, her face was priceless. I literally only had enough time to pump up my ISO as I heard the door opening and lifted my camera and fired.

Right from the plane, we headed towards the famous Bullet Train. This guys goes super fast and now I can say that I have been on the fastest train in the world. Woot!

China is the king of big cities, but as far as my eye could see, were sky scraper after sky scraper. And the ever present building cranes can be seen in the distance.
One night while John and I waited for the others to come down to the bus, we stood outside our hotel and just watched people go by. This view provided the perfect view of China’s development. In the background you can see examples of the recently developed China, with it’s new found wealth and growth. Yet, juxtaposed in the right corner is a man carrying his own tow, something you would never see in a first world nation. I thought this image perfectly illustrates the stretch-marks of how China is not as advanced as we think it is and still has a lot of room to grow. While we were here, we also got to visit an older section of Shanghai, where the buildings are only 5 stories high. We talked to a family about the Cultural Revolution and the prolific amount of abortions women must do to stay in compliance with China’s one-child policy. The use of contraception didn’t come up. And interestingly enough, these humble abodes were only one bedroom, yet 3 people comfortably lived in this very small place. Humbling. A highlight was going to see a Chinese Acrobatic Show. I have never seen Cirque du Soleil so I imagine it was very similar and that most of their performers are plucked out of Shanghai. We also went to a Silk Factory. Actually everyday we went to some sort of factory/gift shop, as a stipulation that the Communist government forces all tours to do. Nevertheless, the educational bits that were shared with us were pretty cool. Here we got to learn all about silk worms and how factory ladies are able to exploit these little guys to make beautiful garments.Then we went to the Jade Buddha Temple, where China’s largest hand crafted Buddha is. This temple actually brought me much saddness. You don’t see it in the pictures, but despite the beauty of the temple and the faith that can be found there, in every room there was a gift shop. I was reminded of how Jesus came into the Jewish temples and in John 2:13 accused them of turning the temple into a den of thieves and said “Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” This was a blatant example of how capitalism is alive and well in China for sure.
We then headed to a cool pagoda garden area that provided some quiet and pretty views.On the last night of our tour, we decided to take a night cruise along the river that divided the city. The views were spectacular and we had a blast taking pictures. This was the perfect way to end out trip!

We also went to a factory that showed all of us the way the terracotta warriors were made. Super cool! We also had a fun time at our Chinese Tea Ceremony. We got to try five different teas and they were delicious!Another cool thing we did in this town was visit an art museum that highlighted some of the greatest calligraphy in China. And we got to have a little calligraphy lesson! This brought me back to when I studied Chinese Brush Painting back in high school. Another highlight of the tour was visiting the Muslim Market, where there were all sorts of foods I had never seen before. We all had fun tasting unfamiliar treats and taking photos. I am going to do a special post on the people of China, because I got lots of great shots here.And with every China post I have to show the ever present crane. There is construction EVERYWHERE in China! They are seriously preparing for greatness. 

I took so many photos that I absolutely love that they will be divided up into five posts, spread out throughout the next couple of weeks. The first post is dedicated to our first city, Beijing.

There is a building boom in China. Cranes adorn the skyline. The national bird of China is a crane, which I thought was so apropos.Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square. We were the only white people. People gave money like sacrifices to the statues.
If our door-knocker in Fullerton looked like this, we’d probably get fewer girl scout cookie sellers.
Ancient bathrooms perched a couple of kilometers up on the Great Wall of China (and there was a guy sleeping inside!)
I love the color contrasts here, but I also think it represents metaphorically what’s happening with China, how these bricks are the basic building blocks for their construction frenzy.Not umbrellas . . . parasols! For keeping the sun off. And to make you look beautiful.We got diagnosed by Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors, and they prescribed herbal remedies, all of which were kept in these tiny bank vault boxes. If you want evidence that China is growing so quickly it can’t maintain its infrastructure, look no farther.At the Bird’s Nest and Aquatics Center in Beijing, which held the last Olympics, vendors sold these multi-stage kites. You don’t just buy one string and one kite, you buy DOZENS of kites on a string. If Benjamin Franklin had strapped a key to every one of these, he would have been fried to smithereens.

Our adventure was motivated by visiting our foreign exchange student friend who was from Vienna we met while studying at a UCSB for the summer. At 16 I met this awesome,  H & M clad European and fell in love with her European carefree attitude. So after spending a summer gettting to know this cool girl, I had the opportunity to get my license or save up money to go backpacking and visit my new friend. I chose the latter.

We went to London, Paris, Cap Ferret, Venice, Florence, Rome, Vienna, Salzburg and Amsterdam. It was a whirlwind, but one that I was happy to get swept up into. Since that summer, I have traveled EVERY summer since and have been to a lot of other wonderful destinations in Europe, South & Central America and South East Asia. But this was the trip that allowed me to fall in love with traveling! At that point, it was the best summer of my life.

And by the way, I didn’t end up getting my license till I was 22, but I visited Europe 4 more times since that first trip before having to pay for a car and insurance. I think that is money well spent! So kids the lesson of this story, is travel the world and prioritize how you spend your money to allow you to do what is really important.

This summer I am going to China with 10 students and infecting them with the travel bug!

Built in 1907, the Fullerton Museum was once known as the Carnegie Library and is reminiscent of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. And around the corner, the beautiful steeple of the First Lutheran Church, stands on top of a church that the congregation built themselves in 1942. I think thats so cool!

I simply love the detailing of these Post Office boxes. I just imagine the craftsman who worked on every detail and took such pride in his work. They just don’t make them like they used to! Anyone who lives in Fullerton has stopped in front of the Dewella Apartments and been impressed.  For me, this beautiful apartment built in 1929 is simply spectacular. I am reminded of cool street artists when I see these original murals painted on the old brick building of the Bourbon Street Bar & Grill. And I am shocked that I don’t see movies being filmed at Fullerton High School. This place is GORGEOUS! A huge WPA fresco mural is painted alongside the auditorium. It was funny to see people smoking in the mural and ladies with provocative clothing, considering it’s at a high school. It was once painted over, but thankfully, since it’s a fresco, the chalk was embedded into the plaster allowing it to be restored.

And one of my favorite things about going wine tasting is all the photo opportunities. The California coastline is GORGEOUS right now, as it’s sprinkled with wildflowers and majestic oak trees. Here are some of my favorite shots from our trip to California wine country.

I LOVE this shot, because of the great contrast of orange against the green and blue. As we were eating cheese and sipping wine, I looked up and captured these gorgeous rays of light. What a perfect way to end the day!

We want our walls to speak of our journeys around the world and tell a story of the many countries we have visited. Traveling is a huge part of our identity, so we wanted it to play a major role in how we decorated our new home.

Our walls are a coffee with milk color, with one wall being a really dark brown. Our furniture includes a dark blue mid-century modern couch, a yellow mid-century bench, a dark brown piano, five big book shelves filled with a 1000 books and a muted yellow rug.  Our furniture is bright and happy, reflective of our personalities. The whole wall we envision to be filled with beautiful metallic photos mounted on a really thick surface with aluminum siding.

As I started putting the images together, I found myself perplexed. Even though I help my clients do this with their photos, I am having a really hard time doing it for myself.  So that’s where you come in. (Please don’t get too caught up in the sizing of the actual photos and actual arrangement, as this is just an idea board.)

Do you think we should have a common color of blue and brown to tie all the photos together?

Or do you like a more colorful approach?

Thanks for your input everyone. Since I have become a homeowner, I am incapable of making any decision by myself. Lame! So thanks a million!