“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up,” Picasso once said. I hope to teach all my kids how to be artists for the rest of their lives.

So if any of my students are coming to my site to check me out, I am super excited for you to look around and see what your teacher is made of. I promise to teach you everything I know, so that you can become a super awesome photographer yourself. This is going to be a fun year and I am honored to get to know you.

A bunch of my my friends from the [b] school took a trip to Joshua Tree and I ended up being a model for some of the photogs.

I will try to greet you every day with a smile. I tend to think of myself as a super happy person and I want to bring a little bit of sunshine to your day while your in my classroom.

You will learn that I am a total ham! One of the reasons I love teaching is because I get to be the center of attention, so when I get to be in front of the camera, I love it.

And don’t be surprised if you see my do a yoga pose in the middle of class.

One of the coolest things about being a photographer is having photographer friends. Thanks to Daniel Ecoff and Karen Revelle for taking such fun pictures of me.

I look forward to an awesome school year with you!

When I married into John’s family, I inherited two sisters and one sister in law. Sheri is my youngest sister-in-law and she is about to graduate from Biola University. Studying speech therapy, Sheri wants to help people gain their speech abilities and communicate normally. If that wasn’t noble enough, Sheri also is the Resident Coordinator of her floor, mentoring dozens of girls and helping them to become better women.

Sheri you are beautiful! I am so honored to call you my sister. I wish you the best senior year EVER and may you make the best of every moment.

Aren’t her blue eyes gorgeous? I hope my babies inherit these blue jewels.

And her freckles are so cute!

I love finding totally random props! They are like gifts from God.

I can hear the song playing in my head, “Lady in Red.”

I love you girl! You make me smile.

And check out this fun little stop motion movie I made of Sheri.

Sheri’s Senior Pics from Amber Fox Photo on Vimeo.

To see more senior portraits, check out my senior portfolio.

Four generations came to the dinner table Sunday night. After 65 years of marriage, the grandparents have been blessed with lots of grandkids and great grandkids, allowing for lots of laughter around the table. With the smell of bbq in the air, a summer’s day was complete with steak, potato and corn on the cob. I think it’s hilarious that no one asked if they had corn in their teeth for the photos; maybe I’m the only one who is self conscious like that (Luckily, no one did). The Foss family is just that cool — they don’t worry about such things.

Anyhow, I had oodles of fun hanging out with this big happy family!

This little guy got his beautiful eyes from his mama, Leslie.

He loved to shoot me! The funny thing was, I liked shooting him too.

I love how you can really see how much grandpa loves his grand-daughter in this picture.

And even more so, with great-grandpa loving on this 5 week old.

I think this girl is seriously one of the cutest girls I have EVER seen! Right?!

I love when families are super affectionate with each other with out me having to tell them to be.

Find the baby? Make sure you don’t miss that cutie towards the bottom.

We laughed a lot. I especially loved when I saw how his dad laughed, throwing his head back, just like his son.

Linda you are beautiful. You really are a foxy mama!

After 30 plus years, his parents are truly in love. I thought it was so cute when I watched John propose again to his beautiful wife Linda.Aren’t they so cute? I know, right? 

John and Linda, your love for each other is beautiful. I hope that 30 years down the line, a bunch of kids later, John and I can have a love that is as beautiful as yours. Thank you for giving me the honor to capture your love for all of us kids to cherish.

Thank God I have the best job in the world to go back to. I teach photography to high schoolers, so on the first day of school I get to meet 180 new kids who I will be able to share my greatest passion with. Some teachers give the mean face all of first semesster, but from day one, I am my happy self and try to give the kids the love and respect they deserve and for some, so desperately need.

So good bye to swimming in the middle of the afternoon. C’est la vie, to spontaneous travel days. And bye bye to hours of reading on the couch. But hello to new students I get to inspire! Hola to routine and getting things done. Whad up to a paycheck again.

John and I took some friends from Orange County to our old hood. We went to our ultimate favorite strip alongside Sunset Blvd, otherwise known as Sunset Junction.

• We started our day off at Intelligencia, where you can find the best cup of joe in LA. With fancy swirls in my cappuccino, I sipped as I people watched the hipsters stroll by.
• One of the things we miss most about living in Silverlake is the Cheese Store. Hands down, this is the BEST cheese store in Los Angeles.
• Beyond beautiful flowers, Gilly’s Flowers has insanely creative flower design and the smell in this place is so delightful.
• Cool, hipster and totally handmade is Matrushka, a great clothing store. For my wallets sake, it’s probably a good thing I moved to Orange County.

I miss the creative vibe of this city and all the cools restaurants & shops. Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water in Orange County after living in Silverlake for so long. Thankfully, it’s only a short 30 minute drive away.

So was it a good year, my 31st? This year has definitely been marked with waiting. Waiting to buy a house, waiting to get pregnant and waiting for a church. God answered our prayers by bringing us to a wonderful church, Rock Harbor Fullerton, but the other two, we are still waiting.

During times of waiting, I am reminded of Dr. Seuss’ wise words in Oh, The Places You’ll Go (I read this book every year to my graduating seniors): ”Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite.” But I take rest in “No! That’s not for you! Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing, with banners flip-flapping, once again you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of guy!”

Regardless of the things I wait patiently for, I have much to be thankful for. My 31st year was marked by becoming a part of an amazing community through my church. We have wanted community for so long and finally have been able to say we have it. Secondly, I am thankful for my other community, the amazing photographers of Orange County. I dove headfirst into the photog world, and have made amazing friends and watched my business blossom. Thanks guys! Lastly, I am also so thankful for my photography business itself. God has been really good and has totally surprised me with wonderful clients and a flourishing business. I don’t think I’ve quite reached the spot where the Boom Bands are playing and the banners flip-flapping, but this is close, and for now, I’m happy.

I leave you with an awesome photo I took on my birthday. We went to Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Side note, never go there on a weekend. It was so packed that I seriously got shoved shortly after taking this picture. But the sting rays and the sharks and the jellyfish and the seahorses were so marvelously beautiful that the crowds didn’t matter.

We did the shots at Monastery Beach in Monterey, where they live (weekend trip! Love the aquarium!). And I couldn’t resist plundering their house for fun props. We hauled an old ladder down to the beach, and a wicker bench, and all sorts of frames, just to spice things up a bit. Good props always help everyone feel playful.

Sidenote: I had so much fun watching my husband jump up and down and shriek to keep little Aubrey entertained. She loved it though — she laughed and giggled through the whole shoot. Such a good baby!

Well, I hope you enjoy looking at these shots as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I don’t have any tattooes. I was 16 when I got my ears pierced for goodness sakes. I think I would faint from the pain of the needle. After watching my friends get a tattoo, I can’t believe how easy it is. I know I went to art school and all, but I would be terrified to make a mistake that couldn’t be erased.

So Gabe, if you are lonely on your trip, just look at your tattoo your friends gave you and know that you are missed.