the trees of Joshua

I finally made it to Joshua Tree to visit my cousin!!!

Did some exploring around Joshua Tree and neighboring towns, and spent a lot of time with my cousin and his family.

The scenery in and around JT is amazing and so beautiful.

My favorite part of JT was meeting this little guy and spending time with him!!

We connected pretty fast. Over the few days I was there, I pretty much followed this one around and documented his daily life.

This kid LOVES his swing!!!

Thank you Cody and family for letting me crash at your place!!! Miss and love you guys!!

that golden hour of light

It was great catching up with this awesome family while back home. They are always so welcoming and kind, making sure we have a place to stay!

They live up on the top of a mountain in Paso Robles, and the sunsets were stunning!!

Thank you Kaleen and family for everything, you guys are the best!!

Lazy Jane // Moonshine

I’m excited to share more of these photos with you from my session with Lazy Jane!!! These two are so talented and so much fun to work with!!

I’ve been photographing these two for over 4 years now and I love all of our sessions and time together!!

I love how they let me do my thing, use my creativity, play with new things!!

Go check out their music on Spotify or iTunes!! Their new single is called Moonshine and it’s amazing!!

The photo above is the one used on the album cover art that I helped them with, and below is the final product!!

Tristen and Madison, keep making great music my friends!!

blurred colors.

J was in the studio yesterday afternoon and we had some fun together!!! I played around with some new techniques and some old ones that I haven't used lately.

I’ve used the slow shutter speed from time to time, but yesterday I knew it was time to use it again.

I tried a new technique I learned from my brother. I took a piece of plastic and rubbed chapstick over it. I held the plastic in front of the camera and here are the results (photo above and below).

The photo above and below were taken with a roll of wire in front of my lens.

This one here, I’ll leave it as a mystery to the eyes.

I’m always one to try new things with photography. I have creative ideas all the time and I love being able to experiment and use them with my work.

Julian, you are one amazing kid and I love ya!!

Atari, the little boy pilot.

The ideas and inspiration for this photo shoot with J came after I watched Wes Anderson’s movie, Isle of Dogs. I divided this photo session up into four different scenes. Each scene depicts a specific scene from the movie.

As the movie focuses a lot on the dogs on the island, there is a small young boy pilot named Atari, who is searching for his lost dog. For this session, I focused on him.

J, thanks for always being up for doing photos with me!! I hope you have as much fun as I did!! You are the best!! Love you kiddo!

the boy in a red beanie

I had so much fun spending time with Fita and exploring Fort Worth.

One morning, the two of us, along with one of his sisters, drove to some cool spots around downtown Fort Worth.

Fort Worth had so many amazing photo shoot locations. Sometimes you need to just explore your city, or someone else’s and see what you can find.

This one is a natural in front of the camera!!

This kid loves talking and telling stories!! I love that about him.

Thank you Fita for being so awesome!!

I spotted this old camper on the side of the road, and of course we had to stop!!

the little girl.

This little one spent some time over at the house the other day. And of course we took some photos!!!

We had fun and used props and outfits that I had there in the studio!!

This one is so full of life and love, she’s the sweetest!!

Vivi, love you sweet girl!!

b r o t h e r s

I was glad I could spend some time with these boys last weekend. They mean so much to me. They are like family to me.

Hayes is already 10 1/2, and I’ve know him since he was around 2. He has grown up into an amazing kid!!

Hayes, I love how you are always filled with curiosity…about things around you, about life. You are the smartest kid I know!!

Vonn, you make me smile every time I see you!!! I love your joy that overflows to others around you.

Keep smiling Vonn, the world needs to see it!! Love you both!!

Where the Wild Things Are

“Let the wild rumpus start!”

Another fun session with J today!! We went for a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ theme today.

There’s story behind J’s outfit for this shoot. I used it in a session with his older brother, years back. I sized it for J for today, making into something that suits him for this theme. I had designed it and my late Grandmother Ruth sewed it for me.

And his hat, well that thing has been around since J was around 4 or 5. It was part of a costume he wore for a Lost Boys session. And it was used again last year and then today. Each session I added onto it, to make it a bit different, and to fit the specific theme.

J, thank you for always being a good sport and helping me out!! Thanks for being so fun and cool for adding ideas of your own to our photo sessions!!

The kid with the long hair.

I’ve seriously missed working with this kid. It’s been way too long!!! I was so excited to hang out with him yesterday and get some new shots!!

Thanks for being so cool E!!

Can we just say, E has THE best hair ever!!!

Sometimes you get those shots, where your model is just being himself, belting out a song, and you get a great capture!! Love this kid!!

The boy in the hoodie

This young man is always a blast to work with!! I loved this location for some portrait, and the rest were his ideas!! He’s super creative!

B R O T H E R S

These brothers are the cutest and the sweetest!!! I’ve known their Mother for around twenty years. Getting to know these two though was one of my favorite highlights of this trip.

They are full of life, joy and always smiling!!

F I T A

This guy right here has been anticipating my coming. He’s been wanting to do photos again and hang out since the last time I was here.  

I hope to spend more time with Fita, as well as the others, taking as many photos as I can. 

We need to do photos again soon Fita!

little Jean Ralphio

“I almost fell asleep during that sentence.” Jean Ralphio

“I made my money the old-fashioned way. I got run over by a Lexus.” Jean Ralphio

“I like your energy, Hombre.” Jean Ralphio

“Why don’t your turn that frizown upsidizity.” Jean Ralphio

“That’s too much responsibility. I got to find a way out of this.” Jean Ralphio

If any of you watch Parks and Rec and know the character, Jean Ralphio, you understand these quotes!!! His character inspired this photo session. I LOVE me some Jean Ralphio, he’s hilarious!!! J and Jean Ralphio both have some amazing hair!!

a boy named Darrell

I love this kid!! He's so much fun to work with. For every session, I get exactly what I am hoping for and more!! I love it that he also gives me ideas for the photos!! He has an amazing creative mind!

I've wanted to do this session for a couple of months now, and finally got the chance yesterday. 

I got the trucker hat from my dear friend Kelsea, when she was visiting. And the jean shirt, we actually found when we were doing some thrifting in Nashville. Kelsea actually eyed it first, and I'm so glad we got it!!

I knew I had to do some type of photo session with J, using that shirt and the cool trucker hat. Add on the sweet glasses, cut off jean shorts and the name tag...perfection!!

This kid is a natural in front of the camera!!

He had the idea of leaping into this field!! 

Darell, you're awesome!!

That 80s vibe.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" - Ferris Bueller 

"Follow your heart kid, and you'll never know wrong" - The Sandlot 

"Stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold" - The Outsiders 

/ Creative Colors /

We had a lot of fun on this session!!! We both used our creative imaginations for this one!!

I always love working with J, he has some crazy fun ideas!! I love having him share his ideas with me when we are working together, and implement them into the sessions. Like this photo above...he started to take the strong and throw it all over his head and said, hey, take my picture like this!!

Stay creative and fun little dude!!

The boy and a tail.

"All good things are wild and free" Henry David Thoreau 

Cy wears his coyote tail everywhere he goes. He loves that thing! One day, the end had fallen off, and he sewed it right back on. 

"Keep the wild in you"

"Brave and free and wild as the sea"

"I don't know where I'm going from here but I promise it won't be boring" David Bowie 

\ S A N \ C L E M E N T E \

"For her the ocean was more than a dream, it was a place she needed to visit to find herself. And when she returned to the city, you could see the sun in her eyes, the wind in her hair, and taste the infinite salt on her lips" Joses Chaves

I love the beach. I have always loved the beach. Ever since I was a little kid, going would bring so much joy and bring so much peace. I never really liked going on in the waves and swim, but I loved sitting and watching the waves, watching the surfers. Or just walking along the beach, barefoot, letting the water come up to my toes. 

Whenever I get to the OC, I always have to make at least one trip (this time I went twice) to the San Clemente Pier. The main reason, my cousin leaves just a few minutes away, and it's seriously the coolest pier!!

Jen---I love your smile and your laugh!! Thank you cousin for everything!! I love spending time with you, even if it was just for the weekend. I need to come back soon, I already miss you and my pier. 

The ocean is everything I want to be. Beautiful, mysterious, wild and free. 

C A M B R I A

Another day, another great beach. 

This was another windy beach, but it didn't stop us from enjoying our time. The boys had a blast building onto this cool structure!! It was pretty much built, but they added new additions to it. And it blocked most of the wind, once inside. 

Thank you Kaleen and family for taking us all of favorite beaches that day!!! We loved it and loved your company even more!