Pearl & Kevin's Prewedding Session.

OMG! I have been so bogged down lately that nearly a week has already passed since we spent the day together in San Francisco. Pearl suggested we meet in The Haight. She liked the graffiti-like murals scattered throughout the district. Sure, sounded like fun because I haven't been there in years and I didn't know there were murals around there. I could imagine yellow highlighter on the walls and black lights... not that I have any first-hand experience. Afterwards I admit that I did go home and listen to old tunes like The Sound of Silence, California Dreamin', Sweet Caroline, and Daydream Believer.

After taking turns trying to imitate that crazed-looking face we went to Aquatic Park and Ghirardelli Square. We were looking forward to a snack at Kara's Cupcakes but unfortunately we got there too late! Note: they close at 6pm on Sundays. :( Brrrrr, it was getting cold but tourists were still lining up to buy ice cream!!! We warmed up with tea and mocha's instead and drove down to North Beach for night shots with the many neon signs inviting people (ok, mostly men) into certain establishments for which the area is known.

Can't wait for their wedding coming up this summer. It will be dual-events in both San Francisco and Hawaii!

Amy & Mark's Prewedding Session.

It is hard to believe that we first met well over a year ago at the beginning of 2007 and now there is just a month separating us from the big day! When asked where they wanted to have their session, downtown San Jose was the answer. Their one request was to include McCormick and Schmicks. That was the site of their engagement. No problem, that is easy enough to do.

We spent our time photographing near crowded Plaza de Cesar Chavez but found some private spots this warm and sunny afternoon. Don't they look great together?

The Wang Family. Palo Alto

Many years ago I promised myself not to pursue children and family photography. I burned through a lot of film (yes film) trying to photograph my oldest daughter. The results were less than stellar and great images came with a high expense ratio. Maybe I'm a better photographer now, maybe I understand children better, maybe I am more patient, maybe other people's children are more open cooperative than mine, or maybe the per-frame costs have come down - who knows?

This past Saturday * I am very happy to say * I went back on that long-held promise and photographed the Wang family during an outing at Stanford. I met Michael and San-San when he was a groomsman in Dan and Kalaya's wedding last year. A month ago he emailed me and we set a date. As it turns out both of our children are about the same age so I had a pretty good idea what to expect. They were brilliant to bring bubbles and my insurance policy consisted of some carefully selected stickers. Children and family photographers have an entire repertoire of tricks that I am just starting to pick up on like feathers and rubber chickens.

Those of you with young children know that waking up is rarely a problem - I don't even bother setting an alarm clock anymore. So we started in the morning hitting a few choice spots around campus and finished just before the kids became tired. It was fun!

Thank you Michael and San-San for inviting me to spend the morning with you.