Sasha - Expecting Mother

every now and then, something happens in our lives that gives us pause, makes us shake our heads and say, “Wow!”

this past week was one of those times.

let me take you back a bit. when i lived in nyc i met a young woman by the name of sasha. she is a very dear girlfriend of my wife karen. i photographed sasha and karen 14 yrs. ago, on the roof top of my 5 story walk-up apartment right smack in the heart of manhattan, and soon thereafter saw an endearing quality between karen and sasha that, to this day, brings me great joy to be around. several years went by and i receive a phone call from sasha announcing her engagement and that she wanted me to photograph her destination wedding on the island of st. barths. i was honored. sasha's wedding was absolutely beautiful. to date, one of a handful of my most influential photographs to shape my photography was sasha's portrait. from the very moment i heard the release of the shutter i knew our photography would never be the same.





flash forward 3 years to the present. a few months ago karen and i received a phone call from sasha announcing that her and her husband were expecting their first child due in late janurary '09. now the question was whether or not we were going to photograph her here in la or in chicago. time got away from us so we decided to fly out to chicago to photograph sasha and mark in their home.

the results are a combination of talents both in-house and emulating one of my all-time favorite photographers, annie leibovitz.

annie leibovitz photographed john lennon in december 1980, again, one of a handful of my most influential photographs to shape my photography, the portrait of himself embracing yoko ono that graced the cover of the janurary 1981 issue of rolling stone. annie leibovitz acknowledged that she wanted to emulate "the kiss" from the cover of double fantasy album. this is where the vision stemmed from and turned into a session not to be forgotten.



the beauty that comes from within can not be more evident than when a woman is loved, in love and bearing love. sasha has all of these traits. the girlish laugh that comes from her belly when she laughs to the confidence that she is surrounded by those who love her and the comfort that she displays in the arms of her husband is both inspiring and enjoyable to be around.





finally, "coming full circle" has been the story of sasha and her beauty. when sasha announced she was expecting karen immediately began thinking of how her vision was to come to fruition. she wanted to have an image that told a story of yesterday to today.



the above image is karen's mind at play. the effort that came from this one photograph would make your heart beat a bit faster. all that is needed to be told is that when karen and i put our heads together wonderful story telling happens and...

every now and then, something happens in our lives that gives us pause, makes us shake our heads and say, “Wow!”




this past week was one of those times.

we love you sasha and mark and can not wait to welcome caden with open arms!

p.s. no way we were leaving chicago without stopping in to take in a favorite past-time of 2.5 million people... the famous "chicago dog" yummy, yummy! oh, did i mention that it was 16˚ outside!

Yvonne and Eric - ventura, california

yvonne and eric on-line proofing website

if you only knew yvonne and eric. typically i post images that are taken somewhat in order as they happen. this time i am stepping outside a bit to show you what i see in a couple.

the months, days, and hours leading up to yvonne and eric's wedding all came together in one image..."bubbly". "you just have to know yvonne and eric" to know that when they reached their limo and the cork popped to their champagne...the laughter that came from the two of them was energetic! if any photo captures their spirit as a couple i would have to say this one's it.



arriving to the church i noticed that the groom and his buddies were in great spirits but also noticed that eric had stopped to reflect on what the day meant to him. if just for a moment. the image was eric's reflection through the church window.




one of the more candid moments occurred just moments after yvonne put on her dress.
the anticipation in yvonne's body language is as evident now as it was then. she couldn't wait any longer.




just before sunset, karen and i snuck yvonne and eric off, just before the reception, to capture a few memorable editorials.





thank you yvonne and eric for inviting us into your lives and making us...LOL!

Michelle and Mark - engagement

michelle and mark on-line proofing website

the first time we met mark he was celebrating jakes bar mitzvah a little over a year ago. karen recalls some of mark's great dance moves. we were re-introduced by our beautiful client natasha aka: tash when the referral came in for their wedding. we met with michelle and mark earlier this year and fell for them right away. during our bridal meeting we brainstormed about their engagement session and what was unique to them and their relationship. mark mentioned that he lived on a boat for three years and was planning to sell it. without hesitation i said "NO WAY"...comon' now. do you really think i said that? really, karen and i said "ABSOLUTELY!" without any hesitation. after hearing of the many stories that came to mind of years past, we knew michelle and mark needed to have this in their story. again, being influenced from others and their stories only make for some amazing images that surprise me even. we took it a step further and really wanted to give an ode not only to the sea legs but to celebrate their relationship, everything nautical with a bit of a ralph lauren flare.













michelle and mark have a LOVE AFFAIR for the sea and are very infectious with their enthusiasm to all that travel in their wake.


after the session we went to one of their favorite italian restaurants in the marina, c&o trattoria. the food was incredible and the company was even better.

thank you michelle and mark for a truly amazing afternoon. AHOY!

amy and dustin - engagement

amy and dustin on-line proofing website

friends first and foremost.

this is how i would describe amy and dustin. the sense of humor of the two combined for a very relaxed and spontaneous engagement session. i have said it before and i'll say it again, i love, love, love doing what i do because of how unique our clients our... especially our brides and grooms! :)


amy and dustin traveled down from the santa clarita mountains to spend some time with each other (with me attached to their hip of course) strolling on the beach of malibu. the crisp and clean air of december (yep, I said it...DECEMBER) made for some pretty BLUE sky and ocean. oh, the swing...it is not an affect. it is real and it looks SO "out of control".



sneaking portraits of amy and dustin was, at first uncomfortable for them (they are not alone) but soon realized that their relationship was more comfortable being themselves and rolling with it. and it showed. with amy's quick wit and dustin's williness to be goofy at a drop of a hat you can just tell they are "friends first and foremost" and they are comfortable sharing it.






can't wait you guys. see you in april!

Got Soup?!

just enough time to do a little holiday shopping and grab a cup of soup and low and behold i ran into nikki six. i haven't seen him and the motley crue gang in what feel like ages and if i told you i would date myself for sure! omg! it was so wonderful to see him. he looked great and he always has the best jackets & nail polish. you can't appreciate the jacket from the front, but it was a hand painted japanese design in gold... beautiful. the soup de jour was broccoli and cheese, go figure! my favorite part was when my 5 year old daughter said, i like mr. six hair. it's crazy! to check out their up coming 2009 saints of los angeles tour and city dates please visit their site motley crue

to quote nikki “be good”... lol. karen

Lauren

lauren's on-line proofing website

lauren is getting married in january but knew she wanted a bridal editorial for just over a year now. she talked about her engagement with her fiance, blake and radiated when she told us how he proposed...at the gardens of the world in thousand oaks, ca.




now, there was never a second thought where she wanted to take her bridal portrait. the very pleasant, considerate and compassionate people at the garden allowed for us to photograph on property...but for 10mins. great things happen when your heart is in your throat and is pumping at 10000000/ps. to date, lauren's bridal portrait has to be one of the easiest, most natural, unscripted, high engery moments in most recent memory. again, we are given opportunities that sometimes are given to us at a moments notice. what we do with those opportunities determines our direction at an even greater speed and altitude.




after the session we made one more stop. something that i noticed a few months back and wanted to photograph. having the good spirit and willingness from lauren made it the ideal portrait setting. one thing thou...the light was changing rapidly and the ideal spot was down a muddy slope into a ravine on a bed of boston ivy.


the result is breathtaking.

Jaime and Scott - engagement

you have to love the fall.


jaime and scott on-line proofing website

colors that just jump right off the page. jaime and scott came down to westlake, from santa barbara, for their engagement session so karen and i treated them with an extra special trip around to our favorite places. by the look on their eyes we could have been anywhere and they would have loved it.



at first jaime and scott said "we are in your hands" but we soon took a back seat to their silliness.


i really like our couples. call me biased, but karen and i have been blessed with some really awesome couples. i am not sure if they have rubbed off on me or visa versa, but all i know is "it takes one to know one!" :)




during our session i usually take full advantage of light, location and the trust that images don't just happen...they are felt. case in point. while looking around to "take it all in" i found myself pondering an image. far enough away from jaime, scott and karen i "wasn't feeling it". no sooner was i thinking that scott looked over at karen and said..."he's not feeling it." karen slapped him (you know what i mean, in an almost OMG moment) and said..."what did you just say? i'm the only one that hears joey say that. wow, that's too weird." sure enough "i wasn't feeling it" and walked a few steps back gathered my thoughts and karen reminded me of the beautiful driveway we past on the way up the road.


yes, i was feeling it. excited for jaime and scott...they get us and we love that!