Two Frames, More Indecision ...

But, one thing is certain: if ranunculus had the scent of freesia or orange blossom, it would be hands-down, no-contest, my all-time favorite flower.

So. Color or b/w?!?

note: images edited in Lightroom, using One Willow's beautiful presets.

One Frame ... Four Ways.

Because sometimes I just can't. make. up. my. mind.









To crop. Or not to crop. That is the question.

Peacock.

And I thought the tortoise was a poser ...






... at the San Diego Zoo.

What the trees know ...

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD
have brought down the high tree,
have exalted the low tree,
have dried up the green tree,
and have made the dry tree to flourish:
I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
Ezekiel 17:24

Flamingos.

Charge!!







... at the San Diego Zoo.

Galapagos Tortoises

at the San Diego Zoo.  These guys are HUGE.  And lively.  At feeding time, that is.

I swear, some of these guys were totally posing ...

A Very Sweet Day ...

to celebrate a certain somebody turning eight. We began at our favorite breakfast diner ... Littlest Dude is smitten with his new watch and ... BACON!





After breakfast, we headed further on down the coast to the zoo ...



And finished the day by blowing out eight candles. I already miss my 7yo; but I'm pretty thrilled with my new 8yo. ;-)





ps. the animated gif above was a piece of cake (pun intended) to create at gifninja.com

No Eye Has Seen ...

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before You!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make Your name known to Your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before You!
For when You did awesome things that we did not expect,
You came down, and the mountains trembled before You.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides You,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember Your ways.

Isaiah 64:1-5

When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom
as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom,
but on God’s power.

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,
but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age,
who are coming to nothing.
No, we declare God’s wisdom,
a mystery that has been hidden
and that God destined for our glory before time began.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?
In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world,
but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
This is what we speak,
not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit,
explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God
but considers them foolishness,
and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things,
but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,
for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2

Getting “Real Life” in Lifestyle Photography

Slice of Life. Photojournalism. Lifestyle Photography. What exactly is it? I daresay, it’s different things to different people. But to me? Within my own family, it’s quite elementary: lifestyle photography is simply taking pictures of my family doing what they do.



It’s not setting up a shot.



It’s not asking anyone to look at me.



It’s not asking anyone to look away from me (smirk).



It’s not POSING anyone in any way, shape, form.



It’s not tidy-ing the surrounding first.  In fact, it embraces the details in the mess.



It’s simply, only, documenting a moment happening (for real!!) with a photograph. That’s it.
When I’m taking pictures for clients, I’m aspiring to the same level of authenticity as my own family pictures. The difference being, that since I don’t live with my clients, I don’t have the luxury of waiting indefinitely for the moments to unfurl as they may. A “lifestyle” session may last for a day or even just a couple hours. However, I do still have similar personal standards for lifestyle photography with my clients: no POSING, no “styling” (I realize this standard of mine would make some photographers gasp in shock & horror), no asking that anyone look at me and smile …



You see, photojournalistic type photos are really truly NOT about me or my vision …




… lifestyle images are ALL about the person/people being photographed. I’m far more interested in my clients being completely aware of each other and not so aware of me…




Because, at the end of the day, my ultimate goal is that my clients recognize themselves & their history, their story, their love, in the images we capture together.

Babies! ... Orange County Baby Photographer

Yes, babieS are on the way, and I can't wait to meet them! :-)





Oh, and did you wish to see the darling nursery in the making? Your wish is my command. Darling, indeed ...

Dog Dude and I ...

... went on a long, LONG walk.

Sneak Peek ... Irvine Baby Photographer

So much more loveliness to come ...

A Pure Heart, Create in Me …

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice.
Hide Thy face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Thy presence,
And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:7-12