This past Sunday, I met one of the most awesomest (i just made a new word!) families ever: the Ralston’s!! Bill and Robyn are good friends of Chris and Charlene, whose maternity session I photographed a while ago. They have an adorable 15 month old son Will and, slightly older but just as cute labrador retriever, Bella. Together, the 5 of us headed out and got some beautiful photos while having a great time. Srsly, we kicked butt and took names. Simply put, they’re natural models!

Please, kindly enjoy! (slideshow)

Easily my favorite shot so far this YEAR!

A while back, I was approached by Mignonne to do some portraits. Her and her husband James are expecting a baby boy in April and wanted to capture this special time in their lives with photos. I am always up to do “belly sessions” because to me, it’s the natural “next step” after getting married. Plus, how could I turn down participating in (and capturing) this important part of their family history?

So, this past Saturday they were in town attending their baby shower (hosted by their awesome friend, Jean) and the three-and-a-half of us got together a few hours before it began to shoot around. We met at noon on a very sunny and otherwise beautiful day which, though great for picnics and outdoor fun-in-the-sun, is not the best time to take photos. (It’s a good thing to keep in mind when planning any photo sessions or wedding ceremony start times: full sun during early afternoon equals harsh lighting conditions, which equals not-so-great photos.)

Nevertheless, knowing this beforehand I took some time a few days before and drove around the area we were going to be in so that I could find the best spots to photograph my expectant couple. Because we only had a couple of hours before the baby shower, I didn’t want to waste time finding locations the day of.

It definitely paid off. Please kindly enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them :o)

I hope everyone’s 4th was as great as mine. I spent it with my best friend at the happiest place on earth. We had a blast, even though it was kind of hot and our feet were killing us by the end of the day. I decided to not bring my camera, for fear of something happening to it since I have a few photosessions coming up (including an engagement shoot I did the following day.)

Here are some pics we took with Sandy’s trusty SD630. I’ve been dogging this camera ever since I bought it because I felt that it was no better than a camera phone (in fact I swear my old K850i phone had a better camera in it) but I must retract these statements because I was rather pleased with the files I got.

Everyone’s gotta have this shot in their album…a few times at least:

But i bet’cha don’t have this one…lol ;)

Bored while waiting in line @ Space Mtn.

Here’s us on the Autotopia ride

and here’s us….somewhere else.

We got front row seating (accidentally) to watch the Camp Pendleton 1st Marine Division Marching Band perform in the parade!

They stopped right in front of us!

Later that night, we took the advice of some Disneyland employees and went to watch the fireworks show on the 6th floor of the parking structure. It was an awesome spectacle, and these shots don’t do it justice at all.