There is a great location I discovered a few months back called The Tijuanna Estuary which is adjacent to Imperial Beach and close by Coronado. It has a beautiful expanse of rare flowers and plants that are protected by the State. These images were created for promotional purposes for my wedding web site - besamephotography.com. I wanted to do something creative and a little avant-gard, so I shot these "not so normal" images. I highly recommend going there if you're looking for a delicious-looking background. I started shooting about 4:00 pm and finished up an hour later when the grounds closed. These photographs were shot jpeg - and didn't need a lot of enhancement. The handcuff picture is "vintage" action. The walking pic is the B&W Beauty action from Pioneer Women and the motorcycle pic had a "multi-vitamin" action from Kubuto. They are some of my favorite pictures I've taken this year. I have a few other ideas brewing so I will post those as soon as I have them shot.

Everyday Things...

Happy Sunday Everyone! Before I get started with my day, I wanted to post a couple of images from my files that I thought seemed worth posting. The first was taken while I was on my way to my favorite coffee shop. I saw the bike from across the street and just knew those power lines would add something to the framing of the image. I especially like the little bit of flower in the corner of the photo. It reminds me of those images you see in France of bicycles leaning casually against a fence in front of charming cafes. Now if I could have only have had a little rain to make the sidewalk glisten..

The photograph of the doorknob and key were taken in my apartment. I had just walked in when I happened to notice the light spilling in from the open door. After I took the image, I was reminded of some of the amazing detail photographs of Edward Weston. He could really make the most ordinary things seem beautiful.

Palm Springs Shoot

Hi Everyone! Back in March I took a road trip down to Palm Springs for a photo shoot with my friend Angela. The weather was just perfect. Not too hot, with a gorgeous breeze. After arriving in the late afternoon, I scouted around for some locations and then checked into the hotel. These images were shot in the room using window light and some reflection from the walls. I love how beautiful and relaxed she looks. They were shot at F 3.5 @ a 60th. I used the Pioneer Women B&W Beauty action with Kubuto Lord of the Rings to enhance it and for the color I used the Troy action and then played around adjusting my levels and curves.

I highly recommend Palm Springs at that time of year.

A trip to Morro Bay

On and off for about nine years now I have visiting Morro Bay which is about seven hours or so north of San Diego. I discovered the small beach town by accident and fell in love at first sight. Once you get out of Santa Barbara traffic, the drive up the coast is quite relaxing. The energy shifts and you begin to feel the zen-like quality that emanates from northern California. The light changes, the air gets moist, and you can feel your stress level begin to dissipate. It's a strange phenominom. The beach pictures were shot in the late afternoon and every time I look at them I can remember how happy I was to be there. I especially like the shot of the boys walking because it reminds me of a coming of age moment in the movie Stand By Me. The windmill shot was taken as I was driving back down the highway. I had to pull over and jump out of my car to get it. I have always loved photographing windmills and to find one near the ocean was a special coo. : )

The Secret Path

In between residential houses, and down an old wooden staircase I discovered this hidden path that is wonderful for taking photographs. It's in a deep canyon that you would never know was there. The images are of a friend of mine, named Chiara from Italy. She has such expressive eyes and a beautiful face for photographing. I shot these just an hour before the sun was setting on an overcast day. The portrait reminds me of a still shot from a Fellini film -- from a strange dream sequence. The fashion shots we did were fun and sassy. Who needs exotic locations when you have a funky hidden park in your neighborhood?

Lili and Autumn

These photographs were taken after I came across a photograph taken in the 1970s of a small child sitting on top of a roof. The photographer had captured the child's face so expressively - that I was inspired to get my nieces together and photograph them. We went into the woods in the late afternoon and played "lost"
There are some of my favorite images of them.

The black and white photo is by Arthur Tress and is what inspired me.

It's definitely been a hot couple of weeks in Southern California lately and photographing a wedding out in the beating sun can definitely make for a challenging shoot. I made sure to have water with me and of course my lipstick tube - to freshen up every once in a while. Wink! I shot most of the event in RAW and tried to use as much natural lighting as possible. The gown was shot using available window light, and the rest of the pics were done at various locations in the gardens. Best time to shoot there is about five o'clock. There are lots of shaded areas and interesting pathways with lovely flowers and whimsical plants. I enhanced the color shots using two of my favorite actions in Kubuto. Lord of the Rings and Daily Multi Vitamin. The others have been enhanced using the Vintage action in Totally Rad Actions. I like Vintage because it looks more like film to me and also adds a kind of ethereal element to the pictures.





These photos were taken on July 11th at the Quail Botanical Gardens.

Jenn and Richard Engagement Session

Meet Jenn and Richard - an adorable couple who are getting married in March of 2010. They were so easygoing that it truly was a joy to photograph them. We met around 5:30 pm at some train tracks down town and got started shooting. We weren't there but 2o minutes when the train police told us to am-scray. Apparently we were causing quite a distraction with passengers and the train conductor. Oh well! It was enough time to get the images I wanted so it was okay. I love the urban city background and gritty texture.
After that we scooted across the Coronado bridge and over to the Silver Strand - just in time for the magic hour. These images were enhanced using several Kubuto actions as well as a few Totally Rad actions. My favorite right now is "vintage" which has the grainy sepia look to it.

Diego Portraits

Hi Everyone --

Welcome to my first blog. Yay! It's been a long time in the making, and I'm happy to finally join you all in cyber space. I hope you'll find my posts interesting and I look forward to your feedback.

I've been shooting for a long time, but only within the last year have I gone digital. I resisted as long as possible, and still long for what I still think is a better "look". But now that I have traveled over - I will do my best to embrace technology and all the lovely goodies we have at our fingertips.

These pics were taken on an overcast morning a few weeks ago on a small beach in Shelter Island. From the moment I met Diego, I knew he would photograph well. Such expressive eyes and jet black hair. My fingers were itching to click the shutter. All shot with my Nikon D200 and my 28-85 wide angle lens. The dreaminess of the images is something I strive to do in all my work.