Gil & Eduarda • San Juan Bautista Engagement Photography

Last weekend, Gil and Eduarda met me in San Juan Bautista for our second attempt at an engagement session. We had met in San Francisco two weeks prior for their session, but Mother Nature had other plans that day and we were met there with rain and wind. But it was a beautiful day in San Juan Bautista last weekend, and I'm really glad for the change of location as the mission provided a beautiful backdrop for their portraits. I always have fun when I'm with Gil & Eduarda, as they're such a lighthearted, funny couple. So we really had a great time exploring the mission together, and I'm looking forward to their wedding next month!

Christine & Jay ☼ San Francisco Engagement Portraits

Last weekend I headed to San Francisco for Christine & Jay's engagement session. It was a rare hot day in San Francisco, I think the temp sored to a whopping 80 degrees! So, with the sun shining, we headed to the beach for our shoot. They live right above Baker Beach, so it made selecting the beach easy. Now if you're familiar with San Francisco, you know that Baker Beach is a nude beach. If you're reading this, and weren't previously aware that it was a nude beach, it may seem odd to you that I would take clients here to shoot. But in my defense, I must say that I've taken at least a dozen couples to Baker Beach for engagement shoots and have never seen a single nude person. In fact, I'm so comfortable with this beach that I take my kids there to play. I really just believed that it was more of a nude beach in theory than in practice. I was wrong. Apparently they just wait for these rare hot days, and then half the people in San Francisco shed their clothes and run to the beach. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but there were at least several dozen nudies on the section of beach I was on. Lucky for me, I was there with Christine and Jay, who are native San Franciscans and were totally unfazed by the lack of bathing suits. And despite the colony of clothing deprived people hangin' out around us, we still had fun and made some beautiful portraits. I have a feeling though, that Jay & Christine manage to have fun where ever they go. They are such a laid back, happy couple, I had a great time shooting them & learning a bit more than I wanted to know about San Francisco!

Jennifer & Jimmy Santa Nella Engagement Session

I met with Jennifer and Jimmy for an engagement session at her family's land where they graze cattle in the hills over Santa Nella. And I have to tell you, the shoot was just like an adventurous day right out of a Mark Twain novel, complete with abandoned buildings, windmills, coyotes, balancing on a log suspended above water, climbing trees & boulders, something that may or may not have been a turkey, I could keep going... The only things missing were vagabonds and riding the rails. We shot until the sun went down, and really could have kept going. The scenery was so amazing that the hardest part was narrowing down the places to shoot. The location was a photographer's dream, and to top it off, Jen and Jimmy were willing to do whatever it took to get a great shot. Climbing, balancing, walking a tightrope, you name it, they were willing (okay so maybe the tightrope was an exaggeration- but balancing on a slippery log in boots with heels seems pretty darn close to walking a tightrope). As we explored this area finding places to shoot, I got to know Jen and Jimmy, and not only are they just cool people to spend the day with, they are one of those couples that you just know will be together in 50 years when they're old and gray. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to capture a little bit of their love in portraits that they'll show their kids and grandkids someday.