There are happy babies and then there’s my godson, Jonah, who gives a whole new meaning to the term. Everything seems to make him smile. Toys that rattle or play music; playing peek-a-boo; a kind face looking back at him. He was over last week, in crawling position on my couch, and with no stimulation whatsoever, started laughing…at himself? At me? I have no idea, but with not even 12 months behind him, he is already so full of personality.
Please just do what I say!
Yeah, that was me that morning. I was blessed to have been so busy this past holiday season with family sessions to shoot practically every weekend that I thought our family shoot would be the quickest and easiest for me to handle. It was so windy that Saturday morning though, and I couldn’t, for some reason, get the settings to cooperate with the lighting and we kept having to move to follow shade or face in different directions because the gusts of wind were sweeping up all the hard work my mom, sister and I spent on our hair, etc. But I eased up eventually because, honestly, what was the big deal? So I practically had to turn the camera in all varying degrees…so the wind was all up in our faces…all that mattered was that I get at least one or two photos to send along with our Christmas greetings, and I did, with my parents and sister providing some much needed comic relief in the between.
It was like an engagement shoot. Haha! Actually, Joesan and Karen have been married for over three years, and for the last couple of years during the holidays, they send out Christmas cards with a photo of them from some awesome vacation they took during the year. Last year, they went to Washington, DC but this year, with no vacation pics to use, they thought of the next best thing.
Joesan is an L.A. sports team fan, and he is a huge supporter of the Kings. Shooting at L.A. Live was a no-brainer. He, along with my friends Jay and Chris, keep me occupied during the workday with email strings of sports talk. We talk Lakers, Kings, Dodgers and occasionally talk smack about the Clippers and the Ducks, haha!
Joesan’s fandom is fully supported by his lovely wife, Karen who, in the process has taken to Kings legend, Luc Robitaille. Funnily enough, as we were shooting in front of Staples Center (there was a Kings game that night), she spotted Luc on the balcony. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the zoom lens, but Karen seemed content enough to admire from afar.
After strolling around L.A. Live, we ended our evening with dinner at, of course, ESPN Zone. Thanks for dinner and coffee, Mr. & Mrs. Diche! =)
Anna Gonda Photography 