Livin’ In Cali…

February 21, 2010June 2, 20102 Comments

I’ve lived in Southern California for 27 years and I can say, without reserve, that I don’t see the ocean as much as I should or would like to. I don’t live very close to the beach. I, in fact, live at least 30-40 minutes away making frequent visits to the coast a rarity. In some cases, I’d say it’s a shame that I don’t take advantage of what is so readily available to a California resident. On the other hand, when I do pay a visit to our sandy shore, it makes the experience all the more pleasing.

Yesterday morning, Andrew and I took a trip to Samy’s Camera so I could buy my new 20mm lens. Shortly after the purchase, I drove a few miles to have lunch with my cousin Ben who had the wonderful idea to eat in Manhattan Beach. I’ve never been to this particular beach, if you can believe that. Short though our afternoon under the sun was, I didn’t waste any time and took full advantage of the awesome lens I’d just bought and snapped away. The sky was as blue as I’ve ever seen it here, the breeze was cool but not freezing, and the waves, well, there’s no sound as calming as water hitting the shore. After all the cloudy and rainy skies we’d gotten used to these last few weeks, this Sunday felt nothing less than consolation.

Makes Me Happy…

September 17, 2009June 2, 2010Leave a comment

These are my nephews, Toby and Bradley. Really, they couldn’t be cuter. Looking at them, just being around them, makes me forget everything that could ever possibly bother me.

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Flying Solo

September 7, 2009June 2, 20102 Comments

I’ve known my cousin, Elisha, since she was a baby! I was a flower girl at her mom’s wedding! Now she’s all grown up – still cute, still has the sweetest singing voice…but still a baby to me. She asked if I could take some photos of her to submit to a modeling agency. How fun, I thought, my own fashion photo shoot! Then I realized…uh oh…no help from Ja, Bev, James or Andrew? What seemed to be a great opportunity for me to figure my way through a shoot, soon turned into, well, fear. I’d never done anything other than engagement shoots or weddings, and I’d never ever been left to do it ALONE! Plus, these photos were going to be submitted to get my cousin a modeling agent? HAHA…no pressure. =)

I wasn’t totally alone, though, thank goodness. With help from my cousins, Mari (who took care of wardrobe and hair) and her sister Keshia (who is a make-up expert), the shoot turned out to be really fun. At times during the hours waiting for the sun to start going down (man, was it hot!), I kind of felt like I was babysitting. Haha! I feel like these girls are so much younger than me. Young or not, however, they sure made this day a time well spent outdoors. What started out to be a pressure-filled task for me, turned out to be nothing but quality time with some really great girls. I can’t wait for the next shoot with them!