Lori recently earned her license thru the Assembly of God and began speaking to women’s groups  all over Northern California.  She is a great speaker and women can really connect with her and learn from her experiences.  I know my wife has definitely  benefited from her influence.

Lori was working on some brochures and marketing pieces and needed some photos so we had a little photo shoot at my studio and came away with some awesome images.

Of course I have my favorites weddings, days that just seemed to go so perfectly and  I would wish every wedding would go exactly like that.

One of those weddings was Kellie and Travis’ wedding at the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, CA.  Kellie and Travis live in Georgia and came to California wine country to create their dream wedding at a Napa Valley Winery.  Kellie, with the help of Suzy Berberian,  created an amazing atmosphere with flowers by Jessica Switala of Fleurs de France and decor that were perfectly melded with the rustic background of the winery.  Live music for the ceremony by Eloquence String Quartet and The Brian Cline Band rocked it at the reception.  Kellie was absolutley gorgeous from shoes to hair.  Everything was perfect.

To help me capture that day, Cory Montgomory and Gordon DeWitt are amazing shooters that are so much fun to work with.  I could not have done it without them.

Here is the video interview we created and the photos I took for his Web site www.sacobgyn.com

It is a tradition in our church and family to dedicate each young child to God.  A proclamation that we intend to raise that child with the same Christian values that we were raised with.  I like to think of it more of a way to keep us parents accountable to all who are present for the dedication of our intentions.  Dedicating a baby is a special time, a real family event that we take very seriously.  My sister (Danette) did not want to miss the opportunity to dedicate her newest little girl, Naomi, while my grandparents were in town.

For this special occasion the Grandma’s contributed to the event by sewing the dress that Naomi would wear and making the blanket to wrap her up in.  It was a very special time with 4 generations of of girls/women to commemorate Naomi’s dedication.

Danette brought Naomi by a few days later to get some pictures of Naomi and her hand-made dress and blanket.  All her other 4 children had very similar pictures taken when they were the same age so I had a mission to make them match as much as possible.  It is so strange how much all of her kids look alike too.

Naomi is so beautiful and we are definitely  blessed to have her in our family.  And no one is better suited to pass on our Godly heritage than her parents, David and Danette.  Love You Guys!

If you know me at all, you know that my daughter is my favorite subject when it comes to both photos and video.  Whenever I need to scout a location or try a new technique, she is always there.  I love hanging out with her.  We have so much fun.  She always says “Dad, your cracking me up!”  which of course learned from her mother, and I love making her laugh.

I took my niece Amelia to take some pics for her approaching birthday and my daughter of course had to come along.  I got some amazing shots of Micah that I absolutely love and I had to share them.

We we spent most of the day in Old Town Sacramento, then wondered down near the river and the train tracks. The wind was blowing pretty back which is why Micah’s hair is a little crazy.  Good thing we brought a headband

I guarantee that this will not be the last  time I post photos from a shoot that I do with Micah.  I’m sure you are going to get sick of me saying how much I love her and how wonderful she is,  But I won’t stop!

We had a great time in the sun and headed home.  When I watched the footage back it almost made me cry.  My little girl was getting so big and it wouldn’t be long until she was gone.

I put together a short film documenting that day and gave it to Jada on the anniversary of Micah’s adoption being finalized September 11th.

I can watch this movie over and over and it never gets old.  I love that we have these memories recorded to enjoy forever.

I absolutely love a new year.  A fresh start, a new beginning, and an excuse to just start all over.  Obviously this year is no different.  I have my list of resolutions that I promised myself I would keep (haha) which includes health/weight, fitness, family and spiritual goals.  One thing is for sure, I am taking another strep forward with my business, Ryan Black Films.

Last year was a good year,  I worked on branding my business with a new look and logo, I stayed pretty busy shooting a lot of portrait sessions of all kinds.  From my little new niece Naomi and all her brothers and sisters to a local doctor who was also working on rebranding and even did some sports photography.  And of course my favorite subject my daughter Micah.  Every chance I get I’m snapping shots of her and trying to get her to pose, not only for business, but memories for the rest of her life.  I’m sure she is getting sick of me,  I know Jada, my beautiful wife, is.

I also filmed quite a few weddings that would take your breath away because they were so amazing.  The decorations, the lighting, the food and of course the venues.  Some of my favorite spots were The Palace Hotel in San Francisco with the amazing wedding planner Duncan Reyes and The Holman Ranch planned by Carmel’s finest Amy Byrd.  It was hard to  take a break during the 2011 wedding season. I was a second shooter for David Ethridge of AVR Films as often as I was free.  Every wedding shot with him out did the last.  I wrapped up the 2011 weddings on New Years Eve in San Jose shooting a fun Same Day Edit with Johnathan Metcalf of Metmedia.

So begins a fresh start.  This is my new blog that I’m so glad you found.  I have decided to use this format to showcase my work rather than a web site because I want to everyone to see what I am working on and the web site just wasn’t a good forum for that.  It didn’t help that I never updated it.  But this is a new year with new ideas and new adventures ahead.  You my see some stuff on here that you have seen before, like some of my favorite films I’ve made so enjoy and share!

So watch for some new posts, and maybe some older older stuff that I absolutely love.  I will be sharing with everyone on Facebook and Twitter whenever I have a new entry/post, or you can subscribe via email if you would like.   Please leave me some feedback if you get a chance,  I would love to hear from you!

God Bless