DK.PHOTOGRAPHY

Lena & Toliy 10.07.11

2011-11-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Lena & Toliy are both very genuine and loving people. They are both in ministry in their church, she- the youth drama director & he-the youth worship team leader. They both do everything they can for others and have very humble, sweet personalities.
When they announced that they were engaged, everyone knew that they would have a very blessed marriage. Their wedding day went by perfectly...they took everything the right way and were very genuinely happy throughout the whole day!
I was so glad to be able to photograph their joyful personalities and emotions on this very special day. Their wedding was the most beautiful I've ever attended to this day...not just in how it looked, but also in how blessed and full of love it felt!

Marina 10.13.11

2011-11-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

Marina carried herself so well on this day when we went out to shoot her maternity session. She had such energy...she was climbing hills and all in her heels like she was a little kid...haha! :)

I love shooting new families. There's something so exciting and joyful about photographing a mommy-to-be. There's such a pure happiness. It's really a very beautiful thing.
I feel these relate all the happiness of what pregnancy really is!

Santa Cruz. September 2011.

2011-11-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Yana of Yana K Photography and I became friends through Facebook. At first, we were both just two photographers who had a love for the camera in common, but that quickly grew into a personal friendship through messaging and skyping. We just had too much in common to not click right away!

Naturally, when Yana planned a trip to California in September to catch the last of the hot, summer weather, we decided to meet and hang out.
During the 2 short weeks that she was here, we got to know each other more & had lots of fun talking at cute, unique restaurants downtown, eating frozen yogurt at Pinkberry, playing mini golf for the first time in our lives, and much more.
We decided to spend one weekend with our toes in the sand, so we got into my little Prius and headed out toward Santa Cruz to pay the beach and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk a visit.
After spending the night in a local inn, we went down to Monterrey Bay, where we spent part of the day biking along the beautiful coast and enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean.
Then, Yana convinced me to drive down just a little bit further to Carmel, California...which was SO gorgeous! I remember how I couldn't stop talking about how cute it was...it looked like a little Italian town! We spent the evening in Carmel putting the beautiful lighting and perfectly adorable streets of the city to good use, using each other as subjects.
With two photographers, you end up getting a lot of great stuff on camera after a whole weekend...so I thought it would be nice to share our little outing here...Enjoy!

Elle 09.21.11

2011-10-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

Danielle first contacted me for an extended family shoot earlier this year (which was quite the circus bunch). I was delighted when she contacted me again to photograph her daughter, Elle, who turned ONE!
I fell in love with Elle's pretty blue eyes the first time that I shot her during their family session, so I was quite excited to be photographing her again. Little did I know that it wouldn't be as easy I thought this time around...because little-miss-one-year-old-now had just learned how to walk. And she wasn't running around in the grass, smiling and playing all pretty--she kept getting up and heading toward the concrete where she could balance better every time we dragged her back to the nice grassy area. Nonetheless, I love a challenge, especially when it's to chase around a cutie like this to catch her quirky smile.
Isn't her toothless grin adorable?? :)

Merva Family 09.22.11

2011-09-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well this family session was an adventure! These girlies had their own agenda, haha, so it was sort of a tough one. BUT I love that when I get home and upload the photos, I always find so many awesome shots. I am thoroughly happy with the end result we got! The youngest one, the blondie :), has the cutest eyes and most charming smile! Check them out:

The Nesteruk Family 08.13.11

2011-08-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Meet the Nesteruk family...6 kids (well, most of them are adults now :)). 3 married. 1 with 2 children.
Extended families are fun to shoot because there are so many personalities all bunched up together. Every son or daughter is different...not to mention what happens when others start marrying into the family!
So this one was definitely fun...we had a lot of laughs in between the serious family portraits! :))

Christina & Jason 08.06.11

2011-08-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the privilege of photographing a wedding with a very sweet story.
The very first time they met, Christina & Jason spent a night gazing at the stars and getting to know one another on an old wooden bridge at the Clear Lake State Park campground...& on August 6th, 2011, they said their vows and tied the knot on the very same bridge. :)
Their wedding was simple (as it was on a campground), but elegant (as you can tell by the beautiful bride) and fun (awesome sweets bar! :)).
I fell in love with the little flower girl's light eyes and long, golden hair! Absolutely adorable!
Enjoy a sneak peek into their special day:

Alina & Vadim 06.19.11 TTD

2011-08-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

So...my first Trash the Dress session...it was quite an experience.

Verdict: I loved it!

The water was absolutely freezing!...I was amazed at how well Alina held her cool!! I think we got an awesome set...here are a few I wanted to share:

Alina & Vadim 06.18.11

2011-08-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Alina & Vadim... :)
Awesome couple. During the days leading up to their wedding, we met up a few times, and they really portrayed a perfect match. They're completely comfortable with each other & it was great to work with them because of that. Alina was the most excited bride on her wedding day! :) Check out some of the shots from their big day:

My Family 08.03.11

2011-08-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

We have not had our family portraits done for about 10 years now! That's quite a lot, considering there's a photographer in the family. ;)
Finally, yesterday, I was on the other side of the lens, along with my wonderful family. I just wanted to share a few shots that I took from Alex Chernyak, a good friend who photographed us, and post-processed last night. (Excited much?! Lol!) Anyway...I think they turned out pretty cool...we finally have present-time photos to frame in our home. :)

The Yurtsan Family 07.02.11

2011-08-03T00:56:00.000-07:00

Lovely family!...Renata has become a dear friend throughout all of our photo sessions together. We scheduled a day to photograph her extended family...cousins-grandma-grandpa-sort of thing & I think we got some great shots.
The kids were just so full of personality! Jennessa, the little girl in the pink, is such a smarty-pants...there are some kids that just grow up too fast! I thoroughly enjoyed photographing all the cute expressions :)

Lana & Vadim 06.11.11

2011-06-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

So, Lana is a good friend of mine who plans some of the most gorgeous parties. I've been doing a lot of decor photography for her to show her work off.
Of course when her own wedding came up, we all knew that it was going to be over-the-top gorgeous...& I was hired as her "decor photographer"...honestly, the best job ever because I got to be artistic and document all the beautiful stuff I saw without having to stay for all the family pictures at the end (which we can all agree are must-haves but are not the most pretty or the funnest ;) )
Obviously, it was SPECTACULAR! Lana, my dear former-"bridezilla" :)), thank you so much for letting me part of your special day in such a personal way.
Here are a few of my favorites from that day...I was able to sneak in a few non-decor shots in there, too :))

Vanessa & Vadim 02.05.11

2011-06-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

A little late in posting this...after I gave the photos to the bride and groom, i didn't post right away...& didn't remember to go back till now.
Anyhow this wedding was back in February and took place in the bay area. I had an awesome time with the bridal party! The whole day was really organized and fun. I know I had a good time! Here's kind of how the day went...

Below: Really tall groomsman. Really short photographer, aka- me. :) Lol.

Julie & Alex 05.06.11

2011-06-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

Julie and Alex radiate a very pure and genuine kind of love. They have a tendency to make the world and everything in it seem to be more wonderful than life itself. They're filled with love and care for people, and it's a real pleasure being around them. Their wedding was simple and as worry-free as any wedding can be. It really represented who they are as a couple and I'm sure everybody there was really able to enjoy the evening. Here are a few of my favorite shots...

Julie & Alex: Engaged 03.28.11

2011-06-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather, beautiful location, beautiful couple...this engagement session was cool, fun, and easy-going. We just had a good time hanging out and I even got the honor of having lunch with this couple afterward :))

Veronika & Roman 05.29.11

2011-06-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Between couples, the women are usually more "hands on" and more excited about taking photos together with their boyfriend/fiance/husband, while the men typically aren't so into getting photos taken of them...the girls are always just a little bit more excited...so when the groom in this wedding was the one doing all the talking about photography, it was a bit of a change for me. He had reason though, since he knew a little bit about the topic, and even rented a few lenses for myself and the videographers to use (since they were using DSLR's as well) for the big day.
In the beginning, I'll admit it was a bit nerve-wrecking, photographing for a photographer...however, the jitters all faded as I realized how easy-going both the bride and groom were. The entire wedding party was funny and fun. We all just had a good time! Congrats, you two!! :)

I got to give credit to Vitaliy Lyubezhanin from Aperina Studios for the image above...thanks for showing me a few tricks! :)

Kristina 05.04.11

2011-06-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

Meet my sister, Kristina. She is my best friend in the whole world. We are sisters so we do argue about clothes and such, but we also have the greatest memories together. She is my other half and I love her...which made this shoot both fun and comfortable for the both of us. I was honored when she asked me to do her senior portraits...the last time I had a photo shoot with her was in 2008, my very first photo shoot ever (which completely sucked; I can honestly say that I grew very much from that point).
I hope you enjoy these...she's always full of laughter and she's creative in her own bubbly, colorful style which inspired all the color and sunlight in this session.

Victor 05.04.11

2011-05-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

Meet Victor. His glasses are prescription glasses, but truly, he really loves to wear them purely because they make him look smart. & he is. Smart, that is.
Congrats on your graduation, Victor! Now onto the fun part of education...college!

Mary & Alex 04.15.11

2011-05-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

This engagement session was awesome...Mary and Alex are both such sincerely kind people. Alex was a trooper that day...first of all, the guys are usually not very thrilled to be having pictures taken while the girls are usually all excited...but besides that, he had spent all night driving from Portland and I imagine, he couldn't wait to take a nap at the least. So thanks for your patience, Alex.

And Mary, overall, it's just been amazing working with you...it's really a pleasure staying in contact with you through this whole process. I had an great time making the invites with you and your sister. Thanks for letting me be a little part of the most beautiful day of your life!!

Sasha & older brother, Marcus 04.23.11

2011-05-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

I think there was only one other time that I had a little tough time breaking through with a precious tiny one. Sasha gave us a tad bit of a rough time in the beginning, but I love that I was able to get some really cute shots of her by the end. Her eyes! I just love her eyes :))

And after I got my chance at her, I got to photograph her older brother, Marcus. & let's just say...I fell in love with his red locks and his freckles!!

Evalina 04.23.11

2011-05-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last year, while visiting friends in San Francisco, I took a little time to photograph Evalina as a newborn. It was a pleasure when her mom contacted me for another photo session! Her mom had a whole bunch of ideas that we incorporated into this shoot and I absolutely love all these shots that we got of her.
P.S. All of the headbands and flowers you see are made by my own mom! Find Albina Kalinyuk's "Couture" on Facebook! :)
http://www.facebook.com/albinakalinyuk
Thanks, Tanya for the opportunity to photograph your little girl!

Jennessa Grace 04.09.11

2011-04-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

I photographed Jennessa back when she was a newborn in December of 2009. You can view a couple of shots here:
http://daniellakalinyuk.blogspot.com/2009/12/max-renata-jennessa.html
When her mom contacted me for another shoot, I happily awaited photographing her again...this time, she was walkin', talkin' (tryin' to, at least, haha!), and gigglin' almost the whole time :)
She was so full of expression and life, and SO smart!! It's crazy how fast some kids just "get it"!
I was shocked when she asked for my camera...she rubbed her belly in a circle (which I understand is the baby sign language for it), saying "Peease?" I really didn't believe it at first!
We took some shots with her favorite cartoon & stuffed animal, Minnie Mouse, some with her favorite blankie, and then, back at the house, a few with all of her favorite toys. I love how personal this session was because I feel that all the shots really express JENNESSA and who her character is at this early stage in her life. It was fun & funny...I enjoyed every minute of it!
Thank you, Yurtsan family...it was really a pleasure!!

Tina & Igor

2011-02-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

I had the honor of photographing Tina & Igor’s wedding last fall and it was absolutely beautiful.

The décor was put to together by the bride’s own sister, Lana Pyavka, who is a professional florist and event decorator. Since this wedding was special (the last sister of four was getting married), Lana went all out and made every centerpiece unique and different from the rest on the tables in the reception hall. You can check out her work for this wedding and others here: http://amazingfloraldesign.blogspot.com/.

The shoes, the rings, the ivory dress, the flowers, the vintage car, the bedazzled bridesmaids, the Burberry tie, and many more details were all sought after to make this day perfect for this wonderful couple.

I had a great time with the bridal party throughout the day…everyone was energetic and open to all kinds of ideas, and the day went very smoothly. Thank you and congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Leus.

Check out some of the shots from this one below. Enjoy!

A New Year

2011-01-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

For any of my followers or visitors...I know a new post is WAY overdue. Thank you for those that have been following my work up to this point.
2011 is a new year and I intend for it to be the best year yet, in my life in general as well as in my skills and experiences as a photographer. I am excited to continue doing what I love!
I spent my entire winter break off from college on vacation in Russia. It was a wonderful experience that I could not tell in words. I didn't shoot as much as I would have like to...frozen fingers! Ha ha! :)
Here is just a couple of shot I brought back from Russia.
More posts coming soon!!

Gabriel

2010-11-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

Can't say I'm not biased, but MAN how I loved this shoot...Gabriel was an absolute treasure. Children are the most rewarding to shoot with their chubby cheeks, innocent eyes, and tiny feet. Also, it's an honor when you've shot photos of the mother before she gave birth...so in Natalie's pregnancy shoot several months back, this is the little guy who was in her tummy! :)

Like I said, I guess being one of his baby-sitters, my opinion is slightly subjective, but it was fun and beautiful and the pictures turned out to be absolutely adorable!!