I have a fairly long story to go with this photoshoot, but that will come later. I hope you enjoy this little preview!

That being said, I really wanted to share with all of you a little peek at what’s to come. If you follow me on twitter, you probably know that I just shot my first senior photo session on Sunday. Really excited to post those. But last month, I had a super fun little fashion/editorial kind of shoot with Fiona modeling and Kelsey doing makeup and styling. Details on that soon, I hope. For now, enjoy these two shots from that awesome day.

But enough about that. Let’s look at some pretty pictures of the stunning Cristie!

I love this location so much. These were taken not 20 feet away from where I had my shoot with Clare, but you’d never guess. So much versatility in look, feel, and lighting, and in such a small area. I like to call this particularly spot my Terabithia.

Is this girl a natural in front of the camera or what?

The lighting here was so beautiful. I love it when I can catch the sun at just the right spot in the sky.

I can’t even handle how beautiful she looks in these. Those eyes!

She brought so much personality to the shoot. So many simple little poses and facial expressions, and they all worked out so well.

Oh, lens flares… how do I love thee?

And the last few frames of the day before we packed up and she went off to her singing lesson.

I am so happy with how these shots turned out, and I’m thrilled to have finally gotten a chance to try my hand at using the 5D! Thanks for a fantastic session, Cristie!

Poop cupcake anyone?

The doggy cake consisted of over 5 pounds of meat (ground beef and lamb) with mashed potato frosting. Mmm… tasty…

Watson knew there was food being prepared…

… but was unamused when told he had to wait to eat it.

The cake looked awesome, as did the decorations.

Mindy and family!

Cake time!

And finally, a quick picture my mom took of me and my puppy. I love him so much. I can’t believe he’s already a year old! I am so very much looking forward to celebrating many, many more years of Watson.

School has been so completely insane. I have a few exciting posts I would like to put up, but I’ve been so lacking in time. I take my last two midterms today and then I will be done with school until January. I have so much to say about all of that, but for now, let’s talk about The Tea Gardens.

The first word that comes to mind when I think of this place is “warmth”. It just has such a warm and comforting vibe. Such charm and whimsy from the moment you walk in the door. Then, of course, there’s the tea. I love, love, love tea. There are so many different kinds with so many different flavors. From the light and refreshing iced teas, to the rich and soothing hot teas, The Tea Gardens really succeeds at providing something for every mood and every taste.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to take a few photos for their brand new catering menu. It was a very quick shoot with very little prep time, but I think we pulled it off.

This is their boxed lunch, which gives you the option of a sandwich, wrap, or salad, with a side of fresh fruit and a scone. They opted for the egg salad sandwich for the shoot, which happens to be a favorite of mine.

Next is their dessert gift wrap, which you can add on to any box of their tasty desserts.

Lastly, their scone box, which you can get with an assortment, or choose any two types of their scones.

Such a fun little shoot. I love opportunities like this. Last weekend, I went back for Clare‘s birthday party (I got croissant french toast, which was awesome) and got to take a look at the new catering menu. It’s so much fun to see your work in print. Such an amazing and satisfying feeling.

Speaking of print…

The holidays are fast approaching, and with it, a new year. What better gift to give than my Puppies! 2012 wall calendar? It’s full of fluffy cuteness, and 10% of the profits go to ACT V Rescue & Rehabilitation. There are some other totally adorable puppy products here, and my art prints can be found here. After you get a calendar or print, you should go get some tea and croissant french toast (oh my goodness it was so good).

Thank you, Tea Gardens, for this totally fun shoot and all the tasty food and drink! See you again soon!

The Tea Gardens
www.theteagardens.com
Santa Clarita, CA

It’s been six years. Six years of laughs, tears, countless inside jokes, numerous random walks, and late night phone calls. We are avid Harry Potter fans and we solemnly swear we are up to no good. We survived my grand Minnesotan excursion and now that I’m back, we will continue to put up with each other. -sigh-

She was the first person I ever had a photoshoot with (back when I still had my Lumix!). She’s always been incredibly easy to photograph. She was born to perform and she takes that same presence from the stage to the camera. And she’s purrrrdy.

I am pretty sure I am posting way too many photos from this session, but I can’t help it! I am so proud of them and had so much fun with the shoot. I can’t believe this is the first time Clare has been on my blog. It certainly won’t be the last.

This next one is one of my favorites. How freaking beautiful is she!?

Couldn’t resist a hipster photo to show off her Deathly Hallows necklace.

Another favorite. Her eyes are amazing.

These next three are so very Clare. I can’t help but laugh every time I look at them. Once a theatre kid, always a theatre kid.

Always up to something.

I am so happy with this last set. The lighting was pretty much perfect. Plus, I decided to play around with some editing techniques on a few of them, which is always fun.

That smile!

Yup. Way too many photos. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did, though. Thanks for an awesome evening, Clare! Can’t wait for our next shoot!

The reason why it got taken down is quite fascinating, really. As you can see in the mosaic in my previous post, there is a photo of the adorable Darby facing off with a dreaded Dalek. It’s really one of my favorite photos that I have taken. CafePress, however, did not like it so much. Their Content Usage Policy says that “NO pictures or photographs of products (such as toys). Even if you own a product, trademark laws may still prohibit you from selling merchandise that features pictures of it. For example, you cannot take a picture of your Barbie and sell Barbie merchandise with that picture.” Clearly, I am not taking a photo of my Dalek and using it to sell Doctor Who merchandise. I am selling a puppy calendar, which happened to contain a photo of a Dalek threatening to exterminate a puppy**. It really isn’t copyright infringement, nor am I trying to offend the fine people of Doctor Who in any way. However, CafePress just has a blanket policy that no photographs of products can be used.

So, there you have it. No more Dalek. Too bad, so sad. I have shifted things around so that my Watson can be featured prominently on the November page. All other pages remain intact. Also, don’t forget to check out the other puppy products here and my art prints here. Have a great week, and keep an eye on the blog. Photos from my session with Clare are coming soon!

**No puppies were exterminated in the making of this calendar

I am very excited to announce the launch of my 2012 ‘Puppies!’ wall calendar! I have been working on this project for close to a year now and I am so happy that it is finally done. The calendar features thirteen adorable rescued puppies, six of which were our foster puppies at one time. This calendar would make a great gift to a friend or family member, or even to yourself! 10% of the profits from each calendar sale will go to ACT V Rescue & Rehabilitation, which is the rescue we did all of our foster work for. Plus, the world is going to end in 2012 anyway, so you might as well get your fix of puppy photos now.

Special thanks to Ben, Mark, Darlene, Vicki, and ACT V for their help in making this project possible! Thanks also to all of my wonderful puppy models, of course. I hope you all like the calendar!

Check out the calendar here. For some more cute puppy products, click here. Also, don’t forget to check out my art print shop!

On Wednesday, my mom called me into the kitchen to ask me if I thought I’d be busy that evening. She went on to say that Vedera was doing a free house show at The Farmhouse. That night, as the sun set on Hollywood, I found myself under a giant avocado tree with 20 other people, listening to… well… magic. There’s really no other way to describe their music. It’s just magic.

The yard was amazing, and when I say ‘giant avocado tree’, I really do mean a giant avocado tree. We all stood under the canopy of leaves, surrounded by a string of lights and some tiki torches. It was beautiful.

There was a slight problem when Jason Douglas was tuning. One minute, there was sound and light…

The next, everyone was wandering around with flashlights, trying to figure out which fuse blew.

Once we got the power back on, though, things went swimmingly. Everyone finished tuning, they finalized the set list, and the show began. Someday, I hope to get a press pass to a show with stage lighting and the ability to get whatever angle I want on the band. However, this was a truly unique experience that I would not have missed for the world. The show was amazing, the band was incredibly nice, and I am extremely happy with the photos I got, given my lighting and positioning circumstances. Also, I kind of fangirled out and bought a t-shirt and a CD, and then got the band to sign them both.

Thank you Kristen May, Brian Little, Drew Little, and Jason Douglas for an evening beyond all compare. Hope to see you all again soon!

Vedera
www.vederamusic.net
twitter.com/vederamusic

Believe it or not, these puppies are all from the same litter! They are all so different in every way and were such a joy to photograph. Enjoy this shot of them, and one of their lovely mom, Ginger.

My session with Clare was a such a dream. The lighting was perfect. Our locations were wonderful. And of course, Clare is absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to share the rest of her photos, but here are just a couple from this amazing shoot!