Beth + Daniel Engaged!

I'm going to be a bridesmaid this coming year for my dear friend Beth.  We knew we weren't going to be able to photograph her wedding so Adm and I wanted to do her engagement pictures to help capture part of the happiest time in her life.

Beth could not be more perfectly matched than she is with her fiance Daniel.   Adm likes to call Beth the "Fiesta Bandita" (or "Party Bandit") because  no matter where you go, Beth ALWAYS seems to have just the right bottle of wine, champagne, home brew, wedge of cheese or baguette at hand, literally in her purse, to perfectly fit the situation.  And now, the perpetually happy Daniel with a heart of gold is always ready to throw gas on Beth's party fire.  These two are nonstop fun and I'm pretty sure you can tell from the pictures that their engagement shoot was exactly that.  Plus, Daniel, who still DJs in his spare time, raised the roof for us all over Knights Ferry which is where he proposed to Beth.

Beth and Dan, you know we love you and we absolutely cannot wait for your wedding this May - it is going to be like no other!

Argentina, Part III

As our driver made his way along the roads leading from the town of San Antonio de Areco and out into the countryside leading to the estancia (or ranch), where we would be staying for a few days, the whole world seemed to grow.  Endless fields of lush green soja created a gently swaying carpet stretching from horizon to horizon, only broken up by grassy pastures dotted with beautiful grazing horses.  Even with Spanish talk radio blaring and the car racing, the world around us seemed to slow down and sigh gently into our ear, whispering, "take a break."

I have to make a confession: we thought that there was a beach in Buenos Aires.  A beach where we could lounge in the sand, drink cocktails, splash in the ocean and forget what time it was for days on end.  As it turns out (and as any diligent vacationer would have researched), there are no such beaches in Buenos Aires, and so, we instead opted to relax in the country.

We slept in until the sun peaking through the shades forced us to wake and head downstairs to breakfast, and to no surprise, we found ourselves the last guests to partake in the dulce de leche, media lunas and small, but mighty Argentine coffee set out for us.  After breakfast, we had the option of a swim or ride before filling ourselves with an asado, a traditional Argentine bbq where there are many varied courses of different cuts of grass fed beef and bottomless glasses of Malbec wine.  The only thing to do after such a meal is to head back to bed for a siesta, only waking an hour later to watch a polo match before dinner.  As delightful and luxurious as all of this was, there are only so many days we could lay around like this.

On our last day, we woke early-ish to join the polo players on horseback for some stick and ball practice.  The speed and excitement of cantering while swinging at a ball is exhilarating.  I was amazed to find that I was able to hit the ball while at a gallop on my first time out - especially since while I do have some softball skills, hitting was NOT one of them.

This is the last of our vacation posts, and I hope that you have enjoyed seeing how we kick back when we aren't photographing weddings.

Argentina, Part I

Lounging on our rooftop terrace, soaking in the sun with cervezas in hand, wondering "which restaurant to try next?" followed by "which ice cream place to hit afterwards?", these were the tough decisions we faced.  This was our first vacation in four and half years, and it marked some major milestones:  Adm turned 30 and we completed our second season of photographing weddings full-time.  What better way to celebrate than head 6000+ miles down south to Buenos Aires where there was summer?  With Oakland and the Bay a world away, we finally had some time to rest and relax, and boy did we do just that.   We didn't travel with an agenda of things to do and places to see.  We went to try to fall into step with another lifestyle and to explore a new place at our leisure.  We did our best to disconnect from our world of email, Facebook, and work.  We lost track of the days of the week and only discovered that it was Sunday when tango music from the infamous San Telmo Sunday street fair filtered through our windows.  Although we wandered around Buenos Aires with our cameras at our side, our vacation wasn't about the pictures.  We photographed things when we wanted to and took pictures for our vacation scrapbook rather than our travel portfolio.

Since returning home, sitting at our desk, working side by side with our puppy at our feet, Adm and I have jumped right back into work.  That's not a bad thing though because we LOVE what we do.  However, in looking through all of these photos, I can't help but yearn for the summer heat (especially since it's been so rainy here) and the chance to escape reality for a little bit.

Vacation!!!

Whooohoooooo!!!! We're heading out of the country for a much needed and long awaited vacation to Buenos Aires, Argentina!  I've got a few blog posts scheduled and ready to go (including a very special introduction!) while we're away so the blog won't be completely dead while we're gone.  I'm sure we'll also post a few photos from our trip once we're down there. For current and prospective clients, we'll be back in the Bay Area and in full work mode on February 10.  Until then, I'll still be checking my email every now and again, but please be patient as I'll be a little slower than usual to respond. Happy January!

See ya, Bay Area!

What Have We Been Doing?

I didn't realize until my last post that it had been more than a month since my last blogging efforts.  It's true, wedding season has slowed down so there aren't many shoots to blog, but really, a whole month without blogging?????  That's no bueno.  So, what have we been doing this past month?  We started the year off with a trip to Portland and Astoria - Portland for fun, Astoria to visit Adm's sister and nieces where there is lots of fun.

Adm took this photo of me in Deschutes Brewery.  My favorite beer of theirs:  "Streaking Through the Quad."

Here is Adm in the Ace Hotel:

Adm's niece Abby, with her dinner leftovers on her head:

A scene at Astoria's Coffee Girl:

Nieces Abby and Hava:

Saffy, the cat, knows how to find the good light:

We received FRESH crabs from a friendly neighbor!  This is Adm with Hava:

Someone was enjoying the filling for our raspberry mascarpone tart.....

Sunday morning nature walk (photo by Adm):

The photo of Abby and Hava looking like gnomes is by Adm: