The JOURNAL

His hand-made moccasins had a hole in the toe and showed traces of everywhere he’d been that summer. A tiny dusty grimy hand grabs hold of his and drags him down the forest path, past the towering canvassed tipi’s, and toward the sound of playing children. As they reach the trading post, he catches the […]

I thought the day would never come…. But it did. My parents finally let me take their pictures for real! For a while there all I would get from them is dirty looks and excuses like “I look like an old lady!” and “It’s Sunday.” Well, they caved… and asked me to take some portraits of […]

I had a conversation with someone the other day about why I journal and blog. To put it as frankly as I can… I suffer from ever-so-frequent bouts of forgetfulness. Through the ups and downs life’s journey brings… I forget the ways God’s been good in the wonderful times… and I forget the ways God’s […]

I never know how to feel or what to think on New Years’ Eve as the clock strikes midnight. Do you ever have moments in your life when you have so many feelings and thoughts that they all seem to cancel each other out and leave you thinking absolutely nothing at all? Maybe not… but […]

You met Peggy Bray yesterday… but today… I’d like to introduce you to Ernie. I spent the 2nd half of the morning with Ernie as we shot some portraits for some of the many projects he has going on. This guy is the embodiment of aspiration…. seriously! Not only does he run their business Auto […]

It was the morning after the first big storm of winter in Southern California…. you could see the branches and puddles/lakes everywhere on the road. It was cold still. Everything looked clean and colors looked more crisp after being pressure washed by the storm. As I drove down to Carlsbad to meet Peggy, I couldn’t […]

Twas a month before Christmas, and we needed a tree. So we stood in a LONG line, waking up REALLY early. (See “Waiting in Line” Flip-book here.) At 8:30 sharp, we took off running Through the forest so thick, we had to be quite cunning For there were hundreds of people all doing the same […]

Eric Smith has been on staff at Irvine Presbyterian Church for a while now. I never got to have him as a high school youth pastor, but I’ve heard good things. I first had the chance to get to know him a little better when  we documented Daniel and Heather Orduna’s wedding in March 2009… […]

She showed up to the Orange Circle with her hair in curlers, a super cute bag stuffed with outfit changes and props, and a big beautiful smile. Her mom followed behind lugging a few more hangers draped with dresses and fairy wings as she greeted me with a “I’m glad we made it” look on […]

It was barely light outside as one eye opened to find my alarm. As my brain came to life after, what felt like, a short sleep… I remembered…. Today’s the day. Lance and Laurie are getting married today!!! From there, a flood of jitters and butterflies fell into my chest and the coffee I was […]