Wonderland

I love art created by children (which is one of the reasons I enjoy photographing at preschools - so much art). I find their creativity, and freedom from the "rules", inspiring. All this to say, I was really excited and inspired when I came across the work of photographer Yeondoo Jung whose Wonderland project was inspired by the drawings of children. (via How About Orange)



(Images © Yeondoo Jung)

Announcing Ella!

Just in case you have not been to our homepage in awhile and do not receive our e-mail newsletter, meet our latest addition.



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Portfolio Update

I updated my portfolio this weekend. The new portfolio includes a lot more images, more categories (babies, children, siblings and family) and a better viewing experience. I would love to hear any feedback in the comments or via e-mail.

Summer Reading

We recently discovered Pictures from Our Vacation at the local library. It is a fun picture book about picture taking, road trips, day dreaming, family, and memories...a great book for summer.

Give your feet a vacation

For a different take on vacation photos, check out Photojojo's idea to photograph your summer travels by photographing your feet and the ground they cover.

Witness to Remembrance Community Art Project

My friend, Kimberly Hocking (through her organization Greenly Art Space), is starting a community art project this month called Witness to Remembrance. If you follow my blog, you may remember the previous project, Broken-Beautiful. The goal of this years project is to provide an opportunity for participants to honor someone they loved who has passed away. This project comes out of Kimberly's own process of dealing with the loss of her brother five years ago.

Participants will be given a single use camera to capture images that reflect places, objects, and ideas that remind them of that individual. Participants will be from three primary areas/groups: street children and Word Made Flesh advocates in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Sierra Leone, Africa, as well as residences of Seal Beach, California and surrounding communities. The photographs will be curated and eventually shown at the gallery space at Grace Community Church in Seal Beach, possibly to coincide with the Seal Beach Art Walk.

One of Kimberly's goals is to build community through art and shared experiences. We hope to get a diverse group of participants from the local community. If you would like to participate and live in the Seal Beach area, you can sign up and pick up a camera at Bogart's Coffee House on June 7 and 14 or in front of Grace Community Church on June 8 and 15 (there is a $40 entrance fee due at the time you pick up the camera). You can find out more at www.GreenlyArtSpace.com or let me know if you have questions.

If you do not live in the Seal Beach area, you may still want to consider doing this project on your own or as a family to honor a loved one.

Father's Day

Father's Day is just around the corner (June 15) and our Father's Day gift guide has lots of great ways to celebrate dad.

Stanley Cup

I have been a casual fan of the Anaheim Ducks since day one. I went to their very first game back in 1995, as well as a few other games over the years and watched games occasionally on T.V., but did not really follow the team, until 2006. I could not have picked a better season to watch, because for the first time in franchise history, the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in professional sports in North America and is a bit of a celebrity in its own right. It has appeared in television shows, beer commercials and has several handlers that accompany it everywhere it goes all around the world.

One of the perks of winning the Stanley Cup is that each member of the winning team gets to have the trophy for one day. Usually, this time involves taking the Cup to their home town, celebrating with family, friends and the community as a whole and, of course, lots of photographs.

The team owners, Henry and Susan Samueli, shared part of their day with the Cup with the members of their temple, and I was fortunate to be invited to photograph. In about two hours, over two hundred people posed with, hugged, kissed and even licked it. It was a crazy experience and I could not have done it without the help of my friend, and fellow photographer, Erika.

Though there was not much time to think, let alone talk with anyone, I did get to hear the story of one boy who came with an 8x10 photograph of his grandfather posing in the locker room with the Stanley Cup just after winning the championship. And then there was this little charmer, who won the hearts of everyone there.



The Ducks play their first game of the 2008 playoffs tomorrow night. Go Ducks!

Look What I Made

Continuing my review of some of the highlights of 2007, in June, we hosted a party at Look What I Made, an arts and crafts play space in Long Beach. It is a great space with lots for kids to explore and create, all at their own pace. There are four large craft tables, each with a different project, three easels, and a dedicated play area.

Aviss (the owner) and Eva were great at making everyone feel comfortable, assisting and encouraging the children, ensuring the materials were available when inspiration struck, and carefully packing up all of the art for the children to take home. Everyone had a great time!

One of the things I love most about Look What I Made is that there is lots of room for creative exploration and expression, without all of the set up and clean up. Look What I Made is open for parties on Saturdays, or you can drop-in any weekday that you and your child need a break from the daily routine.

Baking

I have photographed the Bachman's every year for the last seven years. Our portrait sessions usually include spending some time at their home and some time playing at a local park, but when rain forced us to stay indoors last year, they rolled up their sleeves, got out the mixer and made chocolate chip cookies. The kids loved it and mom and dad got great pictures of their children enjoying a rainy day at home together.