A High School Senior Close to my Heart - Albuquerque Senior Portrait Photographer

Kelli flew into Albuquerque from out of state for her Senior Portraits.  We had so much fun playing dress up and finding cool places to shoot.  She's not sure where she will be going to college yet, but probably somewhere close to home.  In the meantime, you'll find her at the gymnastics gym or on the soccer field.

Orchard Unplugged - Albuquerque Senior Portraits and Family Photography

For Easter I donated 100 $100 gift certificates to local churches and community centers for their Easter Egg Hunt.  One church had a few left over, so they thanked their volunteers with these little gifts.  It was by that luck that I was blessed to meet the Orchard family.  They have three magnificent (and hip) children who each play a few instruments.  Their oldest son plays the electric guitar, classic guitar, electronic keyboard, and the viola.  I was impressed to say the least.  I'm sure all the high school girls swoon over him.  I also found out he is in a band and also plays in their church's awesome music program.  Here are just a few of my favorites from in their music studio and in their backyard.  I can't wait to do his Senior Portraits here in Albuquerque.

A Little Boy with an Amazing Heart - Albuquerque Family Photography

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to shoot the American Heart Association's Heart and Soul Ball at Hotel Albuquerque. There I met 10 year old David Joseph. He stood up in front of hundreds of guests at the black tie affair and shared his story to help raise money for the American Heart Association. When he was 19 months old, he was diagnosed with a Coarctation of the Aorta. This is a very serious condition that, if undetected, can claim the life of a child through a stroke or aneurysm before that child reaches 7 years of age. When he was 4 1/2, he underwent anastomosis heart surgery to rebuild his heart. His story was incredibly compelling and everyone was impressed how his public speaking at age 10 was better than most adults.

Here are some photos of young David Joseph and his parents. He is also a very sweet young boy. Most of the time we got him to smile was talking about his brand new baby sister.

At the Trail Head

This young couple is at the beginning of an amazing journey ahead.  They've been blessed with the coming of a baby girl.

Monkey on my Back - Family Photography

n April 18th I set up shop at Torrey Pines for a day of shooting and relaxing at the beach.  The weather forecast for Sunday kept jumping back between beautiful and rainy all week.  Come Sunday it decided to do both!  It was gorgeous in the morning and afternoon, but when 6 rolled around, the clouds rolled on in, and started to pour just after 7.

I started my day with a family where the parents were on my softball team a few years back.  I remember the little munchkins being so small and shy.  To my surprise, the oldest had grown about two feet since I last saw her. 

After warming up with a little relay race with the buckets, the youngest was quite the ham.

Thanksgiving

My extended family came to visit San Diego for Thanksgiving. We rented a HUGE AMAZING house in La Jolla and had a blast. Here's a few quick pre-dinner shots :)

After looking at the last few posts that were actally taken a year apart, I'm beginning to think that I love stone walls + seniors. For some reason it's a great background that's not too plain, but not too distracting. The tones also complement the skin :)

New Beginnings

Nathan is the cutest, most well behaved baby I know. I've been photographing him and his family about every 1-3 months as he's grown up. These are from the second shoot when he was 3 months old. I've already tried to bribe his mother to "make" another one for me ;) but to no avail.