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 them to celebrate their 30th birthdays. (That’s not really how old they are, but I think it wise to pretend they’re younger…. for my own protection ) They chose my dad’s favorite place on earth, Laguna Beach, to take them… Here’s my favorites from they evening…

This one was my absolute favorite…. I love their smiles.

This was their absolute favorite…. because you couldn’t see their faces.

They thought they were soooo funny…. too bad they didn’t notice all the tourists looking at them funny…

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thanks for being so supportive and generous people. Thanks for loving me and Melissa the way you do. I hope one day you’ll love these pictures as much as I do…. and, despite what you think, they don’t make you look old.

Love,

Kate

This first shoot of the year was a refreshing start to 2010. Sometimes I find running a photography business to be more business than actual shooting… and that can be hard. It’s like going to the gym for the first time in a month… you still have some muscle memory going on, but your body is lagging a bit and your reflexes are a little clumsier than normal. Sometimes the first workout can be painful and hard to get into…. other times it can be just the thing you needed to feel alive and refreshed. This shoot with my friend Kory Kraning was the latter…. just what the doctor ordered and it felt great breathing in the cool salt air, hearing the beautiful sounds of my Nikon snapping away, and kicking some sand around as we shot some sweet portraits for his new website that will be launching soon.

In many ways, Kory is somewhat of an inspiring character in my life. As long as I’ve known him, I’ve noticed the fervor with which he’s embraced the entrepreneurial spirit in starting his own businesses. He’s taken the gifts he’s been given and used them to help others in so many ways. Here’s some images from the shoot…

Him and his dog Leo….

One of the many businesses Kory runs is a Dog Training business. He’s REALLY good… so if you know of anyone that needs a good dog trainer… he’s your guy!

I love this picture of Leo because it shows his love for Kory. Wherever Kory goes… Leo watches longingly. (Leo also really likes making sand castles… hence the sandy face…)

I think this was one of my favorite’s from the morning…

I spliced together a little 24Hour-esque composites too…

And the morning would not be complete without a few stair runs…

I’m excited to see where Kory’s Personal Training will take him…. if you’re interested in connecting more with Kory, he’s currently accepting more clients. You can connect with him at his website, on Facebook or Twitter.

Saturday morning, a dream took flight and landed in Great Britain. Everything she’s worked for since the day she started school has finally come to fruition… and as she prepares for her first day… we all get to watch as a new chapter in life opens and blooms in the morning sun of a new year.

My closest friend since 4th grade starts Medical School this month, and there are no words to describe how proud I am.

We started as friends in a 4th grade classroom. As time moved on and we were promoted to the 7th grade in a new school, our friendship grew and tightened as the seemingly impossible junior high experience closed in on us. We battled boys and our middle school’s GATE program together… competed in school track meets and laughed our way through it all. High School brought many ups and downs, AP classes, and high school sports. She ran Cross Country and Track. I swam and played soccer and water polo. She was the genius who breezed through AP Calculus our Senior year… and I was the random student who took 4 years of ceramics, some spanish, and a multitude of science classes. I did okay…

Though we defined ourselves differently and had our separate interests, we always connected as best friend “twin sisters” when it came down to the wire. Even through college, our visits grew less and less, but we always kept tabs on each other and championed each other thru the really tough stages. She never thought she could do it…. she never thought she would go to Medical School. I knew though. I knew she was brilliant when she helped me understand subtraction in elementary school. I knew she was brilliant when she always beat my test scores in our Bio-Medical class in high school. I knew she was brilliant when she got into one of the top Biology programs at a leading UC school. She had the periodic table memorized in 4th grade for crying out loud!

So when she told me she was leaving on Saturday to go to medical school… I told her we HAD to spend some time together…. and that I HAD to shoot some pictures of her beautiful face before she left. She agreed and we spent all day together. We got asian pastries at 85*C… we shot some sweet pictures…. we took a nice walk in the park… and we talked. That was my favorite part.

So Kimber, I know you don’t like pictures of yourself… but I think these shots are BEAUTIFUL… and SO you! I hope you’re getting settled in nicely in British Land… and I hope you know that I love you and I’m your biggest fan! Go Get ‘Em Girl!

Here’s some of my favorites from the afternoon….

Side Note: Kim has this ridiculously sappy love for her French Bull Dog named Wyler. She REALLY wanted him in the pictures with her… And yes, he’s real.

I’m sorry (not really)… but Kim, you are GORGEOUS!!!

Some shots from the park…

Okay… so these next shots are the product of an experiment on my end. Kim is such a fashionable person… something I strive to become one day. So I thought we could experiment with some off camera lighting self portrait style. These were SO fun to do… and I love the attitude!! What do you think? A little different than what I usually shoot, hey?

Favorite!

Another favorite…and another…

We had some good ol’ fashioned fun that day… I miss my girl already…

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 Claims Direct with Peggy, but he also has a side project involving video tours of historic sites, AND he just finished writing a book. Oh… and he’ll be running for local office this next year. I loved working with Ernie and Peggy… and seriously…. I cannot help but be inspired by all the amazing things they’re doing and dreaming up! Here’s my favorites from the shoot with Ernie…

Ernie, good luck with all your adventures… I can’t wait to see what’s next for you!