Life is colorful in the street

I love this typical street scene in Saigon, families tell stories, have an afternoon snack, or watching the world go by....
A typical street corner in Saigon, millions on mopeds, sometimes a whole family, a dad, mom and two children....and possibly a chicken for dinner tucked down underneath the driver's feet.

I love this one...if you notice, there is a guy sewing, a common practice there, and he looks quite intent upon his work, peaceful maybe, and then one of the millions of mopeds whizzes by.

The Mekong Delta, in contrast with Saigon, is truly third world.  If you live on the Mekong, you might live on your houseboat, or make coconut shell instruments, or run a rice paper factory.  I got a close up look at how they live, and my favorite part was meeting the amazing woman who rowed us down the river (below)


I took at trip down the Mekong Delta, which was such a contrast to Saigon.  No mopeds, no rickshaws, just slow traveling down the river on boats rowed by these amazing solid women. I sat in the very back of the boat and I was mesmerized by this woman's sturdy stance as she took us down the river, and I had to capture my unique point of view.



Tea tasting party on the Mekong boat trip and a bowlful of leechee fruit

Lucky turtles in Vietnam

Lucky turtles

     Turtles are lucky in Vietnam and they brought us good luck when we went to take pics at the Jade Pagoda in Ho Chi Min. This is a small with pagoda with lots of character. The  muted light was streaming in from various cracks and crevices, and it made for some wonderful photo opportunities.  Approximately 60 percent of the Vietnamese are Buddhist, and many of the temples seemed to have families living/working on the premises.  We caught this glimpse of what seemed to be a family’s quarters at the back.

I went to the temples in Chinatown of Ho Chi Min, and almost every one had hundreds of the circular incense sticks hanging from the ceiling.  Each one had a red prayer paper hung from it.

I sat on a bench right outside the main room of worship for about 20 minutes at the Jade Pagoda, and followers of all ages came to pay homage.  I observed incense wafting up through the ceiling beams as people left their burning prayer sticks. I just held my camera on my lap and snapped, so as to be inconspicuous.

 

Krsitin in orange

She wore an orange dress against the blue water....these colors were perfect together.  It was her idea to wear this dress, and it worked so well on the beach.  She has one more month to go until her baby boy is born. 

A stunning sunset in Southern Cal
Sexy mama!

Melanie

Melanie and I went to Edgewood Park in Redwood City. My friend Cheryl showed me this spot....amazing light at sunset, that is why I chose it.  Melanie has such a casual style and her style lent itself well to this setting.  You can see Cheryl's work at www.lunasara.com

I told Melanie this is her country album cover pic.  The light was so vibrant, and with an orange twinge due to the fact that it was about 8:15 on this beautiful June evening, and the sun was just about to disappear behind the clouds.

Beach weddings

A stunning day

    We traveled out to Santa Cruz just over a week ago to capture the wedding of Gaby and Paul.  They planned this getaway wedding on a Friday in June.  It had been foggy all week, but the sun came out for them.  They kept it simple with just 25 people on a less well traveled beach.  And I just love the wide angle point of view!  

   I assisted my friend and fellow photographer at this wedding...to see more of her images please go to her professional site www.lunasara.com

Frolicking

   The whole party frolicked in the waves of the warm pacific. No it was not freezing as the pacific can be, on this June day.  The whole party went in, even the photographers…

Something borrowed and something blue

    Gaby’s stunning blue shoes belonged to her mother.  I tried to capture them in various ways, and this was my favorite.  This little girl was carefully watching me photograph the shoes, so I asked her to hold them for me….

Ana and Sofia

Sofia

    And then came Sofia.  She was born on February 11^th.  She is like a niece to me.  She has the most amazing blue eyes, just like her mom, Ana.  She can stare right through you with those eyes.  These are pics from her first photo session in her home. In case you are wondering whose finger she is holding, it is her daddy's (Joel).

Homage to my early models

Homage to my early models   

  I don’t know how many people have helped me get to the point where I am now! I remember asking people, sometimes begging them to let me photograph them. It is amazing how many people are hesitant.  That is why so many of my early models are children.  They have many beautiful traits: soft unblemished skin, bright, eager eyes and a wonderful sense of adventure.

 

 Vanessa

    Vanessa is a natural. Whenever we get together we get out the camera, and she starts out as my model, but she has so many creative ideas of her own, that the sessions become very collaborative.  She just has what it takes.

Gaby, Pablo and Camila.  

I started to photograph Camila as a baby. She has these big beautiful brown eyes that can stare right through you.  Several years later we did a session out at Redwood shores on a boat.  I have always admired Annie Liebowitz spreads. One of my favorites was the one with Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Suri in Vogue.  I think these pictures have just a hint of Annie.

 

 

 My niece and nephew, Jackson and Laney, are all dressed up for Easter.  These shots were taken in the sunroom at my parent’s house, where the light can be unbelievable.  The main thing I learned that day was that some of the best shots are actually captured  before or after the actual session begins.  This one of Laney was my favorite of the 150 shots I took, and I happened to snap it just before we officially started.

Doris, my Nicaraguan friend, that I met while studying in Spain in ’05.  Several years later I went to visit her in Nicaragua, and this was what we got! This was taken in front of her parents house in the northeastern part of the country.