Once upon a time, a little boy was asked to be in his cousin’s wedding. He wasn’t too keen on the idea but his mom seemed so excited about it – plus she promised him a new comic book, so he decided to play along.

His mom explained that the whole day was going to be like a fairy tale, the boy’s little sister, who was also going to be in the wedding, shrieked with joy when she heard that. This made him nervous, anything his pesky sister would get this excited about, couldn’t be good news for him.

The little boy’s mother went on to explain that the bride needed a cute Flower Girl in a party dress to toss petals at her feet. The boy couldn’t figure out why the bride couldn’t find an actual cute girl to do this but hey, that was her problem. His role was to be the Ring Bear. Another tide of nervousness washed over him…would he have to wear some sort of bear costume? Could the Ring Bear at some point eat the Flower Girl? His mood started to lighten. Perhaps he was supposed to spend the day growling at and scratching uninvited guests at the wedding. This could turn out to be fun after all.

The boy spent the next few days working on his most ferocious snarls. He spent hours in front of the mirror swiping at imagined wedding interlopers with his giant bear paws. He was experimenting with a slashing karate chop combination when his annoying little sister came skipping into his room to inform him that she and his mother had just come back from the fancy dress shop. His outfit for the wedding was downstairs waiting for him to try on. Finally, he would be able to practice his moves while wearing his awesomely scary bear costume! He could not get down those stairs fast enough. He rounded the corner and was struck dumb by what he saw. Instead of a bear suit complete with sharp claws and fang inserts, his mom was holding up a tiny black jacket, pants and shiny shoes that were sure to pinch. Goodness gracious, what on earth was he supposed to do with that pink pillow? His mom brought it over to him and showed him the two toy rings that were tied onto it with a long ribbon. She explained that he had a very important job to do at the wedding. He had to make sure the wedding rings got down the aisle for the bride and groom. She then hugged him and proclaimed that he would make the cutest ring bearer that ever lived. The boy just sighed with a look of utmost confusion. This was not going to be the day he had in mind.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, then you probably know how much Larry and I love traveling through Mexico. I made this photograph while taking a workshop with one of our favorite photographers, Keith Carter in San Miguel de Allende. We had a free afternoon and decided to hire a driver and explore some of the surrounding area. With the city behind us, the countryside began to unfold. I wasn’t too surprised to find field after field of agaves but these bound corn stalks were an unexpected treat.

I made this image with a pinhole camera. The challenges of photographing with a pinhole is that there is no f/stop or shutter speed. There isn’t even a view finder – but the beauty of slow exposures and infinite depth of field make up for those drawbacks. The pinhole has a way of turning everything in its wake ethereal and romantic, it apparently can even make a corn stalk dance.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Wishing all of you a joyful, bountiful Thanksgiving.

“I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you
Yes, there’s a chance that I’ve fallen quite hard over you
I’ve seen the paths that your eyes wander down, I wanna come too
I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you.”
~Landon Pigg

It was the kind of day we photographers pray for. Above us the light filtered down softly and gently and below, the city of Los Angeles unraveled in swaths of gold and purple.

As it turned out, Laura and Mo are the kind of subjects we photographers pray for too. Their playfulness and sense of fun were absolutely infectious. As the shoot progressed, we discovered Mo is brimming with natural modeling ability. He also has mad skills as an art director and besides being very adorable; Laura can rock a pair of Louboutins like you wouldn’t believe.

As we were photographing, the day just kept getting more and more gorgeous. The observatory was aglow with yummy golden light but I don’t think Laura and Mo even noticed – they only had eyes for each other.

Steve is a fantastic artist. There really isn’t anything he can’t do. He’s a marvelous painter and woodworker. As it turns out, he’s also a wonderful model.

We love any excuse to make a tintype portrait, so we were thrilled when on a recent visit from England, Steve agreed to sit for us.

Thanks again Steve for your patience and good humor during the sitting. It was such a pleasure getting to know you better.

Meghan and Ben’s gorgeous wedding was a joy to photograph and recently featured on Style Me Pretty. Cathy O’Connell, who in my opinion, is the best wedding coordinator in Palm Springs, made sure every detail was picture perfect and Gilly’s flowers were utterly stunning.
Larry and I have enjoyed every minute we’ve spent with Meghan and Ben and we wish them lots of love, light and happiness!

www.celebrationsofjoy.com
www.gillyflowers.com
www.hideawaygolfclub.com