jacshoot

tiffany and omar

tiffany and omar have an awesome wedding planned this halloween at the amada, an ultra modern and beautiful plaza in the LA area.  but the twist is that they have chosen their favorite movie, nightmare before christmas, as the thematic basis of their wedding!  having met them, i can tell you this is going to work big time.   these two don't take themselves too seriously, and what they want more than anything on their big day is for everyone around them to have fun!  we spent a wonderful afternoon with them in the foothills, these two are so natural together, so unselfconscious, and just a joy to be around.  we can't wait for this one!

and of course, we needed to work nightmare before christmas into the shoot!

kiss

the first of our new sample albums arrived!  i like to keep things pretty simple around here, and that's one of the reasons I chose these beauties as one of our featured albums. 

the pictures are the star of the show, but you have some incredibly supple leather, and perfect binding to showcase your favorite images.  Click here to see a few more pics!

Our valentines day wedding was AMAZING, an hour before tip off it was pouring rain and 40 degrees (in San Diego???) but the skies cleared and we had a great time.  i'll post some pics soon!

"nobody knows the truffles i've seen"

every month or so, jamie is beset with a common inconvenience that I am sure all women of a certain stage of life can relate to.  one of the strange side effects of said time period is an overwhelming desire for chocolate.   until recently i'd  been completely dispassionate about jamie's cravings, mostly because i didn't share them.   but in what can only be a sign that jamie and I are truly becoming one in this matrimony thing, i too crave chocolate, and fine chocolate at that. 

i once was blind but now all i see if truffles.  i have spent the better part of 30 years in blissful ignorance, but i feel i have a decent chocolate palette, so if anyone wants to recommend the ultimate truffle i'd love to know where to find it.  i raced to the mall last night and picked up a box of godiva and was mildly impressed, i think there must be better out there!

in other news, jamie and i have a night wedding coming up and have been brushing up on our off camera flash setup...here are two i snapped of jamie i was pretty happy with!   If I'd had a second flash happening I would have given her a little backlight to add dimension...i'll keep at it though! 

we also had a great and highly unusual engagement session over the weekend with our Halloween '08 couple.  Will post a few pix soon.

coolart

one of the highlights of my trip to Australia was getting the opportunity to do a family shoot with my cousin cameron and his dear family.  cameron is one of a kind and i love him to death even if he still does call me "chrissy."  i am so proud of his success in business but more significantly in creating a family that is full or warmth, laughter and a whole lot of love.  making the session even more special was the location donna chose, coolart wetlands and homsestead.  the conservation was set up in 1977 and my grandparents invested much of their time and energy into helping shape the grounds, planting many of the trees featured in these pictures.

abbie, the newest addition and a little angel.

the three girls (back to front- mia, lucy and abbie)

mia is the eldest, and, taking after her daddy, is quite an accomplished surfer.

cam and donna are perfect together, so natural.

coolart features many great old doors and is full of wonderful texture.

abbie had other things on her mind for most of the afternoon, I was happy to get this shot of the entire family.

lucy is into ballet, and is a girl of a million faces.  i love the little ringlets in her hair.

these girls have no idea how blessed they are!

click HERE to see more pictures in slideshow form.

i feel so blessed to have such an amazing family of cousins, aunts and uncles in australia.  it seems just yesterday we were the children playing in the water, dressing up in our grandfather's kilts and running along australia's 'sun burnt' shores.  now we are all building families of our own, i wish the distance could be bridged more easily so our kids could play together just like we did so many years ago.

cam and donna, god bless your family and thanks for a wonderful day!

monkeying around (part 2)

thanks natalie and tudor! click here for slideshow.

and natalie, let us all know where you got that beanie:)

monkeying around (part 1)

Coolest brother in the world+gorgeous friend+greatest beanie of all time=good times

rest of shoot tomorrow!

Happy 2008

happy 2008 everyone, Jamie and I are getting ready for our big adventure in New Zealand, stay tuned for updates as we'll be taking plenty of pictures and blogging as often as possible. we are super excited about all the weddings we've booked already for 2008 and can't wait to see what the future holds for { j a c }. thanks for reading and stick around for what promises to be a fun year!

johnny and kim

i met johnny on the first day of summer in 1987, he lived in the house next door.  he's a few years my junior (something like 7) and over the years we've developed a great friendship.  it started with basketball (i'd play 2 on 1 with johnny and his older brother) and has since developed into something much deeper.  even though johnny is "all grown up," he continues to display the youthful exuberance and charm that drew us all to him in the first place.  last weekend i had the opportunity to hang out with johnny and his girlfriend, kim.  these two met at usc during the college years and have been inseparable ever since...

last week I had the pleasure of attending the shootshop, a workshop taught by nate and jaclyn kaiser of image is found.  this shot was inspired by one of nate's shots from the workshop.  be sure to check out their site and attend a workshop if one comes to your area, these two are some of the most creative people I've met and are as down to earth and fun as they come!

i loved the color in this shot, gorgeous!

click here to see the proof slideshow...

thanks to both of you for being such good sports!

ps and thanks to tudor robb for coming along and making us all laugh! 

enjoy leapyear

a friend of mine at church plays guitar for enjoy leapyear a local l.a. band that recently played house of blues and is scheduled to appear at hollywood's own the knitting factory january 15.  the five us of piled up a rickety ladder and crawled into the organ space at apc church in arcadia, and while i am not at all qualified for such a thing, I ended up having a blast playing with a little three light set up and generally capturing four guys that are having way too much fun together while they work on their music.  check out their myspace page linked above to hear their music and click on the pictures to supersize them!

engagement ceremony

we love shooting engagement sessions, they provide an opportunity for us to get to know our clients and give our clients a chance to get comfortable with us.  our most recent session was unlike any we've done, in place of a typical shoot with the soon to be bride and groom, we had the opportunity to meet the entire family as they gathered for a traditional Vietnamese engagement ceremony!  we had so much fun observing what turned out to be an elaborately planned event, with formal exchanges of gifts including food and jewelry.  the couple was blessed with a gorgeous afternoon, these were a few of our favorites!
the beautiful bride to be in her traditional dress.

 

on engagement day, the fiance's family bring gifts to the families home.  these gifts include betel leaves and fruits, wine, tea, and cake, all wrapped in red paper or cloth, with the belief the red will bring good luck.

in addition to the other foods, a whole pig is roasted and carried into the fiance's home!

the mother and father of the bride to be, mom had an infectiously joyful spirit.

not sure exactly who this was, but isn't she cute!

after the ceremony, a quick change and a few pics out back.  i'm not sure I've ever been around a more gentle and tender couple.

thanks to you both for a beautiful day, we'll see you soon!