John and Paola are Engaged!

Well, there are no words that can describe how happy I am for these two! John and I have been friends for longer than I can remember. Our parents were friends before we were even born!

Paola's sister was getting married in Las Vegas and when I found out that they were going to be in Vegas, I had to make the trip to visit my folks and to see them. It was late one night and I had to whip out my camera for some pictures. I've never taken pictures of John and Paola under "engagement" circumstances and all we did was laugh so hard that John and I had headaches!

I love these guys and wish them only the best! Here are some shots from our impromptu engagement session! The first series is from a visit to SB earlier this year... you just know he was planning it!

Short vacation to Winston Salem, North Carolina

I went to school and lived in Winston Salem, NC for almost 10 years before I moved out to Santa Barbara. I've only been back once for like 2 days since and when my buddy Jeff called me and told me that I should come out for a visit because 1. it was his birthday and 2. the Dixie Classic Fair was in town, how could I resist? What made it even better was when he told me that he got me a companion pass (next to free airfare) for my flight.

The following series of pictures pretty much says it all about Jeff, Melissa and I. We have way too much fun when we get together and some things will never change. I love these guys and they're probably my number 1 and 2 reasons for ever wanting to visit NC. Just so I can stay out of trouble, I won't say which one of these clowns is number 1!


I crack up every time I look at this picture because it's so us! Here we are... Jeff working on something, Melissa getting ready and me screwing around! Like I said, some things never change!


Ok, so here's another reason I love North Carolina. They have some of the best barbecue that I've ever had! This place is called Snooks and it's a little hole in the wall out in the middle of nowhere! Check out the menu. It's written on lunch bags pinned to the wall, how cool! Simple, cheap and awesome!


Where can you go to eat tons of great food thats really bad for you, ride rides that scare the living daylights out of you (because they were put together in a few hours) and pay way more money than they're worth to win silly stuffed animals... The Dixie Classic Fair! We went every year and it's still lots of fun! I took these pictures with my iPhone, one on top of the giant ferris wheel and the other watching the fireworks at the end of the night.


Has anyone heard of a Labradoodle? I know I never have until we stopped in to see Jeff's mom Betty and step dad Bill. I won't go into how wonderful these two are because I'd be here for a while... anyway, they just got one. Smart, no smell, doesn't shed, really low allergy concern, all sorts of stuff but what the heck is it!?! It's a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a Standard Poodle. Talk about a funky looking dog! Read about this dog here. I'm not so sure about this dog, I think it's a person that was turned into a dog by an elf, check out his face! But...since Betty loves this dog, then so do I! hahaha

Clara and Phillips Wedding - Kalyra Winery

I had the privilege and honor of shooting Clara and Phillips wedding the other weekend at the Kalyra Winery in Los Olivos. The very talented Joseph Dominguez helped me out on this wedding and we had a blast. Kelly from Event Of The Season was their wedding coordinator and she was absolutely fantastic. She's my new best friend now, how awesome!

The wedding was beautiful and everyone was so wonderful. Phillip looked like a stud in his tux and Clara was as beautiful as ever.

Here are some favs from their day!

I always get a shot of the rings during a wedding, but I couldn't miss this ring shot from one of the guests! How cool!
Clara and Phillip arranged to have a shuttle bring their guests back to Santa Barbara from the winery. They were all still ready to go as you can see by their enthusiasm!