Relax and Enjoy

This session was a piece of cake. A wide open private beach, great light, a rockin' 7 year old that loved me, a fun and energetic mom who is an amateur photog herself, and an absolutely perfect warm breeze. I love shooting in Mexico.

This is my little model, Cassi. I absolutely adore her and can't wait to see her the next time I am in Cabo!

She was writing me a special note in the sand. 
I think she had a good time.. what do you think" :) Loving the wind dancing through her hair. 
Love it.

Heart :)


Mom came down and joined in for some fun on the beach. I think this is such a timeless shot. One they will look back on for years. 

A little dusted vintage feel.
Sunkissed Secrets.
This was Cassi's idea.
Beauty

The girls have a lot of fun together. 
Love the light here. 

I can't get enough of this shot. Maybe it's the spontaneity of it.. the closeness.. or the tiny bit of Karina's (mom) smile I can see. Anyways.. I think this shot needs to be printed big ... real big :)
Thanks Karina and Cassi for making this session so outstanding. I had so much fun with you guys all day. Can't wait to see you again soon!!

Soaking up the sun

If I close my eyes.. I can still remember how the sun felt on my back. Unfortunately... I have to try very hard since the chill of a MN winter spills into my bedroom window.

Here's to the warm memories from my Cabo trip. Just a week ago I was laying on this beach....

I love watching the locals and their craftsmanship.

This little guy was lovin the beach!

I hope I find forever love like this...

They say when you love what you do.. it shows.

I couldn't love anything more than this. I have had people tell me they can see how happy I am when I shoot... and this shot shows me why they see my passion. I typically don't shoot in a bathing suit;)  Thanks to Karina, a friend of my dad, for grabbing this shot and reminding me of how happy I am behind the camera. 

The beach. The Ocean. The Sand. And camera in hand. All I need. 

I found a new career

It is 7:15 am... and I have been up for an hour already. For anyone who knows me... I am never up this early. I woke up thinking about my career and passion for photography and have made the decision to give it up... yup... I have found a new career........

I have decided to become a Jazz club singer with my dad as my backup. LOL. YEA RIGHT!!! FIRST OF ALL.. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP MY PASSION BEHIND THE CAMERA. SECOND OF ALL... I CAN'T SING..NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT! 

There is something about jazz and the blues that draws me in. I think it is the sound of the old studio recordings, or the the story the trumpet tells, or the soulful voice, or that I can image the mood drawn from a black and white film shot in a jazz club... whatever it is... I love jazz clubs. 

Last night my dad and I spent my last night hanging out in the only jazz club in Cabo San Lucas. It was a very small and intimate setting with seating for 20 people max! The singers/owners/bar tenders/staff (pretty much all the same 3 people) were great. They got my dad and I up on stage for a little shot at the end of the night. Actually looks like I'm singing, huh? 

This place was not easy to find... and even if someone had given us directions.. we probably wouldn't have found it. Somehow, dad pulled it off and we had such a fun night. Thanks Dad!
I was not planning on getting up at 6:15am by any means. But, something woke me up and I poked my head outside and saw this. 

Serenity.
I will be posting more pictures from the trip when I get home. Check back!

Gotta Love Life

I can't express to you how blessed I have been to have a place to come and clear my mind. These past trips (including my current one) have been such a relaxing time and give me a chance to be at peace with my thoughts and ideas. It is also a great way to get in some Q.T. with my dad and get a little sun action :) !!

I had ANOTHER great session down here today!! SOOOOO FUUUUN! This 7 year old little girl that I shot was a dream... we hung out and swam in the pool together.. had lunch... and then went down to an exclusive beach to look for shells and start our session. Mom came along and joined us for part of the shoot and I got some ROCKIN' shots of the two of them! I cannot wait until I get home and am able to download my images and share them with everyone. On the way up from my shoot from the beach, a woman came running up to me and was irrate because we were apparently too loud during the session. We were definitely not loud by any means... but...

UMMMM.... THE BEACH IS PUBLIC LADY! 

I even took the nice route and apologized to her and told her she should've said something earlier... her reply.."I didn't think I HAD TO!!! " 

My thoughts on this lady: LIGHTEN UP! LOVE LIFE AND ENJOY THE SOUNDS OF LAUGHTER!!

Tonight, dad and I headed down to downtown Cabo for dinner. We ended up at this gorgeous place on the beach ONLY because we were on a waiting list to get into the place we planned on going. We decided to go for a little walk while we waited.. and found this gem. We had a blast. We decided to wear the poncho blankets that were used for decor (and chilly nights) and do a little photo shoot :) This is my Gotta love life photo. Oh yes... and these are all from my dads little sony cybershot cam... 

I love this shot of us.
Thanks to dad for this shot of me while we hung out before my shoot. He still has a little eye behind the camera as well :)

Keep your eyes open

I have mentioned before about being attentive, keeping your eyes open to opportunities, and trying to find good in every situation. For those of you who have just begun following my blog, or even those who have followed me for some time... go back and read this blog from china. It will express my thoughts on this in depth.

I believe that God will give you opportunities, and you have to be very conscious and aware of to know when one has been presented to you. I am currently down in Cabo San Lucas again with my dad. I needed to get away and have some peace and relaxation to get my thoughts back in order. On my flight down here, I could've been negatively focused on the seat I was in... but instead I found myself with a great opportunity.. all because I kept my eyes and mind open.  A couple of aisles behind me sat a fantastic couple and the most adorable little girl. The sheer joy the came from this little girl made my flight more pleasant. I ended up booking a family photo session with this family in Cabo. I was so thrilled, as this is something I have thought about for my past two trips down here. I ended up shooting them yesterday and it was a blast. They are a great couple and I know I will be seeing more of them as they are in Minneapolis as well!

So... keep your eyes open and don't let your frustrations get in the way of opportunities.

Unfortunately, I forgot my card reader at home.. so I haven't been able to download any of my shots from this trip.. so I will share a few from the first trip down here last July.

A birthday vacation

Well I have been in Cabo San Lucas for the past week and some as a birthday present from my dad. I have been quite busy with work down here, otherwise I would have been blogging my trip more. Tomorrow is my last day for fun in the sun. Here are some fun shots from the past week.

I love the kiddos out on the beach.


Ok so I know this may be horrible with the dos equis in the background.. but I couldn't resist with her cute little mexican purse and covered in sand.
A little family fun at the beach.
A great sunset from the beach club.