There are few events and moments in your life that change you & your outlook on life & people profoundly. Last week was one of those weeks. It’s hard to know where to start - there was so much going on that it’s almost like a jumbled thought. But perhaps we should start at the beginning?

As I was flying over San Diego on my way home, I spotted fires and was greeted to a haze of smoke. Early in the morning, we were woken up and forced to evacuate the area. As you pack all those things that you hold dear to you, or know that you simply cannot replace, you realize what things that are truly important to you - and everything else is just filler built to make life convenient.

Here are a few photos from the evacuation experience. I posted some already before, but here are some more.

The skies that morning.

Gromit waiting for us to leave.

A product of the winds

Del Mar - not so bad

A few miles up in Cardiff - HUGE difference. I didn’t color change anything.

After passing Encinitas - it was literally a wall that was passed through. It was so strange.

Watching the news nonstop.

My kitty scared out of his mind. We were staying with friends with some other friends there, and there were a total of 5 cats and one dog in that home.

Ash on my car the next morning

During the same week, I was most fortunate to attend the Jesh de Rox (blog) Life as an Artform workshop, which was to say the least, amazing. It’s almost impossible to put into words all that I learned, felt and discovered. I met amazing, amazing people from all over, all of whom I feel are friends for life for me. The host studio, The Image is Found (blog), are some of the most wonderful people in the world. I am more than blessed to call you friends now. They have one particularly hilarious animation of Jesh “connecting” with Mike & Nellie on their blog too ;)

This workshop was more than just about how to take better pictures, or become a better photographer. It was about becoming a better you. And not in the sense that we need to change ourselves because we’re horrible people, but to change our outlook and attitudes and to realize our potential as people who are capable of immense love. The connections that I have made during that time are ones that I will never ever forget. I’ve realized so much during the workshop, so much about myself as a person, a photographer, and someone who relates to people everyday. Every connection that we make has the potential to be life changing. Wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?

I am simply filled with so much love right now, it’s amazing. Love and wonder.

I feel… free.

Also, as an icing on the cake, I got to meet and photograph Amy Seeley - whose music I simply love. I love listening to her as I’m editing photos, and just in general. You must check her music out! And to listen to her live in such an intimate setting of only 13 people? Words could not describe it. ;) I’m totally excited to be seeing her again as she will be singing at my good friend’s wedding in a month. :) Here are some of the photos that I took of her.

Also, as one of the assignments, I photographed the wonderful and beautiful Sarah Maren from my hometown of Sacramento. Here are a few shots from that (you can see the shots she took of me on her blog ;))

I actually didn’t do a lot of shooting during the actual workshop outside of our assignments, so I did most of my shooting while we were all hanging out. Here are a few shots ;)

Jesh spreadin’ the love & Jennifer

[b]ecker, Jessica Claire & Jesh

Lisa & Sarah, peeking at what Jesh was doing

Heather having way too much fun with the hurricane blower!

Jesh making some hand movement he makes often. Taken by Heather.

Lisa!

Heather, Jennifer & Lisa listening to Jesh’s wisdom

Me, taken by Heather

On top of all that, it was Jesh’s birthday last week, and we were able to give him a nice little birthday love with a little ice cream cake. ;) I especially love the various faces Jesh had made throughout the photos.

Jesh’s pot pie. You had to be there.

Sarah, Nate & Jaclyn

Surprise!

Happy birthday, Jesh!

Connecting with his cake.. haha!

Showing off his guns.

This face just cracks me up

Jesh, Heather & Ed

Nate, Shannon

Justin

Sarah and THE ECLAIR.

Sara F, Shannon & Kathy

Kathy, Jesh, Heather, Ed

Thank you, Nate & Jaclyn, for opening your studio to us, and your lives. You’re beautiful (and hilarious) people and I look forward to crossing paths in the future. :) It can’t be that hard, right? We’re in the same town! lol

Thank you, Jesh, for opening yourself to all of us, and helping me realize the potential in me. For that I am indebted to you. You’re a beautiful soul, and definitely a friend for life. :)

And thank you, Sarah M, Heather, Lisa, Jennifer, Justin, Ed, Kathy, Sara F, and Shannon - I’m blessed to have met you all, get to know you better, and like I said before, we are friends for life. I hope that our paths will soon cross again one day. ;)

P.S. Happy Halloween! :)

10.20.07 // laguna chinese baptist church, new canton restaurant . sacramento, ca

Everytime I go back to Sacramento, I remember the trees, the air, the clouds that I miss so dearly. I feel like I’ve been talking about them too much, but you can never talk about these things too much, right? ;) I was back in Sacramento because of my longtime friend Sara & her now husband Jared’s wedding! You may remember their engagement shoot a few weeks back, and now it was time for their big day. :)

To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about this wedding because it was the first wedding in many ways for me. This was the first wedding where there was a full on tea ceremony done traditionally with full clothing and everything. This was also the first wedding that I would be doing back at home and seeing old friends from my old home church. It’s been so long that I was pretty nervous about it because they would be seeing me in ACTION!, but everyone was so wonderful and full of joy and love that it felt wonderful seeing everyone again. There were also lion dances and Sara was carried in traditionally for the ceremony! And it was also the first wedding where my longtime girlfriends who I love dearly and are my friends for life were all there as well, and watched me work (they took pictures too, apparently, but they didn’t come out right.. hehe! So no photos of me in action ;))

Sara & Jared, thank you for being YOU and the wonderful people that you are. :) You guys are so silly and fun to be around that it was a blast shooting your wedding. You’re beautiful people, and I wish you two many blessed years to come.

The grandparents talking

This was taken right after Sara had said to her dad in Chinese “Give me money!” Of course, knowing Sara, it was a cute joke, and everyone who understood it laughed supremely hard. I actually put my camera down after taking the shot cause I was laughing too much!

Bling for Jared

And Sara

Getting ready for the Christian ceremony

Sara was carried in ;)

Sara being herself ;)

Scary!!

Sara’s dad giving Jared some love too ;)

The money bouquet

The girls wanted it!

Mother son dance :)

me & my girls :)

ceremony location . laguna chinese baptist church
reception . new canton restaurant
officiant . daniel wong
flowers . sara’s mom :)

P.S. Thank you for everyone’s concerns about the fires - we’re all safe and at home now, and the fires have been mostly contained. Stay tuned for another post soon about the workshop & more about the evacuation experience, aka “the week that changed my life.”

This morning I woke up to the doorbell being run numerous times - our friend had come by to tell us that our area was having a mandatory evacuation. At first I was in a panic - I didn’t know what to pack! But then I went into turbo mode, and packed all the things that I knew I simply could not replace, and packed the car up and headed north to our friend’s place. As we headed from our place, we took the PCH, and headed up through Encinitas, where it was completely awful. When we reached Carlsbad, it was like night and day. The skies are still blue here, it’s pretty crazy.

I took a few photos on the way up and I will probably be posting more once this all dies down, but I just wanted to post as I went. I saw the fires overhead as I flew in from Sacramento last night, I didn’t realized how large of a magnitude this would get.

My thoughts are with those immediately affected right now, we’re praying for those who have already lost homes, and those who are praying for their own home’s safety (like we are right now!)

Thank you SO much to everyone who have offered their homes and their help. It makes me warm and fuzzy to know how many people care and makes you realize how important people and the things you actually take with you are. I will still be checking my email and I still have my cell phone. I’m going to try and get some work done while we are waiting, but it’s still pretty crazy.

Cardiff By The Sea

The smoke billowing over in Carlsbad

I’ll keep everyone posted if I find out more info, but for now, please keep us and others affected in your prayers!

I will be out of town Friday-Sunday (October 19-21) for a wedding, so if you need to reach me immediately, please email me or call my cell. I will be back on Monday, but I will be in and out (mostly out) of the office until Friday the 26th because I will be attending a workshop by Jesh de Rox & The Image Is Found! :D I can’t wait for the workshop, I keep hearing about how it’s going to rock my world and I hope it does! ;)

Last week, I was fortunate enough to have some of my photos featured on Wedding Bee! If you don’t know what Wedding Bee is, it’s a really addicting wedding blog, with many, many brides blogging on it from all over the nation! My images were used when Miss Petunia (they all have adorable names like that!) wrote about getting those special ring shots. Awesome! Thank you SO much Miss Petunia, for making me feel special and featuring my images! I’ve actually always secretly wanted to get on Wedding Bee, and you’ve helped me accomplish a goal! Awesome!! Thank you again!

I just wanted to let you all know that currently, the contact form on my main website isn’t working - I haven’t been getting any of the mail that is being sent through it for the past week! :( So if you sent me something through the form and I haven’t replied, please email me instead because I probably didn’t get it :( My webhost is working on it currently, but for now, if you would like to contact me please do so through my email! mail @ enpointephotography.com. Thanks SO much for understanding everyone, and I’m so sorry for the inconvenience!

10.13.07 // carmel mountain ranch country club . san diego, ca

Like I’ve said before, I LOVE the sky after it’s rained. The clouds are amazing, and the lighting is beautiful. It really should rain more often in San Diego. But only in the middle of the night, when there are no weddings going on! :D Julie and Matt were blessed this past Saturday to have such a beautiful day, and had the most lovely wedding! These two are so in love (since high school too!) and perfect for each other. Both warm and spirited people, I could see how they were surrounded by such fun-loving friends and family! They attract the funnest people! And talk about fun, the reception was LIVELY! From singing during dinner, and singing on the dance floor. The air was filled with freshness from the rain, joy for the marriage, and love all around.

Julie and Matt, THANK YOU for allowing me to be a part of your special day. You two are wonderful people and I wish you sooo many blessings on your journey together. :)

The bridesmaids, singing in the bathroom. (There was pretty much singing going on all day almost!)

The first time they saw one another

Hello Kate Hudson!

They seriously thought this one up on their own!

Look at those eyes!

Doin’ the train!

A most honored guest :)

wedding coordination . liz beck events
dj . aloha dj, paul ente
ceremony/reception/catering . carmel mountain ranch country club
flowers . luis vasquez floral designs
makeup . ac make-up, ashley connors
hair . freddie of golden touch

10.07.07 // la jolla, ca . la valencia

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of photographing Jay & Heidi’s beautiful wedding! The day was gorgeous and sunny, a perfect day for a wedding. These two have been together for ten years, and have a beautiful daughter, Adrianna. What a hot couple too! Jay & Heidi were former models, and had fun reliving their days in front of a camera. ;)

The ceremony was held in La Jolla near the Cove on the green, with a luncheon reception at the La Valencia. Later on that evening, they had a party/reception at a friend’s home in La Jolla which had a gorgeous view (I’m jealous!)

Jay & Heidi, thank you so much for allowing me to photograph these moments for you & your family, you two are such kindred spirits, it’s no wonderful you have such a loving and beautiful group of people you call your family and friends. I wish you two & Adrianna the very very best, with all the blessings in life. :)

Adrianna during the ceremony

Heidi’s brother :)

The whole family

Heidi, back from her modeling days

The amazing view at the home!

Jay, singing along

luncheon reception/catering . la valencia
officiant . debbie davis

Christine is a soon-to-be mommy! I photographed Christine & Jayson’s wedding back in May 2006, and now they are expecting a new addition! Congrats to the happy soon-to-be-parents! Jayden is the name they have picked out for him - and he’s most definitely going to grow up loving sports with fans like his parents ;) Christine and Jayson are huge sports fans, and wanted their session to reflect that, and they also had their baby shower in the same theme! :D

Head to head ;)

Christine & Jayson, I always love photographing you guys - you are beyond awesome. :) And thank you for giving me first opportunity to photograph a maternity shoot - FINALLY! :D I wish you many many blessings for years to come - let’s do more photos when he arrives! :D