Just wanted to drop in quickly and say hello and that I am still here and alive! Things have just been so busy with the move! :) Lots to do, lots to do!

So, how are all you? Tell me something that you’re thankful for today.. just for fun. :) Me? I’m thankful for the new view I have while working :)

Cathy & Erik, one of my fave couples of all time! They’ve done an engagement session, Cathy a boudoir, their wedding and now their Trash the Dress/Post Wedding session with me (view their teasers). And now I’m sad! We don’t have any more shoots to do, at least not for now :P

We trekked up to the snow for this shoot – we wanted something totally different and something not normal to San Diego – what better than snow?! It was freeeeezing cold (of course, my San Diegan self thought “oh, it’s sunny, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?” WRONG!) but it was totally worth it. We got amazing images, and here they are!

Huge thanks to Cathy & Erik (especially Erik – poor guy would put on Cathy’s coat in between shots that he was in – lol) for being such troopers in the cold!

Plus, a bonus – view their slideshow I made from the session! <3 Enjoy :)

Edit to add:  I totally meant to add this but forgot when I was actually posting – I just wanted to give a plug to Cathy’s fabulous invite business – Love at First Invite! She’s so talented – just check out her work! :)

oh em gee! It’s been a while since I’ve done one, and I just thought I would, because I do miss doing these. :)
(The polaroid above is my boyfriend’s newest gift from me. He loves it. He types in it everyday. :) )

re: moving!
Big news, we will be moving soon! To a larger place, which will be awesome because I will be able to have a designated meeting space, rather than just doing it in our living space. And my own office! So excited! Of course I’ll post a few images when I get the chance. :)

re: my new polaroid project.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, I’ve been taking a polaroid a day and posting them here. I’m not posting everyday, I usually post them in lumps but I do take one everyday :)

re: orla kiely at target.
Have you heard? Orla Kiely has a line at Target! Of course I had to get the apron, place mats, dishtowel and oven mitts. :)

re: her morning elegance.
I love this video in every single way. & his music is great. :)

re: 500 days of summer.
Zooey Deschanel and Joesph Gordon Levitt? Song and dance? Awesome soundtrack? City scapes that turn into drawings? YES please! I can’t wait for this movie!

re: things i am loving.
this color scheme!!
her hairpieces.
danni’s jewelry.
that pink dress is heavenly.
i am head over heels for these bikes (the colors!) – and those bags! i want to get my hands on them.
this new wedding blog. love the style!
the last five images of this home.
DENNIS QUAID WANTS A COFFEE. (this video cracks me up everytime)

re: a quote to leave you by.
“Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people in the whole world. I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid worlds. Not just one world, hundreds of them, maybe thousands” – Neil Gaiman

Thanks for being a part of my world, all of you. :)

I cannot WAIT to show the rest of these to you all!

Dear Tilt-Shift, I love you. Sincerley, your fangirl, Susan. :)

More to come as usual :) These are only teasers!

And I just had to post a few of the reception, which made my mouth drop upon entering.

Westminster, Newport Beach, Orange County, CA

More to come!

I’ve been to the Salton Sea several times now, but this was the first time I went without needing to shoot a couple. I went when Samm Blake came to visit San Diego (she’s from Australia), and it was the first time we actually MET, after knowing each other online for many many years (before we even became wedding photographers). I decided to post a few, since it has been a while since I’ve posted anything personal that wasn’t a polaroid.

The backstory of the Salton Sea is that it was created when the Colorado River flooded around the turn of the last century. It was originally touted to be a resort area, with yacht clubs, and boats and water skiing and swimming. But due to many factors (dying fish, high saline content, flooding), it didn’t survive this dream, and now it’s abandoned except for the few people who decided that the Salton Sea is home. Going to the Salton Sea is always a surreal experience, especially at what I think is the most beautiful time to visit it, sunset. The whole place transforms to this serene and abandoned beauty. We stayed well past sunset, as evidenced by some of Samm’s photos on her blog.

What also intrigues me about the place is whenever I see other photographer’s photos of the place – it’s like you can see time pass through it. (For example, we did this shoot a few years ago using that blue chair we found there, and then I found this photo from another photographer of the same chair over a year later. In a different location and totally decayed.) Everytime I see a new photo from a different photographer, you can see how much it decays.

But it is beautiful, and I definitely think worth the 3 hour drive. :)

Enjoy!

P.S. that motel that we shot in is gone! they tore it down :(

“An artist’s only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and ON HIS OWN TERMS, not anyone else’s.”
- J. D. Salinger (Franny & Zooey)

Being an artist is hard. Let no one tell you otherwise. It’s amazing, but it. is. hard. We go through ups and downs in life just like everyone else, but magnified 1000 times because as artists, we’re to be more in tune with our emotions. There are times when these emotions overwhelm, and cause the desire to bury ourselves under the covers until it’s okay to come out. Other times it’s so wonderful that you feel on top of the world. You’re on cloud nine and can float through the air. It’s great when you feel like that. :)

I am lucky to be doing what I do – to be an artist. Many art jobs require you to be completely at the whim of your client. I hear it from designer friends and the dreaded “difference in vision” and “revisions of a creation.” Often what they want to say doesn’t get to be said because of what others want it to say. Being a wedding photographer, I am lucky because my clients seek me for my voice. This is important.

Each artist has a voice, a different view of the world. We all have something to say, and a way to express it. Upon expressing it, it’s almost like we’re giving a part of ourselves away to share with others.

Here, take this, this is yours to experience and see.

It’s sooo validating as an artist when I have a client who tells me that what they are most attracted to my photography is the way I see things. My perspective. This is so vital because without it, my photography wouldn’t be MY photography. It could be anyone else’s photography. I know that a client and I are a right fit when they tell me these things because that’s what makes me who I am as an artist. My perspective. On life, on love, on the people around me, in weddings, events and shoots. How I photograph these moments in life is largely dependent on how I see things. And what I want to say. My voice.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves with other artists/photographers – marveling at their work, wondering why our work can’t be like that. Thinking that we suck because we’re not like _________. We could never take photos like _________. But you know what, that’s okay, because you’re NOT _______. You’re who you are, and who you are and what you have to say is still important and special. You just need the courage to say it. The artists that I admire tend to be people who say what they want to say in their work; screw what anyone else thinks. It’s about being vulnerable. It’s scary, yes. But it’s what attracts people to certain art and artists, I think. They see YOU in it.

I am blessed. Blessed to be sharing with you all. Blessed to be working as a wedding photographer, where people do seek me for my voice. Not just because I’m a “good photographer” but because they enjoy the way I see things. And want me to see and experience their wedding with them, and capture it to remember. Sure, this all really sounds cheesy, but I believe it with all my heart. :)

And to leave this post, here’s a very inspiring video by Zach Arias.