photography

nicole + phillip: engaged!

Picture this: I fly from Bilbao to Istanbul (5 hours) with another 5 hours delay in the airport due to the whole thing being closed down due to a crazy hailstorm. I get to my room, room service for dinner, sleep three hours, wake up before the sun to see the golden sea lit up over the entire city from my 16th floor of the Hilton. not too shabby. I wish I could be a high roller like that, but the truth is that’s where the airline put me up for the night. I explore the city for about 5 hours and then take a metro back to the airport. 5 security checkpoints. 13 hour flight. get to Washington DC, get picked up my the amazing nicole and Phillip, 4 hour drive to ocean city, New Jersey, where Nicole has vacationed since she was a kid. Get gear ready. Sleep three hours. Wake up for their sunrise engagement shoot.

worth it.

hello markel!

he wouldn’t stop. i met two-year-old markel right before our session. he is the son of koldo, a long time friend who i’ve known since i was 12 years old and he was my soccer coach. through the years we have gone from playing soccer and music together to planning a business trip to finland together for this summer. he lives in finland now and was home for the holidays and we thought it would be a great time for me to meet his son markel and also do some family photos to remember this season of their lives by. this kid, of my gosh, he started walking in one direction and wouldn’t stop. distracted by nothing. i think he’s going to be a long distance runner or something because i’ve never seen anything like it. we had a great time just chasing this little guy around and catching up. it’s funny to think next time the 4 of us will be together will be for the daylight-all-day summer in finland days. i can’t wait!

hugo: first communion

i’d been waiting for this. a few years ago i photographed adrian’s first communion, along with his friend aser. he’s a fun little guy, now not so little anymore, but i was really taken by his little brother hugo. i knew that in three years time i would be photographing him for his very own first communion, so i can honestly say i was excited about this session. this fun little guy kept going on and on about how he wanted to take all these instagram-worthy photos, telling me what would be great to capture in the background and what would be a fun pose for him. now, if this came from an adult it could have been annoying… but from an eight year old???! he kept me laughing and clicking the shutter. i also have to say i really love how goofy this family can be, not afraid to be silly or laugh at themselves. my kind of people! i just wish there were more of them!

liam is one!

looking back on this session, that was the whole point. i really love being able to work with young families and capture all the excitement of the new adventure. be it with newborns or toddlers, i really value the clients who understand the importance of stealing these memories and keep them safe for years to come. all too often i think we rely on remembering on our own or having a cell phone photo here or there. this is all great on a daily basis, i do this myself too, but i have always believed in taking the time and investing in remembering your past so it can hold it’s place in your present.

anyway, this adorable little family and i met up for a fun day of liam exploring mountains, grass, giant slides, slytherin cupcakes, and anything else the day threw our way. watching his face as he tried to bit into the frosting was way too cute but what almost killed me from cuteness overload was when he started swinging the harry potter wand around, right before he decided that chewing it was equally entertaining…

liam is two now, and a whole year has passed since we tried to convince him of the awesomeness that is harry potter, and me insisting that he’s not evil enough to belong to slytherin. it all takes me back ti my original point… looking back was the whole point. i can’t wait to work with these guys again and see what craziness we can come up with for his next session.

olga + jesus: engaged!

everything was golden and the air was slightly cold when we set up the mountain for olga and jesus’ engagement session. i always love these little opportunities to touch base with a couple and interact a little in front of the camera. these two were patient in finding love, but are now impatient to get married. i love seeing how incredibly happy they are to just hold hands, hold each other, every moment as genuine as the first. they are the sort of couple that makes you smile just from looking at them… even now, looking back at these photos, i find myself smiling again.

maría + maic

young love. that’s these two in a nutshell. i’d known maria and maic for a few years before we got together for our engagement session. we met through friends in common and had shared many cups of coffee together while talking about the daily grind, family drama, and all those things that often accompany our daily dose of caffeine. because of our history together, i knew that hanging out for an evening and taking photos of the two of them would be a really fun time. the fact that the two would soon be separated by her going to london for work just made these moment that much sweeter. as if they needed it!

sole + mariano: engagement!

after the storm. that’s when sole, mariano, and i met for their madrid engagement session. it was a bit nerve-wrecking to plan this session in the middle of an absolutely terrible stormy day, but we were prepared with rain coats and rubber boots, and ready to create some ridiculously dramatic rain shots. and then it stopped. of course. sun is good, we love the sun, so we ended up just having a fantastic time finding cute little corners that would mesh well with their fun and quirky personalities. i have to say i absolutely love this couple. it’s not always easy to find clients that you agree with on ideas, priorities, and the like but i’ve definitely won the lottery with these two. i am in love with this session. ahhhh! i can’t even wait until their wedding day but now that rain or shine it will turn out amazing. See you soon!

hello: samuel!

it’s a glorious day, kids, and do you want to know why? because i’ve got jonathan and melissa’s one week-old baby, samuel, coming at you on the blog!

i have to take a moment to say how i met these guys. about a year ago i was downtown photographing a parade, just for fun. there was also a big soccer game going on that day. suddenly a guy walking towards the soccer game asks me if i know what people are waiting for. i tell them there’s a parade about to start and we get to talking because my english is so good. quite unusual in spain. so he says he’s from san diego, and i mention that i have shot a wedding in san diego and start throwing some photographers names. well, wouldn’t you know it? my crazy friend tim king was actually his wedding photographer. small world! so we reminisced about crazy stories we have with him and ended up taking a selfie and sending it to him, then we exchanged phone numbers swearing to get in touch and maybe grabbing some coffee sometime. us americans abroad have to stick together, you know?

so in the spring i get a text from him saying that he and his wife are expecting and would love to set up a newborn session when the time comes. come january, there he was. teeny-tiny samuel was the perfect excuse to get together for a photo shoot, lunch, and even some delicious cinnamon rolls! they just added to the

sweetness in this shoot. seriously, photographing them in vitoria felt like stepping into a warm, cozy bubble. then again, that could have easily been the heating in the kitchen. yes, these were all taken in the kitchen. there are two things i love about photographing newborns at home 1) how convenient it is for the parents. they are tired and stressed and still adjusting to their new life, and i hate the thought of them having to drag themselves across town to find a studio. what could be more comfortable than your own living room sofa? especially for new moms out there. the other thing i love is knowing that i can transform something like a kitchen into a mini studio and nobody will ever know. the behind the scenes photos always make me giggle.

anyway,

i am so excited to see how this family continues to blossom, and i just know there are some very special years in their future.

becky + kike = happy family!

i know who you are…” she smirks and replies “well i know who you are!” these were the first words i ever remember sharing with becky. 15 years ago, we were apparently aware of each other’s existence. life fast forwarded through years of continuing to run into each other at youth group and other events. we both went to nursing school. i ended up leaving virginia and settling down in spain and she continues to live in her hometown. at some point down the road we also became friends and have seen each other go through the ups and downs of our twenties. today? we met up in virginia, again, and i got to see her as the mother she has becomes. her and enrique are a power team, parenting the cutest mexican kids in the world with their adorable occasional words in spanish. they also stare at me, seemingly skeptical that I speak the same language as their father. it fills my heart to just see this family interact and see how much they genuinely love each other. i hope that through time i can continue to see them grow and know them better.