It's A little later in the day than I'd hoped but here is the preview of Justin and Joey's engagement session. The evening before it looked like it might rain for our morning session, it was supposed to be freezing, and I came down with a cold so I had a panic moment and almost said we should wait. I'm glad we just decided to go for it because it was a really fun shoot! Justin and Joey are an adorable couple and were such a joy to work with. They braved the cold and were up for anything. We hardly even had to direct them. We would put them in a location and they would make each other laugh and smile at each other so naturally we were able to capture some sweet moments. We could tell they really enjoyed being with each other. We are looking forward to their wedding day! The couple love the outdoors (hiking, biking, etc) so the Katy Trail was the perfect location along with Rocheport, the location of one of their favorite restaurants. After the trail we hit downtown and the General Store. Rocheport is one of our favorite places to shoot, each session turns out differently. On another subject, Andy and I will be off for 9 days starting this weekend to visit a friend in St. Thomas (woohoo!). I would love to be able to post some photos as we go along but I can't promise as sometimes the internet connections are sketchy down there and after all, it is a vacation right? . Anyway, If not I will post as soon as I can when I get back. For now, you'll just have to enjoy these photos of Joey and Justin (hey, maybe I should call them JJ ;o)

Long time no blog, I know! Now that I am full time with photography and working from home (yay!) I have finally been able to catch up on some stuff around here like organizing all of our client files, working on an upcoming bridal fashion shoot with a model (our good friend Beth), and preparing for the wedding "season." I have been meaning to blog about our trip last Thanksgiving (yes, it has been that long!) to LA where we visited our friends and spent a couple days in San Diego. They're finally here! And to somewhat compensate for the lack of blog, I'll post again later today photos from Joey and Justin's super fun engagement session. Stay tuned peeps!

A shot of the famous Hotel Coronado on Coronado Island.

The beach at Coronado Island.
I love how the little pools of water reflected the sky.

There were lots of neat houses there too. We have fun just cruisin.
A cool shot Andy took of a bird (Pelican? Shows you how much I know about birds ;o)A bed of Birds of Paradise flowers by the Hotel Coronado.
We asked around at some shops in the Gaslamp Quarter for some
restaurant recommendations. They did not steer us wrong, we ate at
this really awesome Australian restaurant called Bondi. Not only was the
decor spectacular (egg shaped cocktail orbs hanging from the ceiling, plasma
screens displaying black and white photography, giant metal sculptures that
encased the tables, hand blown glass sculptures hanging over the bar . . . )
but the food and drinks were awesome. Andy had an Australian specialty beer
(ie. can't get it many places) that was sparkling and delicious.
I had the best martini EVER and it was called the Bondi Slipper. It was a
melon mint concoction and they were even nice enough to write down the
recipe for me!
The "Yuma Building" in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Part of the Torrey Pines Nature Reserve near our hotel.
A trip to San Diego wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Zoo right?
I have loved Pandas since I was little. I pretty much only cared about seeing
the Pandas and the Koala Bears so with our limited time, I made a beeline for them!

We started our trip in LA and had a great time with friends playing cards
and eating Kimi Bui's sweet potato pie. Yum! Below: the famous Chinese Theater.

I knew from my last trip to LA that my hands fit Betty Grable, but this
time I found out they also matched Deborah Kerr's. Andy's matched Humphrey Bogart's.

Andy and our Friend and gracious tour guide Jessica are watching the
break dancers perform in front of the Hollywood and Highlands center.

They have these inserts called "the road to Hollywood" and this one talked about leaving Missouri for the pursuit of Hollywood fame which was funny since we're Missourians. We decided to be silly tourists and do the celebrity home tour with
one of those overpriced maps. Here is the gate to Bel Air.

Here is the gate to Tom and Katie's house (more like fortress). Our friend

Jessica was seriously out of control silly and kept shouting "Where's TOMCAT?"
to other drives on the street. I just about peed my pants laughing!This is Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's former home together.
It was one of the few that wasn't completely obscured by gates and hedges.
We don't know who this house belongs to, we just saw it on the way.
It looks just like a house I saw on an episode of Millionaire Matchmaker on
Bravo. I love that show, am I the only one that watches it??
Our friends took us to one of their favorite eateries in Hollywood called
the Griddle. They've also seen celebrities there before. They have great
coffee and enormous pancakes. I don't know if the following pancake photo
even does it justice. They have TONS of varieties. This one was cinnamon
apple crumble, it was filled with the crumble that goes on top of apple pies.
YUM!

We also visited the Getty Museum. It is fun to see the neat architecture
and beautiful gardens, regardless of what they are exhibiting.

It also affords an awesome view of the city.

I got snapped at for taking this photo since (unbeknown to me)
photography isn't allowed in "Special Exhibits." I pretended to erase it
when they asked me to (it's confession time) because I liked the photo.
No way I'm erasing a keeper dude!

I had never ridden a Ferris Wheel. Ever. Not as a kid vising local fairs, not
as a teenager visiting the Millennium wheel in Paris, not on my first trip to LA.
So, I decided it was time to experience the wheel on this visit to the
Santa Monica Pier. I'm a big baby, I'll just admit it. It was fun though,
as was the baby coaster (just my speed). ;o)

This last photo was taken when we visited the Grove.
They had an American Girls store. It was CRAZY. You could buy dolls and clothes of course, but they also have a salon for the dolls ($20 to braid the dolls hair) with salon chairs and everything, they have a doll cafe where in addition to your meal you get little plastic food to serve your dollie, a photography studio where you can dress like your doll and get your picture taken, and a dollie doctor where they can repair a broken doll. It was packed with little girls carrying their dolls. It was freagin adorable! Just the kind of place I would have nagged my parents to take me to and drop a few hundred bucks on me. ;o) Anyway, I had to use the loo and even there they had doll holders in the stalls so you didn't have to put your doll on the floor. Insane.