Pablove Shutterbugs is a program which pairs photographers with children living with cancer in order to provide photography instruction and coaching. I volunteered as a mentor in this year’s session, and am really excited about the gallery show this Saturday. The children’s work will be on display, as will the work of other important artists.

This is going to be a really great event, and I would love it if you could join us. The event is expected to be very crowded later in the evening, so please come early. KCRW and KROQ will be DJ’ing, and there will be food and drinks available.

All print proceeds benefit the Pablove Shutterbugs program. If you are unable to attend, you can also purchase prints through the pre-sale here: http://shop.pablove.org/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1823
Please stop by and meet our students, and enjoy the show!

Jared and Jessica are tying the knot in June, and I can’t wait to shoot their wedding. Thanks so much to you both!

Mike and Claudia found me through their  friends, Sarah and Steven. I was really excited to have a chance to work with friends of Sarah and Steven, who had had one of my all-time favorite weddings, and whom I have always remembered fondly.

Mike and Claudia had a beautiful, intimate wedding on the beach in front of Shutters, in Santa Monica. They then continued the celebration with a dance performance commemorating the way they had met, an elegant dinner with fantastic wine, and (my personal favorite food ever) creme brulee.

They are one of the sweetest, most genuine couples with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working, and I was honored to be chosen to share such a special day with them. It is such an amazing experience to share in the beginning of a marriage that is so clearly valued by both partners.

Thank you so much for choosing me to capture your day, and I wish you both many, many, many years of happiness!

From the Pablove website: The mission of The Pablove Foundation is to fund pediatric cancer research and advances in treatment, educate and empower cancer families, and improve the quality of life for children living with cancer through hospital play, music and arts programs.

The Pablove Foundation is named after Pablo Thrailkill Castelaz, the son of Jo Ann Thrailkill and Jeff Castelaz and the little brother of Grady Gallagher. Pablo was six years old when he lost his valiant yearlong battle with bilateral Wilms Tumor, a rare form of childhood cancer. Imbued with his spirit and inspired by his strength, Pablove is dedicated to the daily, global fight against childhood cancer and the suffering that comes in its wake.

We fight on in order to amplify one simple message: kids get cancer too.

A young, growing foundation, Pablove has begun to make its mark. Our first childhood cancer research grants in 2011 totaled $150,000 in funding for innovative research projects. In 2010, The Pablove Foundation held a Wilms Tumor Symposium for patient families and medical professionals and hosted a Childhood Cancer Survivorship Symposium in 2011. The Pablove Shutterbugs program teaches children living with cancer to develop their creative voice through the art of photography and we have contributed to child life programs at children’s hospitals across the country.

There are many different ways to participate in this great organization, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, please do!

I had been thinking it would be nice to have a small camera and a waterproof case so I can join couples on hikes and dives at destination weddings and capture some shots for which my usual equipment wouldn’t allow. So, rather than dragging my usual photo gear along, I chose to try out a Canon G12 compact camera, with which I was pretty impressed. (And the underwater case was really fun.)

The holiday began by spending five nights on Caye Caulker, which is a tiny little tropical paradise, where time never seems to move.

Santa visited on Christmas Day.

Sea kayaking on Christmas.

Mangroves on the uninhabited side of the island.

This is an area of the island called “The Split”. There’s a bar at the end where you can sip drinks while fish swim around your feet, or you can do some decent snorkeling along this wall.

After Caye Caulker, it was time to head inland for a few days to visit the San Ignatio area.

The Parrot’s Nest Lodge-one of the coolest places I’ve ever stayed.

An afternoon in a hammock in the jungle.

Parrot’s Nest Cabin

From San Ignatio, it’s easy to set up a day trip into Guatemala to visit Tikal, and the wonderful owner at the Parrot’s Nest arranged the whole trip for several of the guests, who were all just really genuinely nice people.

If I remember correctly, this crocodile’s name was Paola.

Tikal.

Hey, look! It’s me, climbing a ruin in the pouring rain without falling off the side! It was raining so hard I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the picture.

Leafcutter ants

These wild turkeys are reportedly seen almost nowhere other than Tikal.

This is the part where I climbed a pyramid and held onto the side for dear life while trying to take a photo.

Back to the Parrot’s Nest to relax for a day before heading back to the island.

Back to Caye Caulker for New Year’s Eve.

Snorkling in Ho Chan Marine Reserve and Shark and Sting Ray Alley near the island.

Sharks!

New Year’s Day on Caye Caullker

Now someone needs to get married in Belize so I can go shoot it. Or maybe I should move there and start my own destination wedding company. Hmmmm…

Check out these babies.

Selina and her daughter had matching pink shoes. Super cute.

Almost time…

Peter and Selina are one of those couples that are so overcome with emotion for each other that they make everyone in the room cry.

Love this.

When Peter originally proposed to Selina, he didn’t get down on one knee, so this time he kneeled to finish the ceremony.

After the ceremony, we walked around the pier for some shots of Peter and Selina.

The whole family.

During the toasts, this person randomly ripped open a crack in the tent and peered through at us, which I thought was both creepy and pretty cool looking.

It’s really difficult not to post all the photos I have of this guy dancing.

Congratulations to Peter and Selina on sticking by each other through these first ten years, and on creating such a beautiful, loving family. You, and your children, are some very lucky people to have each other. Hope to see you for another awesome party after the next ten!!

Cynthia and Charles were married at St. Brendan’s Church in Los Angeles, which is amazing. I had the very talented Jeanette Sanchez second shooting with me. Here are some of the images we captured of their special day.

Cynthia had the most unique bouquet I had ever seen. How awesome is that?

We arrived at La Venta right at sunset, and grabbed some quick photos of them with the views of Los Angeles and the ocean before we ran out of light.

Here’s Cynthia freshening up before their grand entrance as husband and wife.

Cynthia’s brother was her “man of honor” and he gave a very touching toast to the newly married couple.

I love this one.

Cynthia’s dad gave this toast, and Charles’s reaction is priceless.

Their first dance as husband and wife.

This shot of Charles dancing with his mom is one of my favorites of the night.

Charles and Cynthia had one of the most fun dancing sessions I had attended in a while. I admit that I was actually dragged out there to dance with some guests for a while, but I did manage to snap photos at the same time.

Congratulations to you both and thank you so much for spending such a special day with us!

Tiffany and Adam held their wedding ceremony at their church, and then celebrated with their guests at The Jonathan Beach Club in Santa Monica.

Here’s Tiffany, looking gorgeous!

Adam, watching his bride walk up the aisle.

We shot a few photos of the newly married couple on the beach before heading into the reception at the Jonathan Club.

During the final dance of the evening, one of Tiffany and Adam’s guests poured beer on their heads!

Congratulations to you both, and thank you for sharing your day with us!

The area around the Promenade has lots of great architectural details, which gave us many background options.

I love these next two images. Both were taken on the street near the Promenade.

After we finished with the Promenade area, we drove up the coast a bit and found a nice beach spot for some last shots before sunset.

I’ll be posting some shots from the wedding next week!

Congratulations to you both!

Here are some shots from their session!

This next one is my favorite.

I love this one.

I love these photos from their engagement session, and can’t wait for the wedding!