Here are a few recent snaps of my niece, Chiala. She’s usually up to pose for the camera. She was trained to say “cheese” long ago like I suppose most kids born in the digital age. On this occasion though she got experimental.

And love at first sight

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Kids photograph better than adults. Even when formally posing, their spirit surfaces.

When Violet contacted me to take pictures of her daughters and nephew, I was delighted. A chance to shoot kids! My Nikons and I had already gotten to know them a little bit at Violet’s and Rick’s January wedding. Some of my favorite shots of that particular day were of Ryan and Crystal. They’re natural posers. Have a look at my top 3 pictures from this session.

Ryan Andrew

Autumn Star

Crystal Rain

Each year we have a big party for Samani.  It’s the biggest annual event for our family that far surpasses Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all other holidays combined.  Of course we want to celebrate the little guy.  After all, turning 5 is monumental.  So was turning 4, 3, 2, and 1.  Equally important though, it gives us reason to hang out with some of the coolest people on Earth, our friends.

Pooh and his dear friend Piglet:

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen that will be exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s the same thing,” he said.”

It’s exciting to be around friends, and friends of friends.  Have a look!

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My mom and her beloved grandson preparing food for his party.  He helped peel the egg roll wraps apart until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.  Then he rolled up into his makeshift bed and slumbered until grandma was ready to call it a night (around 3 AM).  I think she kinda likes the little fellow.  As an aside:  Yes, we cook on the kitchen floor.  Don’t worry it’s clean.  At least cleaner than your kitchen counters!  OH!

The day’s first activity was painting.

Then face painting to turn the kids into monsters.  If you’re a parent those terms are synonymous.

Mom (right) and my aunt

The dolls were designed and made by my sis.  The cake was a replica of the invitation created by her as well.

Kiki thinks this is how you hold a camera because she’s only seen it from the vantage point of the subject.  You can grab the camera, flip it around, and hand it back to her.  Doesn’t matter.  She’ll flip it right back to her normal picture taking position.

Short flix:  They have a little connection.  See if you can catch it.

• Validation
• Rent-A-Person

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Always a pleasure spending time with Rob and his family. Far from being free of problems despite their All-American appearance (country home on an acre, 2 cars, a couple of healthy, smart boys), Rob and Steph work hard at being a solid family.

As you can see, we shot primarily in the back roads where cars come around once every tens minutes or so. I miss the back roads of Merced County. They never seemed too interesting until I moved away to Southern California where the 405 and the 5 reign supreme.