Where does the time go? Hopefully it was spent building memories. Emma, two words, WEAR SUNSCREEN.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’10 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…

-Baz Luhrmann

Driving on the 10 on the way to Candance and Rick’s engagement session in packed memorial day traffic today I looked over to my right and noticed a guy waving at me. Stream of conscience: First thought- he thinks he knows me. Oh god, he thinks he knows me. Just smile and wave….. wait, he’s STILL waving. He’s pointing to my rented Mazda3’s door…shoot- did he hit me and I didn’t notice??? Oh no! Tim said not to get the insurance! He wants me to roll the window down …..ugh, is he going to hit on me? or something? …it actually went something like this:

Him: “Hey! My M3 is a 2006! What’s yours???”

Me: “Ohhhh, um it’s a rental actually. But it’s a great car!”

Him: “I know!! Right??? Best. Car. Ever. Welp! Enjoy, Drive on, my Mazda friend!”

Me: “Have a great day!” (continue chugging along on the 10….)

These kind of interactions with others make me feel alive. They remind me I am not alone in the world, that there are billions of other people out there with lives, stories, loved ones, pasts, futures- and Mazda 3’s. It’s easy to get caught up in your own little universe- get a little self involved, but to me, life is really about your interactions with others. Life is so much better when you are aware that you are not the center of the universe. All of these people, driving on the 10 freeway on Memorial Day off to where ever to do whatever and me and that man and his Mazda 3 had a little connection. Perhaps our paths will never cross again- perhaps we’ll be in the same place at the same time and not know it … but as a different Rick (Blaine) would say, “We’ll always have the 10 freeway on Memorial Day.”

A little gem from today. Rick, you’re a lucky guy!

<running around like a chicken with my head cut off> Busy busy busy!

Baby June has already entered the world so this post is a bit late But I wanted to congrats Ruby and John on their new little joy, June Adele! I spent a wonderful afternoon earlier this month photographing Ruby’s belly and can’t wait to meet and photograph June soon!

Christine and I like to talk about how we’re on the same life path. We started out at Presentation High School together, singing in the jazz choir and doing theater. We spent one fateful weekend in Los Angeles together our summer of senior year drinking Long Island Iced Teas and hanging out with people we shouldn’t have been hanging out with. We both left San Jose for college in the Southern California Region…. and within months of each other, we met the man we were going to marry and they are both musicians. (Not to mention, we both fell in love with photography and somehow both ended up being wedding photographers! See Christine’s beautiful work here.) It’s uncanny, really. Here are some scans from some prints I had lying around …. high school days!

Well, Christine and Brian are tying the knot in Maui next month and, of course, being a wedding photographer I am booked on their date and will be able to attend- BUT I was more than thrilled to be able to do their engagement images. Brian and Christine met at Loyola Marymount so it was only fitting we started their session there! Onward!

I love you guys to pieces and wish you all the happiness in the world. And, Brian, I’m joining Christine’s mom’s fight to get you guys back to the bay area. Ice cream soon???

Whew! Wedding season is in full swing over here and I am already falling behind on the blog. I hate when people apologize for not blogging (after all, really it just means I’m busy actually shooting which is way better than sitting at a computer prepping/resizing images) so I won’t do that, I’ll just encourage you to hang tight because I’ve got a lot of fun stuff in the queue. Busy planning our wedding too- our wedding planner Yelena Johnson of The Stylish Soiree (who was also Elle and Nima’s day-of coordinator) was up here a couple of weeks ago and we got so much stuff done! It’s starting to come together and we’re starting to get giddy about it. More posts about my plans soon-….. do you guys even care about any of that??

Elle and Nima had my first city wedding of the year and it was such a breath of fresh air. I love outdoor weddings for so many reasons but it was so fun making use of the city-scapes for a change! San Francisco is so magical this time of year and the weather was absolutely perfect for their day- They tied the knot at The Bentley Reserve- Elle looked absolutely ravishing (and Nima dashing, per usual) and I can’t wait to share these sooo….onward to the images shall we?

Catering : Global Gourmet, Lighting : Got Light, Florals : Branch Out,  Cake : Sara Lime Cakes, Make up : Beauty Up Close, Coordination : The Stylish Soiree

I’m not usually a narrator for my images but we had the opportunity to take pictures in the very bar where Elle and Nima first met- I think that’s pretty special.