photo of the day - meissen

meissen. home to a historic artisan porcelain factory. as well as weathered cobblestone streets, dignified old stone buildings, narrow staircases to belltowers overlooking the whole city, restaurants that have been in 500 year-old buildings for 150 years. and people (and cats) living their lives under the summer sun.

photo of the day - wittenberg

a light rain fell on wittenberg as we walked the cobblestone streets. the town is rife with history, and not just that of reformer martin luther. this place could keep a photographer for more than just a morning.

photo of the day - dessau

a quiet morning, as golden sunlight blankets the lush gardens of Worlitz. peaceful. serene. and capped off by a gondola tour with a boatful of non-english-speaking germans.

photo of the day - the wall

Twenty years after the people of Berlin picked up sledgehammer and tore down the bloodied concrete barrier that had divided them for decades, a span of the wall still stands along the river, where artists have splashed it with bright and bold graffiti.

photo of the day - Berlin

The city was alive with summer, as the sun lingered then dipped behind the buildings, painting the sky in pastels. Cool breezes danced down alleys and across plazas, as music filled the air.

taken

what an exhausting and exciting month. my 30for30 photo promo proved more successful than i anticipated (prompting an extension through the month of august) which led to the creation of some great images, but at the expense of pure exhaustion. 
here's a few favorite images from recent shoots, as i sit in london heathrow airport, waiting for a connection to berlin (expect myriad photos after two weeks in europe).











i have been everywhere the grass is green.


no matter how stressful life becomes in the newsroom, i never fail to be soothed by the simple pleasure of sitting on the back porch, basking in the last golden blankets of sunlight falling over everything. the beauty in life is there. it only begs to be looked for, and cherished.

all that makes us human continues


last saturday was a busy, awesome double-booked day of shooting a great beach wedding in oxnard, and family photos here in santa clarita valley. bob and rebekah, congrats on this new chapter in your life, and the bundle of joy arriving in a few months!
it was also a blast to finally spend some time with the dickson family. despite the blazing heat, there were some great images to be captured. enjoy a tease.


the only moment we were alone.

can i tell you something? this is one of my favorite parts of shooting a wedding — capturing a genuine moment, when the couple is so lost in love with each other. it's a beautiful thing to watch two lives coming together, each person wrapping up a chapter of their life to join the other in beginning a new chapter together. saturday will be my first wedding in a while, and i can't wait. that, coupled with a family photo shoot i'm doing later in the afternoon, should make for a great day of capturing memories and preserving moments.

speak soft


Has it really been a decade? Ten years since our quiet lives exploded on an otherwise average Tuesday. More than 3,600 days since we sat helpless in front of our TVs and saw the fruit borne of bitterness and anger in two young men. Columbine was by no means the first school shooting, but it was in many ways at the cusp of a new era of media, and the never-ending onslaught of to-the-minute headlines. And how have I changed? With every passing year, do I simply remain content in my role as a bystander? Or with every new day, do I realize anew how it is incumbent upon me — on all of us — to pour into the lives of those around us? 

there is a light that never goes out

sometimes the ideas just come. after a consistently busy week that ended with a ridiculously busy friday, i opted to sleep in, make an afternoon breakfast and finally shclep over to starbucks and start getting these concepts out of my head and onto the page. i like where things are headed. it's a new day, and i'm hopeful.

kiss the sun

 after a fitful night of sleep and waking up in the dark dawning hours, all my stress quickly dissolved when i got to the assignment. a local synagogue was holding a special sunrise service — coincidentally on the eve of Passover — offering a blessing and thanks for the sun. a beautiful sunrise is like an elixir.