I’m so grateful to have met these two people. I’m so grateful to be allowed to photograph their beautifully revealed selves. Confident in person, and confident in front of the camera, they really inspired me.
I usually don’t do sneak peeks or previews, but I will this one time because I don’t want to release all the pictures before Julie’s CD comes out in a month or 2… and because I just had to share at least one.
To strive to capture an idea, a moment, a feeling. To attempt to find the essence of the present. To rest. To be.
The exciting thing about going out every day to take a photograph is that I get to learn something new. One of things I learned with Molly and Peter was to not lead clients down steep, loose dirt embankments that require clinging onto shrubs and roots to not fall. Along with that lesson was learning to see how much they trust me as their photographer: a humbling lesson that I am having to constantly learn again.
The final lesson I want to share here is how much I am learning to rely on instincts to find the picture. We had to work very quickly on this shoot to capture the beautiful fading light, so there was less time to think, which actually freed me to just react and receive pictures as they came.
What more can I say about my clients? They have been such amazing people who allow me to connect with them as they connect with each other. Molly and Peter are certainly no exception. Their session is a result of this really neat blend of playfulness and thoughtfulness between them.
If you’ve been following my blog long enough, you will recognize some members of this beautiful family from my shoot back in 2007. Since then, they’ve added a new little one to the family: meet Gia! Gia is quite the troublesome little sister to Reza, and is already a rather fearless explorer. Her head is always on a swivel, looking for what she wants, and when she spots it, she is going for it. There were times I wanted to put down my camera to marvel at this little person’s awareness and tenacity.
It was so much fun to be with the Mohammeds again, to see them grow in number and to experience their family. Every family is different, and I just love how it feels to be in the middle of all the various families I’ve had the privilege to photograph over the years.
There is something really special to me about photographing the same people over a span of time. There is an incredible familiarity. The trust that is established through those experiences is almost tangible.
I hope you get to experience a bit of this beautiful family through my pictures.
See more on Facebook: Mohammed Family [Lifestyle Portraits]
Reza’s Baby Pics: 2007
Location: Pasadena, CA
This is just from aa impromptu session I put together for my friend’s niece Kylie.
First, never underestimate any hallway with white walls and white ceilings if you have a strobe in hand.
Second, what is it about kids that captures part of my imagination? Kylie and I don’t even speak the same language, and yet, I am so easily drawn into her world. Going through the pictures, I am euphoric with the innocence of her self-expression, and at the same time weighted by the responsibility of wanting to see her grow up strong and beautiful.
The love of my life. I am constantly amazed by this beautiful person who stares up at the trees in wonder.
This was one of those weird shoots where I just had the perfect location for a right couple. Tim and Leona are both cyclists and actually recommended the San Gabriel Riverbed trail to me and Jeannie. The first time I went I saw the place and I knew I wanted to shoot there, and I already had the couple in mind. :)
They have been married a couple years, which I have found is quite a different dynamic than engaged couples or those just freshly married. I am no expert on relationships or marriage, but from being a husband for a couple of years and photographing a lot of different people, I find there to be a precious strength and radiance with those who have had some time to really grow into each other. Tim and Leona have been married about the same amount of time as me and Jeannie, which helped me reflect on how far my own marriage has come in a short time.
This shoot was an incredible experience for me: the combination of whatever plants grow in California when nobody cares, bridges, the occasional cyclist riding by, and two very incredible people choosing the commitment of loving each other as best they can.
