the banta family farm.

so, i am finally catching up on my bloggin'. it has been far too long since i have given my blog love. geesh. sorry about that my faithful readers. so my next post here was from my sister's birthday weekend a little over a month ago.

so, i took a few days off to head home to hang out with Sister and celebrate her 25th birthday. and we had quite a good time i must say. she asked if i would take a few photos of her, e-hem, farm. haha. i call it the banta family farm. they grow delicious things you can eat, raise chickens, and even have a hound-dog to keep watch (problem is that she is just too darn cute). oh, and they have two pet bunnies to boot. i am quite fond of it all. well save for the actual chickens themselves. they are stinky and rude. they attacked me when my sister forced me into their coop to photograph them. i may or may not have squealed like a small child. it happens. they are vicious pecking creatures i tell you.


after my brush with death, we toured the plot of land where the various award-winning (best of show mind you) veggies are grown...








then we picked apricots for the jam we had to make and can.


oh and we even went over to the corn field via Sister's purple golf cart. oh yes. that's how she gets around the farm. haha.


she tried to fight me with her little camera. oh please. i took her down. teach her to have a shoot-out with the likes of me. sucka.


finally, we started on the bold endeavor of creating her award-winning tri-county fair cupcake entry: shark attack. it is tough work on the farm. i quit on my first day soon after the twinkie sharks kept falling over. well that and after i had eaten so many of the decorative candies that i felt ill. it's exhausting i tell you. i was not much help. it was all my sister. although, i can say i did save the life-preserver cupcake from utter failure when i carved a hole in the hole-less doughnut. it resulted in life-preserver perfection if i don't say so myself. i am talented like that.


and of course, i had to get a shot of my sweet lil' tenya. ain't she adorable? okay so, you can achieve this look by going up to her kennel and saying "oh poor tenaya. poor tenayaaaaa." then she gets all moppy and gives you that classic puppy-dawg look. haha. it's hilarious.

colab.

a few weeks ago emily, montana and i took a lil' road trip down to malibu for the day. i had a shoot for sotheby's during the morning, but soon after we were down, we spent a sometime exploring and photographing each other. it was so fun. we are quite a dynamic trio and our collaborative spirits resulted in some shear epic-ness to be sure.


and a few by montana...

a little lake.

i quite like the seasons. perhaps it's because i grew up in the mountains where each one is dramatically different. i like change. especially of the autumn persuasion. it gives me an excuse to drink some apple cider, wear a cardigan, eat soup and sneak away to the home-land for some true autumn-lovin'.

so that is what i did. i went home last week. it is simply splendid to spend some much need time with my fam. i dragged my parents on a lil' chase-the-sun hike one night in search of some fall colors. we failed at the original mission but came across this instead. totally worth it i do declare. and all these photos were taken within a twenty minute window of time mind you. i loved how the lake worked with me and gave me lots of variety so quickly. ripples. perfect stillness. shadows. and reflections. oh little lake how i love you.

ashley + nate: their wedding.

one of things i enjoy most about being the photographer at a friends' wedding is that it affords me an opportunity. an opportunity to celebrate, observe, see, notice, tell, remember and document. to celebrate the marriage of two friends. to observe something bigger than myself. to see authentic moments. to notice the details. the tell a story. to remember all of the moments we have shared together. and to document the events of their wedding day. i have been blessed with this opportunity often this summer and each time i am reminded of the power of relationship.

ashley and nate's wedding was not exception. nate and i have known each other since the days in clark j-l as freshmen and armington a2 as sophomores. i got to know ashley through our many shared moments of fun and laughter with our friends at the tipity-top house our senior year. so naturally, when it came time for their wedding day, there was pre-established trust. their were memories. shared experiences. and insight and understanding. and all of it was rooted in friendship. i think there is power in that. at least for me as an artist and a story-teller.

all that to say, that i was moved and blessed (as i always am) by photographying nate and ashley's wedding. it as an honor to spend the day with them and to celebrate their marriage. i loved that knew nate's authentic smile and ashley's quiet, calming presence. i loved that i knew their bridal party and that we could laugh together as friends. it was indeed a special day. and one that i will always cherish as a memory with my friends...

alas, here are a few of my favorite images from nate and ashley's san rafael wedding...be sure to check out the full slideshow here.
the first look = the best thing ever. i love it. i always cry. yup. no shame.
what a crew...

new-ly-wedded.
one of my new favorite pictures of all time.



one of my favorite bridal portraits ever. it was her new hubby who elicited that perfect smile.


one of my favorite "sessions" of the day...hanging out with nate. so fun!

bri: senior photo shoot.

i quite enjoy the individual photo shoot. it allows for creativity, for play, for authentic laughter. and it affords an opportunity for me to capture the very essence of someone. i love it. and i particularly love it when i get the chance to photograph members from the same family. i did paul's senior photo shoot, and i was so excited when elisabeth asked me to do bri's shoot too. so fun. we shot at a few of bri's favorite places in mammoth and laughed a lot. here are a few of my favs...