Jonnika and Kelly

I've known Jonnika since Zoe was her flyer at American Elite cheer, five years ago, and have had the great fortune to shoot both of her sister's pregnancies, which were both totally different and beautiful, so when Jonnika called and told me that she was eight months along and wanting to do something edgy, I totally jumped at the chance! We started at City North, a very cool location in North Phoenix that has a "live, work, eat" philosophy and a generally urban chic vibe. Well, let me tell you that no one was shopping, eating, or doing anything else but gawking at this whippet thin, muscle bound, wearing her regular pants, 5'10" supermodel who totally took over that three block area. Construction workers, businessmen, and moms with strollers literally stopped and stared at her utter presence. The lust factor was so high, I would have feared a riot if it weren't for the amazing Kelly, a doting, totally sweet gentle giant of a gentleman taking care of Jonnika, catering to her every whim, telling her how amazingly beautiful she is, (she is!) and generally projecting the fact that he thinks she's the greatest thing since fried twinkies and it would be best if everyone would just stay back or he'd bite off their heads and chew them while we were shooting. These guys are truly a great couple, one who I totally expect to be shooting their 50th wedding anniversary, and I never say that about anyone. We then moved to the JW Marriott, a favorite spot of mine; every angle is fabulous there, and did some more! Mom, Janis joined us and took some shots, which was great, I mean, who could resist?!

The Weaver Family

Kristie came to me on the same mission as lots of people with little kids...to have everyone smiling and looking at the camera, especially her beautiful little daughter, Emma,who has an aversion to cameras...and, of course, we got a lot of those, but like all plans with kids, the unexpected is always better, if you're just willing to let go of your preconceived notions, and was ultimately what she was attracted to. I always talk about "the magic"; the zig when you're expecting a zag, a moment that you could never, in a million years force, moments which after 16 years of being a professional photographer, still give me a thrill when they come up, which they do in almost every shoot, so when I had Kristie and her hubby kiss, and the kids put their hands over their eyes, which was really cute, but then Owen peeked out just a little bit, and I almost lost it. Now some people might say, "oh, they weren't looking", "oh, you can't see our whole faces looking straight at the camera", and I always think about that, because I want to be sensitive to my client's needs, of course, but I never judge the quality of a picture by whether people are looking or smiling, as evidenced by my walls. It was a moment...a moment that you couldn't plan for or pose...I just had to be there to capture it. And, fortunately, Kristie was savvy enough to actually order them for her home...I'm so excited for her!

These puppies camto me via the lovely Anne, who wanted to have a shot of her sweet "babies". They were so much fun! Pumpkin, the pomeranian in front, kept doing donuts all around the ser, she was so excite! I love photographing dogs!!

Angela is just the most interesting person. She's so well traveled. She was in Europe last year, and is going back again this year. She has the cutest little doggie whose teeth show out, has done a ton of unique, interesting jobs, and we just had a lot of fun taking pictures of her new show girl self.

Alex

Alex is one of those free spirits who you know is just going to take on the world and win. She wanted to get funky, so we met in Tempe, and hung out on the railroad tracks. The light was amazing, Alex was totally confident and knew exactly how to move, and before she and her sweet Mommy Pat roared off into the night in their superfine convertible jaguar that I totally want to lift, we got some very cool and fun shots! We met up where she was helping out through NCL at the Happily Ever After Leaue Ball, for whom I shot a calendar (see happilyeverafterleague.org), and we had so much fun looking at her pictures together!

Margaret and Kent

When the very chic but not too trendy Kent annd Margaret roared up to the Marketplace in DC ranch in a cute little silver Mercedes for their phots shoot and asked me if they could be photographed in the tailgate of my Suburban, I just started giggling...and pretty much didn't stop the entire shoot. These guys were a laugh a minute, culminating when the 6'1" Margaret picked up Kent and gave him a piggy pack ride outside of Eddie V's! Thank you to all who honked. It was a knock out moment in time!

Remi

I shot Remi in and around his palatial mansion in Mc Cormick Ranch last week. It's located in THE prime corner of the lake out there. Remi's car is nicer than mine...ummm, a LOT nicer, and when he came down the stairs to meet me, he looked like he just walked off the set of Gossip Girl, and given that most teenage boys hate hate having their pictures taken, I was happily suprised to realize how very fun and cool he was. His vibrant, outgoing, and equally beautiful mom and sister Maddie helped out with lighting and outfit picking, and the shoot just rolled along. Remi wanted "edgy", and I was prepared... I whipped out my new radio poppers...it gives everything such a new, edgy look, don't you think?