Tag Archives: photography

bob & elizheva | engagement session | costanoa coastal lodge

I love an interview with potential clients that evolves into a conversation that lasts for hours. That’s how my very first meeting with Bob and Elizheva went, and immediately I could tell that this was a couple who were very much in love, and very willing to pour their personalities and effort into making their entire wedding experience a positive and meaningful one. Bob is the talented architect behind Fink Architecture, who I have done photography for in the past. I have to admit that while I love to photograph an amazing space, engagement sessions always trump architectural photography because they are filled with so much emotion as a couple enters into a new stage of their relationship. Documenting this couple’s joy felt effortless as we talked, walked and joked along the trails near Costanoa, where they will be getting married later in the summer. As you can tell by the last photo, I’m kinda excited about spending another day with these two!

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heidi & paul | engagement session | santa cruz photographer

This was one powerful and atmospheric day for a beach engagement session. It was the same day that just up the coast, the waves at Mavericks were breaking records as the biggest in the history of surf contests. We arrived at Natural Bridges in the morning to discover that the beach had been completely swallowed by the ocean, so we explored around like Californian kids enjoying a rare storm, and discovered so many great spots filled with beautiful light. The irony is that these ethereal images capture an incredibly down-to-earth couple. I love these two for being so easy going, for cracking me up with their quick wits, and for being so clearly and comfortably in love. I can’t wait to photograph their spring wedding at Pasatiempo’s Hollins House in Santa Cruz.

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dad & daughter | portrait session | santa cruz photographer

I have to say that I love a Dad who keeps his daughter home from school on a Friday just so that they can hang out together, (I hope I’m not ruining any alibis ) a Dad who wants to remember each stage of his daughter’s childhood by doing annual portraits together, a Dad who builds the things that his daughter designs and launches a business together called Sugarline because her middle name is Sugar, but mostly I love a Dad who simply adores his daughter.

I am a self proclaimed post-a-holic, and so I’m going to do my best to resist the urge to post about 100 images form this single portrait session. There were so many great moments, expressions and acrobatics documented that I find it really challenging to be selective. I think that I get extra snap-happy whenever I sense a depth of connection between the people I am photographing, and this father and daughter are so beautifully close and comfortable together that I never noticed the time nor the frames flying by until the raindrops started falling. I could tell that they just truly enjoyed each other’s company…and of course I loved being around them too.

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afternoon with the kids | wilder ranch | family photographer Santa Cruz

There is nothing much better than just watching kids explore the world, and it’s infinitely more entertaining when they happen to be your own children. The energy and joy that these particular kids exude when their senses are stimulated has the power to generate an amnesia effect in their mother, making her forget all of the previous week’s frustrations, and fooling her into believing her senses are younger and her demeanor more playful than they really are….and for that she is grateful.

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three sisters | portrait session | bay area photographer

Three beautiful sisters who live in different parts of the country were united in Palo Alto for the holidays, so I came to capture some of their time together. Lots of laughter and sisterly antics ensued, as the youthful spirit of adolescence re-emerged while they posed, pulled funny faces and played in the park together. The three of them have such a connection with each other and with their sweet father, who joined us too. I love how they were all up for anything and even agreed to lay on the ground and let me hover over them to get the shots I had in mind. I love my brother to pieces, but I kinda wish I had two sisters now.

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devon & ryan | engagement session | santa cruz wedding photographer

What makes a great engagement session: two people in comfortably and deeply love, bringing along your four legged family member (in this case a pound puppy named Quigley) and a perfect winter afternoon spent on the California coast. I am so excited for this couple’s wedding at the Clement Hotel in Monterey later in the year, I know it is going to be elegant, modern and a lot of fun…exactly like Devon and Ryan are in person.

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a new beginning | surviving breast cancer | bay area photographer

New Year’s Day is such a powerful time of the year; a time for reflection and change, as we attempt to evolve ourselves into happier and healthier beings. I went for a run on New Year’s Eve and as I reflected on my own life I intuitively knew that I wanted this portrait session to be my first post of 2010. I took these photos back in November with this brave and beautiful woman who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I was so moved and inspired by her spirit and strength that I asked her if she would agree to share these intimate images and her story, in her own words, for this blog. I am so honored that she said yes, and so thankful that she somehow read my mind and sent me these words (without any further encouragement) on the first day of 2010.

‘I came to Carlie for something a little out of her usual scope of work. I had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and was facing the removal of my right breast in the following week, fertility challenges, chemotherapy, information overload and complex uncertainties. In the midst of all the chaos that had flooded my life in the first couple weeks after my diagnosis, I realized that I had a new tenderness toward my body. As time went on, I wanted to capture myself at this point in time, and throughout the journey as well. However, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was I wanted to capture: physicality? sexuality? spirit? strength? happiness? normality? I was afraid if I tried myself, I might miss it, whatever it was. I’ve admired Carlie’s work for some time now, her ability to capture the essence of a moment so beautifully. I wrote to her, explained myself as best I could and before I knew it, we’d scheduled a session. She was so honest and engaged and I am so grateful for her talents. I face this new year with as much courage as I do optimism: this is a year of serious work for me with the pay-off down the road of being cancer-free. I look at these pictures when I need to remember who I am. I look at them to draw strength from myself when I can’t seem to find it in my own skin. It’s there, captured in these images, by one amazing Carlie Statsky. Thank you, Carlie. Happy New Year, everybody.’

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the brians | family portrait session | bay area photographer

I have known this beautiful mama since the 7th grade. She is a such a loyal and dear friend and I feel so honored that she has chosen me to photograph her wedding, her pregnancies, her first born and her now her complete family. We met at Pigeon Point Lighthouse on the California coast, and had so much fun just hanging out together in the salty and brisk morning air. I don’t think I have ever photographed a young boy who is as sweet and as good a listener as her son, and her daughter has grown up into the cutest and most curious little toddler already. Seeing them all reminds me of how quickly time passes, and I love photography for helping to slow things down a little by freezing a few fleeting moments.

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