the eyes on those kids....fantastic.
loved spending early evening in the park with your family. great light, great weather, great company.
I can't believe you have 5 kids...beautiful, well behaved AND extremely happy. I could tell they were all really happy.
here's to happy families!
he was very sleepy for aunt rach and could barely squeeze his eyes open to take a peak. so cute.
what a beautiful new family.
love you guys.
ps. when can we babysit?!
..of some of the goodness I shot while in utah this last week.in celebration of banans birthday I took her and kateford to the beehive tea room for lunch. I think we ordered one of everything. anna had peppermint tea while kate and I enjoyed dark european hot cocoa. I think my favorite thing we ordered was the scones (english scones w/jam). love the food and the quaint decor.
then after a short photoshoot in memory grove, we wizzed on over to classic skating were we pretty much owned the floor....well.....they did. I was a bit rusty. I think the last time I was on skates was junior high. I think if I had a couple more hours I could have gone pro. It was pretty awesome. great idea ann. your birthday was fun.
then we started our roadtrip back to LA with a stop at mom's cafe in salina ut for some hot scones (the utah kind, deep fried and covered in honey butter). I had been craving and we had to have! we got there right before closing and gave ourselves gut bombs gorging on delicious gooey bread.
(all photos taken on my iphone)....next adventure, yosemite national park!
please let me be blessed with children this adorable.
the 5yr old giggled every time I looked at him and the two year old had 4 outfits changes without a breakdown....and can we just talk about this squishy newborn? she was OUT. we tried waking her up but she was just too sleepy from all the eating and sleeping she does. exhausted.
beautiful children and beautiful home (don't you just love that door?). thank you for letting me invade!
it has been said that I have some pretty great friends. what they say is true. I would say I have the tres leches of friends. the ripe mango of friends. the kauai of friends. I have the BEST friends.
I have what I call "3am" friends. you know, the ones you can call at 3am when you REALLY need them. I believe each of us only have a handful of these types of people in our lives. matt and heather are 3am friends. being a 3am friend doesn't come without sacrifice (like phone calls in the middle of the night), but there are perks as well! like my complete devotion and loyalty, as well as the occasional photo shoot.
spending a week in the wind rushing state of oklahoma to be with my newest baby girl and her family was amazing. our week together was planned in 3hrs increments...which usually consisted of eating, playing, sleeping, pooping, eating, playing, sleeping, pooping. for a non scheduled girl like me this household was a machine! I think I can still smell the formula and that sweet little body after bath time. seriously, does anything smell better than post bath baby?
I watched in awe as I saw first hand the transformation of these two into parents. they are naturals! the love, and adoring and cooing and instincts were all there. all and more. I loved matt and heather before but after seeing them as parents I think I love them a little more. such selflessness. such sacrifice. but just like being a 3am friend has it's perks so does being a parent. olive is flawless! happy is an understatement. for sure one of the easiest babies I have ever been around. and can we talk about her plus my camera? um, is it normal for a 7 week old to stare into my lens with big wondering eyes?! NO! but olive, being flawless as she is, stared into my lens the entire week. not kidding. we even tried to get her to look away but her eyes were transfixed. somewhere deep inside I want to believe she will take after her auntie and become my apprentice.....or maybe she is the smartest 7week old in the history of time. whatever the genius, taking photos of her was a complete and total dream.
olive, stop being 17yrs old! never get bigger! make those cooing noises as you fall asleep forever! always look right into your auntie rachel's lens! never stop the kung fu panda moves right before you fall asleep! move closer to me! smoosh smoosh smoosh smoosh!!!!!!!!!!
all my love to my favorite new family.
this family is great. we once did polynesian dances at a party together.
I have no doubt they will be wonderful parents to this little dude. not only does mama come from a fairly huge family, where she helped to raise many small kidlins, but they are both natural and instinctual and obviously in love.
congratulations on getting to this chapter in your life. so many surprises around the corner.
give the wee one a squeeze for me. xo.
the last few weeks has just been full of belly's and babies. being pregnant is the new black.
this bathing beauty is none other than the fabulous and talented julia. she is a talented graphic designer and photographer (check her work out here), BUT she is also really good at being pregnant and really good at being pregnant in a bikini. can you say AWESOME!?
when we starting talking about taking these photos I couldn't stop envisioning this pool with the chairs and cool mod vibe. I suggested the idea to julia and she was on board...and I was so glad. there are not very many woman that would be up to what I wanted, skin, and lots of it. julia was amazing! perfect for this shoot. exotic, sexy and naturally buoyant.
jan, julia's husband, was so great and accommodating. I barked out orders and he and grant jumped to help. we did have to work around the sweet grumpy man swimming in the pool and the woman in the apartment building who was apparently stressed by the floating pregnant woman. love photo shoot trials. they make me want to get the perfect shot that much more. worked both of those grumps!
julia and jan thank you for the fun. you are both going to be such amazing parents to our little mango. see you at the hospital!!!!! xo.
this baby was so tiny and new when I photographed her, that her umbilical cord was still in. for some reason this really hit me. new, new life.
she was completely perfect. perfect skin, perfect demeanor, perfect little lips and hands and feet...and I do have to say perfect style. this should come as no surprise given that both her parents are amazing designers and artists (her mom is the president of clever creative and her dad is the president of gabor + allen, a design, build and landscape company).
jonathan adler ceramics and other sentimental and beautiful art adorned the nursery and the rest of the house. I'm already excited at the prospect of photographing her when she is sitting because they had so many amazing chairs. I especially loved the simple "grey" onesie she wore. classic and simple. LOVE.
thank you for letting me inside your inspiring home to photograph your precious little bundle. I ate up every minute.
xo.
this is the way, in my opinion, a family should be photographed. in their home, comfortable and doing what they normally do.
I don't have kids yet, but when I do I can only imagine I will want to remember them being themselves....and not being forced to take photos that tell nothing of their personalities or age.
this family really impresses me. they are classy, but down to earth. stylish but functional. they were great to work with.
they let me reek havoc on their home, and trusted me to shoot. this is key, they "trusted" me. don't hire me if you are worried I won't photograph something the way you want. hire me because you trust I will (this of course involves healthy communication), but you get what I'm at. when a client lets me shoot, I can use my instinct, get my creative juices flowing and let myself be inspired. thank you for letting me do just that. I'm not saying it's a perfect science yet, but at least the flaws are genuine.
cripe family, I know you love black and white photographs, but I couldn't bring myself to lose the color. I have a color addiction. I also have a cripe addiction.
love, love, love your kids. love, love, love your family.
the nanny goat making some delicious cinnamon rolls
grant and I hid easter eggs. can you find the one in the lemon tree?
mini tramp, big hit with the little people
grant gave baby wright a little chair to sit on and we covered him in a blanket. he sat there for a long time.
my steph
almost walking!!!
taking photos of tani...I either get this face (upbove) or this side (below).
what a great day. church with grant's parents, then dinner with family and friends. I loved having all (but one) of my nieces and nephews in one place. matt and nikki where also there (no photos to prove..sorry)... I truly feel like they are family too. did I mention there was sunshine and perfect 70 degree weather? I love california.
tristan getting his first conference foot rub..and loving it!
wright jr. actually asked to have his photo taken. I am madly in love with this two yr old.
faith, doing what she does, performing. I think she has over 500 songs memorized.
crazy girls with their dad.
aunt rachel getting in on some of the love (photo taken by the grant).
I love tristan's face, his hand on his brother and the car shoes.
tay kept sticking her head in the temple fountain. she just needed to "cool" off.
I have the best memories growing up of spending conference sunday with family. we would have a big breakfast, snuggle in our jammies, give each other foot rubs (mom's tradition) and eventually fall asleep....all while listening intently to the words of the prophet. I'll be honest, it was pretty exciting to get to spend church time in pajamas.
my mom would always turn on "the music and the spoken word", sung by the mormon tabernacle choir. she blasted it throughout the house signaling to us that it was time to drag ourselves to the TV. wrapped like mummies in our blankets, because the house was right around arctic levels, we would nestle in together. the body heat and the words we were about to hear were a simply a matter of survival.
this last conference sunday, wright, steph and kidlins came for a visit to the little blue house. It was fantastic!
grant and I made breakfast....scrambled eggs, homefries (with purple potatoes big wright was too freaked out to eat), bacon, frothy banana oj and homemade cinnamon rolls. delicious to the max.
our house is not the biggest, in fact, probably the smallest. I was curious to see how the kids would manage. they did great. I think for the most part they thought they were in a house made for little people like them.
some of my favorite quotes of the day:
"rachel and grant, I really love your house"- taylor
" I just love how many windows there are that you can open up!"- taylor
" were are we going to eat?"- taylor
"grant, how do you even sleep in here? It's so small!"- faith
" I want water"- wright jr.
"I want grape juice"- wright jr.
"I want milk"- wright jr.
" I think I need to stick my head in the water one more time"- taylor
" want to hear a song?"- faith
We half watched and half maintained madness then went for a visit to the LA temple. I loved having them in my home. I am thrilled they love so close to us now. I can't get enough of those wee ones.
born february 7th, 2009, 1:43 pm. at 6lbs he was so small he looked like all body and no legs! we weren't there until a few hours after the birth....and the natural light was gone (boo), but I still think we got some adorable photos despite the harsh overhead lighting. listen to me!! complaining about lighting! what is my problem?! A BABY WAS BORN! I think I was a bit of a holding hog, and grant was getting funny ideas about me being more ready for kids than I let on.....one big decision at a time please!
tribe we love you and already miss you! all day yesterday I would keep randomly asking grant, "where's the baby?"....and after he responding a million times, "I know, you miss him...he's in orange county"....he finally stopped responding, but I kept asking, "where's the baby?". I couldn't help myself. I love myself some newborn baby.
last night we heard the news that grant's brother in law died in motorcycle accident.
he leaves behind a beautiful wife and 6yr old son.
he was a man full of laughter and generosity.
this weekend we had a particularly interesting look at the fragile nature of life. on saturday, a new nephew was born and on sunday, mark passed away. both events make my mundane list of tasks today seem so unimportant....but my life as a whole much more meaningful.
our prayers and sincere support and love go to heather and jacob.
some of the best subjects for a photo EVER!
mom's homemade pumpkin pie and one of my favorite pass times, watching through the window.
if you want to print a thanksgiving roll basket wall size, let me know. I understand.
kitchen window. strange things seemed to appear....
baby wright was OBSESSED with being perched on the window, sink sprayer in hand...so close to figuring it out..
faith's adorable place cards. she is so creative. best party director hands down.
family prayer (staged!!!!...they loved waiting for that one)
the perfect bite. one of g's and I's favorite challenges.
faith got the whole family outside playing "shark". tag game with safe spots. I had a good time not trying very hard, but grant was sliding and sweating and tripping kids to get to safe spots. 
have you ever seen sneakers that white?! I'm impressed dad. what is your secret?
saying goodbye can be hard. goodbye thanksgiving. goodbye christmas, BUT saying hello can be very fun. hello 2009. hello getting married. hello photo projects. so many things I am excited to say hello to. It's going to be a good year.
later 2008.
a little bit of christmas baby, a little bit of newborn.. a little bit of family and a little bit of cat on beautiful yellow chairs.. a little bit of sucking on dad's nose (cute/gross), a little bit (more like TONS) of drool and little bit of hair pulling.. a little bit of snuggling and a lot of being in love.
I had the best day in san diego with you guys. our 1 hour turned into 5 and I was kind of glad. it gave me 4 more hours of getting to know you and your adorable scrumptious baby girl. make lots more just like her. xo.
when my friend steven asked me to take some portraits of his paternal grandfather, the initial idea he had was to recreate a image of gpa puente in his boxing shorts. I was excited. taking photographs showing life, history or stories of individuals are my favorite type of portraits. we never ended up being able to talk this 80 something man into changing into nothing but mini boxing shorts and then letting a complete stranger take photos of him...but in the end it didn't really matter.
he is a natural born story teller. he just talked talked and told and laughed and flattered and charmed his way into the middle of my camera, where I tried to bottle his charisma. we ate some oatmeal, hit some golf balls, rummaged around in the garage. he blew me kisses, told more stories and explained to me who people were in all the frames. we took a small visit to the community senior center where it was evident he had charmed everyone there as well, and then back to the house to pick some avocados off of a huge overgrown avocado tree looming in the backyard.
this whole shoot really got me thinking about how important it is to do family history...not only in writing but also with photographs! I know before I took some photos of my grandma henriksen I thought, "but my grandpa has already passed away...I should have done it earlier...maybe it's too late..". It's NOT too late! don't wait to preserve memories. don't miss a chance to help tell the story of a grandparent or a family member. I want to remember (probably the number one reason why I am a photographer) and I know you want to remember as well.
I feel honored to have been invited into grandpa puentes home. his life has been rich and full and I can tell and feel that he is loved by many people.
If you are interested in having me shoot a photo story of a family member, friend, or yourself, please let me know! It's great to have a nicely composed, picture perfect photo of your child or your family, but how amazing would it be to also document your family doing what it does, LIVING LIFE! in your home, neighborhood, favorite park, eatery...getting ready for school, making dinner, decorating the christmas tree... I would love to create a family history for you through photographs.
tis the season to remember and feel thanks.
xxoo- rachel
introducing my soon to be sister in law, with darren making a guest appearance (g's brother) and the real show stopper, little baby bump! our very own baby battlestar! my cute cuddly, mad over his aunt rachel, soon to be nephew!
photographing and looking at these images truly remind me how blessed I am to be adding these people to my life.
jenny has been such a positive influence on me this past year and a half. she is one of the most Christ like people I know. so forgiving. so generous. so accepting. she is a magnificent mother, wife, woman and sister. her smile makes me smile and her love helps me feel welcomed into her and her family's life. I love darren for being so kind to me and for showing his desire to be close to family. I love chasen for showing so much inner strength amidst life's challenges. I love jori for tenderly letting me know I'm needed. it wasn't long after grant and I started dating seriously that jori said to me "I hope you and grant are always together", when I asked her why, she responded, "because I don't want to lose you". is there a better compliment coming from a child? I love tani for her energy, personality and bright spirit. AND I love baby battlestar. I look forward to him making messes, screaming all day long, peeing on everything in sight and me still melting every time when he looks at me with his perfect little face.
jenny, thanks for adding so much beauty to my life. I love you.
this family is seriously awesome.
I photographed their wedding almost exactly a year ago and even on that very day, when I didn't really know either of them, I felt like I did. they are so gracious, laid back and just all around beautiful people.
their son riley is so adorable. I love the fact that both of his parents practically grew up in the ocean and he doesn't want to come within 20 feet of it. he would scream and point to land any time we even approached foam...but as you can see as long as we were a healthy distance away he was super easy to photograph. by the end of the shoot he had lost all fear (and I dare say may have developed a crush) and was all up in my wide angle's grill...made for some GREAT images.
thanks you guys for yet another fun saturday at the beach house.
(psss. this location is where we will be having our wedding dinner/party....I am seriously freaking out over it. private beach cove, complete with a fire pit inside the beach house!!! thank you so much m & p!! xxoo)
