::MINIvaca::part 2

...on our way home from CA last weekend, we made a small side trip to Joshua Tree National Park...Gotta' make use of our national park pass, right?! my husband is not a big of fan of these trees, but by the time we finished driving through the park, he got 'used' to them....they no longer bother him like they did! (strange.ness!) most of the park looked like it came straight from a Dr Suess book... very cool, i would love to come back and shoot when i have more time to stop and smell the rose, and maybe even do one of the many hiking trails...next time!

::MINIvaca::part 1

...it had been in the works since the end of january... my husband 'stumbled' upon some clues at the end of feb, but it was still an amazing weekend...a long time ago (BC:before child) we would just get up and go somewhere for a weekend, just the two of us, doing everything from scuba diving to sitting on the beach and flying kites... we had not done anything like this since our baby was born (almost 2 yrs ago) so i had planned a weekend away in Santa Clarita, CA right next to Six Flags Magic Mountian, it was awesome! just the two of us, just like old times....we spent all day fri/sat at the park ... sat evening drove down to Santa Monica Pier...it was beautiful... here are some pictures of our time at the beach....

::Tea Time::

...yes, i know it has been about a week since the "Tax Day" Tea Parties sprung up all across the nation on the 15th...(i have had no time to edit any personal stuff as of late)... now let it be stated, i am not one to discuss my political stance on a 'business' blog, but i can not help myself from attending gatherings of masses proclaiming their beliefs, whether it be "no more taxes" or "no oil for blood" (yes, i have attended a few anti-war rallies in San Francisco) For me, its not a political thing, its a people thing.... I just love to see the emotions on people's faces, their passion on display, its so beautiful to see free speech in action!! this was a rather mild gathering, but i had a great time shooting!! i also shot w/ my old 35mm pentax, positive film, gotta get it down to the lab...

::Biting the Bulllet::

...i did it! i upgraded my camera equipment....not that my D300 is outdated by any means or that its not doing what i need, its just that we actually needed a second camera... (when did that happen?!) ....i have really been back and forth about such a big purchase (this new camera requires all new lenses!!)...agh!!... but it needed to happen, we are getting too busy for just one camera to do all the work (i mean what if my D300, heaven forbid, stopped working in the middle of a wedding ceremony?!) we need a back up... and since we will have two cameras now, we can successfully have a second shooter for weddings... so i would like to introduce to you all... the newest member of the DOLCE family: The Nikon D3, full frame slice of heaven!!

::Chase::

... i cant help but think about when i gradutated highschool... ugh!! could it really have been nine years ago?!.. it honestly feels like i just walked down that big aisle to get my dipolma... it makes me feel really old to know that i have been out of HS that long... i bring this up because i got to hang out with Chase and his family to shoot his senior portraits... this is most laid back kid i think i have ever met!!.. his beautiful girlfriend and sister where also on location for the shoot so i just shot 'em all.... what a great way to spend an afternoon!!