FREE Portraits for Military Families

First, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads! I hope you will be spending the day with your family and friends!

We are now offering a free portrait session (including an 8×10 print) to families who have, or will have, a loved one serving in the military overseas. There is a huge sacrifice our military members are making, and their families sacrifice, too. So to help a bit, we are making this offer.

It’s simple: if you have a family member going overseas, give us a call, 909.981.6318, and we will set up a time for an in-studio portrait of your family before he/she leaves. Or, if you want to send a photo of your family member who is already out of the country, we will provide you with a digital file for emailing.

There is absolutely no cost for this, and no obligation to buy anything. In fact, we won’t even ask.

I wanted to announce this today, Father’s Day, in honor of my dad. He’s 81 years old, and served in Europe in World War 2.

Even if you don’t have a family member in the military, you can help out by spreading the word to someone you know who may want to have their portrait made. Thanks for your help on this!

Have a great day, everyone!

Kiana: Senior!

Kiana is graduating from Ontario High School in a few weeks. Wow! This girl does it all! She’s a cheerleader:

She’s the ASB President:

She’s going to Stanford next fall:

Prom Court:

And oh, yeah . . . did I mention she has a 4.3 GPA???

You would think that, with all she has done, it would go to her head. No way! She is one of the nicest, most humble people I have met! Kiana, thank you for coming in! You are a beautiful person - inside and out!

Erin: College Senior!

Erin is beautiful, and really, really smart! In fact, she is tied to be Valedictorian of her class. Geez, I had to look up the word to even be able to spell it! We got some super-cool relaxed portraits of her. Here are some of my favorites:

Here’s another. Look at how cute!

Not-your-typical cap and gown shot! I love it!

I’ve known Erin and her family for a couple of years, and it is so cool to see each of them as they graduate. So far, I have had the chance to photograph her two sisters graduating from high school, as well as a really fun family portrait!

Way to go, Erin! I am so happy for you and what you have accomplished!

iTunes Is Having a Birthday!

iTunes is five years old today! In some ways it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but in other ways, it’s hard to imagine not having it! I almost never buy CDs any more, I find it so much easier to download from iTunes. You can check out iTunes and a look back over the last five years by clicking HERE.

Remie and Chris: Wedding

Remie and Chris both looked amazing on their wedding day yesterday! Here they are in the nice late afternoon light:

Their cake was gorgeous:

The rings!

First dance:

They had a photo from their engagement session at the beach along with a candle filled with shells on each table:

The end of a wonderful day of celebration and love:

Thank you so much, Remie and Chris, we were proud to be part of your day! Have a great honeymoon! See you when you get back!

Celebrity Golf Tournament

Once again this year we were honored to photograph the annual Benefit Golf Tournament for the Inland Valley Hope Partners. This organization provides food, clothing and temporary shelter for the growing number of homeless people in our area. It is an eye-opening experience to see how desperate many families have become because of circumstances they cannot control. Everyone’s plight is sad, but it is especially sad to see the effects on children. IVHP works hard to help reduce the suffering, and I am proud to be a part of their outreach.

The tournament was held at the wonderful Sierra LaVerne Country Club. It was a beautiful day, with lots of golfers. The celeb is Anthony Munoz, who grew up in Ontario, and played football for the Cincinnati Bengals. Here he is with one of the foursomes:

Later, at the dinner with the golfers who had the best score of the day:

It was a full day. We photographed the tournament all afternoon. Then, during dinner, we printed photos for everyone who golfed. The people really like the souvenir because they get a photo with Anthony, who is a local superstar! Besides golf tournaments, Anthony has a foundation of his own that benefits kids by helping them become leaders!

It is so good to see people doing all sorts of things to help others. Most of the people who supported the golf tournament will never meet the people they are helping, but that doesn’t matter. They know there is a need, and they are there to help!

Marcus: Senior!

I’d like you to meet Marcus, a senior at Damien High School. He’s a running back on the football team, and also competes in track. He is a super-nice guy, and has a terrific smile, as you can see here:

Some fun with the football:

I love this one:

Thank you for coming in, Marcus! It was great to meet you. Have fun at graduation!

Brittany: Senior!

Brittany is a beautiful person, certainly on the outside, but also on the inside! We had a great time in her photo session!

Most all of our seniors order a composite, because it is a nice way to have several great photos to display on the wall! Usually we do at least 12 poses, so there are lots of photos to choose. A composite makes it a little easier to choose! Here’s Brittany’s:

Congrats on your upcoming graduation, Brittany! And thanks for letting us be a part of your senior memories!

Juno

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a huge film fan, mostly the films that are more off-beat, and not so much the blockbuster type. Well, between being sick off and on for the past couple of months, and trying to stay caught up with all the studio work, I haven’t seen many films lately. Finally, last night, I saw Juno. I’ve been wanting to see this one for a long time. It got decidedly mixed reviews, with lots of people on both sides. Frankly, I thought it was great! Ellen Page, who is Juno, is a really good actress. She played the role of a pregnant 16 year old very convincingly. Her step-mom, played by Allison Janney, was, in my mind, the other role that made the film so funny. She delivers her dark-humor lines flawlessly, and a couple of times I laughed out loud.

The film is not primarily a comedy, but there are some really funny lines. I wasn’t prepared for that. Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend it. It’s rated PG-13, and it deserves every bit of that rating. So, not for the young ones. You can read more about it over at IMDB.

Kaydee and Mike: Rehearsal and Wedding!

Kaydee and Mike are such a great couple! Both are very laid-back and easy-going, my kind of people! Their wedding was beautiful, a true celebration of their love and the support of their family and friends (Kaydee’s brother is the minister who performed the ceremony!)

Here’s one of my favorite shots from their first dance. You can see the love!

Thank you so much, Kaydee and Mike! Here’s your “sneak-peak” slideshow.