Some of my favorite things. . .

Dinners at Esalen in Big Sur . . .



Exploring history . . . {Carnton Historic Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee in October 2007 with one of my favorite people.}



Moments like these . . .







Evenings like these . . .





Seasons . . .

Miss Molly Ann from Bloomfield, NJ!

Seeing little one's is always a great way to give me perspective on time. During my trip across the country, I stopped by my cousin's house in New Jersey to visit and see the cutest little one I know, Miss Molly Ann. It's been two whole years since I've seen her and the rest of my family in New Jersey. That's just far too long! Miss Molly is just the best and it was pretty amazing to see how much she's grown!

We made up for lost time pretty fast.



She LOVES my cousin Valerie's sporty car.



And going for walks with her mom.

Photo journal update : Hello BUSY season!

I will be updating the blog with some recent portrait sessions and events. It's been a few weeks since I've had time and I've had some big changes take place in my life SO I will be updating the blog with some big news as well! Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!!

Big Sur Recap

Yesterday, Mason hung up a big map I had lying around of the United States. It was a nice surprise to come home to after a long wedding day. Basically, the idea is to pin where we've been together, where we want to go and serve as a great reminder that there is so much to see outside of our little world here. It was the first morning waking up and seeing this map which lead me to think about all of the exploring we've done in the past several months. We've seen so much and traveled well over 9,000 miles together. We're very lucky to have found each other at this point in our lives and are able to do all of the things we love to do.

Just like our journey across the country, we two have hit many bumps in the road and bad weather yet all along we've been able to teach each other many life lessons. I woke up very grateful for these past couple of months and wanted to share the Big Sur video that Mason put together. He shot the video, incorporated songs we listened to along our trip and my photographs. We didn't orchestrate or discuss putting these two forms of media together. It happened organically and it's only part 1.

So, if you're at all interested in a "vacation video" please enjoy a view into our camping trip to Big Sur in May 2008.

Storms along the US of A . . .

Mason and I encountered many storms along our journey across the USA in June. We were driving through Nebraska and Iowa as the storms hit which caused the major flooding in the mid-west. I'm sure you saw on the coverage on the news as we felt the wrath in our car. We were stuck in Des Moines for two days while the biggest storms went over and passed. We listened to emergency XM station for days and learned to appreciate our sunny Southern California bubble.

We were about 15 miles from a tornado that touched down in Nebraska. Experienced walls of rain, wind that still makes me cringe and lighting and thunder light shows. Luckily, Leo and Roscoe [our dogs/kids] just spooned away in their dog bed, snoring and totally unaware or unaffected by what we were going through in the front seat. Props to Mason for his incredible driving during these storms.

We hit the biggest storm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The next day on the front page of the local papers the headline was, 'Freak Storm Hits New Mexico' We had the pleasure of witnessing it strapped to our seats. Nothing like a little white knuckle driving every now and again.

Here are some photographs that need no explanation other than Mother Nature = WOW.

Dennistown Maine : Population 30

Highly enjoying our stay in Dennistown Maine with my parents. This place is the ultimate place to relax, breath, kick back and enjoy the people who matter the most. It's been raining here on and off so in between the weather we cruise out on one lane logging roads in search of spotting moose or other critters, eating ice cream cones, making great meals, napping, playing with my Dad's new Wii [crack up!], watching pretty big storms go over the lake, getting eaten alive by bugs and all itching together.

Here are some photographs of wildlife we've come across and other things I've found to be interesting around the area.

Off to Big Sur . . . .

One of my favorite places on earth that I have visited is Big Sur, California.
Mason and I are taking a trip tomorrow to camp in two amazing spots up there and to kick off this trip I wanted to post a photo or two from my trip up there last September. This shot is one of my favorite photographs of all time. It's a view from Esalen :: right outside of the room where I attended an amazing week long workshop. The tin roofs that you see are the natural hot springs AND where you can have one of the best massages in the world - all right on the edge of a cliff above that massive ocean.



Esalen is located on a pretty large piece of property and in the center is an entrance to a canyon hike through the redwood trees. Here is the fall canyon floor and Highway 1 goes straight through.



This camping trip is to KICK OFF a pretty exciting trip we are planning that starts June 1. We are leaving in the very early morning with our two dogs and heading to Maine. Along the way we plan on camping, hiking and seeing friends in Sedona, AZ, Grand Canyon, Moab, UT, Boulder, CO -- cruising through the mid-west unless someone has suggestions of what you do there -- heading north to Niagara Falls, Western Massachusetts, Dennistown, Maine, PA, NJ, NYC. We have tickets to see Thievery Corporation in Central Park on June 26 and then we're heading back. We're planning on going pretty fast on the way back because I have weddings on the books but we are SO STOKED!! It's a photography video adventure and the awesomest thing is that I can pull into my parents driveway in my car with my little family! I haven't been able to do that in almost a decade!!

Coachella Music Festival 2008

Well. . after much debate I decided to go to Coachella Music Festival last Wednesday. I'm SO glad that I went. Music and crowds have always been a great way to refuel my creativity. They don't allow SLR cameras in so even without my camera I found myself taking pictures and watching for right moments between people, couples, reactions, lighting, etc. It's a hot, loud environment yet it's a great place to just "look, see, think".

I got to see many of my favorite musicians. . . Sia, Stars, John Butler Trio, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Raconteurs, Gogol Bordello. The headliner for Sunday was Roger Waters who totally killed it with surround sound, political messages and a light show. During the middle of the show they brought this gigantic hot air balloon size Pig out into the crowd of approx. 35,000 people. "The Pig displayed the words "Don't be led to the slaughter" and a cartoon of Uncle Sam wielding two bloody cleavers. The other side read "Fear builds walls."

The underside of the pig simply read "Obama" with a checked ballot box alongside, referring to U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill."

The Pig was lead around the crowd and when it got to the right side it was released. I thought for sure it was an accident as I just can't imagine getting approval from air traffic to let this huge thing fly wherever yet everyone around me said that they probably have GPS so they can track the pig. Either way we watched it float out until it was out of sight. Around that time, a small plane flew over and dumped a trail of something out above us. All of this being a mystery we found out on Monday that the Pig WAS accidentally released and it was found in two people's yards in La Quinta. They received a $10,000 reward PLUS 4 Coachella tickets for life. Can you imagine walking up and seeing something like this in your yard??



The plane dropped a trail of confetti that had Pro Obama messages typed on it. The plane missed Coachella so the confetti decorated neighborhoods around the fields. None of this was approved so there has been controversy regarding these two major decision to pollute the air and land. It doesn't rain in the desert so these pieces of paper aren't going to just go away. Craziness!!

Either way it was a great time with friends and I highly recommend checking this out next year!

Downtown fun!

Baseball season has begun! The neighborhood is changing and it's just too ridiculous that we have this amazing view of the games.



We're taking reservations for those of you would who like to join us rooftop to watch a game. There are two big grills and a flat screen for a closer view so it's cozy! Come on down and join us!!

Also, just had to share our two boys. Roscoe the Rascal and Leo Mullen: : Mason took this photo opening night while I was at Morgan Run. This photo captures their personalities unbelievably. All Mason has to say to Leo is: : "Do you like Rick Rubin?" and Leo does that adorable well known Pug head tilt. We do that to him all day long. Poor dog.

Time for a recap!

I left off right before my journey back east for Thanksgiving. Originally, my quest was to spend time with friends and family and right before I left I thought maybe it would be a good idea to check out Boston for the possibility of someday relocating there. My parents just moved from Pennsylvania to Maine and I thought it would be a great base AND I could drive up to see my parents. The thought of having a Sunday dinner with my Mom and Dad is just too good. I've been out in California since 2001 so we only get the opportunity to have dinner together every so often. The idea was pretty tempting. . .

I stayed with my friends Mr. & Mrs. Marianne and Neil in Andover right outside of Boston. I photographed their wedding in 2005 in Boston and they just relocated from San Diego to Boston last year. I was very excited too see their new digs. We had an amazing time touring the city, enjoying lots of great wine and catching up.

Marianne + Neil + Madison




Next stop, Bernardston, Massachusetts to see my sister from another mother, Shelley. I had the opportunity to photograph her on a friend's farm in Vermont. We FROZE! Yet, it was so great to have her in front of my lens.







During my visit, I was invited to take part in the annual Hallmark Institute of Photography Alumni Roundtable. It was an exciting opportunity to come back and speak to the students about our journey's since graduation. Myself and 6 other Hallmark graduates took part and we had a blast!




My parents even made it to the event and straight from Hallmark we took off to see their brand new home in Maine.

Their new road home:



The day before Thanksgiving we took a ride together around Jackman. I hadn't been there since summer of 2000 so it was nice to see the area and Moosehead lake when it's snowy.

Ma and Pa on their new porch!! :)



This is one of my favorite shots of me and my dad!! Taken by my talented mom.



Our first Thanksgiving together in Maine.





My new bedroom.



The Mullens.




It was my parents dream to find a home in this area of Maine where we vacationed almost every year when I was a kid. They found and were able to make this dream come true. It's amazing to see my parents in this chapter of their lives. This trip was very memorable for me and I cannot wait to get back there! Currently, they have about 8+ feet of snow!!



Then it was back to California to take care of some major changes and enjoy our first family Christmas in California. My parents flew out on Christmas Eve and with the help of Mason we surprised them with a Christmas tree.





2007 was an amazing year for personal growth and accomplishment. I'm so thankful for all of my experiences last year as I was able to start 2008 off by moving forward, starting my own business and relocating to downtown San Diego. Life is GOOD!!