For Freedom
“Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.”
An outtake from my shoot with Anica. Happy 4th y’all!
Pregnancy is a magical moment in your life when you discover the extent of womanhood, something that connects you to all the generations before you. Depicting the essence of maternity had to be done against the backdrop of the natural landscape.
Photos albums are highlight reels of our lives, where I get to tell my story through my own eyes.
During a last minute work trip to New York last week, I squeezed in a studio session with my friend Anica. What a treat getting to book space in a city where photography still exists.
In the hills of Saratoga, California, on the first warm spring day this year, H+J tied the knot at the historic Hakone Gardens, surrounded by cherry blossoms, cascading waterfalls, and a thousand origami cranes.
Shannon mentioned she had recently inherited clothing from her grandmother-in-law. I knew we had to do a shoot.
I set up a casual portrait session in my office photo studio and revisited my favorite lighting setup: one light, one softbox, and a fan.
My friend Lexus got married in front of family and friends at the beautiful Fairview Crystal Springs in Burlingame. And I got to be there to witness and capture the action.
My sister Shirley is graduating this month after 4 long years at Berkeley, and I’d been waiting to take these photos. Little did we know 2020 would have other plans.
Glad we got to go out and enjoy a breath of fresh air in this coastal town I have near and dear to my heart.
This was my first time shooting maternity, and what an opportunity to capture portraits of womanhood, beauty, and the unbelievable wonder of the female body.
Misa's been working as a commercial model for over 10 years, and I was fortunate to have gotten to test shoot with her on campus before her TED talk
Ultimately it’s the fine art work I’m drawn to. It’s portraiture, natural expression, the female form, shapes, earth’s elements, and movement.
This past surprisingly sunny weekend in San Francisco, I got to test shoot with Sarah, who recently signed with Nomad Management in LA.
An exquisite estate with a historic Georgian-style mansion and manicured gardens, Filoli was the perfect place to spend a warm summer afternoon sipping rosé and catching up on the latest details of each other’s busy lives.
At a museum full of ancient art and sculptures, being able to replicate that artistic expression and the beauty of the human body outside its walls was a vision come true.
The air was cool and breezy, a refreshing break from the historical San Francisco June gloom. With a bag full of leotards and fabrics, we were ready to play.
We did an impromptu engagement shoot in their yard, surrounded by their beloved fruit trees and chickens.
You know when people ask you what you’d do with your life if money were no object? It would be this.
They stood on an open patch of grass, framed by the most amazing cypress trees. Michelle got down on one knee and everything fell into place.
It all about the lines, facial expression, light, and fashion coming together to create a mood. And that’s not science, but art.
Who would’ve guessed that ten years later, while the world embraces a collective nostalgia for 2016, I’d find myself revisiting this hobby again.