First post from the new house

Well, I'm sitting here in my new home office, just having gotten the Internet hooked up and figured I'd post something. Movers are finishing up and the house is coming together. Really excited about the detached studio that will become a showroom for clients/prospects.! More to come!

New Emme pix

So now that Emme is walking, it's been tougher and tougher to get her to sit still for the camera. Managed to catch a few of her while we have been camping at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Castello di Pergolato

So lots of people have asked me to post some pictures of the Tuscan castle in which I stayed for the Colangelo/Rief wedding. Here you go.

My bedroom:


The view out of my bedroom window:


View of the ceremony site, overlooking the Tuscan countryside:


Armor and cool daggers:

Matt and Jennifer Mulethaler--Maternity Shoot

Jen and Matt are having their first baby in the *very* near future and wanted some nice maternity images done before the big day. Matt and I went to high school together, and Jen and my wife are former co-workers. We're lucky to have them as friends and are thrilled for the new addition to their family.

These images were shot at Matt's parents' property, which is tucked away in a little-known pocket of Encinitas. There's this cool tunnel that goes through this large sandstone ridge on the property, which is where these were taken.

Patti and Fernando

Patti and Fernando are getting married in Vegas, but they wanted some fun and romantic portraits shot before then. So, we spent the afternoon cruising the streets of La Jolla and then ventured down to the beach towards sunset. Total naturals in front of the camera and an absolute pleasure to shoot.

Wedding of Derek and Melissa

Sitting here while my daughter eats her cinnamon toast, bananas, and Cheerios, I completely forgot to update my blog!

Derek and Melissa were married back in June at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula. Such a fantastic couple to work with, so fun and romantic with two warm, welcoming families. Here are some highlights.

Engagement of Sarah and Matthew

Since my sister, Sarah, and her fiancee, Matthew, joined us in Italy, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get some great engagement photos.

The town of Montecatini Terme is known for its thermal spas, the most famous of which is the Tetuccio Spa, which is featured in the images below. We had a great, fun shoot in one of the most unbelievable places on Earth.

Heading home

Well, it was a wonderful and productive week here in Italy--a week we'll never forget. Heck, our one-year old daughter, Emmerson, learned to walk here. Totally cool.

She also learned to speak Italian. Her favorite word is "due", which means "two". She now officially knows more Italian than her parents.

After the wedding, we spent the remainder of the week in Montecatini Terme, enjoying a little downtime with our families, who were kind enough to join us on the trip (although it didn't take a whole lot of prodding to get them to come over).

We are up bright and early this morning awating our flight from Pisa to Rome, then onto Chicago and finally San Diego.

Here's a shot of Jen and Emme enjoying the flight from Rome to Chicago! The built-in camera on my laptop came in handy afterall...

Under a Tuscan Sun -- Wedding of Carrie and Anthony

Carrie and Anthony Colangelo were married at the Castello di Pergolato in Bargino, Italy on July 3, 2006. It was an absolutely gorgeous day filled with great wine, laughs, and lots of Italian-inspired romance.

Thank you, Carrie and Anthony, for allowing me to be part of your wonderful wedding.

Here are a few of my favorite images.

Greetings from London

Well, here we are at beautiful London Gatwick airport, awaiting our flight to Pisa which has been delayed over 2 hours. We've been here for 10 hours already and feel like we're never going to get out of town. Kind of like the movie "Planes, Trains & Automobiles"...

But I digress. We're on our way to beautiful Florence, Italy to photograph the wedding of Carrie Rief and Anthony Colangelo. More when we arrive in Italy and get settled.