San Francisco and Marin Family Adventure Photographer

Sliding on love in San Francisco

Joey — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 06:32:55 +0000

You will remember Anna and Evan from their beautiful Sonoma wedding where he made a grand entrance on old cruiser, she was absolutely stunning and they had a wonderfully unique ceremony where all of their bridal party wished them well in their own way. That was a really great day.

But I got a call last week where I learned they were leaving town for Seattle. So sad to hear but he found a great new job and she has family there so it was pretty much a no brainer. Their wedding package included an engagement session but for all the usual chaos-before-the-wedding reasons we weren’t able to make the time. So this was a favorite San Francisco spots sort of session. Alamo square and the mission were on their list. And as a going away present, I showed them the Seward Street Slides – which are completely awesome if you have been on them yet.

Safe travels Anna and Evan and best wishes in Seattle.

The O Family at Ft. Mason

Joey — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 05:35:32 +0000

In talking with the O family about what they love about San Francisco, walking in Ft. Mason was at the top of their list. Melbourne Australia is their home and they have been in San Francisco for the 3 years. This spring they are moving back home to be closer to family (which anyone with children can completely understand I’m sure). They’ve spent many a day walking the past of Ft. Mason with their wonderful daughter. So to capture the sites and show their people back home, we met one early morning. The San Francisco fog had just lifted and dewy grass sparkled in the morning sun. For most of us, Ft. Mason is one of those places that is so easy to cruise by while on a morning run or ride out to the Golden Gate Bridge. That is such a shame because it really is a beautiful place well worth exploring slowly. We walked along the expansive grassy area, then meandered back up to the hostel and then back the main promenade. The view were amazing throughout and it just made for a wonderful stroll. A perfect San Francisco morning which I hope they will remember for a long time when they get back home.

Thanks O Family and happy travels.

Win a Photo Session by Being Kind

Joey — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 04:54:12 +0000

Random Acts of Kindness – we’ve all done them and we’ve all had them done for you. Once a wonderful gentleman bought me a hotdog after I had to pay a horrible parking fine and I had no cash. Absolutely made my day. I’ve paid for strangers yoga classes and bridge tolls. Being on the receiving end of those acts can be a life saver (or at least make you smile), I’ve found that giving of the kindness is incredibly powerful in its own way.

I wanted to see if I can help foster RAK’s. So I’m raffling off a photo session and print ($200 value) and all you have to do win is to do your own RAK and write about it below. Contest runs from 3/13/12 at 12am to 3/20 at 12 am.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FAQ’s

1. I don’t know what to do, do you have suggestions? Lots of possibilites, but check out Random Acts of Kindness Foundation for a long list.

2. Can I enter more then once? Yes as long as you have different stories.

3. Are there restrictions? Yes – look under the terms and conditions.

4. Can’t I just make it up? Yes you could. But karmically speaking if you do, you will get huge zits right before the photo shoot and no matter what I do you will look fat in every photo. I don’t think that is worth the risk so just go out and do something nice for someone.

5. What if I can’t make any of the session times? You have an entire month to use the session but if there is no way to make any of those times, you can do a another act of kindness and give the session to someone. A few non-profits that work with families: Adopt a Family, Draw Bridge, Canal Alliance and Marin Abused Women Services.

Please share this with other people – It’s all about creating more RAK’s

Warm smiles in the heart of winter

Joey — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:49:04 +0000

January and February are supposed to be cold, dreary months with grey skys and piercing winds. The trees are bare and the hills brown and muddy. Smiles are in short supply and plans are always suspect due to the rain and the snow. Not the most ideal time for family photos one might think. But blame it on global warming or simply the charm of Marin and Northern California but the past few months have been gorgeous and just perfect for family photographs. In those moments the clouds break and the sun shines through, the light is beautiful and the hills are lush and green. Makes me think that photography (and maybe much of life) is about seizing the moment and seeing beauty even when things are cloudy and grey.

If you have an idea for later winter session, give me a call at 415-948-3959.

The Beautiful Payne Family

Joey — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:31:01 +0000

One of the great joys I’ve had this pass year is getting to know Bria and her two beautiful and engaging children – Kai and Gracey. They really are one of the nicest and most genuine families I have met. We share a joy of having adult beverages and conversations at playdates so we have spent many days laughing and playing at Sun Valley Park. Plus Bria is a super yogi and has been helping me with my burgeoning yoga practice. Nice to have someone to laugh with when touching your toe’s seems so difficult. i’ve been exploring different different areas around San Rafael and took them to one of my recent finds. Of course they are so beautiful, fun and camera friendly that we could have done the photos in a garbage dump and they would have turned out great. But the spot I had in mind was nothing compared to the secret bar that Bria showed me on our way home. It seems to be a local spot so I won’t spread the word here but it was amazingly fun and with an amazing view. A little taste:

Ridgewood Trail – San Rafael

Joey — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:06:27 +0000

Ridgewood trail is one of the main hiking trails in the open space between the Sun Valley and Terra Linda areas of San Rafael. The area is beautiful and perfect for hiking, running and even biking with little ones. You can access the area by driving up to Ridgewood Drive or hiking up from Sun Valley School. Since the ridge runs roughly east to west, its nice for early morning and afternoon sessions. All in all a great location for photo sessions and family time.

Adventure Ideas – Parents and Couples

Joey — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:26:17 +0000

Hey Moms and Dads, Husbands and Wives – what are best ideas for doing something adventurous with each other? For my January and February posts I want to highlight your ideas and suggestions for creating activities that are a bit out of the ordinary and memorable. And no – I don’t want those ideas – this is a family blog after all.

Looking for places that you visit or things that you do when you need to break free of the day to day. One example of what I’m talking about was the Little Maitrdee post where Lucius helped me create a surprisingly romantic dinner for Sue and myself. Your idea doesn’t have to be that complicated – just something that you do with your special someone for fun.

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Reminder of what is important

Joey — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:51:13 +0000

Today is one of my writing days when I try to write about a family session or a wedding or some other topic that catches my fancy (last week it was about incorporating our 5 year old son Lucius into our date night). And while I have a slew of topics and sessions to write about, I find my self unable to talk about those generally happy times while so many people are struggling with the aftermath of Sandy.

Sue’s parents live on the Jersey shore and my Dad lives outside of DC so last night we went to bed and woke up worried. Fortunately besides the loss of power and a few downed trees everything is OK and more importantly everyone is safe. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of other people that also woke up to a very new reality this morning.

But why am I writing this? A few words written from the comfort of my very dry home in Marin will accomplish next to nothing. There is no chance that this post will somehow help remove the sludge from the flooding, get the power back on any sooner or help parents comfort their children who must be scared and most likely screaming. No tis is written entirely for me. To help me purge my concerns and worries.

But the one thing that comes to me. This is something that I first remember feeling after 9/11 and in smaller ways after major disasters like the Katrina, Irene and the Tsunamis in Japan and Thailand. After these horrific events, I’ve felt connected to people in a way that gives me hope. Our defenses our down and the everyday concerns of “What do I have to do?, “Who is this person?”, “what do they want” and “what can I get our of them” are replaced with a deep sense of caring, concern and you might even say love.

We all pull together and make an effort to help each out. That is just the natural thing to do of course. In all the ugliness that occurred in these tragedies, I find that sense of connection, that sense of being apart of a greater humanity, a very beautiful thing.

So if I could ask for anything out of this disaster – after everyone getting home safely to their loved ones – is that we – actually slash that – is that I could somehow retain this deep sense of caring and concern for my fellow human beings that I feel right now. I think that would make the time I have on this little planet so much richer.

But honestly I’m just not sure that I am up to that task. I mean I have photos to process, blogs to write, client calls to make and after all that make sure dinner is ready.

No way I have to time to care or think about other people. Right?

Guess I need a hurricane to remind me of what is important.

Family Adventure at Rodeo Beach – Marin

Joey — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:00:25 +0000

“Wait – how about jumping in that whole?”

I’m sure that wasn’t something that Dave and Chalita expected to hear during their photo shoot but it was a perfect moment of a very good day.

We (along with with their two beautiful children) were all hiking along the cliffs above Rodeo Beach (about 20 minutes north of San Francisco in Marin) and I spotted this 4 or 5 foot deep whole whole/indentation about a hundred feet off the path. Round and lined with ever-abundant and non-native ice-plants, I thought it would make a perfect place for them to cuddle and escape the thick northern california fog that engulfed the coast that day.

They weren’t sure at first but I can still hear their giggles and laughter as they scrambled down into the whole and the photos we made from our time there are just priceless.

This is what I love about the family adventure sessions. I never know where they are going to end up and the best ones always involve something unexpected. Normally the fog and wind would have put a damper on a normal session but that day they just added to the over all feel. Add in a whole that I can almost guarantee we would have all walked by if we didn’t have adventure on our minds and have a wonderful and surprising day.

Family Adventure Ideas – Date Night with a little maitre d’

Joey — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:00:06 +0000

Everyone knows that date nights are super important to any relationship especially when that relationship involves the pitter patter of little feet. And anyone that spends time with those little feet has experienced the frustration of having a great date idea and not being able to find a sitter or a place to store the little ones for a few hours.

This happens to me a lot because I get ideas and I really don’t like to wait and figure out all the details. I just want to do them. This of course drives my wife crazy and more importantly leaves me scrambling to find a sitter.

Lucius Presenting Wine to Mommy

A few weeks back, I was in yoga on a friday and I had the idea of making a romantic dinner for Sue. I’ve been trying to eat better and I wanted to cook a semi-fancy meal for the both of us. That required me finding a place for Lucius because I wanted to cook at home. I called a good number of friends and shockingly enough everyone was booked. But I figured someone would come through so I went shopping for the meal – arugula salad, roasted red-pepper soup, and grilled fillet mignon.

Then it was 4 – Lucius needed to get picked up from school and I needed to get started. Still no spot for Lucius.

At 5 I had to come to grips that Lucius was going to be with us for the night.

Damn – what to do?

Recently, I’ve started to appreciate the idea of when in doubt, try to go bigger and do something daring. This has been working well in my photo sessions because people love taking those extra steps into the unknown even if it scares them. Now I’m using motorcycles in weddings, finding holes for families to jump in and generally trying to go that one step further.

With that in mind I had the idea of incorporating Lucius in the date night. After I explained it a few times he got super excited. He put on his suit and spent a good 30 minutes waiting by the window for Sue to arrive. I got the bath going and we lit her path with candles

“She’s here!” he cried out.

Sue came to the door and was greeted by perhaps the cutest maitre d’ you could imagine. He said with a smile “Welcome to Mommy’s Restaurant. Your bath is waiting. Can I take your bag?”

Sue of course was surprised, shocked, confused and happy. Lucius led her to the tub, asked her what kind of wine she wanted and then made a valent effort at explaining the menu. “Arugula salad with a Spicy Vinaigrette” took a few trips between the kitchen and the tub but she got the idea.

After Sue was done with the tub we all sat down and had one of the best meals I could remember. Explaining how we came up with the idea and seeing Sue’s reactions made for a great time. Definitely not the date night I planned but way better then I could have imagined.

I share this for anyone that has ever needed a date night but couldn’t break free of those little feet. I guess this goes under the “if you can’t beat them, join them (or have them join you)” category.

Good Luck and let me know if this works for you.