Christmas Mini Sessions Nov 14th

Okay, so I think I figured out a way to post an image to my Blog, WooHoo. But it is all old school, having to generate codes in photobucket and paste them individually, nightmare!

Anyways, so I think I will work on a new blog in the new year. In the meantime, if you want to continue to follow my work, you can always find me on Facebook.

I also am still booking my regular 2 hour sessions at a location of your choice. Please see my website for pricing and information. I have VERY few regular session appointments still available as I want to enjoy the holidays and my family just like you!!!
Happy Halloween!

HELP!

Ahhhhhhhh! So it seems like it has been a month since I posted anything. A while back I reached my photo limit storage for blogger I guess. I thought about a much needed website and blog makeover but in the midst of Christmas Season, I was a bit overwhelmed. So I thought about deleting some old pictures to make way for the new. But this little blog has been a documentation of my photographic journey, so........ I finally bit the bullet and paid to upgrade my storage. Unfortunately, I am still getting the same error. "Photo Limit has been reached for Picasa Web Albums", what the fetch?

So thanks for your patience.... I know thousands of people visit my blog each day waiting for some more eye candy photographs...... Oh I crack myself up!

I'll be in touch!

Erin

P.S. Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 14th...... a Christmas Promotion in the works!

Joe and Kelly

I few posts down I shared a sideshow from Joe and Kelly's amazing wedding! I have been meaning to posts some of my favorites from their special day. Joe and Kelly were married in Redlands, CA at the LDS Temple. The weather was beautiful that particular August day. Joe and Kelly carved out some time for their bride and groom portraits and that made things go so smooth and stress free.

Mr. and Mrs.

A stunning bride with a fabulous bouquet! I love the expression on her face...

Tessa (my fav 2nd shooter of all time) snagged this great image of the beautiful temple where Joe and Kelly were sealed for time and all eternity!

The bride with her beautiful sisters, I have four sisters of my own so I love this picture!

Hello, beautiful eyes...

I love this next one, it really speaks to their love, devotion and the connection between the two of them...

Kelly, you are sooooooo beautiful!

Everyone knows that there is nothing like a genuine moment for me...

But this posed image is actually one of my favorites...

Joe and Kelly carved out an hour of their day between the ceremony and the reception for bride and groom portraits. This is so important to me as the photographer, to have a stress free time to really capture some beautiful images for the couple. Thank you Joe and Kelly!

This next one is one of my absolute favorites...

Oh Tessa, you worked it out girl! Tessa took this amazing image of the rings, a beautiful contrast to the rough dark woods, I love it!

This strange sun flare adds an interesting element to this image...

These real expressions, make me all warm inside!!! One of my favs...

I LOVE to drag my clients out to horribly uncomfortable locations. You can imagine that this field of weeds was a little tricky to work with, considering Kelly's stunning dress! But I always appreciate when my clients can see my vision and go with it. After we were done, Joe whisked Kelly out of there and I was able to get this image....my favorite!

After this we headed to the reception. It was an amazing reunion and gathering of wonderful friends and family. Joe and Kelly put in a lot of thought to their reception and it came together wonderfully. The food was amazing, the decor was simple and beautiful. They had a smoothie fountain machine with Pina Colada and Strawberry fruit drinks, to keep everyone refreshed throughout the evening. It was casual dress, everyone was comfortable, dancing the night away.

Here is just a little detail from Kelly's dress, but I gave it a little vintage color, or lack thereof, and really like how it turned out.

Joe is biting his lip here as he dances with his new wife.... clearly in love with Kelly, so sweet...

Joe and Kelly had a full house, it was packed. Sometimes I was peeping through crowds of people just trying to capture a glimpse of the couple, I love how this turned out though!

The icing on the cake at this wonderful party, was when Joe sang a song to Kelly. I was all teary eyed. I am so grateful and honored you two asked me to capture this special day in your lives. It was a pleasure to work with the two of you. May you have many babies and ask me to photograph all of them, hehe......

If you missed the slideshow, you can click HERE to check it out!

Labor Day 2009

I neglect blogging personal things, but as the season change is upon us, I thought I'd share some fond days of summer. We enjoyed the most wonderful time labor day weekend, camping just north of Malibu at Leo Carillo. IT WAS the most BEAUTIFUL weather and we enjoyed wonderful company, as in Jake's family! I am about to put you in picture overload, sorry 'bout that!

I LOVE this picture because we have found a new family passion for biking. We of course usually put Rob in a bike stroller as opposed to the basket, ya know, for safety reasons and all.

Our camp spot was beautiful and secluded, with this most amazing tree...

The wildlife was exploring...

Oma took Luke and Audrey for a stroll to the beach...

Here's Tonja's oldest, Katie, having a good time in the surf!

Karah, I love her hair blowing in the wind...

Here are all 10 grand kids, well 9 and one very cooperative football named Nate!

We had a blast and enjoyed the simple things, like making PB and J for an army...

I love this girl!

Katie, Brock and Nate, I LOVE this series...

Alyssa enjoying the benefits of the camping/beach hairdo. Love that one lash peeking through as she concentrates on her sand castle...

Rob in action...

Who isn't fond of the days of jumping waves? A childhood joy...

Nothing like the beauty of beach hair...

Tessa's sandy grin is a keeper!

She was such an angel the whole trip...

Jake, Tonja, Miriam and Mark

We did all the usual things, like campfire stories, smores, laughter, climbing trees, exploring, sun bathing, more laughter, biking and hiking, tent sleeping urg!, and of course some good card games to entertain the kiddos...

Katie's infectious smile...

Here is Rob trying to set up the tent I guess?

God made dirt, and dirt can't hurt!

Jake helping Rob cheat at cards...

Nate must be seriously pondering his next move...

This is awfully blurry, but it was near dusk and Karah came whizzing down our little slope on her pink princess bike, her rain boots and hawaiian skirt.. all with Brock's motorcycle helmet on, too cute...

The level of dirtiness is compared to the level of fun we had, believe me, it was good times...

My adventurous boy!

It was quite a stroll to the beach, but Rob always walked the whole way, he is sooo independent!

Oh those long walks were sooooooo worth it!

Have I ever mentioned what a beautiful world we live in...

I am grateful for my family, thanks Michelle for this picture!

Goodbye summer...

Happy Fall Y'all!

Stayin' alive!

I am alive and well! I have been without internet and phone for two weeks! I wish I could say it was because I was on vacation in the Grand Canyon (thanks for the thought Wende).... but no, my phone company just screwed things up bad. I still have no access to my old email account, so my new email address is....drumroll........ erinthompson4@ymail.com

ASHLEY FAMILY

I have so much to catch up on. I don't know if I ever will... but I have been holding on to these puppies for awhile and can't wait to share them on my neglected blog...FINALLY!

And if you would like to see their heartfelt slideshow, click HERE. Give it a minute to load, it is worth the wait.

I drove from Malibu to Oceanside on Labor Day Weekend for this session...what can I say, it was worth it!

These two are twins! The little girl above is a sweetheart, who stole my heart when she put her fingers in her cheeks and stuck her tongue at me... all in good fun of course. And next is her twin brother. Let me just tell you that I could eat his long curly blonde locks if I could... I seriously think I have an appetite/craving for them. PRECIOUS!

This next one is one of my favs! I was off shooting (as in the kind of shooting you do with a camera not a gun) other family members, when I caught these silly-geese off playing.

The men even had a good time at my photo shoot, admit it already!!! Haha...

Oh to be young and free!

Dad found some treasures for the kids...

Oh wait, this next one happens to be my absolute number one favorite from the session, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this mother and son moment! The backlight was so shimmery, I don't know, just my personal fav!

I am really liking black and whites lately!

This hazy sun filled photograph is magical for me.

Photographically I really like this next one. I like the composition and cropping. The protective hands of mother and father tell the story. A new favorite I almost didn't include till I took another look this morning.

This amazing couple has 6 beautiful children whose ages span 20 years. I assume the kids run cirlces around them constantly. I have 4, so I can only imagine! But as you can see, their feet are firmly planted. They are raising a beautiful family.

See what I'm saying about these black and whites?

Seriously not scripted! When dad put his arm around mom, the little man hugged his sister, it was the sweetest thing! We all got a laugh or tear out of that one!

Beautiful children...

Beautiful Family...

An afternoon of beautiful moments captured on the sea shore...

As my kids always say, the sun is going night-night!

The End

Internet issues..

"I'm Yours" by Joe and Kelly

This is the story of Joe and Kelly. I hope you all enjoy! I must credit the amazing Jason Mraz for the music on the following slideshow, he is one of my favorite artists! But Joe had his own version (CLEAN version as we Mormons say it) as he sang to Kelly on their wedding day. It was so stinkin' cute, I probably fogged my lenses with all my tears! "But... I drew a new face and I laughed!"

Sneak Peak

Summer Fun

Golden Hour

WooHoo, what fun! I had a blast with this amazing extended family!

I first met them at their home, where they welcomed me in with open arms, introductions, love and laughter! We quickly headed down the block for some group shots in this AMAZING tree, which has family sentimental value. I can't think of a better place to preserve this "family tree" than in this "family tree". Gosh, I should get paid for my original quotes!!!

With extended families, it is often rare to have everyone in the same state at the same time. So it really was a pleasure for me to document this special family time they shared together. Above, I love how close knit all the girl cousins are, and all so pretty in pink!

Mom was so worried about the boys resistance to having their picture taken (above). PLEASE... they were perfect. And having three boys myself, I can attest to this amazing feat!

We did one last quick one of Grandma and Grandpa with their grandchildren... (and though I am NOT pregnant), I must be emotional... I can't help but think of how blessed they must feel!

Next we headed to Paramount Ranch, northwest of Los Angeles. All I can say is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! What a beautiful location! If I only lived closer, I would shoot there all day long!

There were so many amazing buildings, great for backdrops. But I was smitten with the beautiful golden sunlight as my backdrop. I love this next family picture; simple, casual, beautiful, and warm... I love it!

There were open fields where we all played and had a wonderful evening together.

Okay, I must preface this next picture. DAD, oh Dad... what am I going to do with you. His beautiful children and wife were perfect little models, enduring endless hours of hair blowing fans and uncomfortable poses (j/k). He claims he had ants in his pants or a wild pack of mosquitos got him, I can't remember (LOL). The wife and kids didn't complain, that's all I'm sayin'! I was having so much fun harassing him, he finally gave up!

Whew! He pulled it together for a beautiful family portrait that can be cherished forever!

These next few crack me up. I was trying to take a few shots of just mom and dad hanging out, but someone just had to get in on the family love. He seriously adores his dad, it is so cute!

But later on I caught mom and dad cracking up, out of the corner of my eye, and was able to preserve a few great moments!

Hmmm, this next one......... sorry dad, but I am gonna have to say SUPERMODEL!

Oh brother!

Awe, the girl who stole my heart! Honestly, I keep thinking she reminds me of someone, I can't put my finger on it. Every time she talks to me, I am engaged. Could it be that her heart is so pure, I am drawn to her? Could it just be her infectious smile?

We don't realize til we are all grown up, but...

SIBLINGS = BEST FRIENDS

I have lots of other great head shots of this handsome young boy, but I heart this one with all the sun flare (maybe too much for some, but I like it!)

This next series is practically all the same. But I can't ever pick just one favorite from a series of great moments!

We were done, headed out. Then I noticed this guy practically passed out on dad's lap from all the fun festivities of the day! Before I could sneak in a shot, he perked up just enough to give me this sweet smile!

No photoshop or enhancing on that last one...those really are his eyes... Oh, I love it!

Moments later we were all packing up in the car to head home when little Miss Infectious Smile (maybe 6 years of age) said to her mom, "That was so much fun!" Ahhhh... how many 6 year olds say that after a two+ hour photo shoot? And I drove home with a big smile on my face.

The End!