Our eldest son recently was awarded the violist seat with the Bellagio Youth Strings Orchestra - a middle-school aged orchestra in Orange County. We went to his first two rehearsals recently, where it was temporary housed at the Casa Romantica – a beautiful cultural center in San Clemente.

When Nirzhar and I walked in, it took our breath away. The space is gorgeous! Overlooking the San Clemente Pier and beach, beautiful California gardens and fountains, and a Spanish style Adobe home, with hardwood floors and ceilings. The kids were in one part of the home and practiced, filling the space with the sounds of strings, mingling with the quiet hush of the waves just below. iPhones could not do this beauty justice, though we did try in vain. To say the least, Nirzhar came prepared to photograph the space the second time we were there – see the images below (bonus point if you can spot me)! There’s some events that happen throughout the year, and I’m looking forward to when we can come back when the sun is shining and we can take in the gardens as well.

Some history of the Casa Romantica are below the photos.

This past Sunday I did what I have not done in a very long time: A bike ride in the early morning hours, by myself. I’m usually an early riser and love to go on long walks with my wife whenever I can. This Sunday morning she was taking the boys out on a day long outing, so I decided to go on a bike ride to capture some

We love the energy kids bring to these photo sessions. As grown ups and professionals, there is always a certain air of nervousness about meeting new clients. It’s sort of like stage fright-you don’t like that feeling, but know that it is what can make you perform your best. As we are  finding ways to get comfortable, kids come to the rescue by doing something completely innocent and inspiring. These moments of spontaneity is what makes us look good. This is why we love being family photographers so much.

See the photo below? We asked her what she would like to do for the photo, and right away she began her spontaneous routine of cartwheels and high jumps. These are fun times!

Here’s another photo that I took a few days ago. Just look at the joy in that young face. This is why I do this.

The light is great for photography these days. I’ve been doing some family photography and it’s such a joy to encounter siblings that just open open to the camera. Families make me look great! These brothers were so much fun to photograph. This is what I love about being a family photographer here in Orange County-the warm California sun in the middle of Winter, kids out of school, parents in holiday mood, and the citizens simply happy to be basking in the California rays.

Here is a special photo I wanted to share today. He is one of my favorite subjects to photograph. A hardworking, intelligent, and compassionate boy, he is a complete pleasure to work with. Look at the charming smile, the big beautiful eyes, and the aura of wholeness radiating from this young man. Yes, he is my son, and he is just like his mother.

Couple of weeks ago we had a wonderful photo session with the Watkins family. Oh, what great kids!  The older boy had his dad and me running after him all around the hay maze in the pumpkin patch. I don’t think I’ve been that tired in a very long time. Then, there was his
little brother-such a sweet little man, completely fascinated by this “dude” pointing this black contraption (my Nikon) at him and clicking away. Here are some pictures from the shoot. Thank you Watkins Family-what a fun filled afternooon!

When was your last great photo shoot? Let us know in the comments.

A quiet, cloudy day gave way to this photo a few days ago. I saw a stream of beautiful light coming in through the window and decided to play with it. Although I do take photos with studio lights sometimes, I prefer natural light more. My black and white photography tends to lean toward natural light more than a studio set-up.

I find that when I am taking black and white portraits of children, they tend to be less intimidated when not in presence of artificial lighting equipment. The more comfortable the kids, the more focused I am reading into their personalities. After all, once you have a good handle on your camera and understand light, what is really left is your skill of intuitive awareness of human behavior that really matters in portrait photography. It’s a life long practice that requires constant, deliberate mindfulness.

This photo was taken for a classroom end of the year project. What a great class, such great kids.

I know, everyone is wondering what my dear wife looks like. So, here it is. She’s usually not this serious. She’s a young, funny woman and I really lucked out. I took this shot to experiment with my new lens. I have to say, I’m quite happy with it.