Author: vivian

artist + muse

When it comes to inspirations, Billy Kidd is one that I admire. The video clip below is something I can identify with, especially being a fashion photographer at heart: trusting relationship between an artist and a muse.

“Over the last year,  Billy and Heather have been building the trust between artist and muse through brutally honest and erotically vulnerable imagery.  With Billy behind the lens,  he has been able to coax his lover to shed her insecurities and trust him. Billy beautifully abstracts his lover’s form to convey this strange and eerie bond between anonymity and intimacy.  Combining Heather’s cages,  braids and cocoons,  with Billy’s style of photography; the result does not objectify,  but celebrates the mature female body garbed only in her designs.”

keeping the love going

Friday morning is here finally. Woke up at 9am after editing until 6am… tired as heck. Figured a morning stroll around the block might help me wake up since the sun is out.

Good thing is… the walk helped. Aside from the fresh air, warm sunshine upon me, and some breathing room from the editing and admin/accounting work that comes with my love for photography, I walk pass an elderly couple crossing the street. The husband can walk a little faster but he turns around to see if his wife, of what looks like over 50 years, is right behind him. Keep in mind that he is only about 2 steps ahead of her but he turns back and grabs her fragile hands. She looks at him and they both continue walking… hand in hand. My heart, of course instantly melts. That is what would be defined as true love, long and lasting. Thinking back at all the weddings I have shot, I hope that all my couples have that, as this is a reminder of why my love to capture a couple’s special day 🙂

Oh, all this lovely dovey morning feeling made me inclined to pick up a new book on the way home.

David Levithan is one of the authors of  Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist. I loved that movie and if you love it too, it might just be your thing 🙂

– – –

Happy Friday to all the lovely couples.

Love on.

travel | California National Parks and Scenic Places

Bucket list of national parks and scenic places in California (source: americansouthwest.net):

CABRILLO National Monument – rocky peninsula near San Diego
DEATH VALLEY National Park – starkly beautiful desert wilderness
DEVILS POSTPILE National Monument – unusual volcanic basalt formations in the eastern Sierra Nevada
GOLDEN GATE National Recreation Area – beaches, coastal bluffs, historic buildings and military sites around San Francisco
JOSHUA TREE National Park – desert, large rocks and curious plants
KINGS CANYON National Park – large wilderness area with deep canyons, lakes, sequoia trees and waterfalls
LASSEN VOLCANIC National Park – amazing volcanic and geothermal phenomena
LAVA BEDS National Monument – cinder cones, craters and lava caves in the far north
MOJAVE National Preserve – excellent desert scenery
MUIR WOODS National Monument – small but accessible redwood forest north of San Francisco on the Marin Peninsula
PINNACLES National Monument – isolated mountains composed of eroded, volcanic rock
POINT REYES National Seashore – isolated hilly peninsula bordered by miles of wind-swept beaches and cliffs
REDWOOD National and State Parks – dense coastal redwood forests
SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS National Recreation Area – canyons, grassy hills and Pacific Ocean beaches, northwest of Los Angeles
WHISKEYTOWN-SHASTA-TRINITY National Recreation Area – forested lakes in the northern California mountains
SEQUOIA National Park – huge trees, cliffs and mountains
YOSEMITE National Park – glaciated peaks and valleys of great beauty
ANZA-BORREGO DESERT State Park – large, varied area of canyons, mountains, desert and badlands
BIG SUR – the Pacific Coast of central California, south of Carmel
BIG BASIN REDWOODS – thick coastal redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains, south of San Jose
BODIE State Historical Park – exceptionally intact, well preserved and authentic California ghost town
CALAVERAS BIG TREES State Park – giant sequoia in the northern Sierra Nevada
CALIFORNIA MISSIONS – series of historic Spanish churches dating from 1769
HUMBOLDT REDWOODS State Park – ancient redwood forest in north California
LAKE TAHOE – major center for recreation, enclosed by high mountains
PALM SPRINGS – exclusive city surrounded by deserts and mountains
POINT LOBOS State Reserve – beautiful, rocky peninsula with abundant wildlife, near Carmel and Big Sur
Algodones Dunes – vast sandy expanse in the far southeast
Andrew Molera State Park – Big Sur beaches and coastal bluffs
Big Pine Lakes – mountain lakes high in the Sierra Nevada, beneath Palisade Glacier
Box Canyon – twisting, eroded ravine, part of the San Andreas Fault
Calico Ghost Town Regional Park – partially restored silver mining town northeast of Barstow
Castle Crags State Park – sculptured granite cliffs in far north California
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park – redwood groves alongside the Pacific Ocean
Donner Memorial State Park – historic location with a relaxing setting
Emerald Bay State Park – scenic inlet on the west side of Lake Tahoe, containing Fannette Island
Garrapata State Park – beautiful section of the Big Sur coastline
Giant Sequoia National Monument – many groves of giant sequoia trees, in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains
Griffith Park – hilly city park overlooking Hollywood and Los Angeles
Hat Creek Volcanic Area – lava flows, craters, cinder cones and lava caves, near Lassen Volcanic NP
Hot Creek Geological Area – hot springs and fumaroles close to Mammoth Lakes, part of the Long Valley Caldera
Humboldt Lagoons State Park – forested lagoons beside the northern Pacific coast
Jacumba Outstanding Natural Area – desert and mountains near the Mexican border
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park – giant redwoods in the far northwest
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park – a coastal waterfall, beaches, cliffs and wooded hills, along Big Sur
Lost Coast – the wildest and least developed stretch of California’s Pacific coast
MacKerricher State Park – sand dunes, beaches and tidepools, on the Pacific coast north of Fort Bragg
Mammoth Lakes – ski resort town at the edge of the Sierra Nevada
McArthur Burney Falls Memorial State Park – beautiful waterfall and a wooded lake
Mono Lake – unusual lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada foothills
Mount Shasta – snow-capped volcano in the Cascade range
Pinnacles National Natural Landmark – strange spires in the desert south of Trona
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park – coastal redwoods near Crescent City
Point Arena – unusual rocks and a historic lighthouse, along the Pacific coast
Rainbow Basin National Natural Landmark – weathered desert canyons and badlands
Red Rock Canyon State Park – exposed, eroded, colorful strata
Route 66 – long section of the old highway through the Mojave Desert
Saddleback Butte State Park – isolated peak in Antelope Valley, in the southern Mojave Desert
Salt Point State Park – undeveloped section of the north California coastline, with unusual sandstone formations
Salton Sea – large, shallow, salty inland lake bordering Imperial Valley
San Bernardino Mountains – steep-sided range northeast of San Bernardino, including Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake
San Gabriel Mountains – hilly area providing a refuge from Los Angeles
Sonoma Coast State Park – 15 miles of beaches, cliffs and coastal grasslands, in Sonoma County, north California
Tomales Bay State Park – sheltered inlet at the edge of Point Reyes
Torrey Pines State Reserve – dunes and sandstone cliffs north of San Diego
Trinidad State Beach – beautiful section of the north California coastline
Vasquez Rocks County Park – exposed, angular strata north of Los Angeles

portrait | sheilla + david

By far, this has been one of the prettiest maternity photos we’ve taken. And of course, we absolutely could not wait to edit them. Sheilla and David showed up at 8am this morning a little tired but ready for anything 🙂 They are such a sweet couple and did such a great job in front of the camera, considering Sheilla is 8 months pregnant! She’ll be expecting a precious baby girl and no doubt in our minds, she’s going to be a ham for sure!

Congratulations to Sheilla and we absolutely hope to meet the new addition when she makes her debut! We’re so excited for them 🙂

featured | Green Wedding Shoes – PAN AM Inspired Wedding

Inspired by the hit ABC show, PAN AM, Frances of Charmed Events Group did a wonderful job creating an inspiration wedding based off of the PANAM era, capturing the airline’s main details, motifs and spirit. The color palette of sky blue, navy blue and yellow was one that we fell in love with after this shoot. Beside the color scheme, design motifs of stripes and hot air balloons added that dash of whimsy that would make hearts wither.

We were privileged to have the opportunity to shoot on the facilities of the Oakland Aviation Museum, where a myriad of vintage planes lounged, including one of only two authentic PAN AM planes that remain today (the other one is nearly dilapidated and sits in New Zealand – the one we shot on was the one they used during filming of the first Indian Jones movie – how exciting is that?!).

There were so many great images and we’re going to share just a few more of our favorites that weren’t in the feature 😉  Be sure to view more photos and read the feature here!

A short film by Viet Mac was also shot during this shoot, so get ready to “fly away with us” with all the design and details captured at the Oakland Aviation Museum!

It was such a pleasure to work with such a talented team of creatives!

engagement | wen + rodd


It was such a treat to go to Healdsburg for a day and have some fun with Wen and Rodd. They definitely brought their personalities and it made for a great session. We even did a little wine tasting in between shots 😛



We absolutely look forward to their wedding in Maui later this year!

cold war classic

cold war classic

cold war classic

Cold War style + Machine Age craftsmanship + Digital Age technology = one amazing miniature camera.

Saw this Minox on photojojo.com and thought it be something of the small and good-looking’ to own 🙂

Here is this lil’ cutie’s specs:

  • Comes with: a removable viewfinder, USB cord for charging/uploading, and a wall charger
  • Minoctar 9.0mm glass lens with 4x digital zoom (equivalent to a 42mm lens on a 35mm camera)
  • 0.5m, 1m and infinity distance settings
  • 128MB internal memory (plus a slot for a SDHC memory card up to 16GB)
  • Takes video at 320 x 240 pixels for up to 60 seconds per clip
  • Takes stills up to 2,608 x 1,956 pixels
  • Internal lithium-ion battery recharges via USB or wall outlet
  • USB connector for battery charging and reading images
  • Removable optical viewfinder plus 2″ digital viewfinder/display screen