Michael and Shelly

A few posts ago, I showed you some images of the bachelorette party, but here are some wedding pics. It was a lovely wedding; I really had a good time. It was the perfect balance of ritual and FUN, and the whole thing had a warm, comfortable vibe about it. I'm so honored to have been able to photograph this occasion. I really am. I hope the couple enjoys these images for the rest of their days together. May it be a long, loving, and happy journey!


The couple's first dance:


The candid cake-cutting shot (which rightly conveys just how precarious it can be to dislodge a slice!):


The Olympian Bride:

I must say, that last one is among my faves. Eric (my hubby) went so far as to call it "iconic." I don't know that I'd go that far, but it does stick in the mind, I think.

In any case, for more, click here.

More of the Fire

I actually had to brave the roads today for a corporate shoot this afternoon. What a creepy experience. There's just a general vibe of "something's wrong" in the air, even when the sky looks clear. On the way back from the shoot, I decided to see if I could document some of the weirdness.

This is the La Tuna onramp to the 210, cordoned off with yellow tape.

This is the westbound 210 as I looked back towards La Crescenta. It's strange to imagine a freeway in Los Angeles looking like this in the middle of the day.

Eastbound and westbound 210, photographed from above the La Tuna Canyon off-ramp.

Here are another couple of views of the deserted freeway. So creepy... especially if you're a native Angeleno and know what these normally look like. It's like a scene from 28 days later.


This last one was taken on the Rosemont Bridge overlooking the 210. There was some serious grating, and I couldn't get passed all the interference in the foreground here. However, you can see that no one was on the highway except for fire personnel.

I really wonder whether I'll be able to make it to work on time tomorrow.

Morning Commute

I got up this morning, and got ready as usual to go to work. Even though I'd read about the "Little T" fire, I didn't really consider the possibility that it would affect my morning drive. Let me tell you, I'm still a little traumatized by just how intense it was to drive straight into this:



When I saw the layers of smoke getting thicker and thicker, blacker and blacker; I decided to pull over and snap a shot or two of what was going on. You can see that cops were on their way to help out. CHP, fire, crews, CalTrans, and who knows what else where also on the scene.

Shortly after that picture was taken, they closed down all lanes on the 210. That's when it got even more surreal. Suddenly, there was a sea of white reverse lights as all westbound traffic shifted into reverse in an attempt to exit the freeway via an onramp. It was like being in Blindness... a total mish-mash of cars all vying for an escape route, swinging U-turns and driving head on into oncoming traffic, bolting for the onramp to get off.

They made us exit and re-enter the freeway on the eastbound side, leading me back home. I thought of going into work anyway -- taking the long way round, but ultimately decided against it. It would take me a good hour to hour and half to make it in, and I don't know when I'd have to leave for an afternoon appointment (if the freeway remains closed). So, I'm home and I'm shaken.

It's hard to describe just how intense an experience it was to draw closer and closer to the black billows of smoke. Or what it was like to feel so deeply sad for the burning earth. Or what it was like to watch over the side of the road as people packed their horses into trailers and drove off to get them to safety. It all made me want to cry.