San Carlos Family Session: Go dad!
It doesn’t happen too often for me to have a family photo session booking initiated by the dad in the family. I don’t know why? Usually my exchanges always begin with the female counterpart of a family. Guys!!!! Don’t sell yourself short on this — you are AWESOME!!! I love interacting with you, talking with you and booking your family session.
T reached out to me through Yelp! (Thanx, Yelp!) He told me about his two awesome daughters visiting him for the summer, and could we schedule a portrait session. Heck to the yes!!! We had a great phone conversation, he even emailed me pics of the outfits the girls wanted to wear, it was perfect!
We met at North Crestview Park in San Carlos. I’ve had my eye on this spot for a long, long time, and I’m so glad to finally had a good opportunity to put it to use. In the middle of a large street, surrounded by condos, is a beautiful little dog park, obscured by a hill. This is one of the reasons I love the Peninsula so much. We pass by amazing sights without even knowing. Looking up, looking out, getting out of the car, or taking a detour on that kid/dog walk can show you SO much. It’s seriously like walking through the wardrobe of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” — there’s a beautiful world around us we don’t even notice.
When T got of out the car with his girls, I knew we were going to have a fun time — the girls were awesome, easy to talk to, willing to have fun. J told me that she was interested in photography too, which made it even more fun because I could take a few moments with each pose and tell her why I was asking them to stand in certain places and what I wanted to accomplish.
Our only sour note for the evening was the wind. J had curled her hair, but the wind pretty much stripped off those curls in a matter of minutes. That aside, it was an awesome day! Thank you so much T, J and J-S for making it happen.
Belmont Family Portraits: Where’d the sun go?
Oh my! I can’t believe it’s been a full month since I did this family portraits session, and haven’t had a chance to post it. It’s been a little busy around here. My fall mini session schedule is being released, publicly, this week, and the past two weeks have been busy preparing. My previous clients, and mail list subscribers got a preview of that schedule, and sessions have been booking fast… and trust me — there’s a fair amount of time invested in getting everyone set up on the calendar. It’s going to be an exciting season, though, and I’m looking forward to all the “old” and new faces I get to meet with. I can’t wait!
S has been following me and my photography work for quite some time. We started talking two years ago!!! Between busy schedules, we were finally able to meet last month. In our phone conversation she was really looking forward to some beautiful back-lit portraits. We planned for it… only to have the weather turn sour on us and give us a gloomy day. How do we get overcast skies in July? Seriously! We had a fun time in Belmont Twin Pines Park though — I hadn’t been there in a long time, and finding a spot that was still bright enough, without a whole bunch of people walking (and playing) around wasn’t easy. I had scoped out the park the day before, and found a great space with the light being filtered through the trees…. except on the actual day we met, someone decided to hang a hammock in that spot and camp out. Just my luck!!!
To the side of Twin Pines Park is a community with a beautiful tall grass spot. Anyone that drives up and down Ralston Ave goes by it, and it’s a beautiful spot. We snuck in and grabbed a few shots there, and I’m so glad we had the chance, because those were some of my favorite images from this family photography session.
Enjoy their photos, and come back soon for mini session details!
1000 Dragonflies: A pediatric cancer fundraiser
In Asia, through traditional folklore, people believe that the crane is the bringer of luck.
That symbolism brought on the belief that anyone with the dedication and patience to fold 1000 paper cranes will be granted their biggest wish.
The story “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” really struck a chord with me. Sadako had a single wish: to live. She developed leukemia, after being exposed to radiation from the Hiroshima bomb when she was two; and her wish was to live. She began folding her 1000 paper cranes.
Sadako and I share a wish.
I wish that no parent should hear the words “Your child has cancer…. and there is no cure.” My friends Libby and Tony are living through losing a child to cancer. My wish comes from their experience, and it’s a selfish one, to be honest. I don’t want to go through what they did. I don’t want any more of my friends, or my family to go through it. I don’t want any of YOU to go through it.
Now, I am in my own process of folding, and making a wish. However, instead of cranes I’m folding dragonflies. I’m hoping my patience and perseverance will also be rewarded with my wish coming true.
Why dragonflies? Two reasons!
The first is that Libby and Tony always had the dragonfly as a symbol for the little girl they lost, Jennifer. Since they were the ones to open my eyes to how little funding goes into pediatric oncology, it feels right that this is done under Jennifer’s symbol.
The second: where the crane is a symbol for good luck, peace and long life, the dragonfly is a symbol for change, victory, poise and the ability to see beyond human limitation. We need all of these things in the fight for pediatric cancer research.
I have made 3 dozen dragonflies to date, and will keep going until my goal of 1000 origami dragonflies is reached. Please join me!!! Together will reach this goal so much faster. I have a plan for what to do with our swarm in the end, but I’m keeping that a surprise… for now.
In addition to my 1000 dragonflies, I also have a goal of raising $1000 to fund pediatric cancer research. 100% of your donations will go to Unravel Pediatric Cancer and support two amazing science teams: The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Monje lab at Stanford University. After all… wishing only gets us so close to successful treatment. I’m a dreamer, but a practical one too 🙂 Money through generous donations such as yours help fund the scientists we need to see progress.
Will YOU help?
So, how do you do make a dragonfly?
- Step 1
- You will need: 1 sheet of 8.5″x11″ paper and scissors
- Step 2
- Print out this fact sheet about pediatric cancer. If you don’t have access to a printer, don’t stress — start off with any plain white, 8.5″x11″ (what you get from your printer) sheet of paper.
Please only use the fact sheet or plain, white printer paper. There’s a greater vision at the end of this project, and it’s important that everything is uniform. - Step 3
- Cut 4 squares from this sheet, measuring “x”. No ruler necessary — you can follow these steps:
- Step 4
- Follow the origami fold instructions you see here: http://make-origami.com/traditional-dragonfly/
If you get a little lost, watch me create one here
- Step 5
- Take a picture or two along the way, and share it with the hashtag #1000dragonflies (on Instagram or Facebook) so that we can watch the swarm grow
- Step 6
- If a child is helping you, or if you’re doing this in honor of a child battling cancer, write their name on any of the wings of the dragonfly. I’d love our dragonfly swarm to have names!
This is a great activity for kids and it’s something you can do together. - Step 7
- Make as many as you’d like.
- Step 8
- Mail your creation(s) to: Ava Hristova @ PO Box 443, Belmont, CA 94002
- Step 9
- Tell your friends about this project and rope them into creating a dragonfly or two to help.
- Step 10
- If you’d also like to contribute to funding pediatric cancer research, head over to my fundraising page. Or drop me a check with your dragonflies. No amount is too small.
I know my wish isn’t simple, but I know with YOUR help it can become a reality.
Did you know?
– Seven children die each day from cancer in the US alone
– 36 children are diagnosed with cancer every day
– Cancer is the #1 disease killer of children … more than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis and congenital abnormalities COMBINED.
– The U.S. government gives less than 4% of its cancer funding to pediatrics, while the American Cancer Society gives only 1% to children.
– In the past 20 years, only 3 pediatric medications have been introduced. In contrast, in 2012 alone, 23 new medicines were released for adults.
We can help change that!
Thank you for helping, and thank you for spreading the word!
Bay Area Vacation Photographer: Our Moorea & Bora Bora anniversary trip
My husband and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage next month. It’s remarkable to me that time has gone by so quickly — I’m pretty sure it was only a year ago that I was chatting with the Knot forums about wedding planning. Then I look at how big my kids are getting and think “Yeah, it couldn’t have been that recent!”
To celebrate, we decided to take a big anniversary trip. Just the two of us. We spent a week in French Polynesia, between Moorea and Bora Bora, and it was wonderful!!!
Our schedule in August is a little nutty, so we decided to take our trip at the end of June. The weather was perfect, and we got majorly lucky because the week right after we left, it rained… a lot. Meanwhile, on our vacation we had pleasant temperatures, never exceeding the mid-80’s, and low humidity. Really, it was perfect!
We arrived in Tahiti early morning, with an hour and a half to spare before our ferry to Moorea. We spent the time walking through the market across from the ferry building. Things were just opening up, and we got to see a town get busy around us.
We stayed with the Intercontinental Resort on both islands. It was pretty amazing to be honest. I had fallen in love with the idea of a bungalo over the water, which is what took us to French Polynesia in the first place: let’s face it — there just aren’t that many places in the world you can have that experience. The island was just beautiful!
The water on these islands is so clear, and you’re surrounded by a coral reef all around. Really there was no escaping absorbing what a beautiful sight there was to behold either above or below water.
Moorea offered us the opportunity to hang out with some dolphins. Our resort hosts a dolphin education center, where they house 3 bottle nose dolphins, and conduct education seminars throughout the day. We got to swim with the dolphins, which I’ll be honest was a little startling. Usually I don’t mind being the first person up for an adventure… but not when it comes to water sports. The dolphin takes you deep underwater, and it’s up to you to 1) hang on; 2) hold your breath. I opted to go 3rd. It was really fun though.
On our last day in Moorea we did a jeep drive around the island. We went up Magic Mountain, saw a traditional temple, and drank some really yummy Pineapple Liquer. I’ll be honest — the sights were awesome, but the jeep tour itself was not quite the adventure I was after. If given the opportunity to do this again, I’d opt for the ATV tour. Same sights, different transportation means.
I will say that I was surprised how many wild chickens we saw on the island. They were everywhere! But they were also super pretty too.
We were warned that the food on the islands was just alright. I’m going to disagree with that. On Moorea we had some amazing meals. First of all, if you are in any way able to get to Snack Mahana, make it your lunch destination. Get there on the early side, because when they run out of food they close down, and they get busy. Order seafood as much as you can and you won’t go wrong. Rudy’s was also incredible! And the Yellow Lizzard had some of the best lamb chops I’ve ever had. Yep, I just broke my advice on the seafood bit with the Yellow Lizzard, but it’s SO worth it. Most restaurants will have a driver pick you up from your hotel, as long as you are within a certain radius of them. This is pretty awesome… though beware, that when it’s time to go back, usually all the people you came with go back at the same time, so you can be waiting awhile if the other diners don’t eat on the same rate as you. Ugh — the Tahitian Poisson Cru though? Amazing dish. I think I ate it every day, from somewhere, and was never disappointed. I’m trying to figure out how to make it here, and am on the hunt for sashimi grade tuna markets on the Peninsula. Hit me up with a recommendation, if you have one. And if you know how to make this dish — you can be my new best friend!
Our time in Bora Bora was much more relaxing. We didn’t have as many events planned, so we spent a lot of time snorkeling off our bungalo. I gifted a GoPro to my husband for Christmas last year. It was awesome, because it allowed us to do a whole bunch of underwater video, and get some of the amazing under-water sights I’m sharing with you below. I can’t stinking wait to try it with our boys this summer in the pool too.
While on Bora Bora, we did a sting-ray and shark feeding tour. Remember up top where I said I’m not crazy about water? I love being around water, but IN water is a whole separate thing. Especially open water. Why? Well… because I have an irrational fear of sharks. I just don’t like being part of the food chain. So the idea that not only will I be in open water, but purposefully around sharks was super scary to me! So I’m patting myself big time for doing it. In the shark snorkel we saw two types of sharks: black tips, which were about 5′ long, and lemon sharks, which felt to be maybe about 15′ nose to tip? As freaked out as I was by them, having a camera in front of me really turned me into a robot, and I was far more interested in getting a good photo of them than worry about being eaten. Take the camera away? Then watch me go back into “I’m going to keep my tasty hands and fingers to myself, thank you!”
That same evening we dined at the Bora Bora Yacht Club and witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets I had ever seen. I couldn’t stop taking photos of it. For the 3 I’m sharing with you here, I have about a dozen more. I just really wanted to take the same picture over and over and watch it progress.
We jet-skied around the island on our the last day at Bora Bora. The weather began to turn and we got rained on for most of the trip. Best tasting rain, ever! We had one stop in a beautiful little motu, and I talked my husband into taking a photo of me in the palm trees.
For anyone interested in their own French Polynesia adventure, we booked our trip through Costco Travel. They genuinely took care of everything (down to telling us the color of the shirt of the people helping transport us from point A to B). Be prepared to spend a good 30+ minutes the firs time you call them, but know you’ll be in good hands.
If you’re a photographer and wondering what to bring with you, I brought my DSLR, a 24-70 f/2.8 lens, and a tripod. The tripod was awesome, and I’m convinced I will pack it in my suitcase going forward on future trips. I only regret not bringing my remote control. D’oh! I definitely got some running in getting into position on the 10 second timer of the camera. Learn from my mistake; a remote AND a tripod!!!
My husband brought the GoPro, underwater housing, and a floating hand grip. The hand grip was awesome by the way — though it had a lanyard around the wrist, if it ever fell off, it would float up to the surface. If I was more comfortable in the water, I would’ve considered getting real housing for my DSLR and going with that. But with my level of water comfort, the GoPro did just fine. Even though the water was pretty much always shallow, the tide pushes you around. You’re never genuinely still to take a frame, so I found composition, underwater, challenging. However, I’m really inspired to try my hand at it, WITH a DSLR camera… at least in some local pools. If you have a pool, and want to play, please invite me!
Belmont Family Photographer: Extended Family
Right before I left on my anniversary trip (more on this soon, I promise!), I met with L and her guys for an extended family photography session.
I’m always curious how people hear about me and my photography work. It’s usually one of the first thing I ask when a new client reaches out. In L’s case, though, I knew… our youngest, and their oldest shared years together in the same preschool. Even though our little guy doesn’t go there anymore, he still talks about his buddy all the time. He considers him his best friend and “writes” him cards. As a matter of fact, the morning of our session, before I pulled out my camera to get started, I handled little A a card from my little guy because I promised that I wouldn’t forget.
L wanted to capture portraits with her parents and her husband’s parents. They arranged for all to be in the same place at the same time (which isn’t easy, which anyone that has distributed families will attest to).
Originally we had planned to meet in a woodsy area I had just discovered in Redwood City, but L requested something with more texture and vibrant color. It was a Monday morning, and this time of year finding that combination screamed to try our local high school: Carlmont High. If you haven’t been, it’s a very, very large campus. And it’s beautiful! From brick walls, to murals, to stair-cases, and full-glass walls, it’s a dream! I showed her some photos from my scouting trip and they were on board. To be honest, while I’m a little sad the original location didn’t work out, I loved, LOVED the new plan. I always get really excited to shoot somewhere new — it gives me an opportunity to take advantage of the new scenes a location has to offer, and get creative.
I got a great compliment from L’s mother in law after they received their images too. She said she had at least 25 favorites, which gave me a nice smile for the day. Thank you!
