Well I am just finishing up editing photos from my last engagement session and I decided to try something a little bit different on one of my images. I’m usually more of a vibrant colors type of person… but this one seemed a little moody and so I decided to try out a more desaturated look. I have been seeing this look in a lot of my favorite photographers’ work so I thought it was at least worth a shot What do you think? Like it? Love it? Think it stinks?

It’s the holiday season and that means it’s time for Christmas parties. They can be great, but more often they’re terrible and overdone. Most people have heard of the “ugly Christmas sweater” party before…. after all, this article in USA Today was written in 2004 so must have far surpassed the mainstream designation by now. But have you ever been to an ugly Christmas sweater decorating party? I hadn’t… until this weekend when Ben and I attended one, and I brought along my camera. Here are a couple of photos…

Everyone brought along an old sweater that had outworn its welcome… or was otherwise retired. There were piles of felt, hot glue, and googly eyes to add to your creation.

Not everyone made a sweater… there was also a hat.

Some people went high class…. substituting the hot-glue method of decorating for actual needle and thread

And some of the designs got quite intricate

All of the sweaters were pretty awesome… but here are a few of my favorite designs…

If you saw Bridget & David’s portrait session a couple of weeks ago, you might remember me saying that she was in a play. I also said that it was amazing funny and awesome and that you definitely should go see it. Well I’m no expert on theater, but the critics over at the New York Times certainly are and they just came out with their review of “Is He Dead?” , the play that she is starring in.

Here’s a little excerpt:

“Is He Dead?,” a previously unproduced play by the long-dead Mark Twain, has at last made its Broadway debut. And for something that’s basically been lying immobile for more than a century, gathering dust in archives, it has a remarkably sprightly step.

…once Mr. Butz puts on a pink dress, this Tony-winning comic actor (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”)… shows the true comic genius of which he is made. From that moment the whole production feels as if it’s been pumped through with nitrous oxide. Jokes you would swear you would never laugh at suddenly seem funny.

And if you’re interested here’s the link to the New York Times review of “Is He Dead?”

I just have to say that I’m so incredibly proud of Bridget (and the entire cast of course) for doing such an amazing job. I always knew you were going to be a star B, looks like you’re on your way. Congratulations!

Wow… I just realized that in all of the hustle and bustle of getting my recent portrait sessions up on my blog I never had a chance to post photos from our trip to Paris this fall. Paris is hands down my absolute favorite city! I love love love everything about it and I was so happy to get to spend several days there at the end of our Normandy trip this fall.

Here are just a couple of my favorites… oh how I wish I could go back again

Paris is so gorgeous at night.

My favorite museum in the city is the Musee d’Orsay. I love the art in the museum but even better is the architecture. It’s a fabulous place to stroll around in.

And of course the obligatory stop at the Louvre.

The funny thing we noticed on this trip was how few people actually look at the artwork itself. Most people are either watching it through their cameras… or like these people… reading about it in their book instead of forming their own opinions about it.

Some of the paintings in the Louvre amaze me simply for their enormous scale. These ones are even bigger than life size.

We can’t go to Paris without stopping by our old neighborhood. Oh the memories This is the street Ben and I lived on back when we we got engaged. It’s gone quite upscale since we left.

And since we were in our old neighborhood we HAD to stop by our favorite bakery which makes these delicious mini breads filled with tasty treats like olives or goat cheese. Mmmmm.

If there’s one thing Parisians know how to do it’s enjoy a park. We spent much of our trip relaxing in the various gardens and enjoying the sunshine. Some of our favorite parks are not the big tourist ones but a bit off the beaten path. This is the parc des buttes-chaumont.

We also happened to stumble across a fantastic exposition going on called photo-quai which (not surprisingly) was installed along the quai near the new Musee Quai Branly (which on a side note is absolutely horrendous…. although I’m the first to admit that I can’t stand Jean Nouvel)

On this trip Ben and I formally decided that our suspicions were true and that yes, France is the future. Tiny fuel efficient cars, smart chip credit cards, and now this… digital tags in the grocery stores. Very very futuristic

One last shot… gorgeous candles in the Notre Dame cathedral.

On Saturday I met up with Raquel and Eddie for their engagement session in Encinitas. The first thing that Eddie wanted to do when we started taking photos was to climb up in a tree… so I knew it was going to be an interesting session! We started out … well… up a tree, and then wandered around for a while before making our way over to the beach where we finished by waiting for the sunset. It was a great time and I absolutely cannot wait for their wedding this summer in Costa Rica!

Here are a couple of my favorites from their session…. starting with one from the tree

Eddie likes to surf so I couldn’t resist a photo with this sign!

Sorry Eddie, had to post this one… I just love it!

When we got down to the beach the lighting was quite delightful.

This is one of my favorites!