Denise Photography » Personal

Locks of Love and a little girl with a huge heart

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:33:59 +0000

My daughter, Leilani, has had hair down past her waist since as long as I can remember. Before school ended she couldn’t stop talking about donating it to someone who needed it more than her. ***tears*** She finally decided to give it to Locks of Love in hopes that someone out there could enjoy it as much as she did. She did request to give it to my friend Victoria because she knows all that she is going through and wanted her to have it. But I had to explain to her that we couldn’t choose who got her hair but whoever it was sure will love her for it. God Bless her for trying!! Leilani is my heart and soul. She is such a loving person and has such a great big heart. There needs to be more people on this earth like her. She is going to change the world one day.

Reading is good for the soul

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:37:39 +0000

Here is another installment of what is good out there for books. I am a romantic. A shear and utterly helpless romantic. I love romance novels. I really do. How lame am I you ask??!!! VERY!!! Give me a book with a cute love story and I am all over it!! Nora Roberts Vision in White was one of those books. It was so cute because the main character was a photographer that never imagined getting married. It just wasn’t in her plans. Not because she didn’t want to but because things just so happened to turn out that way. So she decided to lose herself in photographing weddings. Hmmmmm this sounds all too familiar. Anywho she ends up finding the man of her dreams and well I will let you read the story to find out what happens with that. Cute, cute, cute. Gotta get the sequel to this story and curl up on my comfy couch and read into the wee hours of the night.

#82. Sell my rental house

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:05:04 +0000

#82 Sell my rental house. Crossing this goal off my 101 in 1001. I bought my very first house about 8 years ago. It was a cute, little, cozy house. Just big enough for me and my 2 children. When I decided to move in with my boyfriend a few years ago I rented it out. Things fell through with the renter and I tried to short sale it. Well long story short that didn’t work out as planned and it ended up foreclosing. So now I can cross this off my list. And if there was a goal for ruining your credit for the next 5-10 years I could cross that off too! Trying to keep this post light hearted. I was really sad about this especially after how hard I have worked my whole life to keep my credit in good standing. Well that weight is now finally off my shoulders and I can move on. Onto new adventures in life. We live and we learn.

And to cheer you up. Here is a photo of a gorgeous doggy named Jazzie. Such a love muffin! She makes me happy!

#79. Teach my son how to drive

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:30:47 +0000

Another goal completed on my 101 in 1001. # 79 Teach my son how to drive. This was no easy task. And I am not just talking about physically. Emotionally this was the hardest thing for me to do. My baby is growing up. How do mom’s deal with this kind of stuff? Six months of having him drive me around town to make his skills flawless was fun yet exhausting. He is a great driver. He has to touch up on some things, like looking both ways before moving forward in a parking lot (lol, what we teach our children to do before they walk across the street) you know, simple basics. But other than that he is pretty darn good. He passed his test with flying colors and is now the new owner of a driver’s license. Watch out world!!! I am so proud of my baby! Be careful out there love. I think about you every time you walk out of that door and get into your car. Oh the worries of a mother.

Life in the Fast Lane and Tithing

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:29:48 +0000

Wow. It’s been over a month and a half since I have last wrote in my journal. Where does the time go? I live life in the fast lane. Always going 100 miles a minute. Hitting the ground running. There is never a dull moment in my life. If it’s not something at the 9-5 job, my photography business, or my kiddos driving me bananas I would probably be able to write every single day! Ha ha. I have completed some more goals and I will be posting those shortly. In the meantime I have lots of exciting stuff coming your way. I have finally found my logo that speaks all me and I am totally thrilled by it!!! It is in the final stages of completion. Next would be the branding of my website and blog. I can’t wait to see what is in store for all of that. On a different note, today I went to Church. It’s been a minute since I have been there. But I know I needed it. I needed to sing and clap and feel all the love you feel from 3000 other people that are in the room with you worshiping God. I.Needed. That. And it felt great. Pastor Lee talked about Tithing. Now let me tell you a little something, I used to go to Church when I was a kid, that is until my dad left my mom and she stopped going to Church all together, but that’s another story in it’s own that I probably will never share on here because I don’t like to focus on the negative… but either way I stopped going to Church when I was about 6 years old. Never went back. Never took my kids to church either. I never stopped believing in God. I prayed. I believed. But about a year ago I needed something in my life. And I found a new Church called Radiant. And it is WONDERFUL! It is a Christian Church, although I was raised Catholic. And I love it so much! I enjoy going to Church. It makes me feel good. So back to my story, Pastor Lee talked about tithing. I heard about this. But never really knew what it meant. Why would someone give up 10% of their income to a Church? It’s hard enough for me to put 4% away in my 401k, let alone give up another 10%. Why would you have to pay God? Ohhhhh Internet. I learned a lot today about tithing. And I listened. My heart listened. I am going to try it for 90 days. Pastor Lee says that he has a “Money Back Guaranteed” form that he would like us to fill out if he says in 90 days we do not feel like we have prospered by tithing. He is that confidant that God will help us prosper. Wow. Really? I never looked at it that way. But then again, I stopped going to Church when I was six. So how would I know what this meant??!! I am going to try it. I definitely don’t have the money to do this. But lets put that in God’s hands and see what happens. I have faith that he will help me through it. I need help with my family at the moment and everything that is going on in our lives and if giving 10% can change that, then I am all for it. No money in the world is more important than my teenager’s happiness. Or me being able to quite my full time job so that I can stay home more with my family and take my daughter to dance class because she is 9 and she has never been enrolled in one because of my schedule. I am willing to put all my faith in God and see where it takes me. Ahhh. Now that that is off my chest… I can sit back and relax. Sorry didn’t mean to get all religious on you but just thought I would share and at least I can mark this Day 1 of my 90 days of giving to God. I will come back and review this post and see all that has happened within the 90 days of writing this. I’m excited to see what is in store for me when I let go of all my fear. I am feeling pretty confidant right now.

And since we are on the subject about giving, here is a photo of a VERY beautiful woman that I photographed last weekend who won my Boudoir Session giveaway in February. Isn’t she gorgeous??!!!

Happy Sunday!

Roman: My Pumpkin Gets Baptised

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:06:55 +0000

Life is great. When you add close friends that are like family to the mix, makes it even better. Sonia and Mark have made it to my blog many of times, you probably already feel like you know them, their wedding, their pregnancy, the birth of their baby and now Roman’s baptismal. I love being a part of such special moments in life and I am so very happy to have friends that are dear to my heart like this couple. Makes life worth the ride. I love you guys beyond words. I hope you know that. Thank you for always allowing me to be such a huge part of your world. Huge hugs!

He sleeps like an angel.

And even though you can’t see it here… he cries… loud.

Back in the arms of his daddy where he feels comforted. Nothing like a Dad’s love to calm you down.

The proud Nina.

Love you Sonz.

My handsome lil man.

Those hands. Those hands melt my heart.

That smile completes me.

Time to partay…

101st Post and Branding

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:21:59 +0000

I have had this blog for a year now. I didn’t know at the time who I was or what brand I wanted to bring across to my clients. But I am really trying to brainstorm on a brand that is totally me. It’s a lot tougher than you think. This is something that when people see my logo they will know, that’s Denise. When they see a photo they will know it’s my style and my image. I have a meeting with an awesome designer, Veronique James of the The James Agency this Saturday. I cannot even say how stoked I am about this. I am going to put all things that I like in a box as Jasmine Star mentioned, her friend Jessica Claire, did when she was wanting to re brand and see what we can get from that. I thought it was an awesome idea and it will give the graphic designer a little more insight on who I am as a person and what things I love. Because I have NOOOOOO idea how I want my logo or brand to look but I really hope that someone can pull it out of me with what I provide them. I’m a little nervous, a little excited and cannot wait to share the new me. I will keep you all posted. And because I like to celebrate little moments in life, because those are the ones that matter the most, this is my 101st post!!! Whoohoooo!!! I wanted to do this for my 100th post but I got carried away with The Jasmine Star Workshop and Napa Valley so we will go with 101 because that is a great number as well. I am going to give away a Starbucks Gift Card to the 11th commenter on this post. That’s it, plain and simple. All you have to do is comment and you get a gift card. Wow. I’m easy like that. It doesn’t take much to please me. Ha! Happy commenting.

Napa Valley

admin — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:45:44 +0000

Napa Valley. How I love Thee. Have you ever wanted to go to a place where you could be romanced? Learn about wine so you can feel like one of the cool kids? Meet amazing people? And have the experience of a lifetime? Well I sure did. And I was able to do so with our wonderful trip to Napa Valley, the wine country. This trip far exceeded my expectations. It was like love was in the air everywhere you turned. It was amazing. And if you know me at all, you know that I am in love with love. Totally. Fully. It just makes my heart sing. Loud! I cannot even explain the joy I felt walking through downtown and enjoying the lovely buildings, textures, amazing light and the people. Ohhhh the people. From the bartenders to the tasters… truly spectacular. I mean who wouldn’t be happy drinking wine all day? It makes you relaxed, it makes you giddy, it makes you smile waaaay too much and it just makes you, you. Josh was such a sport to try all the wines with me and was such a joy to be around. I now know that I like Cabernet Sauvignon and Josh likes Merlot. We went on a wine tasting tour with Platapus and had the most awesomest, crazy, wicked cool driver named BeeGee. (Bacon Girl). And she totally took this experience to another level. She was amazing in every way. And the other people that were on that bus (Elroy) with us were super, duper fun. Friendships that I hope will last a lifetime and one day hopefully our paths will cross again. Our last night there we went to a Jazz Bar and I never in my life imagined how much fun I would have there. Wow. Jack Pollard and the Party of Three. Awesome Awesome Awesome. You should definitely check out Silo’s Jazz Bar, pairing good wine with good music if you are in the area. I think Josh and I both needed this vacation. To focus on us as a couple. To get away from our daily routines, that get so boring and work on our relationship. Not that we were having trouble with it but, I just wanted some romance. So one on one time. Work always seems to get in the way of that and it was fabulous to just stop time for awhile and enjoy each others company. And ladies, let me tell ya, he is a stud!!! I am one lucky woman to have someone like him. Someone to lavish me with greatness. I have been told recently numerous times by people we just met that we look like a freshly new couple. And when they hear that we have been dating for almost 8 years. They freak out. They are dumbfounded. I guess I don’t see the way we act on the outside, but its nice to know that we still give off that “new love” feeling. Because frankly that is what life is all about. Living it with someone you love and lovely every minute of it. I hope that we have many many more years of fresh new love Josh. You make my heart smile. You bring sunshine into my life. You are my everything. Thank you for being you and for always putting my needs first. You are truly the best! I hope that we can experience many more trips like this together and explore the world. I love you honey with all my heart and soul!

Click here for the slideshow!!!

Enjoy our journey~

The lovely windmills driving through California. Favorite part of the drive.

Aren’t they gorgeous??!!

Keep in mind this was me with my camera out the window like a crazy woman while my man is driving around 85 miles an hour. Pretty good huh? LOL.

Hello Napa River Inn.

You sure are pretty.

Now this was heaven. I was served breakfast in bed every single morning here. Ahhhh the life.

My love.

Headed downtown for some tasting.

Our very first stop. And what a lovely experience Mark our bartender showed us. Taste at Oxbow. Waterstone. Yum. Probably my fav.

This menu was adorable.

I will have to say that 2004 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon was my absolute fav of the entire trip.

Aren’t they a pretty couple?!

Well aren’t they in a nice little row waiting for me to try them. Thank you, I promise I will get to you all.

Swirl it: Our sense of smell is critical in properly analyzing a glass of wine. To get a good impression of your wine’s aroma, swirl your glass for a solid 10-12 seconds (this helps vaporize some of the wine’s alcohol and release more of its natural aromas) and then take a quick whiff to gain a first impression.

Smell it: Now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale through your nose. What are your second impressions? Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine’s aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics. Swirl the wine and let the aromas mix and mingle, and sniff again.

Taste it: Start with a small sip and let it roll around your mouth. There are three stages of taste. 1) The Attack phase: the initial impression that the wine makes on your palate alcohol content, tannin levels, acidityand residual sugar. These four puzzle pieces display initial sensations on the palate. 2) The Evolution Phase: also called the mid-palate or middle range phase, this is the wine’s actual taste on the palate. In this phase you are looking to discern the flavor profile of the wine. 3) The Finish: is appropriately labeled as the final phase. The wine’s finish is how long the flavor impression lasts after it is swallowed. This is where the wine culminates, where the aftertaste comes into play.

Now be happy!

This part is very sentimental to me. As many of you know I lost my daddy to cancer 7 years ago. And call this coincidence but I call it, my dad was joining me on my journey of one of my many dreams. Josh and I were not even headed in this direction but we were looking through a magazine on the table at Taste and this name popped out at me, Gustavo Thrace, and I knew I had to find this place. Needless to say it was right around the corner. Yay! I love you daddy! Thanks for always being with me.

Yummy vintage wines. I will definitely order some of these so we always have it stocked in our household for remembrance of my father and our lovely trip.

Watch this movie first, if you haven’t already done so before you go to Napa. It tells the story of how Napa became famous.

Bottle Shock

Oh the Oxbow public Market… such a fun place with fun people.

I ADORE this photo. It just speaks to me. Could be because nothing but goodness will fill these cones when all is said and done. But don’t they look so purty?

Grapes. These little guys are your best friend.

Flowers. Oh such beautiful flowers all along the way.

I took a picture of all the wines that I liked so I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to order. This particular one was at UnCorked.

And this is the look I get at our 2nd tasting place. Love it!

We met this lovely couple along the way.

I love him.

John from UnCorked. Fun Guy.

Gotta love Kyle. I say it like Cartman from South Park. KYYYYLE. He hooked us up. Many of times.

Dawn. Not just Dawn, but Dawwwn with a New York accent. Love her!

And we can’t forget about Guy from Israel. Thanks for an unforgettable time guys!

The walkway on the side of our hotel down to the river. Serenity.

Hello pretty vineyards. On our way to our 2nd day of wine tasting in our tour bus from Platapus. Elroy. Treated us right. And BeeGee the best driver E.V.E.R.!!!

Andretti Winery. Yes Andretti as in famous race car driver.

Meet Mike and Rebecca. Such an adorable couple. The minute BeeGee picked them up in Elroy I knew we would get along juuust right.

We are extremely happy here. Absolutely loving life.

Even more so here. Ha! The bartenders were good to us.

Where all the magic happens.

Can I please get a set of these doors at my house???!!! Gorge!!! I could shoot a couple here on these grounds ALL DAY!

Does anyone remember Mumm’s? From Meet the Fockers??!! That’s right. These people HOOKED it up. Normally during wine tasting they give you only an ounce to taste of 5-6 different wines. But Mumm’s Oh Mumm’s gave us 3 full glasses. I didn’t know this prior to ordering the Champagne. Ohhhhhh this put me on my butt for the night.

Hellooooooooooooooo Lover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are so purtty and peach.

Oh just stop it with your bad self.

I believe this is our 3rd stop of the day. Rutherford Grove. Please remember we started around 10am. Yes 10am. They like to get you toasted early in Napa. Put you to sleep by 9pm.

Meet these beauties. Christine and Annette. Believe it or not they are sisters. And both nurses. Such fun girls. I heart them!

Rebecca you kill me with your cuteness!!!!! She was laughing about her old school phone here. We were trying to friend each other on facebook but she advised me that she didn’t have internet access on her ancient phone. It might as well have been attached to a wall with a long cord. LOL. JK Rebecca. Love ya girl!

We had lunch with this scenery. Gorge. Aren’t you jealous? Well you should be. This is the dream.

I love the simple things in life. Details. Details. Details. Soak it all up.

I can definitely imagine myself cuddling up with a book here and just enjoying the sunshine and breathing in all the fresh air, flowers, grapes and beauty. Ahhh.

As I said. Details. Love. High School hand in the pocket you take with you when you are older. Ahh. This is why I am a photographer. I love love. Every detail of it.

Meet the gorgeous Donia and Jimmy. Or as I called him Daughtry. Ha ha! Fun fun couple!!!

Beware for this cute thang…. BeeGee. Yes our lovely tour bus driver. Such a lively soul. I just knew it was gonna be a great time with her sunny attitude. Beautiful.

Daughtry… only a little scruffier.

I wish I could tell you who this was but ladies and gentleman this was our 4th stop and I don’t even remember the name of the winery… but I am pretty sure he was the owner. Yikes. BeeGee a little help here please!!!

Our lovely couple from Tucson!

Josh and BeeGee acting like Horatio Cane from CSI. Ha ha! Toasted!!!! Well Josh was.. I think. Hopefully BeeGee wasn’t. She is just naturally silly. Ha ha!

Josh and Mike all lookin cool by the Lambo. Josh was a little upset that I cut off the car. I’m a people photographer Josh. Don’t hate! Plus I was a little toasted off the bubbly. Forgive me.

Bye bye Napa. It sure was fun. Until next time.

Jasmine Star’s Workshop

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:00:28 +0000

Wow wow wow. How can I possibly put into words the feelings that I felt after attending The Jasmine Star Workshop??!! It was definitely a dream come true. A goal that I knew I would complete one day but definitely was not prepared for the awesomeness that was in store. Most of my close friends know that I totally adore Jasmine Star. And if you don’t, well this post will catch you up to speed real quick. I found her blog about a year and a half ago and have been a fan ever since. Even if you are not a photographer, you NEED to check out her blog… she is like chicken soup for the soul. No joke!!! She can totally turn your frown upside down on a bad day. A year and a half ago… let me see, where was I??? I was a girl with a hobby. I loved taking pictures. I never thought it would turn into a career, or a passion that fills my every pore. However I was given the opportunity to photograph for my friends local magazine and that pretty much changed my life. I knew photography was the thing I was missing. It was a HUGE challenge and at times I wanted to just quite… but after reading one of Jasmine’s posts it really hit my core. Deep. I continued to move on, harder, faster, more determined to reach my dream. Because of her, I have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. She gives you hope. Inspiration. Motivation. And most of all it feels like you have known her your whole life.

There was a mixer the night before the workshop that a few of the girls set up at a gorgeous restaurant called The Winery Restaurant andwe had such an amazing time getting to know one another! These girls seriously are the best!!! I could not believe the talent that was sitting all around me! Jasmine Star showed up even though she was a little under the weather and joked about blaming it on the Sudafed if something came out wrong or totally uncalled for! Ha! Love her!

The next day was jam packed full of knowledge. Jasmine talked about branding, finding out who you are and making that your signature. I still have yet to find out what words describe me and my work. I am so versatile. Guess it doesn’t help being a Cancer/Gemini… does that mean I have 3 personalities? LOL! Maybe by the end of this post I will have it nailed. She is a natural with making people feel comfortable. Hilarious when she poses them!!! She is such a doll and you can’t help but love her when you watch her go go go. JD, her adorable husband and 2nd shooter, is nothing short of amazing!!! He really supports her 100% and it shows just how much he loves every minute of it. I want a team like that!!! Jealousssss. So much was learned, so much was shared. Friendships were made with girls from all over the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. I cannot express how excited I am to watch them all grow. I just know big things are coming their way. They are already fabulous and when implementing J*’s stuff in the mix. Well Uh…. they are gonna knock your socks off world!!!! Thanks for everything girls!!! Jasmine and JD you guys are such a big part of my success and I cannot wait to implement all your goodness with my business. Thank you for being yourselves. It’s not often that you meet such down to earth people. And I am truly honored and grateful to have finally met you face to face. You make my heart smile!!!! Here’s to a great year ahead and many many more to come! HUGS!

Hmmmm two words that explain me… sweet and saucey. You think that fits??

It started off with a fabulous gift. Score!

And the lovely Jasmine *

Having fun at the workshop

I just adore her many facial expressions!

The adorable couple that modeled for us that day were Joe and Jihan Cerda. Can you say Gorgeous!!!!?? Wow!

I just love how cute they are together.

YUM!

Its hilarious how Jasmine grabs a hold of the guy, looks at the girl and then says. I’m happily married… don’t get jealous. Then goes on with her posing them.

How can you not love this couple??

Beautiful flowers by Carissa of JL Designs

You guys are beyond gorge.

Hey girl heeeyyyy.

Love is priceless.

Helloooo handsome

Fiyah…

Stunning make up by Vivian of All Made Up. You are killing me with your beauty Jihan!

It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside with the way he looks at her. Total adoration.

The moment in between the kiss. Ahhhh. Lovely.

The lovely Menu at the ever fab restaurant Maggiano’s. Yes she is cool like that!

I just love how McCall was in the back ground of all the photos. Ha ha! xo

Some workshop attendee fun in the sun photos… taken by JD. I love how I am all on the floor in a dress. Classy!

My girls. Holla!

Some dinner fun…taken by the adorable Mikaela Ruth. Hope you don’t mind that I snagged this from your site hon. Loved it!!!

Wow, like I said, such an amazing time! Words cannot begin to express how full my heart is at the moment. Thank you for everything Jasmine and JD. Much love!!! Muah!~

Leilani: 9 years old

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:33:20 +0000

I just wanted to have a small tea party for her. But who was I to think that a “tea party” is cool at the age of 9??? That is soooooo 2008. She opted to go to Amazing Jakes and then have a sleep over. With 6 girls. Six. It’s going to take me a year to recuperate from that!!! Seriously how could 9 year old girls be so energetic??? Sheesh. We ended up having a great time! My baby is getting so big. She promises me that she will not grow up and leave me lonely. I’m not so sure of it. She seems so independent already. So wise for her age. So nurturing. I will promise to enjoy every single moment with her while she is young. I don’t want to miss ANYTHING! Leilani, you are sooooo loved by soooo many. You bring me happiness consistently. Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter and for always making me feel beautiful even when I complain about how fat I am. You never see the bad or wrong in anyone. You are such a sweetheart. You know exactly how to make my heart smile. I love you to pieces baby girl.

Love your mommy,

: My little model

: I never grasped how tall she was until she stood next to her friends

: This is how you feel after spinning too fast… BLAHHHH!

: My Handsome Prince Charming

: Such a cute card!

I hope you had a great Birthday!!! I love you Monkey Moo!