Sierra Blanco Photography: January 2008

Friday, January 25, 2008

KELLY AND DAVID - ENGAGEMENT SHOOT

This past Sunday we worked with Kelly and David on their engagement shoot. Their wedding is coming up this May in Sedona at the Amara Resort and Spa, so that was our starting point for the shoot. They also brought along their son, Bryant, and their adorable pug, Lola, and we did some family portraits too.

After shooting along the creek we headed over to Tlaquepaque to finish up. Thanks guys, we really did have a very good time, even if it was a little short :-), and we hope you did as well - David, we hope you recovered :-). Bryant, you did great watching Lola and Lola, you did great posing for the camera :-). We are really looking forward to the wedding! See you then!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

SEDONA FASHION SHOOT

Just had to post this one ... I adore her laugh :-).

Last Thursday Yvonne Baca, owner of Northern Arizona Wedding Planner, and I went to Red Rock Crossing in Sedona to photograph her new line of wedding dresses and accessories. The line is aptly named, Touch of Tradition TM, and is meant to "... tie in cultural tradition with the elegance of today's modern bride", Yvonne says. Each dress is embroidered and hand-beaded with genuine stones; in the case of the two shown, turquoise and coral.

Our model was Kelly and she was absolutely wonderful. She has a great personality which really shines through in photos and never once did she complain, even though it was a bit on the chilly side - a real pro! Oh, and I love her moccasins that were made for her by her grandmother. As you can see from the photos, Yvonne's dresses are absolutely exquisite and her accessories are thoughtfully beaded to harmonize perfectly with their counterparts. It was a perfect location with perfect weather and perfect light - we had a great time! Feel free to visit Yvonne's websites to learn more!

Touch of Tradition TM - http://www.touchoftradition.com/

Northern Arizona Wedding Planner - http://www.northernarizonaweddingplanner.com/

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

A CRAZY WEEKEND

It was a crazy weekend as you will see on the following posts. We headed down to Phoenix on Friday for the Bridal Fashion Debut held on Saturday and Sunday. We had a meeting Friday night; the show, a wedding and another meeting Saturday; the show and a final meeting on Sunday; and finally we arrived home to a major snow storm Sunday night - wow! I think collectively, we got about 5 hours sleep between Friday and Saturday night, but we had a blast :-).

SNOW - ROUND TWO

Yoshi celebrating his 10th B-day :-)

After leaving our busy weekend in Phoenix, we returned home to round two of snow - that's right, we had another huge snow storm over the weekend! We arrived home Sunday night to about one foot of fresh snow and about another foot fell overnight. This is why we like to live in Flagstaff and we are glad to finally see a really good winter!

RAQUEL AND LUIS WEDDING

While Kevin manned the booth at the Convention Center Saturday, I was lucky enough to sneak away to shoot a wedding :-). Luis and Raquel contacted me a couple of weeks ago about shooting their wedding. It was a small affair with family and close friends. Their wedding was held at Saint Mary's Basilica, which conveniently was within walking distance of the bridal show. This is my second time shooting at Saint Mary's and it is by far one of my favorite churches. It is so beautiful - especially around the holidays with all the decorations!

I have to say, Luis and Raquel made a beautiful couple. I kept teasing them that they looked like they were posing for a fashion magazine. I also loved all the adorable children at this wedding. It was hard to keep my camera off of them. The reception was held at a private residence in Waddell and it just goes to show that you can create just as beautiful an atmosphere at a home as you can at an expensive venue - it looked gorgeous!

Luis and Raquel, thank you so much! Though it may have been small, it was a magnificent affair and I was happy to be a part of it! Have fun in Northern California!

PHOENIX BRIDAL SHOW

We participated in the Bridal Fashion Debut held at the Phoenix Convention Center this past Saturday and Sunday. It is our third time as vendors and as usual we had a blast. There is always so much energy at these type of conventions. We also got the benefit of a larger booth thanks to the no-show vendor next to us - gotta like that. Aubrey, if you are reading this, the photograph of you in the dunes was a huge hit - you should definitely blow that one up large for your wall, it is AMAZING!!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

Well, here we are and yet another year has seen its end as we bid goodbye to 2007 and welcome in 2008! The years always seem to pass so quickly. I can remember when the song, "1999" by Prince first came out. I was in my early teens then, and like most people in their youth, I thought to myself, "that is sooooo far away" ... oops, did I just give my age away :-). It seemed impossible to me then that 1999 would ever roll around and now that almost another decade has passed since that auspicious countdown, it somehow seems so long ago!

My life and my world back then was so radically different than today. I lived in Florida at the time and enjoyed what was to be some of the last carefree days I would see for quite some time. I was embarking on my third, and to date last, journey to Kenya - a place I had fallen in love with. I had recently opened a shop selling African arts and artifacts, called Tribal Expressions, while at the same time concentrating on selling my freelance work from my nature and travel photography. I was also married at the time, a union which unfortunately was not meant to be - though happily we still remain good friends.

A lot has happened in the years since, much of it very painful. Ultimately though, it all led me to where and what I am today. I love living out west and I adore what I do on a professional level. I also met Kevin, which has brought great calm to my previously chaotic life. Kevin and I both look forward to the coming year as it will be a big one for us - we will post more on that soon!

As for 2007, we greatly enjoyed it! To all of our couples, we wish to say thank you for allowing us to be a part of your weddings. We get very involved with all of our client's and truly love getting to know each and every one of them. It is because of all of you that we are able to make a living doing something we both feel so passionate about, and for that we are eternally grateful! We wish all of our couples a wonderful new year and a life full of happiness and joy!

Happy New Year 2008!