Peek…Aren’t You Curious Corte Madera Event

Pat and I had such a blast at the Peek…Aren’t You Curious Corte Madera store last Sunday. We did 20 mini photo shoots for customers during an in-store event. Check out just a few of the cuties…

Thanks to all of the awesome kids and their fabulous parents for making the day so much fun. And…a huge shout out to Megan, the amazing store manager who made the entire day incredibly pleasant and seamless. If you have not been to the Corte Madera store, you must stop by. Click here for more store info. Also, Peek’s brand spankin’ new e-commerce website will be launching soon…I will keep you posted.

 

Santa Cruz Family Portrait Photography: A beautiful night at the beach

Thank you, beautiful family…

…for a beautiful night.

 

Santa Cruz Family Portrait Photography: 3 sweet girls

Here in Santa Cruz, October gives us the most amazing weather and this year has been no exception. The last few weekends have been gorgeous, and lucky me-I got to hang out on the beach and take pictures…

This sweet girl just turned one.

Both big sisters have the best personalities…

I love these images of Mom with her girls. Check out Mom’s awesome business HERE!

And the images with Dad aren’t so bad either…

I love photographing families at Natural Bridges State Beach. I still can’t believe that we actually get to live here…

Thank you, beautiful family. I had a lovely evening with you! More beach sessions coming soon…

 

Santa Cruz Family Portrait Photography: home

Q: When you have an 8.5 month old and an almost 3 year old, where do you go to have your family portrait taken?

A: nowhere.

Dear Cayce, Jer, JH, & C,

Thank you for having me over. I loved every single minute of it. Especially the timeout in the guitar case, the cookies, and sharing my Holga with the budding photographer.  You guys are amazing. There is, indeed, no place like home.

With Much, Much LOVE,

Jo

**If you want to read more about this amazing family and their many talents, click HERE or HERE.

 

A First Birthday Portrait

I’ve been terrible about blogging lately, and I’m skipping a lot, but I just had to post this portrait session because Mom is one of my most faithful blog followers…that, and I love this family!

I was so honored that Nicole and her family came all the way from the Sacramento area for their family portrait session! Nicole and I “met” online earlier this year and have struck up one of those cyber-friendships. It has been an honor watching her grow as a photographer and reading her fabulously smart and entertaining blog. Well, I finally got to really meet Nicole, her hilarious husband Gary, and their two little angels. Their littlest turned one on the day after the portrait session, so I made sure that I got some special shots of the birthday girl…

Check out this amazing sweater ! Nicole knitted it and Gary’s mom sewed the beads on. Nicole, I am blown away by your mad skills!

And here is the beautiful mom. Congratulations, Nicole and Gary…she is precious.

And the adorable and equally precious big sis…

Ready to walk.

We met up at Wilder Ranch, which is always such an amazing place to photograph. The light there is pretty unbelievable.

One of my faves…

Another favorite.

I wish that I could take credit for this idea, but my friend Kendra once captured an image of my son in one of these barn windows and I have always loved it so much (Thanks, Kendra!). I know, I’m a total copycat, but it was so worth it for these smiles.

And here is Dad with the birthday girl checking out the goats. Nicole and Gary are both veterinarians, and were quite interested in all of the animals at Wilder. In fact, I’m not sure who was more excited about the animals, the kids or the parents. Seriously though, I learned quite a bit from our short time together…these two seriously know their stuff!

By the end of the session, the wind was howling…but they were all still smiling.

I love this one. One thing I’ve learned is that happiness can never be faked in photographs. If you look with your heart, you can always feel if it is there.

Nicole and Gary, thank you for making the trek and for sharing your amazing family with me. I left Wilder Ranch feeling inspired by the joy and ease that you posses as a family. Nicole, I am so glad that we’ve gotten to know one another. Your photographs are beautiful. Keep doing what you do and keep doing it from your heart. With big, big love, Jo

 

What Love Looks Like. {Los Gatos Family Portrait Photography}

I was so honored when Nicole contacted me all the way from Europe several months ago about a family portrait session. She, her children, and her brother would be in the country visiting her parents and she asked if I could capture some images of their family together. The answer, of course, was a resounding yes! Nicole and her family were so incredibly gracious and her two little ones were as sweet as they look.

If someone were to ask me what what love looks like, I would show them these next three images…

Beautiful mom + happy children + stunning location + late afternoon sun +Love = a photographer’s dream come true!

I was so taken by how sweet and gentle Nicole’s brother was with his nephews. I later learned that he’s a preschool teacher.

The whole gang

And of course, I couldn’t help but to do my favorite thing…shoot right into the setting sun! Could I have been any luckier on this day?

Nicole, I was honored to be contacted by you, but even more honored to have been able to spend time with you and your family. Each one of you radiates so much beauty and joy. Thank you for including me in this evening…I loved it!

Love,

Jo Ann

 

at the ranch

7 days of living here, 4 horses, 1 dead black widow, 1 barn owl, 2 beautiful farm boys, 1 fabulous mom, 1 dad who will be excited to see these, lots of cool hats, 1 awesome greenhouse, 10 amazing acres. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, I got to visit the ranch and photograph this beautiful family a couple of weeks ago…

M and family, thank you for welcoming me into your magical lives…the experience is still with me. I look forward to coming to visit again soon! All my Love, J

 

Sorry, couldn’t help myself…

I know that I’ve already blogged about these shoots, but…

As I was finishing up the images for Peek…Aren’t You Curious’ Fall line, I stumbled upon a few that struck me…not sure why or even how, but each of these images made me pause and either think, laugh, or wonder a little bit. I’ve photographed a lot of kids in the last few years, and each one has given me something to think about, laugh about, and definitely wonder about. They are certainly unique. The weird thing is that I’ve never met one that I didn’t like or that didn’t give me something. Someone told me once that our children are our greatest teachers. Boy, isn’t that the truth?

So the first 5 would be the laugh part:

And I have so much to learn…

 

Peek…Aren’t You Curious Fall Part 3

Another photo shoot in Santa Cruz. Great kids, amazing parents. A wonderful time was had by all, thanks everyone!

Peek…Aren’t You Curious has a new website coming soon…I will keep you posted!

 

Peek…Aren’t You Curious Fall Part 2

It’s late, but I wanted to post a few that grabbed my eye from today’s photo shoot in Santa Cruz. Thanks to our wonderful friends who came along to enjoy the lovely evening. And thanks to Chris and Brian for driving all the way down!

Thoughts?