My Studio is closed :(

After receiving numerous requests to shoot weddings all over the place, I must say officially that I cannot. ….sad face…. sad face.  I’m sad to report to all of you that I had decided to close my studio after more than a decade of being a wedding photographer. It was an extremely difficult decision to make and wasn’t made lightly. I have been dealing with a very unpredictable decline in my health after having had by little girl, Charlie. I closed my doors to my studio back in 09 after she was born. MS is a tricky disease and that some days I feel like a normal person, and then other days I feel like I may never walk again. I take the good with the bad and always pray for the best. I’m thankful to have a wonderful support system at home.

For clients who came before 09 who still had not ordered your album….I’m sad to say that I’m no longer taking new work orders for albums. I am only tendering final transactions from clients in 09 and beyond. There’s that little clause in the details that says complete them in one years’s time….under normal circumstances, I’ve always continued to design albums past their one year due dates assessed with new album pricing fees, but now I have to focus on my health and staying stress free to be as healthy a mamma as I can be.

It’s been a pleasure working with so many amazing people over the years. Who knows what the future holds for me and my creative endeavors, but when something new happens, I’ll be sure to post back and let you know.

Best to you all…

Christa

 

more fun details

So I tried to get quite a bit in my last post as far as images go. I realized I forgot to include some of the pictures I was describing. D’oh! I got a little excited, but let me get a little more carried away. Come with me to Haley & Kenny’s wedding Definitely worthy of an editorial feature ala Grace Ormonde.

I would really like to know how many pedals were needed to carpet this aisle. It was so beautiful! Below that, the picture with the crystals hanging, that is a chandelier hung inside the tent with orchids hanging from each strand. So beautiful! Below that is the cocktail area, they had a martini ice luge and fabulous lounge furniture. The peacock feathers adorned everything, and accented the color theme beautifully especially the modern wrapped white chairs with the rhinestones, love how that looked. Those chair covers were stunning.

Gracing the Silver Screen

So it may seem a wee bit odd for me to write about a movie. I mean, I am not a movie critic on the side or anything, although I think I’d like to be, I love, love, love a good movie and can appreciate excellent writing.  I have good reason to want to talk about one movie in particular.  Nancy Meyers, is just an outstanding writer/director. To her credit are movies like What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give, & the The Holiday. In this movie, titled, It’s Complicated a comedy about love, divorce and everything in between, stars some of my absolute favorite actors of all time, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin. Ummm….hello?  Who wouldn’t want to see the awe inspiring chemistry of these 3 on screen? So what’s the significance already? Twist my arm already, here’s the skinny. About 4 months ago I was on the phone with the prop master for this film at NBC Universal. She was looking for some specific types of photos for a scene in the movie. I put together a plethora of images and prints for Nancy herself to review for use in the film. I had get it all together rather quickly and Fed Ex it to them in New York just before they were set to begin filming. Apparently there was a meeting about this scene and they needed to review my images asap. Crazy I know. I was thrilled they chose 2 to use in the scene. So here’s what I do know about the scene, there’s a wedding being planned in Santa Barbara and I believe it’s between the characters being played by Alec Baldwin and the gorgeous Lake Bell.  They are going to be looking through a wedding album and looking at 2 of my images of cakes. I realize it may only be this microcosm of a detail in this film, but I get the opportunity to leave a footprint of my work to my credit that I never imagined before. Just knowing that someone like Nancy Meyers has seen my work along side some of the most talented actors on the planet just makes me giddy with excitement. I am honored to be an itty bitty part of such a cool project. It’s due out on Christmas Day. If you see a girl sitting in the front row with a small video camera intensely watching the credits, don’t disturb me please. hee hee!

Anyway, check out the trailer. Looks like a super cute movie.

sabrina + federico

Words just can’t describe the incredible love and beauty that encompasses the two of you. What a privilege to be a part of your wedding. It was nothing short of amazing you guys. Not just aesthetically, but to see such a celebration of the love for two of you with your friends and family was inspiring. I hope you  had a wonderful honeymoon. Congratulations again you two

jessica+brian engaged!

I am so glad you both made the trek up to Tahoe to play with me! I’m sorry your puppy was sick on the way up, but it was fun to capture all of you. The extra little trip we took was a beautiful drive, even though we still missed the wildflowers blooming up there! that was a bummer, but I do love those shots we took by the cool old cabin.  I had such a great time with you guys. Let me know if you need anything before the big day.

Katie & Casey

I wished so much that I would have been able to shoot this wedding. The day of this wedding, I was coming home from the hospital after just having delivered my baby. This wedding just looked like so much fun. I’m sad that I missed it. Katie, you were nothing short of a stunning bride. Just beautiful!!! My good friend and fellow photographer, Heather Whiting, shot this wedding in my absence. I have never not been able to shoot one of my weddings in the 10+ years I’ve been shooting, but I guess having a baby is the best excuse I could have ever had, I’m just sad it had to be this one. Heather did a wonderful job capturing every beautiful moment. Not even a rainy day could stop getting some gorgeous photos!

Amy & Dave Kosanke

Despite the gloom of rain and snow atop Heavenly, you two had an incredible wedding. I know everyone said how unusual it was to have a day like that in June, but of all the sunny June weddings I’ve shot in the past, I wouldn’t have traded the day you had for one sunny day! It was incredible. Wish you both much love and happiness on your lives together