Photographing the Preservation of History at Asilomar
Photographing this ribbon cutting was especially meaningful because Asilomar Conference Grounds has continued to bring me back for corporate and community events over the past two+ years. This time it was for a ribbon cutting celebrating the Historic Preservation Center where the craftsmanship of the grounds are preserved, from windows to architectural features. Before the actual ribbon cutting, I made a series of group photos and was asked if I was ok being on a ladder as they wanted a high up perspective looking down into the preservation workshop itself. I joked that I am more athletic than the average photographer so no problem to shoot from 10+ feet up! (see the BTS photo below) There were then a series of speakers from Asilomar Conference Grounds, the California State Parks system, and the mayor of Pacific Grove also all talking about the history of the place and what it means to preserve. Then it was on to the lively ribbon cutting! Thank you Alex and Crystal for continuing to choose me as your event photographer for Asilomar Conference Grounds!
Trusted With a Special Race Car in a Remarkable Setting
I was excited to get contacted by Bonhams again to photograph another local car here in the Monterey Peninsula area that will be listed at the upcoming Laguna Seca Auction during Monterey Car Week 2026. And, it was not just a car this time, it was an actual race car! Then the location was not just any location, it was outside a private hanger at Monterey Regional Airport! This combined to allow me to make car auction photos unlike any others I had done before. It was great working with Jim, who took care of this race car for the owner for 20 years. The race car is so light, we never started it up to move it. Jim and I were able to easily push it to turn it around as needed. Thank you to the team at Bonhams for continuing to choose me as a local Monterey car auction photographer and to Jim for his help during the shoot.
Studio Headshots for a Monterey Actor and Theatre Creative
Lloyd Brewer, also known professionally as LJ Brewer, came to my Pacific Grove studio for an actor headshot session. Lloyd is a local actor, performer, creative, and co-owner of Paper Wing Theatre & Supper Club on Cannery Row in Monterey. Lloyd had ideas for his headshots, but we were also very freewheeling in the studio seeing what worked best. For the first time, a client brought their social media consultant to a shoot! So it really was a team effort in creating the look of all these headshots for Lloyd. We set out with a goal of making a series photos that show a range of emotions that can open up Lloyd to roles other than villains, which he said he often plays. His Instagram profile name is even “reluctant_villain.” It was great working with Lloyd and his social media consultant, and very interesting to also see their own process for choosing the final photos from the session which we did in studio at the end of the session. Good luck in New York Lloyd and thank you for choosing me as your headshot photographer!
A Complete Business Photo Session for a Local Pacific Grove Accounting Team
I came to know Travis through the Pacific Grove Rotary Club. In talking he expressed an interest in updated team headshots for his accounting team, as well as some “better than stock” candid photos of the team in action. I said I would be very happy to help out with that when you and the team are ready. Well, they survived tax season this year and we scheduled a date for me to bring the mobile studio setup to his office, which is actually only walking distance (if I didn’t have to bring so much photo equipment) from my own photo studio. It took a bit of creative setup to make the best use of the space for headshots, but in the end I was able to figure it out and make the same great headshots I do for all clients whether it is at their location, or at my downtown Pacific Grove photo studio. We moved on to make a couple of group shots, then some candid business portraits, or as I call them, “better than stock” images, which required a little bit of acting on their part which they seemed to enjoy! Thank you so much to Travis for choosing me as your photographer. It is always great to work with a fellow Rotarian too! And thank you to first time photo assistant Theresa, for helping with this multi-faceted shoot and getting that BTS (behind the scenes) photo of me below.
A new Pebble Beach location for Corvette Z06 Auction Photography
I have photographed several cars for auction for Brian of Peixoto Auto Group in the past. They were all his client’s cars (a Lexus, a Mustang . This time though, it was much more personal as his very own Corvette Z06 Convertible was to be in front of my camera! Add to that we were trying out a new location and the variables that brings, I wanted to be focused and make sure I delivered once again for Brian a set of photos that will really drive the bids up when he lists it on Bring A Trailer. The new location was a spot I had considered for a while, the large turnoff area on 17-Mile Drive called Bird Rock. There is a lot of space there, so even if it had some tourists, there would be space. Well, there were way, way more tourists there than I thought, in fact at one time 3 bus fulls!! Not only that, the local wildlife was getting in on the action. While trying to get a low angle shot, I see appear right under my camera a squirrel very much unafraid of me and looking like it wanted a snack! I said sorry buddy, no food, only a camera — haha.
It was great having Max visiting my photography studio here in Pacific Grove, California for an extended actor headshot session and portfolio shoot. He was very expressive in his poses and the impression he wanted to give in each photo. I was glad to setup the lighting and background to best capture these images to complement his ideas as we worked together to make them. Several of the photos I thought were well suited to converting to black & white as well and offered them as a bonus in his edited photo gallery I delivered shortly after our shoot (I like to get edited photos to clients asap!). Thank you Max for choosing me as your actor headshot and portfolio photographer!
Dr. Gentry reached out to me about the new psychiatric practice he is opening in Carmel, California, and how he wanted a series of personal branding photos for his upcoming website. As his office space was still coming together, we decided to start in my studio here in Pacific Grove for the first shoot, focusing on branding photos that would prominently show his logo on his white coat. We worked carefully together on both expression and posing to get the look Dr. Gentry wanted for representing himself to patients on his website and other branding materials. That process also involved getting the background color right, choosing the best shirt to wear under his white coat, and then focusing on the most important part of all, his eyes, so they conveyed the right tone. Thank you, Dr. Gentry, for your patience as we worked through all of those details together, and thank you for choosing me as your photographer.
