From Rotary Club Connections to Family Portraits at Lover’s Point Park
Even though I have photographed dozens of families in the past, mostly on the west coast beaches of Florida, since pivoting to focus on commercial photography 12+ years ago, I still have the occasional family portrait session come up. This family portrait photo shoot at Lover’s Point Park in Pacific Grove, California came about through me joining the Pacific Grove Rotary Club last year, which is were I first met Richard. We went on to judge a car show together put on by the Rotary Club. Since then we see each other every 2 weeks for the Rotary Club luncheon and have become friends. I have helped him with photo prints of existing photos of his a couple of times. This time, he asked me to make new photos of him and his wife Beth and their dog Gino, and then help them with designing their Christmas card (see below) using the photos we made together. I enjoyed the experience of making family portraits again, and getting to know Richard even better outside of the monthly Rotary Club events. Thank you Richard and Beth and Gino!
This was for sure the biggest event I have attended of its kind since I started being an ambassador for the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce in June 2024. The grand opening and ribbon cutting for Kimpton Mirador Pacific Grove seemed to have everyone I know from the local business community and city hall there! It was shoulder room only trying to get a photo of the actual ribbon cutting for the PG Chamber. No chance for a posed photo beforehand like usual either. Given all that, I was very glad to capture this wonderful candid of the ribbon being cut to this unique hotel and the newest addition to downtown Pacific Grove. After the ribbon cutting, I enjoyed my first tour of the hotel from entrance and lobby, to the expansive inner courtyard, and then actually getting to see inside a couple of guest rooms themselves. I finished with a sneak peak at the attached restaurant. I definitely look forward to photographing events at this stunning new hotel!
This marketing video for Pacific Grove Adventures was created as part of an ongoing video project for the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce, highlighting local businesses through short, approachable, story-driven videos. In this case, the “studio” was the beach, the props were bikes and a SUP board, and the goal was simple: show what it actually feels like to spend a day exploring Pacific Grove with Pacific Grove Adventures.
Once again Jazmyn and CC were pros in front of the camera! This video shoot required more physical action than the others, but it was no problem for them on land and water.
Sometimes I get ideas in my head of a photo I would like to make before I even walk out the door. On this recent Saturday evening, as January 2026 was about to conclude, I also still needed a photo made in January to include in my future January 2027 Pacific Grove Fine Art Photo Calendar. I had an idea of getting a photo of Lover’s Point Park near sunset time from the west of it, and using my Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master telephoto lens for a certain perspective and compressed view of the park. Well, where is that photo in this blog post? The light was not what I expected, for one, so the photo I went out looking to make was only so-so. However, I stumbled upon the Winter Moon rising so turned my focus onto getting images of that. Since my 70-200mm lens is not a super long telephoto lens, and thus I could not fill the frame with a photo of the moon itself, I decided to add out of focus foreground elements to some of the photos, and then add foreground and background layers to others. A boat even cooperated and cruised by for a photo too!
It was a real treat to have Dr. Jamie and her team visit my photo studio in Pacific Grove, CA for team headshots and a team photo as well! I mostly have individuals come to the studio for headshots, as it is not the biggest studio in the world, but for 5 people it worked out well. So that each person could still have their own individual style shoot, it was only one person at a time in the studio, while everyone else waited out in the lobby. Then after each person was happy with the headshot we made, the rest of the team came in and was super supportive of the image made of that team member, adding reassurance and encouragement! These genuine feelings for each other showed up in one of the best team photos I have ever made (see below)! I liked it so much I put it immediately on the home page of my website in my very select home page portfolio gallery.
We met in Seacliff, California to photograph a 2016 Shelby Mustang GT Convertible. I have a very methodical approach when photographing a car for an auction site, starting with the exterior coverage photos. This essentially involves photographing the car as if it were being rotated on a giant 360-degree platter — and since it is a convertible, doing it twice from all angles.
A Collaborative Campaign Headshot Session in Pacific Grove
Burcu Mousa (see the headshots I made for her on her campaign website) contacted me about making headshots and branding photos for her campaign to be Auditor-Controller for Monterey County. She visited my photo studio in downtown Pacific Grove, California bringing with her a number of wardrobe changes and I had reggae already playing per her request when I asked her what music vibe she wanted for her photo shoot! This was a fun, collaborative shoot, and yes, having a professional photo session matters because elections are visual. Since I shoot tethered to a 43” screen, Burco and I went through shot by shot during the session getting each headshot and branding photo just right in terms of lighting, background, and expression. She also changed wardrobe several times to match with the background and intention of each photo. In less than an hour long session, we were able to create 10 images she personally chose and that some of which are already up on her website! I really enjoy working with candidates running for political office. It definitely adds a little kind of extra buzz to the photo shoot in my mind! Thank you Burcu for choosing me as your photographer and trusting me to make the visuals that will be used in your campaign!
