Category Archives: Engagement Shoots

Jesse and Holly at Batiquitos Lagoon, Del Mar, Ca

What a great year 2010 was! Now, after a busy holiday season I am finally catching up on posting images from several great shoots over the last few months. Here are some of my favorites from my brother Jesse and his fiancée Holly’s engagement shoot. They wanted to create a save the date card that looked like an old post card, so we decided to do the shoot in a classic style inspired by an old photo of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor.I always prefer to make engagement shoots more of an event than just a photo shoot, so I suggested a picnic! So, we went out to Batiquitos Lagoon in Del Mar and did just that. I love these pics and am excited to share them!

Last week, while sailing out at the Santa Barbara Channel Islands with on the 32′ sloop “Cloldwater” with my family, I had the privilege to be an accomplice in my brother Jesse’s proposal to the love of his life, his best friend Holly Duncan. The story goes as follows…

We began our odyssey  on a foggy morning with a 4 hour crossing from Santa Barbara to Fry’s Anchorage when, as in any good adventure the unexpected happened. With the island just coming into view, under 15 knot winds and full sail, my wheel broke loose sending the boat hard to port… our steering had gone out! Upon further inspection it was clear that the cable attaching the wheel to the rudder had snapped. We were dead in the water. For a while it seemed Jesse’s grand plans were dashed on the rocks before they ever began. One white knuckle hour later, using the emergency tiller, we managed to make it to land and anchor to attempt a repair. After several hours tinkering and scratching our heads, we finally pulled apart the steering and were able to repair the broken link. The journey would continue afterall! For the next 4 amazing days we sailed the north coast of Santa Cruz Island, exploring empty coves and sea caves by kayak, diving with sea lions in the kelp forests and hiking among the forested cliffs of Santa Cruz Island. The culmination of our journey brought us to the rugged of “Scorpion Anchorage” where the momentous event was soon to take place.

Unbeknownst to the ever-perceptive Holly, Jesse had purchased the ring a few months previously.  It had taken every bit of subterfuge he possessed to keep the ring under wraps while waiting for the right time to ask the big question. After much deliberation, he  finally decided our trip to the Islands was the perfect occasion. This trip just so happened to fall on the anniversary of the first day they met, 5 years ago. Capitalizing on this noteworthy coincidence, my brother worked up a plan to surprise her on the last day of our trip. However, pulling off such a stunt in secret on a 32′ boat with 8 people on board, especially with very excited family members, is a mission requiring nothing less than the tact and skill of an undercover agent. After a few late nights whispering and plotting on deck while Holly slept below, we finalized the plan.

After a little recon mission earlier in the day, I scouted out a perfect overlook at Cavern Point where they would be able to watch the sun set over the water. The plan was to all go on an evening hike to catch said sunset.  Somehow my brother had to stall long enough to give me, my other brother Jordan and his wife Breanna enough time to race ahead and set up the picnic blanket arrayed with a nice red wine and boutique chocolates with discretely placed small speakers to play the soundtrack.  Once everything was in place we then had to hide ourselves somewhere among the barren cliffside behind the few scattered rocks that offered some coverage. We finished up just in time to see them round the last bend trail to make the final approach. The evening could not have been more perfect. They had the entire golden landscape all to themselves with a cool breeze and a clear sky. While crouching behind a rock ready to take pictures, I watched the couple drift up the trail feeling overjoyed to be witness to such a beautiful event.

From the top of the hill I could hear Holly’s delight at the sight of the mysteriously placed picnic knowing Jesse had in fact remembered their 5 years together and planned the special occasion all for her. A hollywood movie could not have presented a more memorable scene as they sat watching the pelicans soar along the cliffs over the ocean to the soundtrack of Debussy’s “Claire du Lune”. Once settled into each other’s arms Jesse pulled out from his pack a small package, not with the ring but with another gift… a dress from Anthropology which he had picked out for Holly with the help of her friend Stef in the hopes that she might wear it for the occasion. Alas, the dream he had in mind had not accounted for the quickly cooling evening and so she opted to remain in the warm comfort of jeans and sweatshirt instead. At this point, Holly had no idea there was more ahead as she was already beside herself  enjoying the surprise of the lovely picnic. Then, out of his bag of tricks, Jesse pulled out his ukulele and began to play a song that they had started to write together a while back only this time he had finished it with a few words of his own. As the final lyrics spoke of life together Holly’s face showed what she had not even dared to dream… Jesse was about to ask her to be his wife! And then he did… without finishing that final word, he put the ukulele down, got down on his knees and lifted her up and asked those sacred words. She was speechless… shocked with joy and surprise… it was a “yes”!

My family and I are thrilled that Holly will soon be joining our family. It is so good to see these two, at long last, engaged! Congratulations Jesse and Holly… I love you both with all my heart!

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/14445655[/vimeo]

I just got back from an amazing trip to Hood River where I was visiting my good friends Blaine and Bethany Franger along with several other dear friends from my college days in Santa Barbara. In between all the mountain biking, kayaking, riding dirt bikes, and hiking I managed to meet up with Jeff and Nicole for a couple beers at a the local Double Mountain Brewery before heading out to shoot their engagement photos around the beautiful town. I had a great time with these two and can not wait for their wedding in Curaçao next year!