Ice crystals - Redding photographer

Ice crystals on a piece of broken tile from the other morning, don't you love how it sparkles. I used my 50mm 1.4 lens at f/1.8 for this shot.

Ice on the front deck, I got down low for this shot & the f-stop was @ f/2.5.

I love the little things in life & so thankful I get to enjoy them each day.

Family, maternity photos - Redding CA photographer

The photo above is one of my favorites from the day, the girls reading to their soon-to-be baby brother.

I can't wait to meet my great nephew.

Christina - Redding Photography

Here are some of my favorite photos I took of Christina a couple weeks back. She's so easy to photograph & the camera just loves her. Thanks for the fun evening Christina. Enjoy!

Property sunset

Here is another sunset from our backyard, I never get tired of these.

Property clouds

Not sure what's with me lately, I'm a little obsessed with the sky & can't stop sharing it. Maybe I'm just appreciating the little things in my life. I took this one about 8:30ish this morning from the back porch, I like how there's dark streaks of clouds mixed in, there's a storm a' brewin & it's super cold outside. Only expecting to get 70 degrees in Redding & we're about 8 degrees cooler, so burrrrrrr!!!! I'm not much for the cold but I'm excited for Fall to come, it seems like summer dragged on forever. Another reason for the excitement, we planted some tulip bulbs in the front yard (I still have more to go), just need cool weather for finishing.

It's funny, I traditionally take photos of the back yard in the Fall/Winter months for the cloud views & the front yard for all the Spring/Summer flowers that we're rewarded with (some natural, some planted). For everything happening in my life, I'm just so thankful, even if it's something little & I don't want to ever take anything for granted.

How I took it

I brought the tripod but the sky didn't bring the best clouds, I'm still happy for what I got last night though. My settings were f/16, shutter speed was 1/8 second, ISO 100. We're very lucky to have this view & the next time I'm going to take the photo from the back deck, maybe we'll get a few city lights in there as well. Have a great day everybody!

Property Sunset - Redding Photographer

Click on the to enlarge the image.

These were taken minutes apart tonight. I didn't have the tripod tonight but I will tomorrow night,

I just hope I'm as lucky with the gift of clouds.



Property sunsets

The news said there's a storm moving in tonight & it might rain. I just love the cloud formation & the sunsets always look better with clouds. If I had only been a few minutes earlier, it was even prettier.

Have a great day!

Sisters & Family Christmas Cards - Redding CA

How cute is this?!

We went out for some Christmas card photos & the morning was absolutely beautiful, I couldn't resist my generic shot! I was super happy when I got home & seen how special this moment was.

These girls get cuter each time I see them & I love watching them grow.

Have you taken your Family Christmas card photos?

Property - Gayfeather life cycle

 GAYFEATHER: BEFORE (taken in July)

GAYFEATHER: DURING THE FINCH ATTACK (taken in August) (note the finch on the left Gayfeather going to town, he's blurry cause he was moving so much, while the finch on the right is coming in for a landing to feed).

GAYFEATHER:  AFTER THE FINCH ATTACK (taken in September)



These stalks will die back, I'll cut them off & then some of them are moving into our newer front yard planter. I didn't know that finches would go after the Gayfeather when it went to seed (or that it would even go to seed, haha), now that we know it, we are going to buy more Gayfeathers in the Spring for the backyard. Our front porch was covered with seed after the attack. It'll be interesting to see if we get any come up next summer, we planted a bulb, not seed, so not sure how that works. Can't wait to get these planted & see them bloom next summer in their new home.

The "B" Family - Redding CA Photographer

I had a nice day out with the B family several weeks ago, I sure love this family!!

PERSONAL NOTE:  I was telling Jon the other day, that since watching an online workshop on CreativeLive, I see my photos in a completely different way, seeing things I didn't see before. It made me want to critique my own work & see the flaws along with what I love. (I don't have thick skin so I'm taking baby steps here.) There's a million things I want to change about the lighting in the photos but I still love them cause I love the family. Lighting is the biggest frustration for me & being limited with my gear & not having an assistant 98% of the time, I knew these would be hard photos to light but I still liked the basic sorta posey moment so it was a keeper to me. Every idea has to start somewhere. Now I just need to tweek it a little here & there, keep shooting the pose adding light, to eventually make it my best ;) I want to do it straight from the camera, not fix it in photoshop but that's just who I am, don't judge.

And since I LOVE happiness, I had to post the moment too, I just love her face! Don't you love that special someone that makes you laugh so much your face hurts....I DO!  & I know what that happiness feels like.

Even with the photo above, I see it differently since taking it, like now, not having him look into her eyes this close but I do still love it, it makes me smile...a lot; that's the most important part. I'll do better next time. The look on his face (not shown, duh), made her react this way & made the image completely worth keeping. BEST feeling EVER!!!

"Push, Fail, Learn, Evolve" - Roberto Valenzuela Photography
(the workshop instructor I watched on CreativeLive)

I went to my nieces wedding in North Shore Lake Tahoe the end of August. It was such a sweet ceremony & we all just bawled when her little brother gave her a hug at the end of the ceremony (last photo). I went as a guest so I only took photos during the ceremony & from my seat, it was so relaxing & free of pressure. What a great day!

 Congratulations to John & Kayla!!!! 

Baby C is so tiny - Newborn Redding photographer

Isn't she tiny & adorable!!

Sadie Senior portraits - Matson Vineyards - Redding, CA

Had a great time with Sadie at Matson Vineyards, taking her senior portraits. She is so cute & has the most amazing eyes.

I absolutely LOVE these!!!

How I took it - Redding CA photography

Can't wait!!!!, I'm attending a few events for people that I care deeply about & I'm just pretty darn excited about that right now. I love Jon so much for helping me get to where I need to be, I love him more than he could ever imagine (......but somehow I think he has just a little idea by now, wink wink!). Hope everybody has a great night & fulfilling weekend, I know I going to.

Here are a few resident finches tearing up the gay feathers to get to the seed. I LOVE these plants even more now, definitely getting more for next year, the finch love them.

NOTE: I didn't have the ideal conditions to get this shot but it was well worth what I came out with. The plant is on our front porch, I didn't want to spook the finches so I couldn't open the door all the way, it was about 11am so the sun was reflecting brightly on the entrance flooring & into my face & lens. I used my Canon 24-70 2.8 lens, set at 70mm & I still cropped the photo.

My Manual camera settings were aperture f-4, ss 1/400 & ISO 125. The wind was blowing, which made the plant bob & weave, so I increased the aperture for that movement, I kept my ISO low which left the shutter speed at 1/400, not enough to freeze the wings but pretty close. I didn't expose for the entire photo, I was worried about the bird, not the background & those finches are fast, this was such a lucky shot. It may not be the right way but it's how I took it. Enjoy!

Monsoonal clouds sunset - Kimberly Kester Photography

It was the end of the monsoonal clouds this night & it made for some awesome photos, especially the last one with all the sun beams darting across the sky. The valley was filled with smoke from surrounding fires, you can barely see the mountains in the distance. I got down low on purpose for this photo, so I could get some golden, dry weeds in the foreground. Thought it turned out pretty good.

I LOVE this last photo, it's so peaceful to me. Click on it to view it larger.

Trash the dress - Storm style - Redding CA

Just spending a bright, summer morning at the creek.....or shall I say, in the creek. I really want to do a sunset version of trash the dress next.

She's ready to go off into the military so we had a little fun before life became too serious.

Good luck Storm! I hope you achieve all you strive for.

Sunrise over a fire area

These photos were taken August 14th when the sun was rising over a fire area, beyond (far beyond) our front yard. We typically don't even have clouds this time of year but I've been blessed with monsoonal moisture that's been hovering over Mt. Lassen lately, creating some gorgeous sunrises from time to time.

 In this last photo below, you can see the sun barely peeking out around the clouds, it wound up being an overcast day all day, it could have been smoke from the fires that created the overcast feel but I don't think so & none the less, I thought the sunrise was beautiful & I felt lucky to got to witness it. 

When I first looked out the window this morning (& of course I couldn't capture it in time), the sun looked like hell rising to heaven. The sky was red-red on the bottom of the scene & there were blue-blue sky above it, by the time I grabbed my camera & made it outside, this was the best I could get & these photos do it no justice. I guess you had to be there or I need to be quicker with my camera, lol.



School starts in a matter of days, Matthew starts his last year of Jr. High & my daughter Marissa, turns 18 on the same day, my babies are growing up, this will be an emotional week for me, lol.

In the moment - J & D

I love how some people simply relax so easily in front of the camera, it makes it easier to capture "In the moment" photos like these, they're the best.

Matson Vineyards - Marc Cooper

Matson Vineyards hosted Marc Cooper again on Saturday during their Members Pick up Event. I love listening to this guy play live.

It was a great weekend all together, with this event on Saturday & the beautiful family I posted yesterday, I had a great weekend. I hope you have a great day & enjoy your week!!!

Ahhhhh, I miss my Chipmunk Cheeks

...especially after spending the morning with this handsome little guy & wishing I had photos of me & my kids together like these. I used to call Richie, my now almost 23 yr old son, Chipmunk Cheeks & this little guy had the same cheeks I remember Richie having (and never grew out of, hehe).
I'm sincerely honored this mom & dad allowed me to capture these quick moments in their life. I miss having babies, not like I'm going to go out & do anything about it but it sure does help me to decide what I want to do in the future with my photography.

I've been making some much needed decisions in my business lately & my heart feels unusually settled with them. I hope to be announcing the news soon. Thank you, to this beautiful family for spending some time with me. Have a great day!!