They were literally all smiles for the entire session!  Which may, or may not, have had anything to do with a certain father doing crazy dances or something behind me.

I kinda wish I had eyes behind my head, but the view through my lens was pretty darn awesome, so I wasn’t too concerned with what was going on behind me.

And maybe it wasn’t all dad bringing those smiles out, cause I got some pretty darn awesome ones when all subjects were in front of the camera, too!

As you can see, they had the smiles and swagger to completely coordinate with their fab outfits!

From little sister to big sister, the smiles were flowing. . .

. . . and a great time was had by all!

It was incredibly hot here in L.A. on Sunday (the thermometer reached 90 degrees here at the beach).  Since we don’t have A/C at home, we decided to get out and make it an afternoon at the beach.  So, we loaded up the bikes and headed for the sand.  Boy were we in for a treat!  We got down to the beach at ultra low tide. . . lowest we’ve ever seen it.  So we enjoyed frolicking on the wide, glassy shores and the viewing magnificent sea stars that were clinging to the beach rocks typically hidden under water.

As sunset drew near, we hopped back on our bikes and headed a little ways north to the fire pits at Dockweiler State Beach.  We had packed provisions for smores and it was time to check “roasting marshmallows on the beach” off of our bucket list!

The real treat, however, was the sunset.  My 4-year-old looked up and said, “it’s like lava in the sky!”

The sky just kept getting more and more spectacular and we left the beach just as the crescent moon started shining brightly in the west.  A perfect end to a perfect family adventure!

Be sure to check out what Southeastern Wisconsin photographer Melissa Schuett has in store for this month!

Hope that starts your weekend on the right note!  Now, please go check out Texas Fine Art Photographer Sharon Gartrell’s fine art inspiration for September.

Be sure to visit Albuquerque Family Photographer – Laura Meeks Fine Art Friday installment for this month.

I spent the next 20 minutes on the sand, viewing one of nature’s greatest shows, every few seconds a new and slightly different scene emerging.

The only thing that would have made it better was if my husband had been there to enjoy it with me.  But, I’m thankful he took kiddo bed time duty so I could be there.

Fine Art Friday is a collabrative project with some fantastic photographers.  Be sure to check out what Keller, TX Photographer Sharon Gartrell has this month!

One thing we didn’t count on when we arrived was the wind.  We brought our bicycles and had planned to ride along the beach promenade, but nearly 20 mph winds deterred us. 

Even though we weren’t on bikes, we still easily got to the Santa Barbar Pier, also known as Stearns Wharf, home of the Ty Warner Sea Center.   

My just-turned-6-year-old is an ocean animal lover and has declared he wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up.  When we told our boys we were taking a trip to Santa Barbara for the weekend, the first thing he asked was, “is there an aquarium there?”  When I told him there was, he demanded it be our first stop upon arrival into town!

With his ocean animal quota filled, we walked further along the promenade, just soaking up the sunshine and gorgeous views.

We watched the sun set through the palm trees, had a fantastic dinner, then turned in early, ready for more adventure the next day!

 I love participating in this “10 on 10″ challenge with some other extremely talented photographers.  Go check out Spokane Photographer Kelly of Creatively Yours next for another fun 10 on 10!

A few days ago, my husband and I took our kids and my visiting parents down to the beach.  While the kids played with their grandparents in the sand, my husband and I went for a run.  It was pretty brisk, so when we finished the run, everyone was ready to head back home and warm up.  But as we drove up the hill toward our house (we live a little over 1 mile from the beach), I noticed the sky was getting this gorgeous glow.  We pulled in our driveway, the family unloaded and I pulled right back out, camera in tow to race back down for sunset.  And am I ever glad I did!

A perfect end to 2012!

Now head on over to see Pensacola Florida Photographer, Tracy Tisdale and her final piece of Fine Art for 2012.

Abalone Cove is known for its tide pools, but we didn’t time our visit very well.  High tide was coming within an hour of our arrival.  So we didn’t get to search for little ocean critters, but we still had fun exploring the narrow rocky beach.

I ventured around the south cliff of the cove and found several daring fishermen risking rogue high tide waves for the perfect catch.

And while we didn’t have tide pools teeming with sea creatures to explore, we were still treated with some wildlife sightings.  Including birds circling overhead. . .

. . . and this guy, trying hard to hide in the crevice of the rock.  He was about as big as the palm of my hand.

After exploring the low side of Abalone Park, we headed back up a trail to the south cliff, aptly named Inspiration Point, and caught a glimpse of Sacred Cove.

From our high viewpoint we also caught a glimpse of a playful little guy down below.  I was mostly happy that I had opted to bring my wide angle lens in lieu of my zoom on our trip that day (which enabled me to get most of the images above), but I was definitely missing it with this guy!   Still, it was a fun treat to cap off a fun trip.  Abalone Cove is definitely on our “Favorite Things In SoCal” List!

10 on 10 is a blog hop project with a talented group of photographers.  Be sure to head over to North Canton lifestyle photographer, Louder Than Words Photography by Heidi Roberts to continue the loop!

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

We love the little Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the pier, watching the surfers, and sometimes locking up our bicycles and heading up the hill to the central plaza.  A couple of weeks ago, with my Sister-In-Law out for a visit from Pennsylvania, we treated her to a day doing some of our favorite things!  The bonus is that it was a Tuesday, the day of the weekly Manhattan Beach Farmer’s Market!

We enjoyed the warm February day on our bikes, watching the waves, picking out some organic produce, and feasting on some tasty bites. . . definitely a perfect SoCal day!

Please check out Savannah Photographer Britt Anderson‘s Ten next!

Hopefully, this brings you some of that joy and hope.  Especially if you don’t live anywhere near a coastline!

1.  Jack Johnson.  He’s one of my favorite singers and I love that he’s so well loved.  I mean, I’ve never heard anyone say they don’t like him.  His To the Sea album is on constant repeat in my car, because it’s the top request of my 4-year-old.  It’s a nice change-up from the Disney songs that were in top demand last month!

2.  Satsumas.  They’re small, sweet, adorable, and delicious!  Pretty much the same as a mandarin orange or clementine, but there’s just something about them that gives them a little something extra.  I love that I can get them at our farmer’s market with the leaves still attached.  They look so delightful on my table!

3.  Toothbrushes.  Okay, I don’t mean a regular old toothbrush is one of my favorite things (although I do love when I come home from the dentist with a new one!), I love these super hero spinning kids toothbrushes.  My older son has Captain America and my younger has Spiderman.  They are awesome for two reasons:  1) my kids are excited to brush, every night (and they’ve had them a solid 3 months already) and 2) their teeth get far cleaner with these than with a traditional toothbrush.  I guess a third reason to love them is that they are pretty inexpensive, on the order of $4 each.

4.  The sound of a crashing wave.  I don’t know that I could ever grow tired of a beach sunset.  It’s such a peaceful and vibrant visual, but the crashing waves make a great audio track.  Something about the repetitive sound, with the occasional surprise of an extra loud splash. . . it’s just hard to beat!

That’s all for today, but happy weekend and happy Friday the 13th!

I thought this would be easier than taking a meaningful photo every day.  But as my first week is over, I’m already finding it challenging!  Picking just 1 single photo to represent the week is a LOT of pressure!  My initial goal for the project was to have an image each week that is artistic, compelling, personal and tells the story of my life.  Um, yeah, why did I think that would be easy?!?!

I think I will learn in 2012 to cut myself some slack! 

Without further adieu, here is my image for Week 1 of “52 in 2012,” representing “newness.”

I’m doing this project with a fabulous group of photographers, and we’re working on getting some links set up to share our images.  My goal is to have it all set up in time for Week 2!

It’s just as serene at sunset, too.  Which is exactly the way I like to enjoy my sunsets, thank you very much.

I was actually down at the beach with my family when I took these pictures.  While my husband watched the kids as they ran in the sand, I got closer to the water with my camera.  The colors kept getting more and more vivid and I just had to share.  I called my 4-year-old over and told him that I wanted to show him something really cool.  I showed him that as you knelt down closer the sand, the reflection along the surf got more vivid and colorful, just like the sky.  If you stood up, the color disappeared and it turned dark.  He was pretty amazed.  And I can completely see why. . .

I love the crashing of the waves.  It’s kind of ironic how something so violent can be so soothing.  But I could sit at the shoreline and listen to it for hours. . .

Here’s a birds-eye view of the South Bay from the top of the Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica pier.  Definitely worth the price of a ticket!

Finally for today, the sun put on quite a show before setting. . .

Who said you need to see the water in a great beach image? 

I must say, that I quite enjoyed the change of subjects, although these guys were just as active as the ones who are normally in front of the camera.  Guess I had good practice!