MEF Photography Blog! &raquo; San Francisco-Based Wedding, Family + Portrait Photography

Sep 02 2011

September 2011 Goals

Filed Under: Personal;Things I Love

I know, I know. I skipped August goals — but friends, this is why. Say hello to the house we just bought. I’m going to put the punctuation for this sentence in a separate paragraph:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We bought a house! And not just any house, but MY DREAM HOUSE. The type of house I have wanted for as long as I can remember. The type of house I assumed I would never own. An Eichler.

It needs a TON of work, as it was essentially abandoned for the last three years (which coincidentally has helped me make great strides in my fight against arachnophobia — eew). The first time we saw it, it was like walking into a mint condition 1965 time capsule, and I am really not exaggerating in any way, shape or form when I say that. From the carpet, to the fixtures and furniture, EVERYTHING was from the mid-1960s. Mad Men could have set up cameras and filmed there with no extra work. But in more of a gross way than a neat way. Seriously.

So far we’ve ripped out the 50-year-old carpet (all FIVE different types), the asbestos tile and mastic underneath, the built-ins in the laundry room that looked like my Nana’s 1957 kitchen, the built-ins in the “library,” and a LOT of overgrown plants. Next week we’ll be getting our new washer and dryer, a new floor and painting. And hopefully the week after that, we’ll be MOVING.

Did I mention we have a pool? And an atrium? And that I am one seriously happy camper?

Life is good. :)

September Goals (July holdovers in italics):

Get our new floor
Paint the interior of the house (it hasn’t been painted since 1963 — the white walls are no longer white)
Landscape our atrium
MOVE
Set up the new office / studio
Pick up my wedding dress :)
Book our honeymoonlet (the real thing — three weeks in China + Tibet — has been pushed to 2012)
Finish all the major planning and prep for our wedding
Meet a new photography friend for coffee
Repaint our coffee table — Turns out old paint is kind of gross. Must get new paint!
Shoot a little film — Gotta hunt out a new battery

Completed July Goals:

Meet my goddaughter — Obviously, this is SO taken care of
Photograph the heck out of that new baby
Spend some time with my Connecticut family
Play with my niece until she tires of me (this isn’t actually possible)
Take some photos of some lovely Connecticut pals
Finish up that enormous secret from last month, which, if everything goes according to plan, I should be able to talk about at the start of August (This is the one I wasn’t allowed to be excited about. I’M EXCITED NOW.)
Celebrate my mother and father’s birthdays
Design my wedding invitations

by Molly

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Jul 29 2011

Katherine + Tim | Aqua Turf Wedding

Filed Under: Weddings

Oh, Katherine + Tim. What can I even say about these two? I mean, besides, “I totally love them.” Dearest blog readers, you’ve not met these two before, because I’ve not ever posted their engagement photos (but I will!), so let me give some back story.

Katherine is in medical school with the goal of becoming a pediatrician — so can you say kind, patient and caring? But the greatest thing is that I’d use all three of those words to describe Tim, too. Being around them is like a breath of fresh air; their calmness suffuses each situation in which they find themselves. They spend almost every minute together laughing (love it). And given the insane year they’ve had (chock full of every type of mental, emotional and physical hurdle and bit of bad news you could imagine), their positivity is all the more impressive.

But I truly believe the universe takes notice of stuff like that and evens the score when the time time is right. And my suspicions were confirmed when Tim + Katherine’s ENTIRE wedding day went off perfectly. Not only was everything on time, but NOTHING went wrong — not one single thing. And I can’t tell you how much it filled my heart with joy for the two of them, because they deserved nothing less.

On with the show!

How gorgeous was Katherine’s veil (not to mention the bride herself!)? And their church was pretty danged fancy, too — I just love the photo of the organist. But the best part? The “Holy crumbs, we’re married!” photo down at the bottom. Ugh, love it.

Their reception was at Aqua Turf (chosen after their first venue went out of business and cancelled all pending weddings — yikes!). It’s a lovely place, but a little too manicured for my tastes, so I wandered the property until I found this hidden, overgrown corner (below) for bridal party photos. One of the attendants from the venue who was checking up on us said it was only the 2nd time she’d ever seen a photographer use that area — THAT’S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR! :D

The way Tim looks at Katherine? Let’s just say I wish I had a hundred extra thumbs so I could put them all up! Um, and hello to Katherine’s eye color? RIGHT!? Were I a poet, I might have to describe them as, “limpid pools.” It’s a good thing I’m not a poet. :)

My absolute favorite photo from the whole day is the last one on the left. It’s perfectly “them.”

Katherine + Tim: Thank you so much for inviting me into your lives. I could not have asked for a better way to end my run in Connecticut, and I miss you both already. Keep that good luck streak going, k? :)

by Molly

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Jul 20 2011

Baby Liza | Orange, CT

Filed Under: Babies

You know when you meet genuinely good people, and they’re so easy to be around and talk to that you just get a sense of comfort from being in their presence? That’s Lacy + Gene.

Way back when I moved to Connecticut and started my business full-time, Lacy + Gene were my very first PAID engagement session. I think I drove a total of an hour and a half, gave them a number of prints and charged then a whopping $75. Hey, we all have to start somewhere, right?

My editing style has changed quite a bit since then, but I still love these pictures. I had to dig way back in the archives for these!

The thing I remember most is how unbelievably nervous I was — these people were trusting me WITH SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. But Lacy + Gene were so easy-going, so laid back, so much FUN to be around that I was instantly put at ease. Lacy also became my greatest client-champion to date, passing my name around to everyone she knew. She was one of the strongest forces in helping establish me in Connecticut, a feat for which I will be forever grateful. Before I moved, I told her that I needed to find a Californian Lacy — so far, no luck. She cannot be duplicated. :)

When I saw Lacy + Gene again last week, we picked up as if no time had passed. But of course much had changed since last we laid eyes on each other: they got married, they’ve created an absolutely gorgeous home together, AND THEY HAD A BABY! And that little gal is why I stopped by, for a quick and casual session out on the lawn.

So! Meet sweet, 3-month-old baby Liza, one of the calmest, happiest babies I’ve ever had the pleasure to photograph — not a surprise, with parents like hers! You can’t miss her eyelashes! (My favorite photo is last.)

Lacy + Gene, it was so wonderful to see you, meet Liza and spend an afternoon chatting in the sun. Our door is always open if you ever plan a visit to San Francisco! :)

by Molly

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