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  • Hello, friend! :D

    Welcome, welcome! That's me over there. < -- I'm Molly, a San Francisco Bay Area-based photographer.

    I adore weddings, families and portraits, but my cat, food and house get a lot of my attention, too! I'm married to my very best friend, and we sing to each other a lot. I'm a mid-century modern home dweller. I'm always working, working, working to be better at life (a never-ending battle!). I get a kick out of simplicity, tea, bright colors, ice cream, cooking, sarcasm and books -- among other things.

    I love me some good, authentic, giggly love. And I love making people feel lovely in the midst of their good, authentic, giggly love. And if that's your thing, too, I'd love nothing more than to give you some good, authentic, giggly love photos. :)

                   

May 21 2013

Kate + Evan | Engaged

Filed Under: Engagement

I’ve been holding onto this one for a couple of weeks, which only matters when you know that I don’t like to keep secrets. Kate + Evan met me in the middle of nowhere (not an exaggeration) and braved trespassing, wild animals (okay, just bunnies—not that frightening), and lost sunglasses for their engagement session. They’re smart, they’re beautiful, and they’re BIG TIME wine buffs who got engaged in French wine country, so sneaking our way into a vineyard seemed only fitting. And that’s exactly what we did. Wanna see? :D

Let’s just start off with a photo that shows you how photogenic they are. I could have picked ANY image to satisfy this point, by the way:

Favorite!

The light was downright perfect that afternoon:

When I asked Kate + Evan to describe their relationship, a lot of what they talked about was their anticipation of their future together. This is my interpretation of that idea, so it shouldn’t surprise you that this is a favorite. ;)

This. This photo. Bingo. :D

I wasn’t joking about the wine thing, guys. They even brought with them a bottle of wine they bought on their engagement trip to France. The woman at the vineyard was insistent that they not drink this wine until 2013, and they thought their engagement session was as good a time as any to finally open it. It was delicious. :) Also, 1) Evan in a suit? And, 2) Kate’s hair? Perfection, both.

They also brought their customized wine glasses. (KAKERA are their initials; the design is their wedding logo. Orange is also their wedding color, and I happen to carry an orange blanket in the trunk of my car. I’m going to claim it was on purpose, but that’s mostly a lie. :D)

Who loves fields? I do! :D

Mmmm…

Ending with a favorite, as usual. ;)

Kate + Evan, I hope you love these photos. Thanks for spending an evening tromping through fields and breaching property lines with me. I am so looking forward to your wedding next month—I know it will be beautiful. I also hope you enjoyed the rest of that bottle of wine once you made it home! See you soon, pals. :D

 

by Molly

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May 01 2013

May 2013 | Taking A Break

Filed Under: Personal

Happy May Day!

Normally on the first of the month, I post my goals and some musing about life. But this month? I’m taking a break.

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday, which in many (most) ways excites me, but has also thrown me into a state of self-evaluation that I need some more private time to explore. I’ll be back in June with more specific goals. For this month, however, I plan only to enjoy the warmth of spring (which, because of where I live, often confuses itself for the heat of summer), to continue to ruminate about my life and trajectory and—as always—to keep practicing the piano.

Until June!

by Molly

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Apr 23 2013

Erin + Brian | Engaged

Filed Under: Engagement

Erin has read my blog, so she knew when I met them for the first time at their session that I was going to ask her to describe their relationship in five words—she came prepared! As they talked it over in the car on the drive to Golden Gate Park last week, they put together a robust list, but as usual, two particular words stood out to me. First, was patience, which was evident to me immediately. They are just so kind to each other, it’s hard to miss. And second, that they are one another’s second chance. This is a second marriage for both Erin + Brian, and tears of genuine gratefulness welled in her eyes as she said the words (I was so moved, I followed suit!). In this line of work, deep connection and love are what matter most and shine the strongest in images. These two have them in spades.

Photo time!

The cherry blossoms have come and very nearly gone, so we snuck into the last remaining grove (along with about ten other photographers!) to use up what was left. :) Worth it!

Let’s discuss how awesome Brian’s shoes are, shall we?

I LOVED the back of Erin’s sweater. I also love sunset in Golden Gate Park.

Absolute, complete and total favorite times a million. True happiness is nothing to shake a stick at, guys.

Brian is a big baseball fan (coaching, umpiring AND spectating), and they wanted to incorporate something of the game into their session. I think this is fitting. :D

An image like this was one of Erin’s only requests. Happy to oblige!

Favorite!

Lookers-on clapped for them after we walked away from this fountain. :D

And two more favorites in a row to round out this post!

Hi. I love this.

Erin + Brian, individually, you two are something special and you have found something equally special in each other. Thank you so much for allowing me the privilege of photographing your love and the beginning of your second chance. Your joy is contagious and in our short time together, you transferred so much of it to me. I am excited for your wedding, to meet your families and to see what you’ve put together with Laurel. It will be a day to remember. :D I hope you love these photos! And Erin, you WILL get that sweater back! ;)

by Molly

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Apr 04 2013

Ryan + Alejandro | Engaged

Filed Under: Engagement

There are certainly perks to having seasonal work, and downtime for serious winter napping (hibernating?) is one of them. But I have to say, it’s really good to be back, and taking a break has reenergized me creatively. I’m quite pleased to have this session be my first of the year, because the people in it are pretty darn great—something I could tell from the moment I met them and wooed them into hiring me. Based on how much fun we had, I think they are not regretting falling for my charms. :)

Before I start shooting, I like to ask couples to describe their relationship in five words so I can make sure I cover their connection as they see it. Of the words R+A gave me, those that stood out most were: Goofy, giggly and full of desire / intimacy. I think we did a dang good job showing all three of these (although the goofiest of the photos are staying off the blog! :D). This pair has a genuineness that shines through their smiles, their eyes, their embraces. But I can show you better than I can tell you, so on with the photos! :D

By the way, Alejandro is a long name to say, so I’m officially nicknaming him “DroDro.” He said he was fine with it. This is why I like him. :)

Starting with favorite #1. P.S. I took this photo in an outhouse (toilet’s off to the left, y’all), because good light can be found anywhere!

Ryan + Alejandro, let’s talk about how cute you are. I’ll go first: You’re SUPER cute. :D

And let’s talk about how much you love each other: A LOT. :D

Oh boy, favorite #2. Kind of can’t stop smiling when I look at this. Also, can we please mention how adorable their outfits are? I don’t know quite why, but that puffer vest and that necklace just do it for me. Yeah, totally.

Alejandro acquired this car about a month ago and has been spending his spare time fixing it up. First of all, it’s my favorite color, and second of all, it’s important to him, so why not take some photos with it? And hey, Ryan? HOT LEGS.

“Put your handaloons riiiiight here.” :D :D :D (By the way, R+A, my husband couldn’t believe I let that one slip! He hopes you’ve incorporated it into your own speech.)

Favorite #3!

Hey, guys? Be a little happier, okay? You’re not happy enough. ;)

The park where we took photos was just a few blocks from Ryan’s childhood home. She wanted to come here because she spent a lot of afternoons playing in the park when she was younger. Specifically, she remembered this bench beneath an oak tree at the top of the hill. Bingo, pals.

Favorite #4!

Using every last little bit of sunlight available.

Be still my heart, DroDro. Could your smile be any more disarming?

Thank you for spending an afternoon playing with me, guys. And thank you for trudging up that giant hill (in wedges), and putting up with me when I wanted just oooooone more photo (and then one more, and then another one more). Your relationship and your interactions are a joy to watch. Plus, you’re just plain fun to be around. I hope you love these images as much as I do and they make you smile like I’ve been grinning at my computer all day. I can’t wait for your wedding; it’s going to be a blast. :D

xo, M

P.S. Transistor. ;)

by Molly

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Apr 01 2013

April 2012 Goals

Filed Under: Personal

My off season is finally over and I’m back to work this month (first engagement session post coming this week!). Consequently, however, my thoughts are a little less focused and I don’t really have any life-altering realizations to share with you. I’m okay with this. Not everything has to be serious. Instead, I will show you a photograph of my cat. Ready?

Sherman is both my biggest fan and my toughest critic. I am proud to say that I have diligently practiced the piano for at least an hour nearly every day since I started taking lessons. Sherman is always sitting near me while I play. However, there are times (as shown above) that he disapproves of the piano receiving more attention than he does, which he expresses by shoving himself bodily between myself and the keys. It’s effective. And adorable.

In accordance with my thoughts being scattered, so too was my goal completion. I lost my fitbit for most of the month; it weaseled its way to the bottom of my closet. Then I found it, and somehow managed to explode it into about ten pieces. Then I put it back together (it worked!), and promptly lost it again. All of this to say, it’s finally back in my possession, but my steps suffered last month. I also couldn’t find a flat 10k that worked well with my schedule, so I’m just going to run my own on April 24th. I also totally failed at reading enough. Time to get back on track.

Oh, by the way. I went back and looked at my old receipts. It turns out I haven’t purchased a piece of clothing since August of last year—eight whole months. That’s sort of nuts to me, but to honor it, I’m going to try to make a shirt this month. Let’s see how that goes.

This was super boring to read. My sincerest apologies. How about goals for April?:

  • Continue practicing the piano, one hour per day, Mondays through Saturdays
  • Sign up for my summer piano course
  • Post temporary galleries to this site
  • Read What The Dog Saw and The 4-Hour Workweek
  • Walk 10,500 steps each day
  • Perfect a sourdough bread recipe
  • Run a 10k on April 24th
  • Sign up for a half marathon in May
  • Sew a shirt

Completed March goals:

  • Start our taxes!
  • Make my IRA contribution :)
  • Make wedding “Best Of 2012″ post
  • Start planning a garden

Have any plans this month? Share them with me in the comments! Hopefully they’re more organized than mine. :)

by Molly

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