Maureen and David’s wedding embodies what I love about Petaluma. Delicious fresh local food and flowers eaten outdoors in a garden under an Oak tree with wild children and ornate dogs careening by! Maureen, cheesemaker of the famous Cowgirl Creamery, and David, Napa Valley chef, were married in the backyard of the Della Fattoria Ranch. Yes, the best bread around ranch. Elisa Weber put it all together, not only the food but the sweet flower arrangements. Needless to say the food was so good I had to ditch the camera a few times actually eat- which I never do at weddings, it’s so unprofessional.

One great thing about being a child born before the wedding is that you get to be in the wedding- which daughter Eleanore expertly demontrates. Our daughter is so mad at us because she didn’t get to go to our wedding!  Unfortunately I had to leave before Stacy Lauer’s coconut cake was served but I know that it was delicious. David’s boutanniere- gosh i can never spell that right- one of the most beautiful boutannieres I have ever seen, was made by Trillium in Petaluma.

This September I had my first billboard- my first image used on a billboard. Tyler Young designed two Petaluma billboards to help promote local businesses like the Petaluma Farmers Market. He is also working on another similar project  for farmers and artists. I felt larger than life up there- and I got to eat that famous pear.

Kate and Chris were married in July on Kate’s family property in Calistoga, under the sheltering canopy of the olive trees. Kate’s mom, Bean, grew all the flowers on the property and arranged them too!

The holga added to the vintage look of the wedding.

Jovi and Grant were married at Marin Headlands Center for the Arts, built in 1907, a refuge and studio center for artists. Jovi, being the talented painter that she is, made all the wedding details and colors quite appealing. Her paintings can be seen on-line at www.jovischnell.com. Grant is a talented wood craftsman working for the renowned Berkely Mills. Jovi’s dress was worn by her grandmother back around 1910 and Jovi smartly tailored it to fit her modern vintage style. Succulents adorned the tables, bouquet and arrangements.

Last week I photographed local artist Heidi Iverson, aka H luv, for the Petaluma Here project. The project is a collaborative effort spearheaded by designer Tyler Young to bring about awareness of all the wonderful local talent we have here in Petaluma. Heidi makes these wonderful creatures that you can find downtown at Maude and Knitterly. I wanted to photograph her very simply, but I think the extra eyeballs helped. You can see more of her work at hluvfabrications@blogspot .com.

This weekend my model had to re-schedule. What was I to do? A family self portrait of course, with our new dog Penny

Claya aka Dixie

Last week a potential wedding client asked to see more of my personal work. I was so happy she asked since my fine art is my passion. I thought I would share some of my selections here. These are all images taken in the last year.

Mrs. Webster and child

Chosen

Leah

Genevieve on Couch

Hair

Dmitra & Pascal

Congratulations Tory and Richard on your engagement, and thank you for hiring me to shoot your wedding! Jude

The mustard flowers are here- always so bright and brief in the early spring. When Anne contacted me about her maternity portrait I could think of no other place than this mustard meadow. We almost cancelled because of impending rain, but managed to find a clear hour of sunlight for a romp in the meadow. Anne and Andrew were so easy to photograph- in love and beautiful!