Sheri

Really, there aren't a whole lot of words that need to be said here. The images speak for themselves - not only did her physical beauty shine but I was happy to capture her amazingly joyful spirit. She is mature beyond her 18 years, can sing, dance and act like no ones business, is generous, sweet, super smart, sassy beyond belief and just when you think you wouldn't be able to stand all this good stuff in one pretty girl, she just happens to be one of the friendliest people ever. This is one amazing girl. She will be off to Fresno State at the end of summer but I hope to be able to get at least one more session with her before then! Thanks Sheri and Brett for a really fun day!

Meow.....zzzz......

here is my little leopard after an exhausting day at her summer program. today was drama class and the teacher was demonstrating theatre makeup so she got to be a leopard. but look how sleepy she is. i made a mistake and saved these as adobe rgb so the colors got lost but the originals show her amazing green eyes. my sweet girl.

Farmers Market

i love her little pink tennies

the families were so proud - lots of applause

Todd worked from home today so we actually got some time together which was nice. We have heard about how great our local farmers market is but since its on a Wed. from 3-6 we couldnt ever go until today. What a fun little outing. Great food but I especially liked the ballet dancers performing - not what one expects from a farmers market but it made it all the sweeter. Its at the corner of 3rd and Bush if you are ever in Santa Ana on a Wed in the afternoon and are hungry.

You can sell my house any day, baby

Phil Schaefer


Take a look at this guy - can you believe he is a real estate agent? And a really really successful one too! Yeah, that debunks a few stereotypes for ya right there. But the best part is that, aside from being hot, he is just a really really nice guy, very down to earth, fun to be around, super intelligent (an architect to boot!), is a great dad to his daughters and in the gym he kicks butt. A number of years ago I asked him for some advice that involved selling our house and he gave me the most unselfish honest advice anyone could. And for that I am eternally grateful. I did his photo shoot today which was great fun except I forgot two of my steadfast rules: 1) always wear sunscreen 2) never ever wear a tank top while using a shootsac. You do the math. Thanks Phil - I hope you love your images and that they make people say "HE is a real estate agent! No Way!"

Phil Schaefer - Seven Gables Real Estate

Follow this guy wherever he goes - dont take your eyes off him!

After John Michael Cooper no one is more THE MAN than Dane Sanders. He gives and gives and gives tirelessly to the photographic community. Due to some unfortunate circumstances he has had to change all his site addresses so here are his new ones. Copy and Paste these to your forehead!!!! Dont ever forget them lest ye will be left out in the cold, alone, to suffer in ignorance while we all pass ya by!!!

What used to be simplephotominute is now http://danesanders.net
What used to be simplephoto.tv is now http://cutframetv.com
What used to be simplephotobooth is now http://fotocabina.com
What used to be danesanders.com is still http://danesanders.com

Drive In Movie Theatre - In OC? Yup, I had to see it to believe it!

Tonight we went to the drive-in movie threatre - right here in the OC! It was soooo cool! The last real one of these got demolished years ago but I saw this one in the paper recently and its just a genious idea. The screen is inflatable, like a big vertical bouncy mattress. Pammy and Melissa came and we all saw Evan Almighty. Let's just say that the girls enjoyed the movie while us adults enjoyed the experience. The girls cuddled up in the back of the minivan and were comfy as can be. They even let me take a few pictures. The theatre is at the OC fair grounds nightly. Sounds like weekends are packed but the weekday was probably just the right number of people. The restrooms were clean and there was plenty of security people around. Check it out at Star-Vu.com. It will be closed when the OC fair is going so check for times and dates before heading out there. What a great fun family tradition to bring back again!

I'm on BLU!!!!!!

This is soooo exciting for me!!!! I was choosen to be featured by Blu Domain, the most amazingly incredible hip cool blog for photographers around!! I can't beleive they picked me!!!!! I first found their blog last year and check it every single day. It was my goal to try for this after being in business for a few years and low and behold they picked me now! They had some fun little questions for me to answer - check out my little interview here.

And here is a copy of it:

Santa Ana's Cheryl Walsh

Who's That Girl???

My name... Cheryl Walsh

Where I live... Santa Ana, The OC, California

My style... I have no style but my subjects do - I see it, admire it and fill my photos with it.

My website.... alt-senior.com is the only one I’m proud of – as of yet. cherylwalshimaging.com
The piece of equipment I can't part with...Photoshop CS3 on my speed demon Dell (PC forever baby!) with more than ample wide screen.
The album company I use...John Michael Cooper taught me how to make my own… its still a goal.
A website I visit often... blu’s, bh photo , the boutwells, simple photo tv, antiworkshop website (seattle, where I'm at right now!)

One thing I do daily for my business...Watch, Listen and Learn. To everything and everyone. All the time.
What I charge for an 4 x 6...depends on what it’s of http://public.fotki.com/ctmommy4two/crystal_cathedral-1 …but for you, because I like you, $2.00
3 things you'll find on my desk...small dictionary, a burning Aroma Naturals “Inner Peace” candle , lots of sticky notes (whats up with us photographers and all these sticky notes?!)
Something you must have in every business....an ideal, a creative mind and a good heart with wonderful intentions
Something I always have with me during a photo shoot...a bottle of water in with my 4 favorite lenses in my ultra cool, Shootsac
If I could have someone shoot a portrait of me if would be ...Tara Whitney – one of my personal heroes - that chick rocks! But… if I were wealthy and had the smokin hot body I had before my twins, I would have Jessica Claire do a boudoir session for me…hey, a girl can dream!
A challenge I face in my company...to keep on task with being a mom in a business that infiltrates every aspect of a life
If not a photographer I would have been ....Much Less: happy, fulfilled, frustrated, fat, insecure/secure, lonely, enthusiastic, colorful, touched, tired, sore, broke, misunderstood, etc.
A blog I must read daily..... Blu’s blog every single f-ing day baby! Tara Whitney for my heart, Becker for my business, Fred Egan for my inspiration

Cheryl's favorite image of recent

What I had for dinner...honestly, one of my daughter’s chicken nugget that broke the 5 second rule

Where you'll find me on a Friday night at 7 pm... sadly, right here at my computer but that’s gotta change!

The brand of jeans I prefer ....Seven For All Mankind

A hobby of mine....digital page layout and design, layering textures, colors and mixed media in a way that fulfills my need for all things tactile – gotta love the feel!

5 years from now I will ... Have lost the pregnancy weight? Feel more successful in my business? Be all caught up? Have the latest and greatest Canon camera since my old Mark IV ( or V?) has too many miles on it? Five more candles on my birthday cake.

Something that annoys me... bad drivers, rude people who curse in public, spam, professionals who say they are down to earth but are pretentious pricks in person, and people who answer a single answer question with more than one answer.

My best feature... my smile because it’s almost always reciprocated back at me in the faces I share it with.

Something that is so overrated... myspace.com

My favorite cocktail...diet coke, pineapple juice and a shot of rum – if you know the name of this I’d appreciate hearing from you and no, I don’t drink it, but I like the taste of it on my husband’s lips)

My astrological sign... Leo (and Taurus sitting in a tree, k i s s i n g)

Something I must have for summer....a better body and more sunscreen than I usually use.

2 things I would never throw away...my belief in individuals even when their actions don’t reflect their beautiful potential.

One thing you'll never find me doing...singing while you can hear me (you’re welcome).

I believe that.... each and every one of us can make a positive difference in this world, starting with (fill in the blank, ie: lovingly mothering that red headed neighbor kid when he gets into trouble too often, picking up the trash next to our car in the parking lot, saying “please and thank you” every time its merited, etc) is the best place to start.

On top of my pizza you'll find....lots and lots of veggies, esp those little garlic stewed tomato chunks, yummy!

3 things I like in a boy... 1. a kiss that permeates every part of my being, melting my heart, leaving me weak in the knees so full of desire and passion that it physically hurts me when he removes his lips from mine for a second of oxygen until I can pull his body and lips back to me for more 2. a heart of gold and giving spirit that inspires me to be the best person I can be 3. killer eyes and a devilish smile that makes me want that kiss over and over and over (see #1)

Day 2 Antiworkshop

Emotion - I fell in love with this little guy, look at their smilesand equally loved this ladyurban image
low key - doesnt she look like a Ralph Lauren model
funny
shooting up and/or colorful
masculine image - it was hard to make this girl look masculine

unexpected place

with greens

leading lines
watching the master at work - John Michael Cooper

with his famous video light working his magic

Today we had an ultracool assignment and it rocked! We were put in teams of 3 and sent out with a model dressed as a bride and a list of instructions of how or what to shoot. God smiled on us and handed us Marissa Holmes, a very accomplished photographer herself, and a total hottie, not to mention very sweet and agreeable to anything we put her thru. She laid out on a very cold stinky fish counter, smoked a stinky cheap cigar, sat in the middle of a buy intersection, climed, squatted, walked and walked and walked the cobblestone streets in very high heels, all without a single complaint and all while looking absolutely fabulous. I felt very priviliged to photographer her. I learned more from this exercise than i did from anything else this weekend. Watching the images everyone took was an amazing experience. These are the images I took and a description of what I was suppose to be looking for.

This Little Piggy went to Seattle...

Feelin the Piggy LOVE!This guy was a great sport Destitute piggy - note the RX pill bottle
Who is that under the big golden pig? John Michael Cooper shooting me shooting him - that guy is THE MAN!!

Team 1 - I wonder if Spielberg has storyboard meetings like this

Day One - a team of 3 photographers, a polaroid camera with 10 frames and a very pink pig walked into a bar and the bartender said.... seriously though, this was how we left for our first assignment. Tell the story of the pig in 10 frames. "F*#% you" would have been a nicer way to send us out into the world!! Good thing my team kicked ass because we came up with a killer story called "Putting the Pig on a Pedestal" (10 points to the first person who gets the movie reference - if you dont get it then you really need to see that movie!!) and proceeded to take our poor deflated swine from the gutters of Seattle through a sorded tale of love, desire, ambition, success, jealousy and ultimately murder. It was about as much fun as one can have with an inflatable pig and a polaroid camera roaming the streets of seattle. We were suppose to learn something along the lines of "its not the camera you shoot with or what your model looks like but what you do with it" - sorry, I'm just not that deep - sometimes I just need my fisheye! The great news is that our film was defective and looked very much like we had run The Boutwells's Totally Rad SX-70 on it!!!!!!

Antiworkshop Seattle!!!!

Jessica Claire, Dalisa Cooper, me and my roomie Jamie Jes, Dalisa, me, Chenin and Jamie - too much fun!
Fred Egan
Dustin - I LOVE this guy!!

Dalisa and Doug - master bowlersMe being a dork with my fisheye, Chenin and my roomie Jamie Jamie bowin with style!
Jeannie Oh

I have been so busy that I havent had time to get as excited as I could have for the Antiworkshop Seattle. Good thing too because I would have been like a kid before Xmas just dying for the day to come. And it came with a bang!! Tonight was a social and shootsac sale at the bowling alley at The Garage, a cool restaurant/bar/bowling alley next door to the Silver Cloud were we stayed. Now I knew going in to this thing that I would be a little tiny player amoungst the big leaguers but man was it intimidating walking in to see all the famous faces that were there. I wont go dropping names just yet but there were some absolutely fabulous people there! Chenin Boutwell and Dalisa Cooper put this on and they are doing a fantastic job - what great hosts! I think I'm really going to like hanging with these chicks!

Father's Day!

Had a wonderful father's day celebration at our house with my dad and girls in our pool, yummy barbeque and key lime pie. This photo of my dad with Maddy is a keeper!! Yes, those are little swimmers on their heads!!