{MOVING DAY!} Visit my new blog at www.brianamariephoto.com !

Visit this blog { http://www.brianamariephoto.com }  for all new and upcoming work!

{ imagine . create . become }

{ imagine . create . become }

these 3 words etched in a bracelet that my mom gave me early in my career. 3 words that are etched in my mind…a personal mantra; inspiring me to first imagine. Simply imagine.

{Old Hands . Old Faces . The Way it Was} Upcoming Exhibit . Opening May 20th 5-7pm

I was honored to be invited to participate in the Preservation Napa Valley‘s upcoming exhibit.  Here’s a sneek peek of a few of my contributing  images:

Preservation Napa Valley presents their 2011 Community Preservation Project: Memory Bank: A Discovery of Old Hands, Old Faces and the Way It Was, May 20^th-June 30^th, at 1400 First Street, (next to John Anthony Tasting Lounge). A very special exhibition opening with all Old Timers, Photographers and Filmmaker will be held May 20^th, 5-7pm.

Memory Bank: A Discovery of Old Hands, Old Faces and the Way It Was
One Filmmaker, Six photographers and Sixteen Old Timers

This unprecedented photographic and film documentation of Napa Valley Old Timers presents the work of six local, professional photographers and a filmmaker who captured fourteen unsung Napa Valley Old Timers. From Pope Valley to Angwin, Rutherford, Napa, Calistoga, American Canyon and beyond, each of these Old Timers played a part in a once quieter, smaller Valley… a time that preceded the glamour, glitz and reign of Napa Cabernet.

Farmers, teachers, fruit truck drivers, dairy men, naturalists, homemakers and hay-makers; these are the folks that watched the transformation of Napa from a vast and diverse agricultural bread basket to the viticultural powerhouse Napa Valley is today. It is the last generation that holds the memories and stories of a place and time passed. The exhibition will be curated by Jennifer Garden, an established and well known curator from the Napa Valley museum.

This six week exhibit has been made possible through the generous support of The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Gasser Foundation, Cathy D’Angelo Holmes of Coldwell Banker Commercial, John Anthony Vineyards and Drapinski TV &Audio. For more information please go to http://preservationnapavalley.org/education.html or call Wendy Ward at 707 258-9286

Preservation Napa Valley, 1180 Green Valley Road, Napa CA. 94558

preservationnapavalley.org

{gratitude}

i am thankful. thankful for smiles that come easily. laughter that cures all sorrows. sweet moments that remind us of childhood joys. warm embraces & sweet movement.  friends with humor & parents that love unconditionally.

i am thankful. today…

& to hold this gratitude in my heart each & every day, would be a worthy goal.

{aruba images} polaroid sx-70

Here are some more of the images that were shot with my vintage Poloaroid sx-70 on this summer’s destination Aruba wedding!

it’s been released! {Signature Sasha }

Celebrity wedding planner, Sasha Souza has released her gorgeous wedding design book! I was thrilled to find out that there are multiple pages featuring my photography. As usual, everything Sasha does is amazing and this book lives up to her reputation.  The book, Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design, is a stunning, hard cover wedding design book featuring beautiful photography of all aspects of wedding design including never before seen Sasha Souza Events real weddings. Plus…every book ordered through their website will come signed to the purchaser! Check out the official website for more details regarding the book and Sasha Souza Events.

I’ll be picking up my copy tomorrow and will post more photos soon!

{layland family . st. helena . family portraits} Hello Fall!

These two gorgeous girls met autumn with a smile! Their spunk & wonder were a delight to photograph. Their family photo in the vineyards may be a new personal fav! Enjoy!

*View Entire Slideshow*

*View Entire Slideshow*

{no really…thank you! }

I really love my couples! No really… I do! I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to spend a day with someone…a day like no other in their lives…and then to receive words like these…so amazing! No really…thank you!

• OH my gosh or is the OMG in modern terms 🙂  WE LOVE THESE.  You caught everything we wanted and have smiled all night watching these.  Thank you thank you thank you. OK I have to go watch everything again.  The slide show and music are amazing.  We love the picture you have on the blog page – that one is worth everything. – K

• OH BRIANA! These are SOOOOO Fabulous! I LOVE your work! I was raving about you  this afternoon. – S

• Ok. So I must admit I’ve probably watched the slideshow 50 times! There are not enough words to describe how wonderful you two are. You captured so many amazing moments I didn’t even know we did…and I was there…and sober! I might pee my pants waiting to see the rest! I know we want a copy of the slideshow. I don’t think I could have ever dreamed of more perfect photos. Thank you for being you and making this chapter of our lives so amazing and memorable. – S

• Wow!!!!!!!!! I can’t turn the waterworks off you ding dong! You are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – S

• Wow Briana, these are great!  The pictures are beautiful…you did such a wonderful job!  We enjoyed working with you as well and appreciate everything…everything you did.
  

• I’m so glad that I checked my email this morning!  What a treat to see these beautiful shots that you’ve taken of the wedding!  Some of the images are just breathtaking!  Thank you so much for the wonderful attention to detail. You and Brian were a pleasure to have at our daughter’s wedding.  I will recommend you to any and all that might ask! You were professional in your style and you were both so attentive to the evening’s goofy and tender moments. With our growing family, I will look forward to having you take family shots as well….

• Oh my god, Briana, these are GREAT! We just watched the slide show together and were taken back to our wedding day. I got goose bumps. Amazing…. Thank you so much. We can’t wait for the disc.

• I can’t stop watching the beautiful slide show of Molly and Mike’s wedding!  You are truly an artist and your pictures reflect your talent, warmth, creativity, sense of imagination and wonder.  Thank you so much for capturing every lovely moment of Molly and Mike’s wedding celebration.

• Forgive the massive delay in THANKING YOU for the fabulous pics you got at our birthday/engagement weekend.  They were incredibly special moments that you captured.  You managed to catch the emotion of the weekend, as well as the events and people. It was remarkable. And I actually rarely saw you  around – you were completely out-of-site. How did you do it?  THANK YOU for your great pictures. My Dad cried when he saw them and asked for a CD of the pictures/slide show with music.  I’m so happy you’re available for our wedding! We can’t wait!

Ok…can you see now why I love what I do???

{that’s what its all about}

I recently had a wonderful chat with a bride’s mom that I wanted to share. It went something like this.

Mom: I can tell you really love your work! It really shows in all of the love you put into your photos.

Me: *blushing* Yes…it is joyful work and although I work hard…I love what I do!

Mom: Hmmm…and what a joy it must be…your life’s work is too make people smile.

Me: *smiling* yes…and that’s what its all about!

She summed it up perfectly. My ‘work’ is to document joy. Capture smiles. & return those stolen moments to bring yet another smile. love it!

Oh…and did you meet my new assistant? He’s still learning how to properly expose in difficult backlite situations…but heh…he’s only 3! Trevor ( my youngest)

And Brandon ( age 6 .) has a new trademark…just like his mama…freckles! So adorable on him!  Here he is being shy about a new tooth coming in!

{polaroid transfer art for sale}

Jessica, one of my former brides,  now a talented photographer is selling her work on Etsy.  Her style is unique and very cool! Check it out!

www.JessicaRogers.etsy.com

{time moving on}

Wow, time flies! Two of my previous couples emailed me this week to tell me they were expecting! I can’t tell you what an honor it is that my previous clients are now friends and they are sure to share big news with me!  Just a few weeks ago I shot a three year old and it seemed like just yesterday when we photograped her amazingly tiny little toes. Hold on to the love & joy of today…because time moves on!

{I’m just borrowing it…}

It is with a happy heart that I share with you a  fabulous company called Borrow Lenses.com! 
Enter Briana5 to receive a discount!

I’ve been wanting to try out the new Canon 50L 1.2 and yet the price tag is a bit wild so I wanted to try it out to see if it is really as good as everyone says. ( It is by the way…can I just say…butter baby!)

Borrow Lenses.com is an amazing company. It was SO easy to use them!  For my first order, I just punched in what I wanted, when I wanted it, and for how long, and I stopped by their location in SF to pick it up. After a weekend of pure joy playing with the lens, I just shipped it back to them. Their box comes with a self addressed, stamped pack to use to return it, which couldn’t have been easier. Their website is super simple to use & they have an amazing selection of gear to try.  In addition, their customer service is top notch…I’ve been pleased with every transaction since!

I always get the question from new photographers of what lenses to buy. Here’s your awnser… go rent a few and see what you love.  In addition, they have many camera bodies for rent.  I highely recommend them…and you know me…I’m a perfectionist at heart!)

Oh, and if you enter in the code Briana5 when you check out, you’ll save a few $$ off your order.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie  (Thanks Laura for bringing this quote to my attention)

I love this quote…and looking over my December images brings my gratitude to the surface. Thank you parents for bringing me into your lives. Thank you children for allowing me in a little further. You make me smile. You make me laugh & you inspire me to do great work. Oh…did I utter “work”…I suppose it is work. Hmmm…Thank you for making it feel like it is not ‘work’!

Did I mention that I was really busy during December…no? Well… the proof is in the pudding. Or in this case, the proof is in the slideshow. There were just too many amazing faces to blog them all, so I decided to share them in a little slideshow. The second half is still coming…more adorable faces coming soon.

Enjoy!

{Tell us more about you…}

Isn’t that a tough question? Some of my work was recently accepted into a publication and the editor wanted to know a bit more about me. (I’ll give more details about the publication once it  goes to print.”) They gave me a variety of questions…thought I’d share my response:
I am a photographer and I am a mother…the two seem inseparable at times. Both challenging my inner drive, inner child & the ability to balance it all.. I think that deep down I always knew that I would be a photographer, but becoming a mother gave me an excuse to look at life with the freshness and wonder of a young spirit and find joy in the details…looking past the obvious, to know someone deeper, to trust my instincts, and to push the boundaries of what I am able to do with my life.
I have never been published and I suppose it’s one of my guilty secrets that I have always hoped I could some day. Maybe it’s vanity…maybe it’s the possibility that if someone else puts my work in print, then just maybe, it will make me real. 
My hobbies are anything that brings me outside…kayaking, yoga, biking, backpacking & travel. I find that as I get older, my desire to travel has become more intense; a profound longing to feel connected to others in this world. Lately a list-topper has been just going exploring with my boys in the forest. I think all therapy should begin with a hike in the woods with small children…puts life in perspective. Oh, I have many bad habits…though most pretty tame in the grand scheme….I love  staying up late,potato chips, bad dance music & a great margarita. Add good friends to the occasion and I set!
I am most proud of the fact that while I juggle many things as a business owner & a parent…my boys still have contests of who loves me more. Once they are tucked in tightly for bed, I look forward to my work. I can’t imagine a life of feeling the drudgery of work each & every day. I am so proud that I have created a life that I can enjoy living.
I shoot many things and sometimes it is for joy, sometimes for money and on a good day it is both.

Worth checking out…

A Blog that is definitley worth checking out… with so many images floating around in the news. Images like these are often over-looked.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/06/  – A beautiful photojournalism blog with amazing posts. Some of the most touching images I have seen in a long time. Check out the “Preparing for the Olympics” photos. WOW!