With several clients and some of our favorite photographer friends living in Southern California, we decided to make a trip out there this week to check in on everyone.

Mark and I spent three days driving around Orange County and Santa Barbara. The first day, we were fortunate to have a lunch date with the ever-busy Dane Sanders.


That evening, we joined our wedding clients Lizzie and Charlie McNairy for dinner. You may remember Lizzie and Charlie from their small wedding earlier this year in Laguna Beach. They had called us on a Wednesday, and got married two days later, that Friday. It was an exciting, whirlwind wedding we'll never forget. Anyway, their wedding album had recently arrived from Queensberry, so we brought it out to them and looked at it with them after dinner.


The next day, we got to visit with the wonderful Becker and Jessica Claire at Becker's studio. Becker has one of the sexiest studios I've ever seen. Lots of browns and animal prints, and candles everywhere. We had a great dinner afterward with Becker, Jess and Becker's studio manager Kathleen. We couldn't resist a classic Becker tongue-out shot!


And Wednesday was DJ Day! After lunch in Santa Barbara, David Jay invited us over to his now-famous Freedom House. And I must say, it is everything we had heard it was. I couldn't stop looking out the big windows at his breath-taking view. DJ was a fabulous host and even made us some espresso before we settled in to geek out over various new programs and photo gadgets.



The trip was rounded out Wednesday night by dinner in Hollywood with one of my best friends from high school, John Crawford, an artist and pro photo retoucher. If you've been to any movies recently, then you've probably seen some of his work on numerous movie posters and such. Check out some of his work and give him a call if you have a picky client that wants some pro retouching. Here's John and me with one of his hairless cats.


Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and good times!