I’m so pleased to be able to post my photos of my one-on-one with Kelly Moore last month. I traveled all the way to Ruston, Louisiana to spend some time with her and get personalized advice and tips from the master of lighting, style and photography. We spent the entire time talking, mainly about photography but also about life and our little families, she has an adorable little girl named Posey who is just one month younger than Gemma, and it was all just a wonderful experience. I learned so much and had blast doing it.
Our photo session was eye-opening to say the least. Off-camera lighting is a whole new beast I’m just now starting to get my head around – so exciting! I also have to give a shout out to Brandi, her Stylist guru and assistant – she’s so creative and sweet and fun to be around. Thank you guys for an amazing experience! You guys are the best! Also thank you Jeanne and Stephen and the band for rocking out the session… wow, you guys were fantastic!
My mother is a sweet, shy, strong and creative person. She moved to the US from Mexico in the late sixties and raised 6 kids with my father whom she was married to for 49 years. This past year has been extremely difficult for the whole family but especially for my mother. My father passed away last March from colon cancer. He was an amazing person but he was also an uber macho Mexican who refused to see the doctor unless there was absolutely no tolerating the pain. So when he finally saw the doctor, he had already advanced to stage 4 cancer, terminal.
For better and for worse, my father was her life. She met him when she was 14 years old and had been with him until his last breath, literally. How does one even try to bounce back from something like that? It has been tough. For many months all she wanted to do was sleep and not get out of bed. My brothers and sisters and I would call and come visit to try to fill the void that my father’s big personality, strength and laughter left. And little by little, day by day, with the help of prayer, support from my family and time, she’s been coming out of the fog. Each one of us has been trying to give her new experiences and help her step into her own.
Well, back in January, when I went to LA for my birthday, my brother Gonzalo and I decided to play with his studio lighting – it was my first time playing with that kind of setup. We asked my mother to be the model and she actually went for it. She surprised us both by coming to the shoot with multiple changes of clothing and fun accessories. She had a lot of fun being the ‘star’ for the day. And my brother and I were so happy to be able to give her a new experience and get her mind off of all the heavy emotions and thoughts she usually has to deal with.
She is a true inspiration for me and my family. She’s been through so many trials and tribulations, so many heartbreaks and woes… but she’s still here and with us and taking it one day at a time. For me she exemplifies the word ‘resilience’ and I really appreciate and love her. So on Mothers’ Day, I’m making this post for my lovely mother. May she continue her new journey and find out who the real Maria Del Carmen Sandoval really is and has become. Feliz Dia De Las Madres!
Last week I had the awesome honor and privilege of visiting Kelly Moore at her home in Ruston, Louisiana. She was so generous with her knowledge and time and I really appreciated being there with her and Brandi, her assistant and stylist and so much more, and all their hospitality. Not only did I learn a tons but we also had so much fun talking about photography and our families. She has a little girl too, just 1 month younger than Gemma. I come back home inspired, more informed and full of ideas especially with off-camera lighting. Thank you Kelly and Brandi for being so amazing and for arranging such an unbelievable shoot.
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I have tons more to say and post (I’ve got some catching up to do first). But for now here is a sneak peek of our amazing shoot and one of our models:
One of my favorite photographers, Kelly Moore, posted a contest about direct sunlight. She is asking us to embrace it and try to use it to our advantage. She is a phenomenal photographer and I’m super excited to do a 1-day 1-one-1 workshop with her this month and learn more about how to use light better! 🙂
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Anyway, I’m reposting a couple of pictures here so that I can enter. April 13th she’ll pick her favorite photos. Wish me luck!
This weekend I had a great time hanging out with my friend Marisa. She is a Texas girl who recently moved to San Francisco so we thought we’d shoot her in her new city. 🙂
She loves the Bay Bridge, it is her favorite bridge in SF, so we made a point to take lots of photos there:
During Thanksgiving, I went home to LA to visit my family. I have a HUGE family – I’m the youngest of 6 and my niece Sophia is the 2nd of 6 from my sister Maria. I wanted to spend some time with Sophia and do a little impromptu shoot with her.
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Sophia is super smart, funny, a bit of a prankster but she’s also sensitive and shy. I think you’ll be able to see that in the photos. Some things about Sophia – she loves to read and do math (is an excellent student) but she especially loves to play soccer. I already have her next shoot in mind and it will be all about soccer! Her favorite color is pink and she’s got long gorgeous hair that has never been cut. Never! Sophia is also my god-daughter! Enjoy the photos! 🙂 Sophia is also my god-daughter. When she was little, I used to say the line from ‘The Color Purple’ to her: Sophia, Sophia, Sophia… sure is a pretty name!’ and she would laugh and get all shy. She’s such a sweety.
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We hung out by abuelita’s rose bushes.
She was so serious to start but then had fun with it. 🙂
When she was a baby, one of her nick-names was ‘lashes’ because she has such long gorgeous lashes that curl back onto her eye lids!
