BUMPS for OCC

I was asked to capture this awesome fundraiser for Operation Christmas Child by the twelve year old Torii Robertson, who envisioned an event to raise money for this amazing outreach! For those of you who don't know, Operation Christmas Child sends shoe boxes filled with toys, toiletries and candy to children in need, all around the world. Once the shoe boxes are filled, the boxes are then collected and sent to a main distribution center where a booklet that shares the good news of God's love in their native tongue is placed inside. These boxes are then 'boxed' up for distribution and sent overseas.
While it's very easy to collect items to go in to these boxes, and many can be easily filled, it takes $7 to ship each box. Unfortunately, especially in today's economy, this $7 fee can limit the number of boxes a family is able fill. Torii, who loves OCC and volleyball, came up with the idea to hold an all night volleyball event where participants would be sponsored... all funds would go towards the OCC box fees. It was a huge success and as a result of one young girl's heart, over $5,000 was raised which means that 715 kids will receive a box and hear about Jesus!


Operation Christmas Child is near and dear to me and my family's heart, it was an honor to capture this amazing event and be a part of Torii's vision.

New... New... New!

New Name.... New Logo.... New Website... New Blog! Well, the Blog isn't completely brand new but it will have a different look pretty soon. Stay tuned! It's been a very busy time for me and I am slowly getting all of my eggs in one basket. Lots of photo sessions to share as well. :)

Family Foto Fun!

I had the great opportunity to photograph John and Tina's family this weekend! John and Tina are such a cute couple! While they have been together for 30 years, they are just still so in love with each other. You would think they were newly weds! :)

Typical teenage boys, they were less than thrilled that I would be photographing them... but in a short amount of time, they loosened up and even, dare I say it, had a bit, just a little bit, of fun!

Even "Boo" got in to the act and posed with his family!

Beautiful photos for a beautiful family... Thank you John and Tina, for inviting me in to your home and allowing me to create lasting memories!

Senior Session - Luke D.

I had the awesome opportunity to photograph Luke D. for his senior portraits. Luke was a riot! What a nice young man and what a sense of humor!

We went for a casual look with jeans and a button down shirt. This worked well with the dock as well as some volley-ball shots. Luke is on the varsity volley ball team at his school. Unfortunately, after weeks of planning, his coach forgot to bring his uniform in during this off season period and we had to shoot in jeans. I think it worked to our advantage... don't you agree?

Luke and his mom really liked the photos taken around the Exedra monument. I have to say that those were my favorite as well!

Thanks Luke for a great morning! :)

All About the Kids - Part II

As mentioned in my last post, I am currently photographing families that will appear in the "success stories" section of the annual report of a local non-profit organization that works with children and families. I travelled down to West Palm Beach with the organization's interviewer and met an amazing woman who has opened up her life, home and heart to children. Miss "D" has been fostering and adopting children with the support of this organization for several years now. She took the required courses, studies and worked along side the organization's skilled staff prior to fostering her first child... several years and many children later, "D" is a very much admired and loved woman. The children below were all adopted by Miss "D". Five children five and under! WOW!

Does this photo say "Got Milk?" or what? : )

This sweet girl was so excited when I asked her to be my helper during the photo shoot!


I loved watching the little ones play together. The stories of each of these children, and what brought them to Miss "D"'s home and in to her heart, were astounding!

Miss "D" told us that at Christmas, she hangs 32 stockings because once you are one of Miss "D"'s kids, through adoption or fostering, you are forever her family.
I am unable to post the photos of the two teenage girls who are also being fostered in Miss "D"'s home as they are not legally hers. But what stories they share! The love, respect and admiration they have for her was amazing.

An added treat? One of the first girls adopted by "D" stopped by with her own daughter, while we were there. She's one of the family, right? She hopped right in to the photo below!

All About the Kids - Part I

I had an amazing opportunity present itself to me a few months ago. I offered my services to a non-profit organization that cares for children and families in crisis. Two weeks ago, I was asked if I would be willing to take some photos for their annual report. YES.I.WOULD!

It was my job to ensure that we got a couple of good photos of each family that was interviewed. Needless to say, I just don't stop at "a couple". :) This little guy was too cute for words!!

He is two years old and is the son of an amazing young woman who fought to escape a really bad home-life situation. Having only been exposed to a very rough lifestyle, she was able to determine on her own that there was so much more to life than what she had grown up around. After becoming pregnant, she enlisted the help of this non-profit organization.


This precious child means the world to her. It was evident during our short time together. She knew she wanted to give her baby boy all that she never had as a child.

Through this amazing non-profit organization, she has been able to provide a stable, healthy and happy environment from the time he was born up to now, at 2 years of age. This brave mother not only chose to leave her prior life behind, but has since graduated high school, obtained a job and is currently going to college to be....

a social worker, counselor or therapist. Pay it forward? I think so! What a wonderful opportunity to see love in action!

Brandie & Miguel

Beautiful day at the beach. Hot enough to melt us all... but you wouldn't know it by the smiles of these two lovebirds! This mid-day wedding had a very tropical feel to it. The entire bridal party wore "tropical" colors and the ceremony took place under a gazebo, with the Gulf of Mexico for a back drop just steps from the water.

This is one of my favorite photos... nothing fancy or particularly special about the scene.... or is there? I captured the reflection of Brandie's mother watching her daughter, with a hint of a smile and maybe some nostalgia on her face, as Brandie did a last check of her hair.

One of the neatest things I had ever seen was the "sand ceremony" just before the final kiss. The bride and groom each had a glass vase filled with different colored sand. As they poured the sand in to a heart shaped glass vase, their colors blended just like their lives were about to. It was a tropical version of lighting the unity candle.

While the ceremony and reception were mid-day, I met up with Brandie and Miguel as the sun went down to capture some fun moments before the sun set. Below are a few of the pictures I took.

It was a beautiful day indeed!