Season of Gratitude + A Sweet Family Season

For me, Thanksgiving is a time for family, a time to reflect on our life, a time to give thanks, and a time to count our blessings. I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who I have encountered this year. Thank you for inspiring me in every way possible, even if it was a small gesture like a smile. I am so grateful for every moment I have experienced…even the bad moments. Thank you to my amazing, wonderful, and loving clients. I feel so lucky to have captured a moment in your life. Thank you to my family and caring husband…without you, I would not be the person who I am today. Your endless love and support fills my heart with pure joy. This sweet family session has a place in my heart. I have been lucky enough to capture the most important moments of their lives together. For this, I am so grateful. When they asked me to photograph their first family portrait, I instantly smiled and said OF COURSE! :)

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Our Annual Family Trip - California!

My family and I have always gone on family trips every summer for as long as I can remember. The four of us, my mom, dad, brother (Nacho), and I would pack up our bags and go to a new place to discover this world together. Now I am 24 and my brother is 28 and we are still taking our annual family trips together. There is just something about traveling with the family…you play games in the car that you used to play as little kids, tell childhood stories of each other, and get to spend quality time without the stress from reality. I thank my parents and feel so blessed for allowing us to continue our tradition…except now we have my fiancé and my brother's girlfriend. :) The family is growing, and I couldn't be happier about it! 

Because Chester is off in Texas from a 3 month training course for the Airforce, we decided to stick close to Texas and head to California. He was allowed 2 days off plus the weekend because of 4th of July, so he met us in Big Sur, California towards the end of the trip. Hey, 4 days is better than nothing! I was just happy to see him and spend some time with him. We flew into Los Angeles, California and drove to Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, Napa Valley and then off to San Francisco. With endless hours of driving, the 6 of us had a lot of good laughs and stories to share! 

I decided to ditch my heavy DSLR and bring my new Fuji x100 on this trip. The photos below are from the Fuji and my iPhone. 

With our crazy amount of luggage and packed car, we were ready to start our journey!

Of course, I had to bring Moco and Luna (stuffed animal version) with me on the trip. How could I leave them behind?

First off, Santa Monica! I was so surprised on the amount of fog this beach had… Regardless, it had some amazing chances to take photos.

You know you are a true photographer when you are on vacation and you see this beautiful backdrop for an engagement shoot or family session. It was like a tease the whole trip. 

We had to stop to see the Hollywood sign before heading to Santa Barbara. 

Hello Santa Barbara! Loved  spending 4 relaxed nights here. Got to bike to downtown Santa Barbara, visit the local artists at an art show, play croquet, enjoy the nice gorgeous weather with the soft breeze, and get some good sleep…zzzz….

The crew minus Chester :)

On our way to one of the wineries, we came across to some ostriches. We found OSTRICH LAND! 

On our way to Big Sur, we got to stop by the road to capture the gorgeous landscapes that California has to offer. I also had a chance to pause, be still, and give thanks for this beautiful journey.

Amazing how the fog rolls in so fast. 

The amazing driver, my brother, and his girlfriend :)

We stopped by a little fisherman village, called Morro Bay that was so charming. 

Morro Rock is a 581-foot volcanic plug located just offshore from Morro Bay, California, at the entrance of the fisherman village.

The breath-taking view from our hotel. Can I stay here forever? That hammock is calling my name...

While in Big Sur, we decided to spend some time at this gorgeous beach! How amazing is this? 

Picking up my wonderful man! The crew is now complete! Off to San Francisco next…just in time for the 4th of July Fireworks! 

Napa Valley was filled with gorgeous family-owned wineries. We got to do a wine tasting at Terra Valentine.

A bee decided to swim in my wine...

A mini photoshoot of my brother and Andrea. 

Next day we did some sight-seeing around the beautiful city with these awesome go-carts!

Blue Bottle Coffee was an amazing coffee shop. craving that delicious cappuccino…Yum!

I am pretty much in love with California.. this won't be the last time I go!

Beautiful engagement session + ZOMBIES

I remember as a little girl at every Christmas and New Years Eve, Ana and I would practice endless hours to perform a little dance in front of our family. Although I was not the best, she never gave up on me. Ana is not only my big cousin, she was always like a sister to me. Now we are both adults, engaged, and ready to be each other's bridesmaid this Fall. Ana and Adam started dating about the same time I started dating Chester. Its been exciting seeing how our relationships blossomed at the same pace. Last fall, I got the chance to capture these moments of the love birds and …oh yeah…a Zombie?!? Check it out for your self…. This was a first for me :)

Zombie series:

Family is Life's Greatest Blessing

It is so hard to believe that its been 2 years since I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design. Those four years at SCAD were filled with so many amazing memories, endless hours working on projects, intense critiques, wonderful classmates, and inspiring professors. I cannot thank my professors and classmates enough for all of their creative minds that has helped me be the artist I am today. I dedicated my senior project at SCAD to my family, the people who have inspired me most in my life.  When I think about my childhood, I think about all the amazing memories I had with my family…Sunday lunches with everyone at my grandmother's house, summers in Hilton Head trying to catch the waves with a boogie board, countless hours in the pool playing Marco Polo, playing tag in the neighborhood until our moms called us for dinner, and performing dances with my cousins on New Years Eve. I was blessed to grow up next door to my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I will cherish all of those memories forever. As I sit here and think about my time I’ve spent with each of my family members for this series, I ask myself, “Why haven’t I spent more time with Abuela and listen to her stories as a young girl?” “Why do I take for granted all those opportunities I went to go see Mami in Spain and didn’t take her outside when I knew we could have had a greater bond?” This project allowed me to have one-on-one time my relatives.  Having the photographs in front of my eyes, made me realize what is most important in life: family. Each moment with them was filled with joy, pure love, abundance of hugs, tears with some…true emotions. I valued every second I had with them and got a chance to connect in a deeper level. I cherish the moment of silence on the beautiful afternoon I shared with Mama, the walk by the Chattahoochee River with Papito, learning about Belen’s work at the vet, Ignacio’s dedication and passion for tennis, Abuela’s hugs filled with pure love and strength, Tio Pablo’s sincere gaze towards me, and my brother’s honesty.

Family is life's greatest blessing.

Gracias familia por una vida llena de alegría y amor. Os quiero muchísimo!

 

Family is Life's Greatest Blessing

It is so hard to believe that its been 2 years since I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design. Those four years at SCAD were filled with so many amazing memories, endless hours working on projects, intense critiques, wonderful classmates, and inspiring professors. I cannot thank my professors and classmates enough for all of their creative minds that has helped me be the artist I am today. I dedicated my senior project at SCAD to my family, the people who have inspired me most in my life.  When I think about my childhood, I think about all the amazing memories I had with my family…Sunday lunches with everyone at my grandmother's house, summers in Hilton Head trying to catch the waves with a boogie board, countless hours in the pool playing Marco Polo, playing tag in the neighborhood until our moms called us for dinner, and performing dances with my cousins on New Years Eve. I was blessed to grow up next door to my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I will cherish all of those memories forever. As I sit here and think about my time I’ve spent with each of my family members for this series, I ask myself, “Why haven’t I spent more time with Abuela and listen to her stories as a young girl?” “Why do I take for granted all those opportunities I went to go see Mami in Spain and didn’t take her outside when I knew we could have had a greater bond?” This project allowed me to have one-on-one time my relatives.  Having the photographs in front of my eyes, made me realize what is most important in life: family. Each moment with them was filled with joy, pure love, abundance of hugs, tears with some…true emotions. I valued every second I had with them and got a chance to connect in a deeper level. I cherish the moment of silence on the beautiful afternoon I shared with Mama, the walk by the Chattahoochee River with Papito, learning about Belen’s work at the vet, Ignacio’s dedication and passion for tennis, Abuela’s hugs filled with pure love and strength, Tio Pablo’s sincere gaze towards me, and my brother’s honesty.

Family is life's greatest blessing.

Gracias familia por una vida llena de alegría y amor. Os quiero muchísimo!

 

Family is Life's Greatest Blessing

It is so hard to believe that its been 2 years since I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design. Those four years at SCAD were filled with so many amazing memories, endless hours working on projects, intense critiques, wonderful classmates, and inspiring professors. I cannot thank my professors and classmates enough for all of their creative minds that has helped me be the artist I am today. I dedicated my senior project at SCAD to my family, the people who have inspired me most in my life.  When I think about my childhood, I think about all the amazing memories I had with my family…Sunday lunches with everyone at my grandmother's house, summers in Hilton Head trying to catch the waves with a boogie board, countless hours in the pool playing Marco Polo, playing tag in the neighborhood until our moms called us for dinner, and performing dances with my cousins on New Years Eve. I was blessed to grow up next door to my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I will cherish all of those memories forever. As I sit here and think about my time I’ve spent with each of my family members for this series, I ask myself, “Why haven’t I spent more time with Abuela and listen to her stories as a young girl?” “Why do I take for granted all those opportunities I went to go see Mami in Spain and didn’t take her outside when I knew we could have had a greater bond?” This project allowed me to have one-on-one time my relatives.  Having the photographs in front of my eyes, made me realize what is most important in life: family. Each moment with them was filled with joy, pure love, abundance of hugs, tears with some…true emotions. I valued every second I had with them and got a chance to connect in a deeper level. I cherish the moment of silence on the beautiful afternoon I shared with Mama, the walk by the Chattahoochee River with Papito, learning about Belen’s work at the vet, Ignacio’s dedication and passion for tennis, Abuela’s hugs filled with pure love and strength, Tio Pablo’s sincere gaze towards me, and my brother’s honesty.

Family is life's greatest blessing.

Gracias familia por una vida llena de alegría y amor. Os quiero muchísimo!