Horse Play

We had the pleasure of photographing Dr. Joan Winter, D.V.M. and her Arabian horse Spuds. Joan practices Western and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine in Simi Valley and surrounding areas.

Is your dog or horse suffering joint pain - she can administer acupuncture to alleviate pain.

Dr. Winter received her beautiful new smile from Dr. Carson at Westlake Dental Arts. www.westlakedentalarts.com

What A Doll!

Someone once told me that my portraits captured the "light" in people. I found it a great compliment. It was easy to capture Bobbi Jo Free's inner light. She just shines.

I met Bobbi Jo when I photographed her at a charity event. I decided she was so inspirational and sweet we just had to photograph her in her art studio at Bell Arts Factory and share the images with you.

The day Grace and I photographed her she was teaching three of her grand kids to make stuffed sheep dolls. It was obvious from her studio walls that Bobbi Jo is talented in all forms of art, but she seems to mostly design and create dolls these days.






Although her studio is small, she fills it with love.






These are just a few of the many dolls Bobbi Jo has created.

Talented Youth of Ventura Perform at the Rubicon Theater

Grace and I photographed the sold out "Kids for Kids" show at the Rubicon Theater in Ventura this past Monday evening. Grace and I loved the show and were very impressed by Toby Tropper who emceed the show and wrote and acted in the funniest piece of the night. Toby is pictured below.




Also watch out for Sydney Unseth. She can't be more than 9 or 10 and is talented enough for Broadway right now. Photos of Sydney in rehearsal and during the show below.




The following was paraphrased from a Ventura County Star article.

Recognizing the Rubicon Theatre Company’s financial hardships and eager to give back, former participants in Rubicon youth camps performed in a one-night “Kids for Kids” youth benefit showcase to raise money for scholarships and future camps.

The showcase featured highlights from past Rubicon youth productions, such as “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Footloose,” “Babes in Arms,” “Once on This Island,” as well as the current production of “Godspell.”

The showcase was conceived and produced by Julie Farrell, 19, a former participant who recently finished her first year as a musical theater major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa. Julie is in the red shirt with the flowers below.

Pretty Pretty Pony Tale

I took these images of Grace today working her magic. She drew this cute card for her friend's neice's 2nd birthday. She was painting it on the patio in the cool Ventura air. Her work always impresses me.

I only wish my wrist would support me!

Don't you wish you could stop everything you are doing right now and do this! I get to photograph some of the most talented high school dancers - this is Shelby.

Decadence is everywhere!

Sue and I decided to have a little fun downtown on Tuesday, and this is the product! We walked around for about an hour trying to find the letters to Decadent Images without using signs (I admit I cheated a little bit on the 'g', but that was a tough one!). Sue found all the letters to Decadent, and I gathered up everything for Images, and then put them all together.

Each of these letters can be found somewhere in Downtown Ventura, for example, my 'e' came from Jerold Thomas Salon on California St, and Sue's first 'e' came from the lobby of the Perry Mason building.



See if you can identify some of them yourselves!

My inspiration

Frank Niemier, a legendary newspaper photographer, took this photo of me in 1979 when I was 16. He sent me this digital copy yesterday.

I already have a printed copy in my scrapbook and the page that ran in the newspaper - it has been in there for 30 years!

I was a varsity tennis player for Royal High School in Simi Valley. This memory is worth a million dollars to me. It is one of those images that tells the story of the person. I can see the determination and focus in my eyes. Even all these years later, I can say those are two of my best qualities.

This photo is one of the reasons I like to photograph athletes and dancers. I can always look at this photo and remember who I want to be. It reminds me that I can do anything I set my mind to. I want the same feeling for the boys and girls I photograph today.