The Cox family

A few weeks ago I met this awesome family in Livermore for a double session—senior portraits for Tyler, and then family portraits!  We spent some time downtown, then headed out to Sycamore Grove park.

It was such a treat to photograph Lisa, Larry, and their three sons.  They are so genuine, down-to-earth, and pleasant to be with.  Not to mention that they're all natural posers—they're so comfortable in front of the lens, they could be a family of models.  Seriously!

Trey (I think he'll be modeling for Ralph Lauren soon...)

Tyler (senior portraits coming later!)

Trent has a fantastic camera smile.  Love it.

Lisa and Larry are such a great couple...wish I'd been around to photograph their wedding!  :)

And then the sun set...so we photographed that too. :)  Thanks for the great session, Cox family! 

I'm still catching up on photo editing, but I'll post some of Tyler's senior photos when they're ready.  Have a great Friday, everyone!

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
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Christmas happiness

I took a quick trip thru the house with my camera on Christmas Eve...and this is what we saw.

My cute little tree :)

Sparkly Christmas ornaments...

 

The "music store" in the miniature Christmas Village

 

 Poinsettias, of course...

 

Advent candles

I love these enormous amaryllis blooms -- stunning!

The reason He came.

I've had some time in the midst of the busyness to stop and ponder the magnitude of Christ's coming. He said his aim was to proclaim liberty to the captives, to heal the brokenhearted, and for that he left a perfect existence in heaven and came here to live and suffer and rise again.  It seems impossible.  But He did it.

He was opposed at every turn, by people who hated him, by people who just didn't know any better, and by Satan and all his demons (can you imagine the battles that must have raged behind the scenes??).  But he came, and he did perfectly everything he came to do.  Such great love.

Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel’s word, 

I come in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred;
But there is room and welcome there for me,
But there is room and welcome there for me.

In that unlikely place I find him as they said:

Sweet newborn Babe, how frail!  And in a manger bed:
A still, small voice to cry one day for me,
A still, small voice to cry one day for me.

How should I not have known Isaiah would be there,
His prophecies fulfilled?  With pounding heart I stare:
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me,
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me.

Can I, will I forget how Love was born, and burned
It’s way into my heart—unasked, unforced, unearned,
To die, to live, and not alone for me,
To die, to live, and not alone for me?

(This song was written by Jaroslav Vajda in the 1980s, and my choir sang it at our Christmas concert.  It's become a new favorite of mine!)

Next posts: a recent portrait session with the fabulous Cox family, and some photos from last week's lovely Jewish wedding.  :)  Meanwhile I'm going to finish house-cleaning (both literally and digitally), catch up on things, and spend some time with both of my sisters, who are in town this week!  Yay!  I'll post again in a couple days.  Till next time, friends....

- Kelsey

 
Discovering beauty...

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Margin. And some pretty autumn photos.

Here in the San Francisco bay area, winter comes late...so although a pretty little Christmas tree is currently gracing my living room, it still feels perfectly natural to have pumpkins around and an orange-berried wreath on the front door!  (Uh-oh, decorating faux pas!)

The last month has been more full than any other month I can remember in years.  Mostly a good full.  I do love my work!  But creativity suffers when the schedule is crammed...can't be creative when my brain gets tired.

Much of this activity has been unavoidable.  Moving is a big undertaking (especially when you work out of your home), and work must go on, along with a lot of other commitments.  But it's only for a time.

As things have calmed down a little, I've been working on creating a little bit of "margin" in my life.  I can't work well if I'm frazzled and worn out.  Jesus promised he would give us rest if we come to him and "take his yoke" -- not being lazy or wasting time, but receiving real REST for our souls -- refreshment, talking with him, enjoying being with him, taking delight in the good things he's put in our lives, and yes, taking care of our physical needs like sleep and exercise.  He doesn't intend for us to take on more than we can handle. He's the one with the supernatural powers, not us!  :)

So on Thanksgiving weekend I wandered around outside for a while with my camera, taking in the pretty late-fall setting, letting my landscape-photog instincts come out and play.  I find it both relaxing and stimulating to wander like this...there's always beauty to discover, and this time of year it shows up especially in the little things.

Love the wavy edges of this calla lily leaf...

 

Fall = pomegranates!

Baby stock plants...they'll have beautiful, fragrant blooms next spring...

 

Chinese Forget-me-nots

 

Still a few little basil plants in my mom's greenhouse...

 

Purple asters spilling out of this big blue pot...so carefree...

Here's to enough "margin" in your life and mine...especially with the busy-but-wonderful Christmas season upon us!  :)

- Kelsey
Discovering beauty...

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Carla and Kevin's engagement session

And here they are...Carla and Kevin!  Enjoy!  :)

We started in the beautiful redwood grove on the UC Davis campus.  It feels like a slice of California coastline, right there in the middle of the state.

 

 

Big trees = perfect fisheye moment.  ;)

 

It did rain a little, but stopped before long...yay!

 

Such a sweet couple.  :)  I'm so glad to have Carla as my cousin, and Kevin as future cousin-in-law!

 

 

Carla majored in English, and she and Kevin both love to read.  So we spent some time photographing at the library on campus...in the Shakespeare section!

 

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"...

 

Love this one!  So happy together... :)

If you'd like to see more, the full set of photos will be posted here soon when they're finished, and more are coming on Facebook too.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!  Cheers!  :)

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty...

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook