Okay...so who is this?

I became friends with Sara Clinton and her mom Sue a couple

of years ago when I did Sara's Senior portraits. Last week Sue called and said Sara is in town

(she is attending Questa)

and she wanted a portrait session at the park

with her very special young man.

We did the usual fun shots...and then the kids

suggested this.

Uniquely theirs....!!!!

Mia Biscay - the little lady of the day!

Mia Biscay is the daughter of Nick and Lauren who

had a studio session last week with everything girl!

When the family came in for their previewing session

yesterday - Mia stole the show by taking multiple steps

across the viewing room. Apparently she chose today

as the day to begin truly walking.

Yea Mia!

Precious Moments

The FauntLeRoy children are sharing a special moment with their Nana.

Katie wanted a studio session with her charming daughters

Dakota and Savanna....spending time with their grandparents with no posing.

This is a type of family session that is rare - and we were so eager to get to it!

We threw whatever white we had in the studio into the set...

and had fun watching and capturing the children and grandparents interacting !!!

Buchanan Seniors - 2009

Brea and I recently had a fun session

with these four Buchanan Seniors...

Debbie Wirawan (sports - karate and in leadership)

Kelsey Gagliardi (sports - basketball and in leadership)

Kathleen Carlson (loves running and in school choir)

and Kristyn Perry (involved in pep and cheer, ballet)

These young women impressed us with their style, character and goals for success.

Girls ... you Rock!

Introducing infant Lauren Wisniowski

I am happy to introduce Lauren Wisniowski to the world
Born 9/4/2008 to Josh and Jennifer, joining little brother Tyler.

...and just in case you are wondering...

Yes...we can do Christmas cards for you!

Fall Family Portraits...

Join us November 8th and 9th for a mini family photo session

in the fall leaves at Woodward Park.

Session Fee - $50 and minimum order only $100.
We have special gift print pricing for you this week-end
so call right away (435-5600) to reserve your spot.
A small deposit is required.

Little Ben

At Garden Gate Photography, we love babies!

I first met Ben while he still resting in mommy's tummy. When Sandy Puc was in town for her Babies and Bellies tour - baby Ben was her infant model. Recently mommy Jaclyn and Ben visited our new studio - and just look how cute he is! Look at those baby blue eyes!

Calli and Paul Erickson

Calli Grover became Mrs. Paul Erickson this summer. The wedding was held at the People's Church chapel with the reception following at the Fig Garden Swim and Raquet Club.

Paul and Calli are one the most fun couples I know...always ready to play and game for anything.

Calli got ready for the day at a friends beautiful home in Clovis - and then everyone headed to the park for "the MOMENT". Between ceremony and reception - we stopped traffic in the Fig Garden area for this limo shot...

Wee One

I recently had a fun session with the Miranda family in our studio.

Little Kristyn has a serious side, but look oh my goodness... what a sweetheart she is!

Children are always so much fun to observe and

I love the challenge of bringing out their little personalities.

Jeff and Melanie...Engaged

With their November wedding just around the corner, I had the absolute pleasure of getting to know Jeff and Melanie during their recent engagement session which began in the Bass Lake area.

The engagement session is a special time, as it is a special opportunity to get to know the couple while teaching and encouraging them to relax and get "in to" each other comfortably with a camera pointed at them!

Well, I knew this young couple would be fun, but I was in for a surprise, they were a blast they had me laughing so hard it was difficult to focus my camera!

The day finalized with a special session down by the San Joaquin River, as you can see. (They met at a Halloween costume party - just in case you are wondering "what's up" with the outfits!)

Melanie - Jeff - you guys Rock!



Whoops, almost forgot this one!

A Sweet and Fun wedding

Mike and I had the pleasure of being the wedding photographers for Alisha and her man on August 16th in rural Exeter. The bridesmaids entered on a tractor drawn wagon and Alisha made a stunning entrance in a horse drawn carriage - just like a princess. Bright sunflowers and smiles were plentiful as the couple took their vows on this bright sunny day - with Sierra mountains as a glorious backdrop.

Small for such a short, sweet time....

Just a short time ago Dominique visited us for her maternity session. And then along came baby, and what a sweet and cooperative little man he was. Mom, Dad and baby were together for his newborn session (four weeks old).

I can't quite explain why, but these infant sessions excite and energize me - maybe because I have the opportunity to participate in the celebration of new life and the dawn of "family" in the true sense.

Blessings!

Meet Gracie - a sweet Fairy Princess

With the opening of our studio in the Riverpark area - we are excited about doing some creative fantasy sessions with children. I met Gracie at her aunt Sunny's wedding earlier this year - and she visited our studio last week for a Fantasy session - butterfly wings and fairy dust included! Gracie was very cooperative and followed our prompting - after which we allowed her do some poses "her way".

I love on location portrait sessions so much, I gave little thought or consideration to studio work. In fact I think I probably said "I would never do that!". Well, never say never! I am loving it - and we get to stay cool and have fun indoors instead of sweltering in the heat outdoors.

Our first newsletter will be going out next week and we will be announcing information about our September and October sessions (Fairy Fantasy and Tool Time). We are also hosting a Halloween fundraiser. More information on that later.

If you would like to be added to our newsletter mailing list, please send an email to info@gardengatephoto.com.

Bella Turns One!

I first met Bella while she resided in mommy's tummy for the maternity session...but our real meeting was at her birth. Mom Tracy was brave and kind enough to allow me and my camera into the birthing room for Bella's birth. Over the past year I have enjoyed watching her personality develop during our sessions at three months, six months, nine months at just last month for her twelve month milestone. This wee one is a charmer with the biggest blue eyes and dimples. She has a fun side and a serious side - and she reflects everything in between with the blink of an eye. Soon I will be designing a coffee table album reflecting Bella's First Year. If this is something you are interested in...please send an email to me at kathy@gardengatephoto.com.

"Childhood is a journey...not a destination"

Wedding - Melissa and Cody

This beautiful bride is Melissa (Felix) Wilson. She was married to handsome Cody in Fresno, CA on June 6, 2008.

Prior to the ceremony the bridal party had fun in the sun at Woodward Park where they allowed me plenty of time to get the normal "formal" work out of the way, and then some great fun work. Janeen assisted by photographing the guys getting ready - tool belts, fedoras and all!
(Melissa did don a fedora during the reception to accomodate me for just a moment!)

As a wedding photographer and album designer, it is important to me to have plenty of time to capture all of the photographs I need/want for the couple. To do this, doing the bride and groom prior to the ceremony is a great asset. But - what about that special moment when the groom first sees his bride? We planned the "moment" in the cool shade under a redwood tree. I know Cody was not disappointed!

The ceremony was at People's Church Chapel with reception at Four Points Sheraton.

Melissa and Cody live in the Sacramento area.

Engaged - Calli Grover and Paul Erickson

If the wedding is as much fun as their engagement session, I believe I will be laughing all day!

Calli and Paul love to ride their bikes, so we did a little riding around Fig Garden for fun and then treked to downtown Fresno for an urban setting.

I only had to prompt Paul to kiss Calli once, and he took it from there!

Their wedding is set for August.

Jasmine and Glen - Wawona (Yosemite) Wedding

On May 23, 2008 Jasmine Dunning and Glen Ryerson were married at beautiful Wawona Lodge in Yosemite National Park. This gentle couple were joined by family and friends from across the U.S. for an intimate wedding. The weather was a little cool and sprinkled off and on so last minute wedding plans resulted in the ceremony being held on the veranda, overlooking the golf course. The quiet love this couple has for one another made the spectacular scenery pale by comparison. Jasmine and Glen...thank you for allowing me to be your photographer!

Engaged - Ella and Clark

Ella and Clark will be married October 18, 2008 (which happens to be my wedding anniversary - great date!) in Hanford.

I always look forward to the engagement session because it is the best opportunity for us to become friends and for them to practice relaxing with a camera pointed at them for hours on end!

Ella and Clark chose a most wonderful location (Jackstone Barn) for their session - we had a barn, a windmill, a pond, bridge, trees, fencing and more to provide interest and mood. Oh yes, we found an old fashioned swing too!

See you soon!

Michelle and Vance Tie the Knot...

Michelle Forster and Vance Hernandez have been friends for many years and tied the knot at the Fresno Downtown Club on April 26th.

Using urban Fresno as a backdrop for their pre-ceremony formal session was something that I have been wanting to do for quite a long time. (High School seniors and engagement sessions happen downtown frequently - but weddings - not so much!)

Congratulations Michelle and Vance!

Engaged - Lisa and Kevin

Lisa and Kevin are engaged to be married in May of 2009.

We recently had a fantastic engagement session in the Three Rivers, CA area. The hope was to use the river as a backdrop - but with the major snow melt in the Sierra Mountains the river had risen in a major way - so Plan B! We found an abandoned gas station with color and personality, and then drove up the mountain to Three Rivers and visited the most wonderful Candy and Ice Cream Shoppe (Reimer Ice Cream). The shoppe keeper was very cooperative and allowed us to have a mini session in the candy shoppe, and then she ran next door to the Ice Cream shoppe to scoop the couples favorite flavor for a fun and romantic "cone for two".

We are truly looking forward to photographing the wedding - it is guaranteed to be a favorite!

Texas School of Photography

As a member of PPA (Professional Photographers of America) I recently learned about Texas School ("the best little photography school in the world") held in College Station, Texas (home of Texas A&M - go Aggies!!).

With about 50 world class professional photographer's as instructors - I applied as a student with Rick and Deb Ferro from Florida. I have a few of their books and knew they would be awesome instructors. Because my flight from Fresno took literally all day, I missed some of Sunday's activities, but arrived just in time for a spectacular meeting in the campus theater. I had NO idea what to expect. There were over 1,000 excited people in the room - 995 of them students from four countries.

Classes began at 8:30 sharp every morning and ended at 5:30 - with dinner and evening entertainment from 6:30 to late late - I generally crawled into bed about midnight. We visited the Texas Hall of Fame (okay - I thought it was a museum (it isn't)) and the George Bush Library where we had an evening session on the grounds.

Rick and Deborah are wonderful people and very talented world class artists. Rick is a wedding photographer and Deborah photographs children and is a Photoshop and Corel expert. We were provided with models for both wedding and children photography and full studio lighting for demonstration and practice.

Surrounded by like-minded, passionate, talented people for a week from all over the country was wonderful and I go home with several new friends. Even though we live in different states I know we will stay in touch and see one another next year at Texas School. But for now, I am anxious to go home to my family and to put into practice new techniques learned.

Thank you to Rick and Deb, as well as Wranglers, fellow students, and the residents of College Station for your hospitality!!!

Laura and Vance Harris

Yosemite is a popular location for weddings this year...Laura and Vance were married on April 11, 2008 with their ceremony in the Chapel, and champagne toasts after on the bridge.

Jessica and Todd

Jessica (Allen) and Todd Elrod were recently married in one of the most beautiful backyard weddings ever. Todd has been in Ranger school in Georgia, and he and Jessica returned back to the Fresno area at 4:00 a.m. the day of their wedding! Though a bit weary, this young couple was amazing. Todd expects to be deployed to Iraq soon - so they are cherishing their days together. My prayers are with Todd for a safe return home, soon.

and here is Chris...

Chris Burright is a Senior at Clovis West. This gentleman is a world-class writer ... one of these days we might be hearing ad campaigns authored by Chris. We had a fun session with his new red Jeep...

Seniors Rock!

I love Seniors!!!! This wonderful young man is Aram DeLa Cruz from Clovis East..handsome and as nice as they come!

Jeanne and Dodge

What a fun couple Jeanne and Ryan Dodge (from the Bay area) are. This was a destination wedding for them - a very intimate and special day. The ceremony was at Erna's Elderberry House in Oakhurst...and for fun we drove into Yosemite Valley for a couple of hours. We stopped along the way at Wawona and they hiked down the hill to stand in front the covered bridge. And then we drove into the valley - neither had ever visited Yosemite before, and they seemed in awe of the majesty and splendor of scenery.

Catching Up...

I can't believe that it has been over six months since I blogged...I have found "blogging" to be one of those tasks that fall to the bottom of the list of to-do's as the tyranny of the urgent takes precidence over so many facets of my life!

We are in the beginning of "wedding season" - with 5 weddings happening the first two weeks of April...two of them were involved fun trips to Yosemite. Will try to post a few of the fun images from each of the weddings as I get going again.

We are looking for studio space - about 1200 sq. feet - this task is not as easy as you might think! We want a viewing room as well as a camera room, and a location that is comfortable and quiet, while at the same time easy access. Tally ho!

The grandkids are growing...fast! Emily will be 4 years old this coming week, with the little guys (Jonah and Logan) now a fun and active 2 1/2. And speaking of...I am being asked to go "sit in grandma's car"...so bye for now!