The Association For Women In Communication's 2015 Santa Barbara Holiday Party

Association For Women In Communication's Santa Barbara Chapter
2015 Holiday Party

I love this time of the year and especially connecting with fellow AWC-SB friends in celebration of the holidays! Please feel free to share the link to this page on FB with your friends as well. Just cut and paste the address to this page from your browser and share on FB. 

Happy Holidays to you and congratulations to "Member of the Year" Lynn K. Jones and "Nonprofit of the Year" Villa Majella.

In Celebration Of The 2015 Santa Barbara Writers Conference

In Celebration Of The 2015 Santa Barbara Writers Conference

Owner: Monte Schulz

Co-Directors: Nicole Starczack and Erin Dougherty Munsch

Director Of Volunteers: Grace Rachow

I've lost track of how many years I've been involved with the amazing Santa Barbara Writers Conference as both a writer and as a photographer....has it been 12? 13 or 14 years now that I dedicate a full week to immersing myself in the microverse that magically appears in the heart of Santa Barbara every June. It's a week that is packed with inspiration from fellow writers, publishing experts, literary agents, editors, publishers, and award-winning novelists, poets, and non-fiction writers. 

In short, it's a week to remind each of us that--as writers in what can be a very solitary pursuit--we are not alone and that we are stronger and become better when we surround ourselves with excellence and a community of our peers who are also striving for excellence. 

I have made lifelong friends from around the country through the conference, have found writing mentors who continue to inspire me, and built up a community of fellow writers with whom I can exchange inspiration and critiques throughout the year. 

Over the years my relationship with the conference has grown into becoming one of their main event photographers as well as running the Annual Talent Show with my co-host Margaux Hession and long-time friend and Mentor Matt Pallamary. The Talent Show continues to be a great way of just relaxing and celebrating a very long and exhausting week.

It's a month's worth of celebration, inspiration, interaction with mentors, fellow writers, editors, agents, and internationally renowned novelists and non-fiction authors.

Simply put: It's an incredible, magical, and mind-expanding week. Writers come for encouragement and feedback but end up coming again and again largely b/c of the "family" feel of the conference and for the friendships that we all make.

Big thanks to Grace Rachow, our heroic Director of Volunteers, and all of my hard-working fellow volunteers who have spent many years putting their love, sweat, and tears into helping Nicole, Erin and Monte run the conference so smoothly! Between us all, we have a wonderful team and SBWC "family!"

And now I'll put on my "photographer's hat" and let the photos speak for themselves. Looks fun, doesn't it?! ;-)

Enjoy the slideshow! Slideshow below may take a minute to load…but it's worth it! ;-) Once it's loaded, click on grey arrow in middle of window. If music doesn't come on within a second or two, just refresh your browser window and click on the "play" arrow button again. 

To watch with a full size screen, just click on the rectangular icon in lower right hand corner of screen. 

Feel free to leave "like" this post above, leave your comments below, and share this link with your friends. 

PLEASE NOTE: As I wasn't on official photography duty this year, all of the following photos below were taken with my point and shoot Lumix and a few were taken with my iPhone.

AWC-SB'S "Women Of Achievement" Annual Awards Luncheon 2015

Enjoy the slideshow at the bottom of this post. Feel free to "like" this page above, share this link on FB, and leave your comments about this super fun day of celebrating Santa Barbara women achievers!

The Association For Women In Communication's Santa Barbara Chapter
Annual "Women Of Achievement" Luncheon
2015 Location: The Santa Barbara Women's Club
Wednesday June 3rd, 2015

AWC-SB's Annual "Women Of Achievement" luncheon has always been an inspiring event for me to both attend and to photograph every year. It has been an honor being a part of this incredible organization and it's no surprise--with our incredible population of heavy hitting women in Santa Barbara--that we have the fastest growing chapter in this nation! 



This year's luncheon honored two very deserving women who have both had quite an influence both nationally and internationally:  local environmental activist and community leader Sigrid Wright of the Community Environmental Council and author and public speaker Marilyn Tam of The Happiness Choice. Also honored was AWC-SB Poet and "Member Of The Year" Perie Longo who wrote some pretty fabulous and witty poetic tributes for both of our honorees. 

Preceding two inspiring talks by Wright and Tam, SB Mayor Helene Schneider and Jan Ingram (long-time friend of Tam) gave some wonderful introductions to the honorees that were both humorous and thoughtful. And Sloane Reali, public speaker, vocalist, and vocal teacher, rocked the house with her always fun emcee skills. 



I always come out from this annual luncheon feeling inspired, proud to a woman in this incredible community, and motivated to think bigger with all of my dreams!

Congratulations to the three of you and thank you for all that you have done for our community!

Enjoy the slideshow below and feel free to "like" this page and share it on FB as well. 

Enjoy the slideshow below. Click on the "play" arrow button in the middle of the box. If the sound doesn't come on at first, then refresh your browser window and click on "play" button again. Enjoy! Feel free to share this link with others. 

Alpha's "Circle Of Life" Luncheon 2015

One of the highlights of my photographic year is having the opportunity to capture the magic and beautiful moments of Alpha Resource Center's "Circle of Life" Fundraising Luncheon hosted by long-time Alpha Fan and comedian Dennis Miller.

Committed to empowering individuals, supporting families, and building a community that values the contribution of all people, Alpha is an incredibly invaluable, SB-based nonprofit. Featuring music performances by Alpha participants, stories by family members whose lives have been touched by Alpha, and testimonials from local business owners who are employing Alpha participants, there's usually not a dry eye in the house by the end of the lunch. 

It's truly a joy to have been a photographer for Alpha over the past 5+ years! 

Please make sure to check out the slideshow I've put together below. If you enjoy this post and the slideshow, please "like" it and share it on Facebook as well! Thanks so much!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

 Enjoy the slideshow! ;-) 

To view the slideshow below, click on the arrow "play" button. 
If the music doesn't come on at first, please refresh your browser and try again.
To view in full screen mode, click on the rectangle in lower right of gallery screen and voila! ;-)



If you'd like to view all of the photos in the whole gallery or purchase any prints from the day, visit here: http://rsthurston.zenfolio.com/rachelsarahthurstonalpha2015bestjpegs

Erika Lilley & Jeff Walker's Gorgeous Sunset Wedding

This could just as easily have been named "The Many Expressions of Erika Lilley Walker!" as I've never seen a more boisterous bride with a wider range of expressions than Erika. However, the moment when Erika won my complete and bemused respect was when she got down in the middle of the dance floor during the reception and started doing push-ups in her wedding gown. You gotta love it! As best friends in love and life (she's a fitness trainer and he's a coach) Erika and Jeff have boundless energy and enthusiasm for sports and all things athletic...which always makes for a fun celebration!  

I have to give thanks to friend and longtime client, Kathleen Barry, for having connected me with Erika and Jeff (who were planning their Santa Barbara winter holiday wedding at The Rincon Beach Club, a gorgeous and intimate venue in the seaside community of Carpinteria). It was only because of her that I know them both and was there to photograph their wedding. Big thanks to you, Kathleen!  

As you'll see from the photos and slideshows, Erika and Jeff are surrounded by a beautiful group of friends and family who delighted in watching this very much in love couple celebrate their nuptials.

I'm very much looking forward to helping them celebrate the next many years of co-creating your lives together! It was truly a pleasure photographing you both on a very special day! 

To look at the full gallery of all of the photos or to purchase prints from their wedding just click here: http://rsthurston.zenfolio.com/lilleywalkerjpegs

Hoping you and your loved ones enjoy these super fun slideshows!
*If the music doesn't come on when you click on the "play" (arrow button in the middle of the window below) then refresh your browser and click on "play" again.
**To make the slideshow full frame (recommended) just click on the rectangular icon in lower right hand corner of the slideshow window below. Voila! 

Erika & Jeff's Bride & Groom and Ceremony Slideshow

Montecito Piano Bar With Gil Rosas by The Profant Foundation For The Arts

Hosted by The Profant Foundation For The Arts
Featuring Gil Rosas on Piano & Vocals....and a few other surprise guests! ;-)  ♪♪♪

Lively music, piano playing, upbeat Broadway musical singalongs, lots of smiles and laughter served up along with beautiful ambience in gorgeous home in Montecito? Ummm, YES, PLEASE! ;-) 

This event was such a treat to photograph thanks to Mignonne Profant who brought me on board and whom I met many years ago while photographing the SB Women's Festival. The aim of the Profant Foundation (run by Mignonne, her three lovely sisters and their Mother)  is to raise funds towards scholarships for local artists as well as to resurrect some local cultural traditions around the arts, hence this latest musical event.

What a delight to capture laughter and camaraderie among guests as they sang along with Gil who has spent the last 60+ years entertaining local Santa Barbarans. He's also well known for his many years performing at the much beloved "Olive Mill Bistro" (where "The Montecito Cafe" is now located) back in the day. 

I thought a slideshow would be a fun tribute to the evening's celebrations! 

*To view the slideshow in full screen mode, just click on the "rectangle icon" in the lower right portion of the screen. 
*If music doesn't come on at first, just refresh your browser and click on the "triangle" play button again. 
***If you would like to purchase any prints from the gallery below, click here to be taken to the gallery.  

Enjoy the slideshow! ❤ 
*Song Credit: "King Of Swing" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (who originally hail from Santa Barbara! ;)

❤ Judy's Mesa Family Photo Shoot  ❤

        Such a fun photo shoot with a dear friend of mine, her two beautiful kids, and their sweet puppy Oakley (who unexpectedly passed away a few months after the shoot). I'm so happy we were able to get Oakley in several of these photos....it was a magical evening with that dreamy, creamy sunset peach light! 

        She ended up choosing several of the same favorites I had from our shoot together and ordering some gorgeous large prints from me and Zenfolio (Awesome Professional Photographer's Lab) for her living room. So fun to see them being appreciated and enjoyed on a daily basis!  ❤