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

❤ 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!  ❤

Sloane Reali, YOU ROCK.

* Feel free to leave your comments and love for Sloane at the end of this post~

Working with Sloane Reali, on any level, is a total blast. I first met her many years ago when we were neighbors and have never forgotten her…she is a fantastic ball of energy and unfailingly positive and radiant. It was a total delight to see her in her element, working as both a vocal coach both privately and to groups (at The Santa Barbara Guitar Bar) as well as the intrepid leader of a group of vocal students at The Rock Shop Academy. Full of positive feedback and support for her students, I honestly can't imagine anyone else being in the position she's in. 

You can see how much her students (from young kids to older adults) really warm up to Sloane and feel comfortable and equally inspired by her presence. It's truly a beautiful thing to witness! And as a long-time vocalist and musician, I can truly appreciate her ability to nurture men and women's talents from such young ages no matter what level they may be starting at. I can only imagine how far along I would be musically if I had had a teacher like Sloane when I was younger. It's impressive as well how many resources there are for young kids when they are musically inclined….both The Santa Barbara Guitar Bar and The Rock Shop are fantastic local businesses supporting both amateur and professional musicians of all ages. 

Sloane, you're a total delight and I can't wait to see you and your students performing one of these days! Please give the young ones my best! They were an inspiration to me as a fellow vocalist myself.

Check out more of what Sloane does here: http://vocalcoachingbysloane.com


These are just a few of my favorite photos from our multiple shoots together…ENJOY!

The Ever Talented and Indomitable Karen Custer Thurston

"We ought to dance with rapture that we might be alive... and part of the living, incarnate cosmos."  ~D.H. Lawrence

My mother--the indomitable and multi-talented--Karen Custer Thurston continues to be one of my very favorite people to photograph. Over the years she has hired me to capture various aspects of her long-time career as a fitness trainer, instructor, Turkish-Egyptian Dance Instructor, Choreographer, Performer, and Bollywood choreographer and teacher. 



It has become a tradition that we do every couple of years….and each time I photograph her it's a unique and magical experience. As we are mothers and daughters, there's always lots of hem and hawing over what we each think her make-up and outfits will look like but we've developed a fantastic symbiosis and over the years she has ultimately learned to trust my artistic vision and judgment. 

I think these photos speak for themselves. My mother is one of the most beautiful people I know both inside and out. Her spirit and strength are radiant and she has a magnetism that the camera always seems to love. She has also taken incredible care of her health and her body…many people have seen photos of her over the years and think that I have somehow photoshopped a little extra, making her slimmer and giving her bigger muscles. 

But make no mistake, my friends. This is all very REAL and the muscles and incredible definition she has are all her own. Thanks to being a daughter of farmers and then a very, very hard working fitness trainer and dancer her whole life she has become a role model of men and women of all ages to be in the best possible health and shape that they can. 



I am so incredibly grateful to be on this journey with her and have no doubt that it's only a part of a much longer and wonderful journey we have together. 

Mama, you have been and will always continue to be an infinite source of inspiration to me and I am so honored to be on this journey with You. 

xoxo Raquelita
Hija De La Chihuahua

Enjoy both of the slideshows! I had so many wonderful photos from two parts of our shoot together (fitness and then dance) that I decided to do two separate slideshows and celebrate these two aspects of her career. 

If the music doesn't come on when you first click on the "play" (triangle/arrow) then refresh your browser and click play again.

You can obtain full screen mode by clicking on square icon in lower right hand corner of slideshow screen. 

Beth and Forrest's Engagement Photos

  ♥••*´¨`*•.☆• Beth and Forrest's Engagement Photos •☆.•*´¨`*••♥


*Make sure to check out the slideshow at the end of this blog entry. Click on the "arrow" to play it.

Love has no desire but to fulfill itself.  To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.  To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.  ~Kahlil Gibran

Kind. Thoughtful. Down to earth. Funny. Loving. Compassionate. These are just a few of the qualities that come to mind when I think of either Forrest or Beth…both of whom are extraordinarily good people! It's wonderful to know them both and even more magical to see them together as a couple.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to photograph them for their engagement. We had so much fun that the sunset came all too soon….

I am so happy to know you both and even happier to see two really good people find each other and create a life together.

Wishing you the greatest happiness as you build your life togethere! You both deserve it!

With Love and Blessings~
Rachel 

*Make sure to check out the slideshow below! If the music doesn't come on when you click on the arrow "play" button then refresh your browser window and try again. You can also leave comments below. Enjoy!

Carolyn and David's Family Portrait

Carolyn and David's Family Portrait Session
Santa Barbara, CA

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."  ~Joyce Brothers

I first met Carolyn over the holidays at our AWC Annual Holiday Party and was delighted to meet a fellow Midwesterner who has recently relocated to Santa Barbara. I have a special place in my heart for Midwesterners and have many close friends here in SB who hail from the flatlands of the U.S. like me. There's a common heritage that we share that's unique and familiar and, from my experience, Midwesterners tend to be pretty down to earth, kind-hearted and authentic people.

I was delighted when she and her husband wanted to put together a photo shoot for their family's reunion out here in their beautiful new home.

Life is truly short and it seems to be speeding up for me every year. I have lived 1,000s of miles from much of my family now for over two decades so I cherish every moment I have with them.

It was a delight being there to celebrate Carolyn and David's time with their family who were visiting from around the country. It's a precious thing to spend time with the people we love no matter how many zip codes exist between our homes.

Sending you and your family my love and blessings this year! I hope we can make this an annual tradition. 

Cheers,
Rachel

Photo Shoot With Children's Book And Fiction Author JZ Bingham

*Please make sure to check out the slideshow below!


I first met JZ earlier this year at the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference and was quickly drawn to her warmth and candor. I've made some really wonderful friends with fellow writers over the last ten years of my involvement with the conference and it has been a special treat getting to know Jasmine (as her friends call her). Besides being a talented author of a hot-off-the-press series of The Salty Splashes Collection of Children's Books, she's a stunning, radiant woman on the inside and out.




Before our shoot she kept warning me that she's traditionally been uncomfortable in front of the camera and doesn't consider herself photogenic. As soon as I started shooting her, it was immediately apparent that she's quite the opposite. She's stunning in person and a total natural in front of the camera. 


This was so much fun to do with her. She wanted to show some other more candid shots of herself as the multi-dimensional author that she is. 

I'm blown away by how her radiance comes through in these photos…the light was sublime. It was a magical shoot and I can't wait to photograph her again!

You can check out her websites here….and her books, of course, make wonderful holiday presents as well!

Let's do this again, Jasmine!

JZ Bingham Author Website
Salty Splashes Collection of Children's Books

*Enjoy the slideshow below! If the music doesn't come on at first, then refresh your page and click "play" again.
To make the slideshow full screen, simply click on the lower left hand icon (rectangle) and Voila! ;-)

Elliot and Julie's Santa Barbara Wedding

*Enjoy the slideshow below~ ;-) 

"Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame."  

~Henry David Thoreau

What a beautiful morning this was and a total treat to meet and photograph Elliot and Julie for their intimate ceremony at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. There's wasn't a cloud in the sky. They've just moved to Santa Barbara and are making a home here now and looking forward to sharing their new paradise with their friends and family.

They couldn't have picked a more beautiful way to start their life here!

All my love and congratulations to you both. I hope I have the opportunity to photograph you both again...it was a total delight!

*Enjoy the slideshow~ If the music doesn't come on at first, just refresh your browser page and click "play" again! ;-) 
*To watch in full screen mode, just click on rectangle in lower right hand corner of slideshow. 

Kathleen Barry's Celebration

This was truly a special occasion for Kathleen. For the past couple of years she has been grieving the loss of her husband of 23 years and after so much pain....this is her year to SHINE. She is stepping out from the shadow of grief and embracing the world again in a new skin as an independent and radiant woman.

As the light became more golden and her bottle of bubbly flowed over, our connection and her comfort grew even more beautiful. Serendipitously we ran into a woman who was celebrating her pregnancy and was also doing a photo shoot. Out of the blue she presented us with a beautifully hand-crafted wreath of eucalyptus leaves, lavender, and a pink rose as if knowing that Kathleen was also celebrating a very special birth of her own. 

The Universe indeed works in beautiful and unexpected ways.

Here's to living life large AND OUT LOUD, Kathleen! May you step into your new power and beauty with every day. Looking forward to being a witness to that!