Just yesterday morning I was surrounded with about 700 hundred kids who raced for the 8th edition of Ryan’s Ride in memory of Ryan Phua and benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Although challenging since shooting in harsh sunlight, it’s always incredibly fun to photograph this event, organized with immense dedication by my dear friends Michele and John Phua. They are a constant inspiration of courage, strength and love for life.

Every year I look forward to this event. The kids participating to Ryan’s Ride are very committed to the race, and each year they surprise us with their new and extravagant gear…

… a camera installed in his helmet? Would love to see the footage

A smiley shark!

I love my mommy…

…cause she helps me gear up

I just like to wear daddy’s t-shirt!

a little bit on sunscreen on that cute nose!

Some like to concentrate on the task ahead…

Some just smile at the camera…

checking the gear…

secretly planning team tactics

and like in every race, there must be the beauty queens…

L-O-V-E the sunglasses look!!!

Time to get serious… the race is about to start!!!

Star Steve Seaweed announces the divisions…

Burlingame’s Mayor Terry Nagel gives the start to the first group…

The kids await… tension is building…

and the race is on!!!!

and the kids are having the time of their lives… so much fun, and some even take the time to smile at my camera !!!

making it to the finish line!

a relaxed biker…

…in need of a push?

moms with cameras…

Face to face antagonists

a  moment of thrill (and somehow preoccupation) for me comes when the older kids race… their effort is so strong, they race so fast it is almost dangerous to stand in their way… But the adult volunteers help tremendously helping them keep a safe trajectory

and after the finishing line… ice-cream and medals for everyone!

and more volunteers helping out with entertainment and face-painting…

Now that’s the face of a happy kid! If you wanna be part of the fun next year find out more staying in touch with Ryan’s Ride organization.

Last week I was out shooting with my intern Lisa, she brought along her adorable daughter Audrey who posed for me for a few quick moments… I just love the fairy tale atmosphere created with some filter’s help, Audrey’s paper umbrella and most of all…her sparkling eyes!

And here’s a behind the scene, Audrey and I captured giggling!

Just wrapped up another Wedding Art Book design. You may have seen the handsome faces of Lindsay and Lukas many times on my blog, their romantic wedding at the Stone Tree Golf Club in Novato was published in several wedding blogs like I do Venues, Fabulously Wed, The Wedding Row and even the European Modern Bride. Here some of my favorite pages…

I love assembling collages with the details of the reception.. and some of the most emotional pages are always the ones featuring the toasts.. At the Stone Tree Golf Club the lighting was really perfect, and the black and white editing better expresses the intimacy of the moment…

Finally the warm weather arrived in Northern California. It was perfect for our Country Theme Maternity Photo Shoot! A soft, warm,  romantic scene to celebrate Nadia’ s maternity…

Lately I have started playing with pointing the camera towards the sun… it creates halos and reflections and you need to overexpose your camera in order to get enough light on your subject… it won’t create a color saturated photograph but the result is dreamy… take a look

Thanks to my intern Lisa for helping out!

After last week’s sneak peek, I am ready to share more fun images from Karen and David’s rainy wedding. Their Los Gatos garden grass was of course soaked with rain but Karen was ready to rock the bridal shoot with some colorful Hunter boots.

But for the indoor ceremony, Karen chose these glamorous Hey Lady shoes from the local designers Leung Twins.

Luckily the rain gave us few moments of respite, so we can also leave our umbrella prop on the side

The lovely flower arrangements were supplied by Shawna Futagaki of Flower Diva.

Cake by Jin Lin-Mantyvara of Emmacakes (I heard the cake was delicious, me, ouch, on a diet ) – catering by CoolEatz

Thank you for my friend and fellow photographer Gorete Ferreira for sharing the fun in the rain

Last chapter of Karina and Scott wedding reportage at the elegant Kohl-Mansion in Burlingame, in a not so sunny California but filled with fun and emotional images from the ceremony and their vibrant reception… enjoy their slideshow! Thank you to  Jason Chan of Jason Chan Photography that helped me capture the magical moments!

I have always been pretty lucky with weather while working at weddings, but this time there was no escape during the long rainy weekend on June 4th! But, I am also very fortunate to shoot for the best brides around! As you can see Karen was well prepared to hit the wet grass with stylish Hunter boots! We all had so much fun! More to come later of course… stay tuned!

After last week sneak peek of Karina and Scott wedding at Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, I am ready to share more  images from their incredibly beautiful and fun wedding. Maybe they’ll have a chance to check this blog post while on their Honeymoon enjoy your time away!

Karina stunning wedding gown is by Aire via Trudys Bridal. Hairstyle by Roberta Ouchi of Strands in San Mateo.

I wanted to thank the vendors that made this wedding so special. The amazing flower creations were signed by the super talented David of Vine-agra. I have worked with David many times and for each wedding is able to create something completely new and magic!

Delicious the cake by MarisaCake! Thank you to the caterers Weir and Associates that took great care of us vendors making sure we were timely fed I really enjoyed their salmon!  Dj Roffie of Sound and Motion really rocked the house, Karina even gave a cool unexpected performance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller! And here’s some emotional moments from the dance floor…

And as usual, more from the wedding to come in Karina and Scott slideshow, later next week.. stay tuned