Getting to wake up to a very infrequent thunderstorm is one of my favorite things. The fact that it has happened only a few times in my life makes an event like this even more spectacular. I woke up this morning to the smell of Petrichor, only slightly disappointed that I had missed the actual storm (as the audio is only slightly second best to the scent). I lay in bed and savored the cool, fragrant air, content with this long-awaited surprise. An hour or so later, my backyard looked like this.

School starts tomorrow and life gets even more hectic. So glad to have this one last hurrah before getting into it all...

I met Marisa when she was a freshman, just embarking on that transition from jr. high to high school. In the past few years, I've seen her change from a self-conscious girl to this confident, unique, spirited teenager who is fast on her way to change the world. She's a budding artist who dreams of one day becoming a marine biologist as well as adopting retired greyhounds. The sky's the limit for her and I'm so glad I've gotten the chance to know her.

For most of my life, I have wished myself out of San Diego. When people look at me like I'm crazy to want this, I tell them that I miss the rain and the seasons of pretty much everywhere else in the world. But for all my wishing to be elsewhere, I know I have it pretty good. Especially since, with all this sunshine, it makes my job as a natural-light photographer very easy indeed.

Mike, Marisa and I went down to Old Town, San Diego to have lunch with some friends and shoot a family session for them. Along the way, we took a few photos for ourselves. (The photos that I am in were taken by Marisa and post-processed by me - Thanks, Marisa!)

One of the best parts of being a photographer (besides all of my happy clients!) is being able to take pictures for myself. Before I started snapping pictures, I used to journal all the everyday moments that I wanted to remember. But you know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? It's because sometimes, we just don't have the words to describe those wonderful times. This is when my camera comes in handy.

(BTW, this particular moment is walking my dogs near my house, right around sunset...)

I met up with Thom and Jenn at their house for a "belly" session. Thom (whom I have known since high school) is the excited dad-to-be and Jen is his gorgeous wife, who is due in September. This sweet couple couldn't be any more devoted to each other and their impending bundle o' joy.