Make-A-Wish

Each year the Make-A-Wish foundation hosts their "Uncork-A-Wish" event in LA. It's a wonderful food and wine-tasting treat with an auction to top off the evening.This year, at Barker hangar in Santa Monica, the prizes ranged from fast cars to pampering at spas......I even think there may have been a lunch date with McDreamy and McSteamy!!
I was there at the request of one of the sponsors, Moet-Hennessy USA, who were featuring Chopin vodka and Glenmorangie scotch.
Now, the star of the show wasn't REALLY Brad Garrett, the evening's MC and auctioneer, nor was it one of the high flying acrobats.......it was the stunning Chopin ice bar, complete with it's martini luges!! That's right...the bartender actually pours your cocktail through the bar itself into the glass you're holding, and voila....one ice-cold martini! Some celebrities were good sports and even took a turn at bartending.
Since it was for such a worthy cause, I did have to take a sip myself ( don't worry, the camera has an autofocus option! ).

A Wonder From Down Under

Maybe it's because I'm British ( you know, all the bad-boy ancestry being shipped off to the penal colony and such...) but I've always loved Australians! So, Imagine my delight when I was asked by The Liquid Muse to cover her interview with one of Australia's premier wine-makers, Philip Shaw. I was even more delighted to discover that Mr. Shaw was an absolute gem, the shoot was poolside at the beautiful Roosevelt Hotel and that I was also invited to partcipate in the wine-tasting! Aah, life's tough sometimes...

Daisie & Travis

This was a wonderful wedding at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu...complete with ferris wheel and carousel which certainly lent themselves to some magical ( if surreal ) images. Most of my wedding clients are referred to me by previous clients ( always wonderfully validating! ) and these guys were no exception.... the more adventurous (or bored!) among you might want to see if you can find Daisie in my website images as bridesmaid at her brother's wedding.....

Fashion Sense

Some of my blushing brides are so happy with their wedding photos that I receive wonderful thank you cards saying such things as, " I look as though I should be in a magazine " or, " you made me look like a fashion model!" Perhaps some of my clients don't know that I do THOSE kind of photoshoots too!
Here are a few shots from my latest endeavor with Beverly Hills Times magazine ( the dogs just happened to be passing by with their very accomodating owner! ).

Still On The Subject Of Naked Ladies....

Ask any photographer about their job and they'll probably tell you that one of the perks is that you're never bored! Every shoot is different...some more so than others. A joy of mine is that I get to do a lot of photography for restaurants....beautiful interiors, fabulous food, decadent cocktails....and sometimes a little more than you bargained for!
Hadaka Sushi is one of the latest restaurants to open on Sunset Boulevard and I had the pleasure of creating all of the images for their website. Hadaka is Japanese for "naked" and perhaps some guests end up so in the private "adults only" area ( complete with handcuffs ); some of the servers are almost so in their boudoir-inspired uniforms and one young lady was definitely so as she was presented ( traditionally, I'm told ) as serving platter for the succulent sushi on opening night!
I loved this job...wonderful, friendly chef/owner, great staff who loved being in front of the camera and food to die for!

Making It To The Mansion....

Now, I have to admit I'm quite the adventurous type and so, after 10 years here, there are very few titems left on my things-to-do-while-in-LA wishlist. Now I can scratch another one off......I was recently invited to The Playboy Mansion! I was covering the Celebrity Poker Tournament for The Liquid Muse. While the mansion wasn't as large as I imagined, and the celebrities not as A-list as I expected, I'm still going to mark it down as a fabulous experience!