Cassidy + Sean. Casa de Los Flores, Pauma Valley

i should be sleeping in preparation for the early flight to the WPPI conference tomorrow.. but i couldn't wait to post these! i had SO much fun today. cassidy and sean are so sweet and obviously awesome together. i'm so so so thankful they invited me to be part of this day. it was so intimate, beautiful and just all around wonderful.

so many amazing photos of her, i had no idea which one to post. she just looked awesome.

sean, thinking he had some private time before the ceremony.. i felt a bit like i was spying, but this was just one of the coolest moments of the day watching him prepare himself before the big moment.

the emotions were running so strong! i almost started crying!

i love this shot. this was not a posed portrait. he was patiently waiting for her to remove her vail and rejoin the cupcake party.

the grounds offered endless places to stroll through and shoot. i could've kept them for hours.

the cutting of the cupcake. my favorite quote of the day, not so much of a quote- but it came from sean who was so emotionally choked up it took him a full minute to say thanks to everyone for coming out.

cassidy and sean- you're a sweet and amazing couple. i wish you guys the best! thanks again for having me!!

Road Trip Report #1 - Home from Loma Linda

there wasn't a whole lot photo-worthy from the conference, but it was more about the food than anything. for a vegetarian conference, i'm not sure i ate a single vegetable the whole time i was there. every fake-meat company in the book was on hand to satiate every salami, meatball and meat-on-a-stick need i've had for the past 10 years.

the photo story of the month is of course flowers. however, i took some silly advice to drive up in to the mountains (which were snowcapped) to find the blooms. had i thought about that for two seconds i would have seen the error before coming up on the frozen ground. however, it was gorgeous. and it was an amazing day for a drive. i headed up to lake arrowhead, and then back down the other side of the ridge to silverwood lake, which was absolutely incredible.

reason #59 why california rules. 45 minutes, four wheels and you can end up just about anywhere.

there had been a fire up here as well.

cool light through these creepy trees above silverwood lake

lovely silverwood lake. loved these guys just hanging out and fishing.

i pulled over to take this weird model-like looking train.

i shot this through my windshield straight into the sun (photo lesson #1, this is not the best idea), but again, it's just amazing to me how fast the terrain can change. sometimes i just LOVE driving. i popped in the decemberists, and zoomed back to san diego.

in search of flowers

spring has arrived! the roads along the 5 are on fire! i've never seen anything like it. i grabbed a few unsuspecting friends over the past few days (i think i promised one we were headed to a pool downtown) and scoured the land for flower fields. the weather has been crazy wonderful. i'm also always looking for new places to take couples for photos, so i considered it official serious business.

i hit up a few burn areas where the flowers have just taken over. it's pretty amazing to see this vibrant new growth sprouting up from the destruction.

lake hodges is a great place to see the new life sprouting up from the fires.

kevin in flip flops and swim trunks (i'm not sure he'd have come along had i not promised swimming).

friend and fellow awesome photographer Aaron posing among the flowers. i get so excited when i hang out with other photographers who get as giddy as i do over things like trees that most other people think are dorky.

i've found lots of cool new places. im just sad these flowers aren't going to last. that means i'll just have to get out as much as i can this week to continue my work.

off to Loma Linda!

and so begins the crazy kim seidl spring 2008 tour of planes , automobiles and.. chickenbuses.



i am super excited to be hitting the road, even if it is just to loma linda (my apologies to those of you who love it and call it home..) i've been wanting to go this conference for nearly a decade now. it's only held every other year, and it was always so danged far away from the east coast where i was a starving student for so many years. vegetarianism is what initially inspired me to go back to school to get my masters in nutrition (didn't know i had brains in addition to my extremely good looks and my kung-fu photography skills now did you?).

much of the pleasure center of my brain is made up of parts that like geeky science things, creativity & problem solving and the desire to make people happy. i love it when the these come together. it may not be an obvious connection, but to me, photography and nutrition have these things in common and make me happy for similar reasons. food is such powerful medicine, and i love helping people make healthy lifestyle changes. i've been so fortunate to be able to do this in the past through working in hospitals, clinics and even help run research studies.

while i'm not sure what kind of nutrition game i have left in me these days, this conference will help me get me back on top of it- even if only for a bit. i'll be catching up with all the latest and greatest nutrition research from speakers that i admire, as well as catching up with old colleagues and friends i haven't seen in awhile. you know that i'm a serious geek when i say i'm more excited to catch a glimpse of the leading vegetarian diet and heart disease researcher than i would be to run into brad pitt.

there may even be a jaunt out to joshua tree to snap some photos of a desert that i'm hoping is in bloom. you wouldn't really think i'd go out there without my camera, would you?

Jodie + Manny. E-session at the Presidio.

Meet Jodie and Manny! they're both wonderfully sweet and funny. manny has vans. that always wins points in my book. i had an awesome time with you guys and i'm really looking forward to the big day.. it's coming up May 25th!

i couldn't get enough of these doors

check out that dimple! how adorable (i mean manly and handsome) is that??

jodie has some pretty killer eyes.

and, because all the cool kids are doing it these days, thought i'd play with a little texture. the presidio has such a textury feel to it anyway, seemed appropriate.

Allison + JC - Lowes Coronado Bay Resort

first wedding of 2008!

Allison and JC were married at the marine recruit depot chapel. both were adorably nervous before the ceremony. there's something about a tough marine in uniform weak in the knees over a lovely lady that was incredibly endearing. i caught him wringing his hands behind closed doors at the church. he looked a little like a deer caught in headlights. but when i asked him to tell me the story of how they first met, his face just lit up. they had literally crossed paths on the street and caught each other's eye. he said he knew "i had to go talk to this girl". and so he did. he deployed for Iraq shortly after they started dating. she waited.

so often there isn't enough time set aside for pictures of just the couple, or things run behind and time just runs out. this was a couple after my own heart. they allotted tons of time to run around the fabulous grounds at lowes to find some really great hidden spots and take some fun shots. they were also just so comfortable with each other and being in front of the camera that i mostly just sat back and watched. the way JC looked at her all night made me all melty.

to think these guys normally carry around big guns :)

so so so sweet.

everything was just lovely. it was a beautiful day, the wedding party and guests were wonderful and Lowes Coronado Bay Resort is one heck of a place to throw a party. and thanks to everyone who made it happen so smoothly.

Ceremony: Marine Recruit Depot Chapel
Reception: Lowes Coronado Bay Resort
Wedding Coordinator AND DJ (awesome husband and wife team): The Best Wedding for You
DJ: The Best DJ for You

What a way to kick off 2008! And to Allison and JC, what a way to kick off what will hopefully the best part of the rest of your lives.