Institute of Real Estate Management LA Forecast Breakfast at the Ritz!

Hey all!

I always have a blast working with a fun group of Los Angeles property management connoisseurs who are a part of the Institute of Real Estate Management, or IREM. They just held their 17th annual forecast breakfast downtown at the Ritz Carlton at LA Live, and I’d like to share a few of the photos!

The keynote speaker was Los Angeles County Mayor Michael Antonovich.

An always-entertaining Alex Stewart (above left) MC’ed the breakfast, and Lew Horne gave a great speech.

Larry Kosmont presented his ideas.

Chris Thornberg showed warming trends in his presentation.

Everybody Jump Jump: Eugenia & Richard’s Family Session!

I had a lot of fun with Eugenia and Richard, along with his energetic kids Zoe and Ryan, during their family portraits in Pasadena!

Eugenia and Richard are both designers of all things fun … including Rose Parade floats. I can tell that their creativity extends to Zoe and Ryan, whose personalities are so much fun! Here are a couple of my favorites from their session:

Thank you for a really fun shoot!

Goofy grins for the Holidays!

A Holiday Poem:

‘Twas time for a Christmas card with lots o’ good cheer,
so we flashed our grilles and our fine winter gear.

With Ing in her earflaps, and I in my cap,
Our best face was forward with each camera snap.

Our eyes — how they twinkled! Our backdrops — how merry!
Yes, a few lovely smiles will fill this card squarely!

But what to our toothy horror did we see,
but way too many pictures for our showing of glee.

We spoke not a word, and scratched our chins,
How to show the rest of our angelic grins?

I sprang to my computer and whipped up this blog,
To fill you with cheer as you sip your egg nog.

And so we exclaim, on this dear winter’s night,
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good bite!

Happy birthday, Grandma

To most, November 11 is Veteran’s Day. To me, it’s my grandma’s birthday. Wilma Lenore Gearhart, who would have turned 98 today, lived a very full life and died peacefully on March 15 of this year. Her husband, Russell Gearhart (my namesake), is a veteran; he died in 1987.

I’d like to share three images I made with my dad before her memorial service in Vacaville, CA earlier this year:

My grandma’s urn was hand built from mahogany by my older brother, Dan, a master carpenter in southern Utah.

Happy 98th birthday, Grandma.

You can also read another post about my grandma by clicking here.

Nerdy Pumpkin Carving Ahead!

With the spooks about ready to jump out for Halloween, I thought I’d share a couple pumpkins made by Ingrid and friend Bobby-Jo that are currently sitting on our front porch.

Bobbi-Jo carved out a very ghoulish bat, and Ingrid sculpted a very nerdy and familiar young adult book cover: The Hunger Games. I have yet to read it or its sequels, but Ingrid loves ‘em, as you can tell.

We’ll see how many trick-or-treaters figure that one out!

Happy Halloween, all!

Roxana + Kevin’s Lake Tahoe Wedding – Oct. 8, 2010

Hey,

I wanted to sneak a few images from a Lake Tahoe wedding that my good friend and Sacramento photog Cassi Harms asked me to help with last weekend!

It was good to get up to a different elevation and temperature level (it was, like, 40 degrees at night! Awesome!), and I’ve always found that new locales pique my creativity like nothing else. Maybe that’s why I get all giddy at the thought of shooting a destination wedding.

Roxana and Kevin tied that knot at the Edgewood Golf Course and Restaurant. On a north-facing patio that overlooks Lake Tahoe, they had an intimate ceremony with lots of laughs. Then Cassi and I took them to the beach for some portraits as the sun got low over the water. Check it:

I wanted to experiment with lighting the bride while leaving the groom as a bit of an “accessory” and silhouette-y for this shot below … but hey, isn’t that how it usually is on a wedding day?

Roxana’s a brave one. The sun had dipped behind the mountains by this time, and the temperature was rapidly decreasing. She was always game for more, though!

Of course, I can’t get away with NOT showing a couple details … I was particularly happy with the glassy details this time.

One image is lit only by the sun, and one is lit by a flash-on-stand. Can you tell which is which?

Cruzin’ the day away – Part Three: Burnout

The second day of Cruzin’ for Life is reserved for the burnout. Wasssat, you say? THAT, my friends, is a good loud way to smoke up a city street and heat a perfectly good set of tires all at the same time.

By the way, this is part three of three Cruzin’ posts:

• Oct. 5: Car Show & Cruise
• Oct. 7: Dinner & Photobooth!
• Today: Burnout

A burnout is a photographer’s dream. Greg put it best when he said (and I’m gonna butcher it) he had so many photos that he had to choose between happy smoke, sad smoke, mean smoke …

The first car was from a girl named Jayme, who is getting her start in fast cars. She took off quick, and I had a feeling she’d get going even faster with more track.

This year, the rules were changed a bit. Entrants were required to do a “rolling burnout”, in which the vehicle would have to be moving through a wet slick of pavement when starting their burn, rather than completely stopped.

This really separated the pros from the beginners, and it was a bit more of a challenge for some cars. Quite honestly, it dulled the visuals somewhat, too — Greg and I had to work harder for the shot. Boo hoo for us, I know, I know … Don’t get me wrong though, the cars still put on a rockin’ show!

Just to prove it:

This car’s team member got a little steamy under the collar.

The last truck had the beefiest power, what with the jet engine hanging out behind it. It cycled up just like a jet airplane, and it was easy to feel the truck’s potential.

Thank you again to all the volunteers and board member who welcomed us and made it so much fun to photograph and event with such positive energy!

Cruzin’ the day away – Part Two: Dinner and Photobooth!

In the evening after the car show, Cruzin’ For Life holds a dinner and auction for the Marian Cancer Care Center, and this is where the true heart of the event shows.

By the way, this is part three of three Cruzin’ posts:

• Oct. 5: Car Show & Cruise
• Today: Dinner & Photobooth!
• Oct. 9: Burnout

As I was saying, dinner and auction. They mean business:

Dinner was SO good. The volunteers who cooked, grilled, and served it up really deserve some applause.

A plethora of items were waiting for the persons willing to donate the mostest, including vacations, a hosted luau party, signed hats, many bottles of wine (… which would be my weakness).

But there was a point when the auctioneer helped one recovering boy ask for simple donations. Suddenly, with just some flips of a few wrists, thousands of dollars were given in the span of just a couple minutes. It was a powerful moment to see.

We did a same-day edit and projected some of our favorites from the car show and cruise on the wall at our table. But more importantly, we had the photobooth out.

(That one’s my favorite! And it was just a “test shot!”)

O. M. G. … With Greg at the wheel of the photobooth, it was properly out of control. In front of the most perfect backdrop you’ll ever see (designed and painted masterfully by Keara, by the way), there were some shenanigans. Check these out:

And of course, the board members who made it all happen:

PS – Ask us how to get our photobooth at your wedding or event!

Cruzin’ the day away – Part One: Car Show & Cruise

Oh wow.

Soooo many good photos from the 7th annual Cruzin’ For Life last weekend in Santa Maria.

First though, from the three of us (Greg, Keara, and me) thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and hospitality. This was our second outing at Cruzin’, and it was even better than last time! It’s fantastic to see so many people come together to raise awareness and money for the Marian Cancer Care Center in Santa Maria and the American Cancer Society.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, neck-deep in awesome photos. Enough so that I will be splitting up this showing of photography into three posts:

• Today: Car Show & Cruise
• Next: Burnout
• Last: Dinner & Photobooth!

Onward to the car show …

These ladies have quite the cupcake booth going! I don’t dare show this photo to my girl and baker-of-the-house Ingrid … she would get jealous of the cupcake stand …

All the drivers gathered before the cruise …

The winner’s circle:

Volunteers stationed in the intercections had the best view of the cruise, but no escape from the sun.

Keara and I noticed these boys scoping out the best ride long before the cruise began … they claimed some good seats, no doubt.

Stay tuned for the next post!

Hey, St. George, Utah … we’re planning a family portrait day!

Guess what, y’all … we’re coming to St. George, Utah for a portrait day!

Portrait day is your golden ticket to show off your family’s personality and individual style. With a “say-anything-but-cheese” philosophy, we aim for real and fun photography, and want to share it with our St. George peeps! We’re offering an awesome discount on session rates for this day only: $50 off a regular session, $25 off a mini session.

With the holidays around the corner, portrait day is a perfect opportunity to create images for Chirstmas cards and gifts for grandma. It’s the best chance to get the gang together for a memorable framed portrait for your living room (those kids aren’t getting any younger!).

The Nitty Gritty:

– When: Saturday, October 16, 2010
– Where: Nisson Park, Washington, Utah
– Limited sessions available! First come, first serve.

Two Packages Available:

“The Small Wonder” -  $125 (usually $150)

– 45 min session
– $25 studio credit toward prints & products
– Easy for couples & families of 4 or fewer. Gives us the time for the basics + a few fun extra photos.

“The Brady Bunch” – $250 (usually $300)

– 1 hr 45 min session
– $50 studio credit toward prints & products
– Best for families of 5 or more, or groups of any size wanting more awesome combinations and extras.

All sessions include:

– Invaluable cheatsheet before session for portrait tips, what to wear, etc.
– A relaxed portrait experience in which we capture multiple images of the entire family, as well as smaller groups (just the kids, just the parents, the whole barrel of monkeys).
– Image presentation and order consultation for wall art and gifts a few days after the session.

What can we create?

– Awesome holiday cards
– Custom framed wall portraits
– Gallery canvas wraps
– Slideshow videos
– Custom-designed keepsake books

There are a *very* limited amount of time slots available for Oct. 16 with this discount. The two best ways to contact us about booking your session:

– By email: contact [at] gearhartphoto.com
– By phone: 818-949-8645 and leave a message.

P.S. — Portrait day falls on UEA weekend, so you can easily plan us into your festivities. Or for those in northern Utah, come down and make a vacation of it! What’s UEA weekend? If you’ve grown up in the state, oh you’d know. Lots of boring education meetings happen up north then. But more importantly, it’s a long weekend for Utah school kids!

Russell Gearhart Photography creates vivid photo stories with a craftsman’s eye, for people who love life. Russell’s roots are in southern Utah, his home studio is in Pasadena, Calif., and his camera is available anywhere with light and good lookin’ people.

Click here to see more of Russell’s portrait work on Facebook … and “like” us if you like it!