I had the good fortune to photograph The Cottage at Paradise Ranch recently. It’s the perfect place for a quiet stay in Paso Robles. Located just 10 minutes or so east of town, near Creston and Geneseo, The Cottage is country living with the near-by convenience of Paso’s great restaurants, wineries and shopping. Paradise Ranch is the home of Robert and Nancy Woodrum. The Cottage is a separate, 2-bedroom house that’s available through Paso Robles Vacation Rentals. To inquire about a short- or long-term booking, call Robert or Nancy on 237-8885.

Those who are familiar with my work know that I have photographed a number of homes for members of the Paso Robles Vacation Rental group. For Paradise Ranch, the commission was to create a series of magazine-quality images that capture the beautiful spaces that Nancy has created in The Cottage. The shoot took place over three days with the exterior and pool shots happening at dusk. [Read more →]

The brave and the adventurous stepped into my virtual photo booth at the recent Paso Robles Business Expo. The Expo is an annual event sponsored by the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce. The venue is the Paso Robles Event Center – home each summer to the slightly larger Mid-State Fair. <more below>

Officially, the Business Expo is an opportunity for the public to meet the many members of our local Chamber of Commerce. Unofficially, the Expo is a chance for a couple thousand people to cut out of work early so they can walk and talk while sipping great local wine and chowing tasty hors d’oeuvres. I was delighted to catch up with a whole bunch of old friends and to make many new friends. [Read more →]

I’ve been a photographer since the 2nd grade when I “borrowed” my dad’s brand-new Polaroid camera and drug it up into an orange tree. I remember the magic as an out-of-focus photo of two baby doves in a nest appeared before my eyes. Years later, in college, I studied at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara and then earned a BFA in photography from the University of Arizona in Tucson. [more below]

These days, I mostly create images for people who have things to sell — food, flowers, wine, a unique place to stay and so on. Every once in a while, I come upon an inspiring scene that just catches my eye — like the juice-stained hands of my youngest son Tony holding fresh-picked strawberries. Making images like this takes me back to the magic I experienced nearly 40 years ago up in that orange tree.

It’s a privilege to work as a photographer. Contrary to the expectations of many, there is no glamor (at least not in my end of the biz). My reality is loads of hard work, many long days, lots of heavy gear, technology that keeps changing, legions of neophyte shooters entering the industry and… the opportunity to be a communicator of behalf of others. It’s the satisfaction of doing meaningful work as a communicator (assisted periodically by a couple of Advil) that keeps me moving forward.

When Amy and I moved to Paso in the summer of 1997, our friends in Arizona said “you’re moving to where?” Our friends in California said “but Paso is so hot!” Of course, compared to our old hometown, the little metropolis of Phoenix, Paso is cool — even at the peak of summer. When we moved here there were many empty store fronts downtown, about the only place you could eat after 8:00pm was Denny’s and we did not know a soul. [more below]

Several months earlier, to convince Amy that Paso was really where we should move our young family, I took her to McPhee’s Grill in Templeton. The next day we toured Eberle Winery. Inspired by the grass-covered hills, the great food, the refreshing wine, the total lack of all things metropolitan and (perhaps) a few days away from our two young boys, Amy quickly shared my enthusiasm for the area.

Paso Robles is a great little hometown — even today when it’s harder to find a parking space downtown after 8:00pm than it is to find a place to get dinner.