Hi ,

Thanks for stopping by the blog! I’m Melanie Jaramillo, the owner and eye(s) behind the lens at Essence Photography. I live in Grass Valley, CA with my creative and outspoken daughter Madyline Soleil, her two imaginary friends Emily and Asia, a squirrel named Freebee, and our bi-polar attack cat Thomas. I also dance for The Movement Alliance and in a former life was a trauma counselor and somatic therapist. I love therapy work, but shooting weddings is SO MUCH MORE FUN! I love my job, I love weddings, and I love… chocolate…. but then again, who doesn’t? I’ve been shooting since the darkroom days – hmmm, that makes me sound kind of old

Melanie