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A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of meeting the Belfry Brothers at a wedding I was photographing in Nevada City. My Bride had asked me about bluegrass bands, and after calling and asking all over town I was finally lead to them. I have to say that I was a little nervous at first, because I was recommending someone I didn’t know (which I normally don’t do), but they came so highly spoken of in the community, that I sent her the referral anyway. I just have to say that I was so happy- the Belfry Brothers were hands down THE BEST wedding entertainment that I’ve seen in a long long time! Everyone at the wedding had such a great time listening to them and I heard so many rave reviews about them from guests!
Later on, we headed down to Nevada City, where they took over a street corner in front of Friar Tucks and gathered quite a crowd – it was such a great night! Here’s a few photos of them playing at the wedding and on the street corner…. I’m thinking I want to have a party JUST so that I can have them come and play!
Today I kicked off fall break by heading up to The Autumn Shin-Dig at the North Columbia Schoolhouse to see them play again, and what a great day it turned out to be. Have a great fall break this week!
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide
Nevada City Weddings, Wedding Photography in Nevada City , Wedding Photographers in Lake Tahoe and Nevada County, wedding tips and planning, Boudoir Photography,
I’ve been working around the clock on the Sierra Wedding Guide! This is the first high quality, high distribution, exclusive wedding guide for our area- something much needed here! We have such an exceptional wedding industry in Nevada County, it’s almost like Napa yet with 4 wonderful wedding seasons. You can have a winter, spring, summer, or fall wedding in the beautiful Sierras and we are lucky enough to have some of the top professionals in our industry right here in our backyard!
The Sierra Wedding Guide will be coming out in January 2010, and will be widely available countywide all year long! I’m certain that this is the best advertising opportunity available to connect local vendors with local brides! Stay tuned as we prepare for our kick-off party and celebrate the wonderful wedding professionals in Nevada County! If you’re interested in advertising, please contact me ASAP as spots are limited. Final artwork is due no later than November 16th, so we can be sure to meet our deadline! Also, if you’re a photographer and have great shots of weddings in Nevada County, please pass them my way as I’m looking for a great variety of artwork to be published in the wedding guide.
Here’s a look at one of my new business cards
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography & The Sierra Wedding Guide
Hmmm, I’ve been thinking alot lately about our community, about connectedness, about service….. The other day I woke up to smoke and looked outside to see the building a few blocks away was on fire- the same day many families lost everything in the Auburn fires. In a few moments, I’m reminded of how blessed I am and how very fragile life can be. There are so many families in our community that are struggling with one thing or another- financess, family illenss, fires, you name it- and I know that when things are down probably the last thing you’d think of to spend your time, money, energy on is a family portrait session. But even when things are down, life keeps on going… our children keep on growing, we keep on loving, and it’s so important to capture our families on film.
So I’ve decided to giveaway a family photo session complete with session sitting fee, online proofing, digital editing, DVD slideshow, and custom photo album ($500 value) to a family in need in our community. You can enter your family, or submit an entry for a family you know in the community who would benefit from this. There are no restrictions except that the photo session will take place in Nevada County.
How to Enter: Just send an e-mail to essencephoto@att.net titled “family portrait give away”. Please write a brief description of why your family, or the family you are entering should be the recipients of the photo shoot. I will be accepting entries until October 5, 2009 and the winner will be announced October 9.
Blessings!
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography
Wow, I never realized just how computer dependent I was until my lovely mac crashed and had to be sent in for surgery. I have to say it was PAINFUL to be without my computer for 2 weeks. I did however get alot of personal things done since I couldn’t work….. My garden was planted, My boyfriend got more attention, my bedroom and living room got painted, even my bum feels a little smaller from not sitting on it for hours. ha ha.
Anyway, now it’s time to catch up. I haven’t blogged in a month and I’ve been on a TON of great photo shoots as wedding season has officially started. I also have an arsinal of new wonderful wedding tips, so stay tuned for some daily updates.
Let me start off with a few photos from Tifin and Charle’s engagement session a few weeks back. Tifin was such a sport to jump on board the tandem bike- I can’t wait for their wedding photos, as I’m sure to get a shot of her in her wedding dress riding the bike They’re getting married at the Roth Estate in Nevada City and I’m so excited to photograph their wedding at this beautiful Nevada City wedding venue.
-Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography. Capturing beautiful weddings in Nevada City, and throughout California.
This time of year, mornings are like a fairy-land in Nevada City. The world is frozen and quiet. The frost glimmers as Madyline and I drive through the amazing trees to her forest-school. I’m in heaven.
Here’s a picture of the frost on my window and the garden post…. it’s so intricate and detailed.
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography – Beautiful Wedding Photography serving Nevada City, the Bay Area, San Diego and beyond!
Oh my blog, it’s been so neglected. I swear I haven’t been able to relax lately because in the back of my mind is a little voice nudging “write, write, write”…. Sad, I know, but it’s so true. Last week I started a 12 week group with my friend Katie. We’re doing “The Artist’s Way” workshop, and I am SO excited to get focused and be comitted to my creativity once again! It’s so easy to get distracted with all the mindless tasks we fill our days with. For anyone who’s read “The Artist’s Way”, it’s an amazing book about getting back in touch with our inner artist. It’s really deep work for me since I locked my “inner artist” in a closet for so many years. I actually think my inner artist was duct-taped up and left for dead at some point…. time to salvage her. If you’re interested in following along with us, grab the book and here we go. It’s so rich.
Anyway, Last week I went out to capture a few pictures of my friend Marissa and her beautiful baby. Here’s one of my favorite…
I had such a blast shooting Samantha and Arlan’s engagement session at Empire Mine last week! They were so much fun to work with, and I can’t wait to see the images we get at their wedding. Here’s a sneak peek at their album…..
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography
Oh, I am SO relieved to announce that my new website has finally gone live! WHOO-HOO!! You can check it out here or at www.EssenceWeddingPhotography.com, It took quite a bit longer than I expected (mostly due to my indecisive personality- could not figure out exactly what I wanted). There are still a few tweeks I want to make to it, but they will have to wait until I’m caught up on album designs. I’m trying to find the perfect song for website music- so shoot me any ideas you may have, or any feedback on the site. By the way, if you’re a client I will be sending out emails with your new proofing passwords this evening.
Thanks!
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography
Today was so beautiful! I LOVE the fall, it’s so nice to cuddle up in the morning yet still have the warm sun in the afternoon. To me, this total indulgence! This afternoon, I was out shooting Dr. Trevor Del Pape here in Grass Valley, we had fun romping around the grounds at St. Joesphs Cultural center down the street from my house. Here’s a peek at our shoot.
-Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography
Just a quick not as it’s 11:58 pm and I swore to myself that I’d be off the computer each night by 10:00 (fat chance). I’m so glad to be back to work after 2 weeks of all consuming rehearsals/ performances. I had such a great time performing with TMA last weekend, but it took a whole week of rest for me to recover from the crazy schedule we were keeping.
Back in the studio, I’m in the process of getting together album designs and in the next 2 weeks I’ll be launching a brand new (and beautiful) website… YAY! The website revamp has been on my (huge) list of things to do for, well…. over a year now. I’m so excited to have this close to completion.
The air is starting to get brisk, and this is my favorite time of the year. The beauty in the changing seasons evokes so much creativity in me, my mind is buzzing around with inspiration. Here’s a shot of my favorite thing to eat this time of year…. I can sit under my friends fig tree and eat them all day, they are pure bliss to me!
Melanie
Wow, I can’t even believe that June is here! The last I remember it was September….time flies so quickly (especially when you have a young child)! Earlier this week I headed out to shoot Tabitha & Colts engagement session. We started out in the rain & gloom, but it ended up being a great afternoon. They were troopers sitting on the wet grass and getting a bit wet in the rain. I can’t wait to shoot their wedding next week in Colfax and kick off my wedding season! Here’s a few shots before the big day!
Melanie Jaramillo for Essence Photography
Last night Madline yanked out, I mean lost another tooth. I’m starting to think that maybe she’s pullin em out to get extra visits from the tooth fairy. The girl is gonna break me at this rate. (ok not really, but it kind of goes with my blog entry here). The tooth fairy was leaving $4.00, which I thought was not to shabby. (26 teeth x $4.00= plenty of money for a 5 year old). But turns out that she doesn’t want money; she wants crystals. So today I headed out to her favorite rock store to stock up on crystals; now I have 10 crystals on hand for tooth fairy duty. I figure at this rate, we have about 20+ teeth to go, so I can’t be overstocked. Sorry, but she wouldn’t let me take a picture of this missing tooth… not even for $.50
Melanie Jaramillo
Whoa, I’ve spent the last 5 days in bed with the funky cold that’s been going around, so I’m a little behind in my posting. On the positive side, I’m very well rested (was sleeping like 15+ hours a day). I don’t think I’ve ever slept that much in my life! Now I’m back in action, so all those emails in my inbox will be answered tomorrow (I promise). Anyway…. last week I shot some pictures for my awesome neighbor and friend Grahm from Nourished Wise Community Supported Kitchen. Check out his website for info on his great weekly menu. His food is AWESOME, and full of love which makes it even better!
Wow, Grass Valley is so beautiful this time of year! It’s amazing to watch the trees which have been so bare all winter begin to bloom. I’m so inspired by the beauty I see all around me.
Yesterday I was playing with my camera shooting some flowers for a new project. I’m using an old camera technique and not messing with the images in photoshop. Here’s a peek.
Come and visit us at the FREE Nevada County Wedding Faire at the Miners Foundry on Sunday Feb 24th from 10:00am-4:00pm. Did I mention it’s FREE? There will be many local vendors, and we’ll be there with some yummy treats and beautiful photos. For more info, please call 530-274-2408. Hope to see there!
-Melanie Jaramillo
I’ve been drawn to photography since I was a young girl. I remember looking at National Geographic (which was treated with the reverence of the bible in our home) and aching to be the photographer in the small village…. On safari…. Seeing the beauty in moments most of us would just pass by. My mom would FREAK OUT if I cut any pictures out of National Geographic. She thought they were going to be antiques some day, if she could just keep them intact.
I just wanted the pictures…. No, I just wanted to be the photographer who took the pictures. I hid my desire for so many years out of fear. I joined the Coast Guard, I later got my Masters Degree in Healing Science, I did everything to ignore the aching under my skin. Until one day when I was a counselor, a wise old friend of mine asked me what I REALLY wanted to do.
I hesitated at her question.
“uh… I don’t know… I like counseling…”
She chuckled…. You don’t know??? Maybe the truth is that you’re to scared to answer the question honestly. Maybe you’re scared of what you want.”
She was brutally honest. And totally on target.
I loved counseling. I loved therapy work. But I ACHED to be a photographer.
At that moment, I knew I could not fool myself any longer. I could not walk through the next 50 years doing something I loved, but denying what I ached to do. I told my mom I was going back to school to be a photographer. She cringed at the thought! “You’ll never be Ansel Adams” she scolded…. Moms are funny like that.
anyway, I guess the rest is history.
M
goal #112 for 2008… start a blog for my business. complete.
YAHOO! blogging as part of a business kind of puts me in my discomfort zone because I’ve usually kept my business and personal life separate. Back in the day when I was a trauma counselor, that all made sense. But now my work is so different. I get to interact with people in such a different and deeper way. I have been blessed to have awesome clients who I absolutely love! I am so excited about 2008 and wish you all a wonderful year full of love and abundance!!!
Part of keeping my photography fresh is creating the time and space to shoot every day, not only when I’m working…. so that’s goal # 78 for 2008 anyway, here’s my pic for the day.
-Melanie Jaramillo
