Grandma Taps

There are so many times I feel incredibly grateful to be able to take pictures for a living, and last week was one of those times when I flew down to Orange County for a last minute trip to document my 87 year old grandmother's tap dance recital.  My grandma has been tap dancing since she was ten years old, and I remember her trying to teach me steps, like the drum roll, when I was little, but unfortunately, they never stuck.  At any rate, I didn't want to miss this recital and so I spent the day with her as she prepped, attended dress rehearsal, prepped again, and finally performed.  During the recital, which comprised primarily of dance performances by children, her teacher brought my grandma on stage for an impromptu jig.  The amazing thing is that my grandma is not dancing in a class for seniors - in fact, her class is made up of some adults who are probably just a few years older than me and many who have dancing backgrounds.

It was so beautiful to watch my grandma and see her in her day to day life.  Lately, when we've been together, it's with other family members and so I rarely get to see her in her element: going to and from her activities, interacting with her dancing buddies and the friends who came to cheer her on, resting at home with her cat.  I am so thankful to have had this day with her.  Grandma, I love you so much and you are an inspiration to us all!

Below is a little snippet of video that I grabbed of my Grandma tapping:

Grandma Taps from Alison Yin on Vimeo.

Introducing Bryant and Dylan!

When Adm and I first moved to Oakland five years ago, I didn't know much about some of my relatives on my dad's side of the family who lived up here.  I felt a little apprehensive meeting family for the first time in my twenties at a birthday party in Oakland's Chinatown.  After all the milestones we have since shared it is fun to look back on what it first felt like to meet them.  I am so lucky to have been accepted  as a part of their family with open arms.

So, without further ado, I give you my cousin, Yen Yen and her husband Davin's newborn twins, Bryant and Dylan.  The sleepy baby is Dylan, but you have to give him a break because he is a growing boy.  It was a lot of fun photographing my brand new baby cousins, and I am sure that there will be many updates on their lives along the way, just as we have followed their parents.  You can see Yen Yen and Davin's engagement session here and their wedding here.

Beth + Daniel in Santa Maria, CA

Let's be honest, we gush about our brides and grooms. We are very lucky to have great couples who we really click with on so many levels.  Beth and Dan, being among our closest friends, in our eyes are the most amazing people ever.

The day before their big day our friends had a small Catholic ceremony in Santa Maria, and we were lucky enough to photograph their intimate family gathering.  We only photographed their ceremony and a handful of portraits, but we were so happy that we were able to help contribute to their wedding.

Their big wedding that they've been planning for a year followed the next day at the Dana Powers House, and for that, we put down our cameras and partied away.  Seriously, they had one of the most fun wedding weekends ever, and we could not be more happy for two people so deserving of all the best life has to offer.  Beth and Dan, we love you guys!

Ms. Lily Bo

When we arrived to photograph Adm's niece Lily, she was wearing her Cinderella dress and playing with her dad, Adm's oldest brother Aaron.  Lily is four, and "a big girl now" she will be happy to tell you.  Her Golub traits were quickly made apparent as she cheesed for the camera, ready to pose and smile from ear to ear.

Adm and I had a blast chasing Lily around the house taking her from one type of light to another.  As you will be able to tell from the photos, she is an overabundance of joy.  Right now, her favorite thing is Rapunzel and she kept saying she was having the best day ever.  Even if she was just quoting the movie, we'll take it! (Photos by both Adm and me)

Nicole + Grant in Manteo, NC

This past weekend, Adm and I headed to the Outerbanks in North Carolina for my dear friend Nicole's wedding to Grant.  This is one of the few weddings we've attended as guests, and so we were super excited to have a fun, non-working weekend with old and new friends to celebrate with Nicole and Grant.  They had a lovely ceremony along the water, and if you've never been to the Outerbanks, then I definitely suggest a trip: the beaches are pristine, they have amazing sand dunes, and there's lots of fun swimming in the ocean (something I never underestimate since I now live in the Bay Area where the ocean waters are FREEZING!).  At any rate, we had the best time getting to play all weekend with some of my closest friends.  In between all the partying, I did snag a few quick photos of Nicole and Grant.  The weekend went by way too quickly, but we're so happy for Colie and Grant.  Congrats you two!  We had the best time and hope you're having an amazing honeymoon!

Helping One Another Grow

Every morning, it's as if there's some unknown force that wakes me up and leads me straight to the computer.  Next, I head to the kitchen to feed Kiki and then start answering emails even before I've had my coffee.  By the time the coffee is in my cup, but before Adm is out of bed, I am at work.  My mind is already racing far ahead of me, cataloging things that need to be done. Working from home has a lot of perks.  A fairly flexible schedule, being in pajamas all day long, endless cups of coffee, sleeping in every now and again.  It's so easy to "let yourself go" when you work in this kind of environment.  One day you forget to brush your teeth, and the next you're "working" from bed, under the covers.  It's also really easy to lose track of time and having a schedule.  I feel like I'm always moving from one task to another, always trying to check things off of my to-do list, and I've gotten to a point where I'm not comfortable just being still.

Since our working and living spaces are combined, Adm and I have to consciously make the effort to carve out personal time for each other.  We've also realized that with our work, we need to schedule time to check in with one other, in most work places, they call this having a meeting.  Not once since we've started photographing weddings full time have we scheduled a meeting with each other.  So, last Tuesday, we planned our first formal lunch meeting at Gather in Berkeley to assess where we are photographically and talk about the direction we want to move in for this upcoming wedding season.

It was nice.  Both of us actually got dressed and we had each prepared a set of our favorite images from last year's weddings so that we could review our styles, breaking down our strengths and weaknesses.  I also prepared a set of inspiration images shot by other photographers so that we could talk about what elements make those pictures successful and how we can incorporate them into our photography:  why the tilt works for this photo, what are the light sources in this image, why this pose fits perfectly for that couple, how this image has spot on layering, and so on.  Our goal in doing this is not to copy other photographers and the way they see things, but rather to expand our vision and add to our "toolbox" of different techniques.

As people drawn to the creative side, we're constantly thinking about new and different ways to do things.  We don't want to get stuck in a rut or burned out, two paths that are very easy to head down when you're photographing 20-25 weddings each year, and so we have to find ways to stay inspired and motivated to grow photographically.  After having such a successful "meeting" last week, we've resolved to de-brief after every wedding this year as a way to help keep one another on our toes, and to get out of the house every now and again.

Here I am working from the couch at home.  Photo by Adm.