Fort Greene Portraits | LouAnn & Roland

LouAnn and Roland are long time residents of Brooklyn's Fort Greene, and on the eve of LouAnn's 30th Birthday, were in search of some timeless photos to document her epic year. Fort Greene is a lot like Harlem in that it has become very gentrified and in the process, many new eateries and shops have arrived. What a fun nabe! 

Before our shoot I just happened to watch the documentary {highly recommended!} Brooklyn Boheme, and was feeling super inspired by the many artists who have come before me. If you haven't had a chance to see it, check it out. Great perspective of the 1990's artist's movement in Brooklyn. 

Happy Birthday LouAnn and thank you Roland for being such a good sport! 

Fort Greene Baby Portraits | Baby Elise

I love meeting other Filipinos, especially on the East Coast, because I hail from California where they come a dime a dozen. For those of you who are not Filipino, you have no idea how we network; we find each other in grocery stores, parking lots, flea markets and hospitals and yes, we do always give each other special treatment. It is for this reason that I was elated to hear from Kristina and TJ, friends of my dear friend Alex, who are both Filipino and also from California. 


Kristina & TJ are happy parents to newborn, Elise. She is scrumptious! We had a dandy time with Elise in her Fort Greene home over Labor Day weekend and like I always write, my job as photographer is a dream job. This statement is never more true than when clients turn into friends and Kristina and I are already exchanging our best Filipino recipes! 


Congrats TJ & Kristina on your newest bundle of joy and I look forward to documenting your brood as it grows. 

Brooklyn Wedding Photographer | Chris & Kate's Fort Greene Engagement Party

When I answered an ad a couple months back at ICP that Kate had posted for a "non traditional" wedding photographer, I had a good feeling about it. I don't usually have good luck with these sort of exchanges especially with the traffic ICP receives. I was a little tickled that Kate and her fiancee Chris had taken the time to look at my work, and in her initial outreach, made it a point to mention that. When she invited me to Brooklyn for lunch, I was certain about our partnership.

When I had lunch with Kate she mentioned not wanting engagement photos and instead invited me to their engagement party/ belated birthday shindig at a friend's Fort Greene brownstone. The space was ah-mazing, by the way. After all, they are part of a wide circle of BK architects. The event was a true labor of love with their nearest and dearest pitching in from homemade burgers to bacon wrapped dogs and key lime pie and bite-sized biscuit strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was a seemingly perfect event for Chris and Kate and their +1, Griff. Don't worry he's just a dog and will make a cameo appearance the day of their wedding.

After nearly a decade of writing their story together, Chris and Kate will tie the knot this October at Mt. Gulian Historic Site in the Hudson Valley. Courtships like theirs simply don't exist any more; ten long years, multiple cities and the growing pains of your twenties?! It must be love!

Before signing off, I have to make mention of one last thing that solidified the fate of Chris, Kate and I finding each other like a needle in a haystack. When I first arrived at the party, Kate asked if I had ever tried boiled peanuts. Yeah, yeah, I know Brooklynites are foodies and all, but I have never seen these anywhere except my Filipino family parties growing up. What a pleasant surprise to learn the happy couple spent a year moonlighting at Brooklyn Flea selling these! Congrats Chris and Kate!