kristianne koch photography—-photo blog

Last week I sent out a spontaneous email inviting some friends and family to join us at the San Clemente State Beach for a beach fire and BBQ. We showed up at 3:00pm and fortunately my good friend, Chris had already arrived and snagged the last table available next to a fire pit. By the time everyone else arrived there were several more and we filled them all up with good food and great people.

After a couple of hours digging holes in the sand at the beach, we gathered around the picnic tables to catch up, watch the kids fly a kite, play ball and roll around in the dirt. It was a great way to kick off summer.

Kristianne Koch Photography

Kristianne Koch specializes in on-location portrait photography for the contemporary family and child for all of Southern California. 949-702-7707 kristianne.koch@cox.net

June 29th, 2009 | Tags: BBQ, beach, our friends, san clemente, summer | Category: our friends | Leave a comment

I had the opportunity to join my girlfriend, Aggelige, up to The Camp to scout out the new location of her shop, Organic Designs. She was wanting to get a feel for how to prepare her inventory and displays for setting up shop in a refurbished airstream trailer.

It was a great afternoon for me; free from the kids for a moment somewhere so smart and hip. It’s difficult to find this kind of nattiness in south Orange County and The Camp truly seems like a perfect fit for her.

If you are interested in stopping by to check out the goods, she will be opening sometime in July and will be set up right when you enter from the main parking lot under the patio cover to the left-just across from Patagonia.

Kristianne Koch Photography

Kristianne Koch specializes in on-location portrait photography for the contemporary family and child for all of Southern California. 949-702-7707 kristianne.koch@cox.net

June 25th, 2009 | Tags: eco living, organic designs, our friends, the camp | Category: our friends | Leave a comment

On my way home from dropping Merrik off at the train station today, I got all choked up. I am so fortunate for the family I have and for the family I have married into. My kids are the luckiest kids around and get to experience so many fun things with their grandparents on both sides. I grew up spending a lot of time with my mom’s parents. They both had a big impact on my life.

Merrik and Maliea’s grandparent’s on Jim’s side coordinated an amazing journey to begin what they host each year called “Camp Gramma Grampa.” They flew to Portland to pick up Jim’s brother’s kids, Holley and Cameron and hopped on the Coast Starlight headed south. They bought a couchette for the overnight journey and enjoyed dinner on the train.

The following day the Amtrak stopped in Ventura where Matt and Maddie (Grampa’s niece and nephew) boarded to join the “Camp.” The Coast Starlight ends in LA sop they disembarked and stayed in a hotel for the night. The following morning, they reboarded the Surfliner headed to San Diego. They pulled into the station at San Juan Capistrano where Merrik was running and jumping with excitement. The doors opened up, all the other kids already on board greeted him with big smiles, Gramps picked Merrik up off the platform and my mom and I handed over his sleeping bag and backpack to Gramma and off they went. What an adventure.

Maliea and I join them in Coronado today where camp sand and sea activities are already in full swing. I am allowed to join in only to escort Maliea but at the end of each day, Maliea and I will be heading to my sister’s house in Chula Vista to sleep.

[all I had was my camera phone as I ended up stopping at the station with Maliea on the way home from her swim lesson and I don't like leaving my D300 in the car or unattended at the pool]

Kristianne Koch Photography

Kristianne Koch specializes in on-location portrait photography for the contemporary family and child for all of Southern California. 949-702-7707 kristianne.koch@cox.net

June 25th, 2009 | Tags: my family, train | Category: my family | Leave a comment

Whenever I think about my weblog, I think about the first “log” I ever did. When Jim and I sailed to Polynesia we kept a frequent log of our position, wind, weather, sail combination, and observations. I decided to look up to see where we were on our sail from San Diego to Hiva Oa during these days back in 2000. I pulled out the yacht log and this is what it read:
Equator! 0108 0º 00.000′ N, 2255 nautical miles, JR at helm, wind SE @ 10k, 1014 bars, balmy, ptly cloudy, 8 mi vis, 80º, M/2 (double reefed), S (staysail) “Made it to the equator in grand style. Mimosas, water games, coconut milk offering and quotes. Have the Southern Cross to our port bow. not a cloud in the sky! Another gorgeous, balmy night. Hiva Oa is 708 nm on the rhumb from us.”

More comments as the day turned to night and back to day again:
“Why do we always roll and head up on this tack? 621 nm to go. Rolling. Lost our radar reflector off of burgee halyard. Will move it to ratlines. We saw striker dolphins. They swam all around us creating glowing streaks + bursts from phosphorescence! Incredible sight. Little guys jumping clear out of the water. Spiritual. Our running lights are out. Had radar on most of the night.”

“We saw another sea turtle lumbering along all by himself heading east/northeast. We’re on a great tack and have a course to put us west of the isles. Repaired running lights and took hot showers! Yeah. Feeling great.”

We arrived Hiva Oa four days later at 0100. I sat and stared at the horizon for hours searching for it’s existence. Jim couldn’t take not being able to see it and praying it would be there. “What if it’s not there?” we wondered with dread. Spotting it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I can still feel that same pressure of joy in my chest when I think about it now. Arriving there was another one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Kristianne Koch Photography

Kristianne Koch specializes in on-location portrait photography for the contemporary family and child for all of Southern California. 949-702-7707 kristianne.koch@cox.net

June 23rd, 2009 | Tags: cruising | Category: my family | Comments (1)

I just love these new images of Merrik and Maliea. It’s all about the ever so important light. Photography IS light after all. I was trying to capture Maliea with her new favorite toy Friends With You’s Super Malfi. Jim bought this at MOCA in LA on one of his work outings for Merrik but Maliea has just really taken a liking to it recently. Thus said, I didn’t really get what I was hoping for with it but I did get some cute images of her and the ever uncooperative Merrik.

Kristianne Koch Photography

Kristianne Koch specializes in on-location portrait photography for the contemporary family and child for all of Southern California. 949-702-7707 kristianne.koch@cox.net

June 23rd, 2009 | Tags: light, maliea, merrik, photography | Category: photography | Comments (1)