Woo hooo… some of the shots from our trip are now ready! We had a great time unwinding and checking out the beautiful rocks and landscapes of the Valley of Fire state park. You can probably see why it was given this name… :) Enjoy!

The elephant rock:

A few of the beaver tail cacti were already in bloom:

Relaxing at sunset:

Mike

So we are back home to our California winter, to the sweaters and jackets. Looking through our vacation pictures it’s hard to believe that somewhere not that far away it’s hot and humid right now. I think that the warmer the weather the better, so the only thing stopping me from moving to Florida are all the wild animals rescue shows which we watched on TV while staying in Miami. While California’s version of the show usually features people rescuing cats and dogs - Florida’s version has people calling about crocodiles in their backyards. I wouldn’t want to find one of these in my own backyard!

Honestly, Miami didn’t leave a great impression on me - it was big, flat, and a bit too showy. Even the famous Art Deco architecture of South Beach left me feeling a bit indifferent. I’d love to come back to Florida again and may be check out some of the other parts and maybe drive through the state along the coast. Here are some more photos from the trip!

The beautiful Everglades:

Would you want to find this guy in your backyard?

We got to see baby crocs up close following the Everglades boat ride:

A real photographer on vacation :)

Absolutely loved the quiet and village-like Key West:

A male relative of the chicken family from our last post:

Just loved the light here! No wonder they call it the magic hour:

We’re very excited to have recently been featured in a professional photographer magazine in regards to our awesome print-fulfillment service: Zenfolio. We’ll be glad to share all the details with you in the next few upcoming days. Woo hooo!!

Natasha

What do wedding photographers visiting Florida do after an intense 4-day convention? Visit Miami, of course!

This was our first time checking out Miami and we’ve really enjoyed taking a few days off to unwind. We’re staying in South Beach, which is Miami’s most popular vacation area packed with restaurants and shopping areas. The beach is about a block away and the weather has been beautiful in the upper 70’s.

We took a day to visit the Southernmost part of the state (and continental US) called Key West. This city practices a more relaxed approach to life and is known to be full of artists and craftsmen. An interesting peculiarity are the wild chickens which walk around many streets and act as if they belong as much, if not more then the local people. The 4 hour bus ride to Key West from Miami was absolutely gorgeous as it took us through the rest of the keys.

Another highlight of our experience in Miami has been a trip to the Everglades National Park. We took an adrenalin-filled tour on an air boat with crocodiles swimming to the left and right of us. Afterwards we had a chance to actually hold a baby croc. We were both full of awe at the beauty of the Everglades: it’s an enormous expanse of untouched and serene wetlands.

Alas, all good times must come to an end and we’ll be back in the Bay Area this Monday. You can look forward to part II of our post about Miami and more photos in the next few days!

Mike

As many of you probably already know I left Mike alone in the beginning of October to go visit my family back in Russia. The main reason for this trip was that I was just dying to see my baby niece.

Having lived in St. Petersburg for most of my life, I knew perfectly well that the weather is going to be nasty in October. Living in sunny California now I forgot what that nasty and cold really means. It was freezing! My warmest coat wasn’t even close to being enough and I ended up wearing a few sweaters, one on top of another. I didn’t care any more about being the least bit fashionable, I just cared for my warmth :)

My family and I would spent long hours every day walking with the stroller in the nearby parks. This time I didn’t desire to go sight seeing to downtown or to go out, I was just truly enjoying every minute spent with my family. The rain was drizzling often, but nevertheless the fall colors of the trees were just amazing! I loved the already forgotten scents of autumn - the fallen leaves on the damp ground, mushrooms, berries and wilted flowers. It also felt a bit surreal to be walking with Dasha’s stroller at the same park where 20 years ago we were walking with my sister’s stroller. It seems that it was just yesterday! Time flies so incredibly quickly…

I feel that during this trip I really didn’t stop taking photos for a second and the camera was always right next to me. During the long walks I would crawl on the ground trying to capture everything I saw around me, the trees and fallen leafs. When we would come home after the walk my attention would shift to baby Dasha. I fell in love with her from first sight and in these two weeks she probably became the most photographed two months old baby ever! I’ll write more about Dasha in my next blog post when her pictures are going to be ready.

My sis:

… and mom having fun in the park:

The whole family on a walk:

My niece Dasha & I:

Stay tuned for more photos!
Natasha