Some Talented Folks!

Ray has been working at Pictage in Torrance, CA for about 2.5 years as a product manager. He began working there just after leaving the Air Force. He will be ending his 2.5 years soon, on July 31st as we exit California and make our way to the suburbs of Chicago for another great business opportunity-- one that will fulfill his dream and allows for his creativity and leadership to shine.

As he says goodbye to Pictage this month, one of their professional photographers came to visit the office and see how the behind-the-scenes magic happens. Pictage is a company whose clients are high-end photographers and they fulfill all the back-end work so that photographers can focus less on the small details, and more on shooting photos. The photog who came to visit, Mike Larson, has a signature shot that he shared with the company: (Ray is at 8 o'clock, inner)
If you'd like to see more from Mike Larson, you can visit his blog. He shoots weddings and other events and the blog allows you to see a snapshot of his genius!

To plug another favorite...
Here's the guy (who also works at Pictage) that shot our wedding almost one amazing year ago.

To plug a pretty talented gal...
I read her blog every now and again and I've been so impressed by her. She's a friend of a friend and lives in Ohio... but if you happen to be in the area.... here's Susie!

Finally... at a recent Hermosa Beach fair (the last one we'll visit!), we wanted to pick up a piece of local photography to remember living at the beach. Collectively, we've lived in all 3 connected beach cities-- Ray lived in Manhattan Beach on the strand and in a few other places, I lived in Hermosa Beach, and when we married, we moved to Redondo Beach. We wanted a piece of photography to exemplify that, and connect on a more personal level. This photo is done by Hermosa Wave Photography and we saw it at a booth at the fair. Ray has taken a great deal of interest in photography, having worked for a company that works in the industry. Thus, we purchase some when we have a chance!

The photo (below) is special to us for the following reasons:
1. That is the lifeguard tower Ray proposed to me at on June 15, 2007.
2. It is located on the same street Ray lived in Manhattan Beach (near the life guard station).
3. You can see Palos Verdes Estates (the cliff) in the background-- the location of our wedding on July 26, 2008.
4. You can see both Manhattan and Hermosa Beach piers in the photo -- since we lived in both cities. Sand from all 3 connected cities can be seen.
5. The final kicker of why we purchased the photo: It was taken just 4 days after we got engaged, same year, at the very same spot. Cool!If you come to visit us in Chicago... you can see it! Bringing a lit bit of beach culture to our new location... our goal is to purchase a piece of photography from every place we live to remember the area --- Next photo purchase, Germany!

Love, B.