May 31
Farmer's Market
A change of pace
May 31
A San Francisco City Hall Wedding
Please visit me on facebook for more images from this intimate city hall wedding.
Feb 11
Moving on Up!
I am pleased to announce we are moving to a bigger and better studio on Russian Hill! Our lovely loft on Potrero Hill will be missed but not only will we be in an awesome location near lots of great shopping, centrally located in San Francisco, but we are expanding to offer full service custom framing right on premise, more backdrops and props for our portrait studio sessions, and a beautiful viewing room with a state of the art Epson projector and seating area for the entire family.
The viewing room will create a nice atmosphere, (with a bottle of Napa Valley wine, of course) to view your wedding photos for the first time, or family portraits AND make it exciting to relive your memories and edit for your albums and print enlargements. Then all we do is walk downstairs and pick out a custom frame! No more store bought 5x7 frames, or procrastination to get your photos framed and allow dust to collect on your dvd of high resolution digital files!
When does all this take place? MARCH 1st! Mark your calendars. Stop by for a visit. Better yet. Get your family portrait taken! Or book your wedding with us!
See you soon! Lots of packing to do!
Elisa and her trusty studio assistant, former student from the Academy of Art, Dave Hoffman, the newest member of the team!
Feb 11
A Very Green Wedding
This summer I had the opportunity to photography THE greenest wedding I have ever been to. Bravo to Tom and Tina for their efforts. Tom was kind enough to write a very detailed description of his wedding for me to share with everyone for inspiration.
Here it is in it's entirety!
We made an effort to make choices about our wedding that reflect our values: being creative with what you have on hand and making do when necessary. Our thrift inspired a lot of creativity and the result was really beautiful. Our celebration has supported some good causes, incorporated the creativity of our loved ones and left a small footprint in Monterey. Here are some of the note-worthy details:
We arranged for the wedding and reception at the same venue which was within walking distance from from all the hotels and downtown Monterey attractions. Our guests did not need to drive the entire weekend.
The honey came from our own beehives. We keep them at the Potrero Hill Community Garden in San Francisco. Also, Tom’s honey vodka was made from the same wildflower honey, harvested the week of our wedding.
We saved cans of different sizes (tomato sauce, pineapple juice, etc) from our recycling in order to make our table lanterns and other decorations. The hand made candles inside the lanterns were cast in sand from Asilomar (nearby beach) and are made from the wax we harvested from our bees.
Many trips to local thrift stores turned up quite an assortment of flower vases which we used for the centerpieces at each table. After the wedding we gave away, reused at home, or returned them to the thrift store.
Tom’s mom, Jean, spent countless hours sewing the linen underlays for table centerpieces. These are our new dishcloths and napkins at home.
The doilies and handmade linens were on loan from our relatives -- some even made by them.
Arranged by family and friends, our flowers came from the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz. This organization provides a place of safety, beauty and work opportunities for homeless people -- and great organic flowers.
Tina is the 5th bride to wear her Grandmother Olga’s dress! Part of the Belgian lace veil was a team effort made by her Grandmother Delores, Aunt Phyllis and Mom, Shelia.
Our flower girl, Caylin, has a beautiful dress made by her Grandmother, Julie, which matches the Bridesmaids’ shawls sewn by Tina.
Our invitation was designed by our friend, Alyssa Ari Ahn. She drew the illustration and even perched our kitty, Willie, on the boat.
Most of our food has been prepared with local, organic produce to limit shipping and pesticides. We think it tastes better too.
Our delicious Olallieberry pies were made by Swanton Berry Farm, an organic farm north of Santa Cruz which uses 100% union labor.
The Ventana vineyards is located in Monterey county, and although not organic, it strives for sustainability in its agriculture practices.
We worked with the caterer to reduce the glass and aluminum and paper to be recycled. All organic waste went to the Monterey landfill which uses the methane off-gas to generate electricity.
Tom forgot to mention that their spent their honeymoon on a tandem bicycle built for two and road up North along the coast of Oregon.
For my part as photographer, images were shot digitally to save on chemistry used in processing film. Also, I hope to create a handcrafted wedding album using only recycled papers.
Feb 07
Emily Pilloton, Founder of Project H Design
Read about Emily in the NYTimes T-Magazine. She was named part of the Nifty 50: America's up and coming talent.
She just completed her book, “Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People” She is taking it on the road, you can follow emily at DesignRevolutionRoadshow.com
http://designrevolutionroadshow.com/
The above photo was taken by our studio at the AIGA event Compost Modern.
Oct 07
Portrait of Anna
This lovely portrait session with Anna was taken in her beautiful garden with a generous donation by the amazing fashion designer, Tedda Hughes. See more of her fabulous creations at her boutique on Polk Street Boulevard!
If you're interested in a similar portrait session, inquiry at elisa@elisaphoto.com
We are offering our Holiday Portrait Special now until December 20th. Book early before we fill up!
See you soon!
Sep 08
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