Gayla Elizabeth Photography » portrait

A boy and his BUSA on the beach…

gayla — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:33:31 +0000

Okay, so maybe it’s not “his” busa. And, maybe it IS his dad’s HAYABUSA motorcycle. But, for the purpose of this post and for the sheer fact that he was the one photographing next to it during this photo shoot, let’s just say it was his! .His father; my brother, has been the proud owner of this fierce bike for a few years now and my nephew Kenny-Boy was in need for some new pics, hence my title to this post. While I was visiting Honolulu last month for the holidays, my brother asked if I could take some pics of his youngest son. I thought it would be cool to do some shots with the motorcycle, since both of them are bike junkies. AND, I do mean junkies, (my brother also owns a drag-bike and another motorcycle in addition to this Busa). So, I thought the busa was only appropriate. My brother actually took me for a “spin” on his Hayabusa bike while I was back home and it is FFASSSSSSSSST. Crazy fast. Kinda cool though.

Now, Kenny Boy was my baby since he was the youngest of my nieces and nephews until recently, when my oldest brother had 2 little beautiful baby girls, kicking Kenny Boy out of the “baby” slot. LOL. Anyway, you can see a baby picture of Kenny boy by clicking here. Yeah, maybe it’s not a “baby” picture, but you get the point. You can see how little he WAS. Yes, was. Even though he is all grown up, bigger and taller than his father, he will always be my little Kenny Boy.

We started taking a few pics in front of the house, just to get some shots, but I thought it would be cool to go down to the beach and get some night shots with the bike. We decided to take a spin to the west side of the island to see if we could also get some city lights in the background. After driving around for a while, the city lights weren’t going to happen since the clouds were hovering over us. Instead, we found a beach park and decided to make a go of it. You can see the palm trees though! LOL. By the time we started shooting, it was midnight, so we didn’t spend a whole lot of time shooting. We just got a few shots and then headed home. Because it was so dark, I needed some extra assistance with lights to get the shots. So, here is a thank you to my assistants: my niece Gaylynn ( side lighting tech), my brother Hap ( primary lighting engineer) and my sister-in-law Darling (focusing light assistant). It was quite funny setting up these shots. I love my family! Here are the pics of my little BIG Kenny Boy. Love you!!! xoxo

This picture below is my absolute fav. This is how I always see my Kenny Boy, with that adorable baby smile…

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Shootout at Split Rock Ranch

gayla — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:50:21 +0000

It was quite the drive, but upon arriving on this beautiful ranch in Ramona, CA, I realized it was gonna be an great day of shooting since this ranch was so AWESOME. Thanks to Yvonne and Stephen for the incredible shootout… it was fabulous. As I walked up the loooooooong driveway, I met our beautiful model Amanda Rojas at this amazing barn, filled with all the details you would expect on a ranch.

• saddles

• bull skulls

* lasso rope

• wagons

• hooks, chains, rakes and more…

Credit our makeup artist: Robyn Mason 909-684-3445

Model: Amanda Rojas

Stay tuned for more shots from this great, great location…I will post more soon….

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Happy Veterans Day

gayla — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:39:41 +0000

Coming from a family with 3 generations of Marines, I have a profound appreciation for Veterans and want to wish everyone out there a Happy Veterans Day; a holiday dedicated to American Veterans of all wars. My oldest brother David served and recently retired from the United States Marine Corps. Serving in both Desert Storm and Occupation of Iraq, he along with millions of other served our country and assisted in the protection of the american people. He was a helicopter pilot and received a purple heart while serving in Iraq. His dedication and sacrifice he has given makes me extremely proud of him and I thank him and all the other millions of americans who served in our armed forces. While he is known as Lt. Colonel David Young Lamaku, to me he is my big brother. I love you Dave! OOh-rah……

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Kayla – Children Photography

gayla — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:49:58 +0000

I met Masaki and Dyana a little over a year ago when I shot their 2 month old baby boy, Kan. You can view those pictures by clicking here. A couple of months ago I got an email from Dyana saying she had a new addition to the family and wanted to get some shots of her daughter, Kayla too! When I first saw her, she had the biggest smile and eyes that sparkled . We did some family pictures as well, but I wanted to post some individual shots of Kayla, since she was the new addition to this gorgeous family. Stay tuned for the family shots that will be posted soon.

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Staffan & Erin 1st shoot- portrait photography

gayla — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:23:27 +0000

aka The Brazilian Twins. This was a shoot that took place a couple months ago when Staffan had just cut off all of his locks. Yes, prior to this, he had hair down to his shoulders…wish I got some shots BEFORE the chop, chop . Since his hair was rather short, we planned a 2nd shoot a few weeks later to allow for some “growth”. Both have striking features and incredible eyes. I mean they both are gorgeous!

Here’s some images from the first shoot…

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Sunday session – all day

gayla — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:42:33 +0000

I just got back from today’s session which started at 10:30am and finished around 7ish at the beach with a wonderful family. Yes, a full day session! Here are some quick facts: it consisted of 4 generations, 16 people (including the little ones), good times and lots of laughs. I will post more details later, but I just wanted to share what a great day it was. I had so much fun and was so happy to be amongst such warm and loving people… although it makes me miss my family even more. [aloha to all my loved ones back on the islands...muah].

I will be posting images of the session soon, but as I was backing up the images, this shot caught my eye and I just had to post it as the teaser. Just look at her face… it says it all. Simply adorable.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and here is to a great Halloween week!

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Motherhood

gayla — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:32:27 +0000

As many of you know, I am a family girl and am in love with my family, even though they can drive me crazy at times! And, I do mean CRAZY, haha. The family values I have were started when I was growing up in beautiful Hawaii. Family gatherings, functions, dinners, parties; whatever you want to call them, my life was filled with them. In Hawaii, family ties are tight…it is a way of life. It’s about the 3F’s; Family, Food and Fun. While I only have 2 brothers, my family is pretty large. Upon my grandmother’s passing a few years ago, we calculated her branches she housed. My grandmother had 4 children and those 4 children gave her 16 grandchildren, 43 great grandchildren and 23 great great grandchildren. [chuckle] That means my little grandmother, who was all of 5 feet tall was responsible for 86 human beings. Now, these are all my blood relatives on my mother’s side only. If you factor in my father’s family tree, that is a whole different ball of wax. Since this post is about mothers, I will leave my father’s “branches” off for this post. I wanted to establish how big of a family I have and how important the family life is to me. Now that I have done that, let me write a little about motherhood.

I always believed and still do believe that children are gifts, a true miracle. When a woman conceives and creates life within herself, it is nothing shy of a miracle. Yet, this miracle is often overshadowed by poor motherhood and it often upsets me to see innocent children brought into a world without the right nurturing parent. I often joke that you should have to take a test to become a mother, because while making them can be challenging for some, it is not the hardest part to being a mother and I’ve seen my fair share of mothers who could use some help on how to be a better parent. Becoming a mother is a life changing event. Mothers must guide, teach, nurture, sacrifice and mold children to become striving successful adults. It doesn’t stop when they are potty trained, when they can walk, when they become 18 or when they move out on their own. It never stops. I really do think there should be a class that every mother should take BEFORE having children to learn how to sacrifice, understand how to motivate, how to discipline and correct and most importantly how to love them. Loving a child is not just saying you love them or buying them a new toy or the latest cool gadget. Loving them often means sacrifice and pain. Yes, I did say pain because there are times when a mother must do things that hurt them, BUT serve in the best interest in the child. Words are cheap, anyone can say “I love you”, but it’s when the love is shown and expressed that really counts. Remember the old cliche; “actions speak louder than words”.

At this day and age, where divorce is very common, children are often and frequently left to be raised by a single parent. It is not nearly uncommon like it was years and years ago, during the Leave it to Beaver days. If a child is raised in a home filled with love, guidance, support and structure, you are golden. I am in awe of some of the most amazing single mothers out there in this world. One in particular that I have high regards for is Debbie Phelps, single mother of Olympian Michael Phelps, who broke an Olympic record by winning 8 Gold Medals in Bejing during the 2008 summer olympics. She had a rough divorce and 3 children to raise on her own, one with ADHD. She threw that little ADHD child in the swimming pool at the age of 6 and he became the Olympian now admired by millions. She did it on her own and she succeeded. There were no excuses, just solid parenting. Tiki Barber was raised with his twin brother in a low income housing project by his single mother, who worked THREE jobs and sacrificed a lot to ensure her two sons would get the most out of life. Tiki graduated valedictorian and both he and his brother had successful careers in the NFL. Both playing in the Superbowl. He wrote a book called, Tiki: My life in the game and beyond. There are many other great stories of single mothers who raised successful children on their own. I applaud and praise them for making society a better place and not using being fatherless as an excuse. Everyone of those women have my utmost respect. It goes to show you what a great mother can do for her child and that it CAN be done without a man.

This isn’t to take anything away from those women who are married and have the support of a husband and father. Not at all. Kudos to all the great married mothers too! While no mother is perfect and many have flaws, including mine [still love you mom!], it is important to do your best to raise your children to succeed in life and nurture them not just through childhood, but through life. The foundation you lay for your offsprings will determine the type of life they live and values they posses. Teach them how to have respect, how to give, how to share and how to love.
Teach them how to be positive, how to create good things in life. Motherhood is tough, it is a challenge and a sacrifice; but it is most rewarding when you know you raised a well balanced and successful child that will have a very fulfilled life with some sort of structure and balance. Plus it makes for great Thanksgiving dinners! I think Oprah said it best when she said “being a mother is the toughest job out there…if done right!”

I thought I would end this post from a session I did of the Katz family. Here is one of my favorites, it is Dori and her son Maguire. I think you can feel the love and emotions through this image. It’s timeless. I will post that session soon, but for now, enjoy this image of motherhood.

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Rock on!

gayla — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:55:06 +0000

Last night was my first night back to the gym. [applause]. I did what I do with everything else. I put it in my iCal. For all of you mac users out there, you know what I’m talking about. iCal is my savior, my director, my coordinator…my everything. I think I would be completely lost without iCal. Since I feel 24 hours is just not enough time in a day, it is important that I plan each waking minute very carefully. With that said, I religiously put things in my iCal so I do not forget to do them. EVERYTHING goes in there. If it doesn’t, there is a good chance it gets overlooked. iCal keeps me in check and reminds me of all my tasks that I must accomplish during the day and even sends me a little email reminder if I need it to. It’s just marvelous.

I put GYM in my iCal and made it an appointment. And, guess where I was last night? Okay, it may have been morning since I strolled into 24hour fitness at 1:15am, BUT, the point is I made it there. Because it’s been over a month since my last workout, it was a little shaky in the beginning, but it’s lke riding a bike. After 20 minutes, I was in the zone. It felt great to get the heart pumping and the muscles working. With it’s proven effectiveness, I made sure I entered my GYM appointments in for the next 4 weeks. This means, I WILL be there. No excuses. Thank you iCal!

I had to post a pic, so here is my best “rock on” shot. It’s little Sammy…

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Walker Levi Katz…The Bris – Event

gayla — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:49:01 +0000

A few weeks back, I had the privilege of shooting a Bris on the holiest day…Yom Kippur. According to jewish law, although the human soul exists before birth, human life begins at birth, that is, at the time when the child is more than halfway emerged from the mother’s body. Bris Milah joins the forces of body and soul together in serving G-d.

I stood amongst many family, friends and many loved ones as little Walker Levi Katz made his grand entrance with the help of his Aunt and Uncle. As the Rabbi spoke to the room full of onlookers, Walker performed perfectly, rarely making a noise and often showing a smile. You could see the joy and love in the eyes of proud parents Austin and Alli from afar. I stood back and grabbed some great images of this special day and absolutely love the shots of Walker and his Grandfathers. It was so great to participate in such a special and amazing day.

I had a newborn photography session with Walker a week later, which I will post soon. For now, enjoy these photos from the Bris.

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The Treen’s aka TREENCO – Family Session

gayla — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:16:36 +0000

Here’s the story with the Treen’s. Lisa and Dave just celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary last week. [applause]. Their oldest son Andrew is a personal trainer at LA’s finest fitness gym EQUINOX , the middle son Alex is going to Culinary school to become a chef and their youngest, Katie just went off to college at San Jose State University. That is the Treen’s; then there is Haylee, Andrew’s girlfriend of 4 years. While Haylee may not be an official TREEN, she is definitely part of the family. Katie happened to be in town for the weekend, so we snapped some photos of the family and had a great time.

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