Saturday, March 31, 2012

Photography For a Cause 2012!!!

Photography for a Cause is an event that we started in 2009, where we sell our favorite fine art photographs for the entire month of April and 100% of all profits are donated to local/international non-profit organizations. Since its inception in 2009, we have raised almost $6,000 to donate to incredible causes. One of my goals with La Brisa Photography is to give back and Photography for a Cause has become a unique and awesome opportunity for us to do so. This year, we will be donating to the Janet Aiko Sekiguchi Foundation and K.O. Boxing through their work with Hopeful Tomorrow. Both of these amazing organizations are dear and personal to b and myself and we hope you take some time to learn more about what they accomplish with their amazing organizations. Our goal is to raise $2,000 for  these organizations and I hope that you can help us!

You can view all of our available photographs for sale through this link here - Photography For a Cause 2012!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Join us and help us, help others. Thank you for giving us this platform to share our work with you while simultaneously allowing us to contribute to the heartfelt work of others!

Janet Aiko Sekiguchi Foundation 
A group of Janet's friends created the Janet Aiko Sekiguchi Foundation in her honor to support the causes of social justice through urban education and racial reconciliation that meant so much to her. We have established an annual grant to be awarded to individual/s who best demonstrate the values and mission of the Foundation. In recent years, the grant recipients have been a P.E. teacher at an urban school in Los Angeles, a couple who re-opened and now serve as the first teachers for an elementary school in Watts, and an individual who helps equip and support missionaries who serve in the world's slums.

In recognition of the ten years since her passing, we are encouraging folks to commit to a Day of Giving, of whatever scope -- volunteer at a hospital, serve at a soup kitchen, wash someone's car, or just pay for someone's coffee -- on April 12, 2012.

Please visit our webpage at janetsekiguchi.org, or find us on www.facebook.com/janetsekiguchi. If you are interested in applying for a grant, please contact info@janetsekiguchi.org.

K.O. Boxing via Hopeful Tomorrow 
The K.O. Code of Conduct enforces a strict anti-bullying mentality through mutual respect and understanding. We adhere to a code, which consists of the importance of respect, honor, dignity and courage. We will work hand in hand with parents, and caregivers to help kids stay on the right track, focus and achieve their goals. Thus, when outside of K.O. they will not only have a strong body but also a strong sense of self worth and accomplishment. We are committed to offering the best opportunities for all. In seeking to fulfill its mission, K.O. Boxing, Inc. works side by side with the national non-profit organization, Hopeful Tomorrow. We believe all children and youth should have the opportunity to be a part of such stated structured programs. Our community has economically challenged families and at risk kids. K.O. works closely with Riley County Juvenile Intake and Hopeful Tomorrow, to help our community’s youth.

How you can help. Go to hopefultomorrow.org click on “Donate”. When filling out the sponsorship form, place K.O. Boxing, Manhattan, Kansas, in the sponsoring studio box. Our community’s children will greatly benefit from your monetary support. You may also contact Coach Lorissa Ridley-Fink at koboxer86@gmail.com or 785-341-1708 and ask how you can volunteer as an assistant coach and or mentor. You may also directly sponsor a child by simply paying their monthly dues. Contact Coach L. for information on youth and children that need sponsorship.

Here are a few images that are available for sale!

Kealia Beach | Winter 2011 | Kauai, HI | Chris

Century Oak - Texas A&M | Spring 2010 | College Station, TX | Chris

Still | Summer 2011 | Seattle, WA | b

Tulips | Spring 2010 | Manhattan, KS | b

Tulip | Spring 2008 | Location Unknown | Autumn

Bloom | Spring 2009 | Location Unknown | Autumn


Friday, March 30, 2012

Our Family is Growing! =)

With great excitement and elation, I am ridiculously pumped to announce that the La Brisa Photography family is growing! Today, I have the privilege and opportunity to introduce Autumn Shoemaker as the third photographer of our team! With her creativity, vision and perspective, she has all of the inherent tools of a phenomenal photographer and I feel incredibly lucky that she has accepted the offer to partner with b and me! She is located in the Manhattan, Kansas area and is now available for portrait sessions! Please join me in welcoming Autumn to La Brisa!

Without further ado, here is Autumn and the new La Brisa team!


My first stumbleupon of La Brisa happened when Chris and Brisa lost their beloved cat, and a very lovely tribute went out on this blog. This spoke to my heart through the photography (and my love of animals) and I was hooked. I am beyond excited to be working for La Brisa, and cannot wait for all the incredible trips, fabulous sessions and wonderful people that I know are in my future. b and Chris have been so gracious in allowing me to join La Brisa, and in what they have already given to help me develop the skills I need. I'm super blessed to be here, and can't wait to get started!


Some facts about me, in no particular order
I love golden moments of light
I love sunflare
I might be very dramatic…
I love my Nelly-dog a ridiculous amount. Her full name is Penelope Snuffleupagus Button
I wish my life was a musical
My favorite color is green
My family is incredible
I prefer to be barefoot
I harbor a desire to be a carny
I drink coffee like it’s going out of style
Fall is in fact, my favorite time of the year, though not when I was born
My dad is a zoo director, and yes that’s as cool as it sounds
My mom made me part hippie
I yoga
Reading has been a favorite pastime since birth
I might be a bit stubborn
My favorite word is ethereal. Or whimsical. I can’t decide
I’ve been told I’m hard to read
I like to think of myself as free-spirited
I am a photographer.

b and I have been training Autumn since January and here are just a few examples of her awesome work so far! Please check out her portfolio at www.labrisaphotography.com to view more of her beautiful images AND see the updated portfolios for b and myself as well!





Lastly, Photography for a Cause 2012 starts on Sunday, April 1st! Check out this link - Photography for a Cause for more information! For the month of April, we sell our fine art photographs and 100% of profits are donated to incredible non-profit organizations!



Thursday, March 29, 2012

52 WoA: Week 35 - Dance (Body in Motion)

dust. sweep. vacuum. mop. fold. scrub. TWIRL. wait, what?! As you can imagine, growing up in the Daberkow household left never a dull moment. Even when it came to cleaning. Open the windows, crank up the stereo, grab the broom and DANCE.

As some of you know, I have a difficult time sitting still, even more so when a beat can be heard. Tapping my toe, banging my head, two-steppin to the laundry room or going it solo on the dance floor. Doesn't matter. Mamma taught us at an early age that that energy could be put to good use. and so we cleaned...while we danced, or was it the other way around?


This is Pork Bun. He is our Siamese cat who loves to play, but due to his severe asthma, can’t really play very often. He likes to wiggle his big booty whenever he gets the chance though!
As a photographer, sometime you need to work on things outside of your normal purview and this project is going to help us (and you) challenge, grow and creatively develop your photography as a whole. Weekly for the next year, we will be sharing our images with you here!
For those of you interested in participating, PLEASE join us! The more the merrier! You definitely do not need to be a professional photographer, this is something you can easily do with your point and shoot, cell phone, ipad2, etc. You can comment with a link to your image here on our blog or on our La Brisa fan page or you can tag La Brisa Photography in your image on your own FB page or use the hashtag #52WoA on twitter that way we can share your efforts with everyone else! If you are interested in joining our La Brisa Aspiring Photographer Workshop group on FB, please request to join as we will also be sharing our images there too.

Next Thursday, April 5th, Week 36: “Family and Friends” will be due. The image must be created between today and April 5th. Good luck!
Let me know if you have any questions!

Here is the full list of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness!
Week 1               Free for All
Week 2               Introduce yourself
Week 3               Show us your home
Week 4               Your Name
Week 5               Sports (anything related, teams, players, equipment, etc,)
Week 6               Guilty Pleasures
Week 7               ONE object shot at 5 different angels/distances
Week 8               One for the road (signs, streets, traffic, etc.)
Week 9               Objects that tell something about you
Week 10             Things that make your life easier
Week 11             Your favorite color
Week 12             Household item
Week 13             Foods
Week 14             Flashed (an image created using artificial light)
Week 15             Sun (sunlight, sunset, sunrise, etc)
Week 16             Emotion
Week 17             Lines
Week 18             What you do outside the world of photography
Week 19             Weather
Week 20             Emotional attachment (heirloom/special gift, etc.)
Week 21             Pets
Week 22             Things you couldn't live without
Week 23             Habits
Week 24             Fire (candle, fireplace, etc.)
Week 25            Hats
Week 26             Textures
Week 27             Hands
Week 28             Shoes
Week 29             Jewelry
Week 30             OOF (Out of Focus)…purposely OOF
Week 31             What I consider dessert
Week 32             Fill the Frame (close ups)
Week 33             A week in our lives
Week 34             Faith (what you believe)
Week 35             Dance (body in motion)
Week 36             Family & Friends
Week 37             SOOC (straight out of the camera)…before & after
Week 38             Patriotic
Week 39             Object: straight up shots and then straight down shots
Week 40             Something at night
Week 41             Something that gives you the feeling of warmth
Week 42             Smell
Week 43             Water
Week 44             Animals
Week 45             Music
Week 46             Reflections/Shadows
Week 47             Flowers
Week 48             Sleep
Week 49             Action Shots
Week 50             Circles
Week 51             Your car
Week 52             Self portrait


Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Photography For a Cause 2012 Teasers

Photography for a Cause 2012 is rapidly approaching and we are INCREDIBLY excited for this year’s event! Last year was a huge success and we are pumped to see how we do this year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Photography for a Cause, it is an event that we started in 2009, where we sell our favorite fine art photographs for the entire month of April and 100% of all profits are donated to local/international non-profit organizations. In the previous events, we have donated to the Red Cross, Boy & Girls Club, Shepherd’s Crossing, UniteChange, Corby’s Castle and the FDNY’s Family Assistance Unit. This year, we will be donating our profits to Hopeful Tomorrow via KO Boxing and the Janet Aiko Sekiguchi Foundation. Both of these amazing organizations are dear and personal to b and myself.

Images will be available for sale on April 1st, but here are a few teasers of the new images that will be available for purchase this year! Details will be posted on April 1st where you can order prints!

 Folly Beach Sunrise | Fall 2011 | Folly Beach, South Carolina | Chris

Crisp | Spring 2011 | Dominican Republic | b

St. John’s Lutheran Church | Fall 2011 | Lyons, Nebraska | Chris

Still | Summer 2011 | Seattle, Washington | b

Spring | March 2012 | Dallas, Texas | Chris

Beach Boardwalk | Summer 2011 | Santa Cruz, California | b


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The R Family | Joy Session | Kansas | b

The word on the street is that the R crew is legit. They have mad cred due to all of their awesomeness in sessions past and this session was no different. I had the opportunity to photograph this amazing recurring family and we love to see them grow!

Thank you as always for being such amazing La Brisa clients. Chris and I appreciate you so much and we hope that you LOVE your latest family photos! You can view more images from their session on the La Brisa Facebook page by clicking HERE.



Monday, March 26, 2012

Jill & Drew | Wedding | Hoxie & Colby, KS | b

Jill and Drew
Hello, western Kansas!! (And of course everyone else) Today’s post is dedicated to my very FIRST La Brisa wedding as the primary photographer. You may recall Jill and Drew's amazing Attraction Session that I had the opportunity of photographing, back in 2011. They are awesome friends of mine that I photographed on K-State campus then a few months later I traveled to Hoxie, KS for their wedding then Colby, KS after for their reception. I had the most amazing experience at their wedding; seriously, everyone was so hospitable and gracious. A special shout out to Mrs. Patricia Kennedy, Jill’s mom. I seriously felt at home during the entire weekend because of her and her family members. They even sent me magnets for my collection after they discovered I was not successful in finding one that weekend. Jill and Drew, I hope your time together as a married couple has been magical, the two of you deserve all the happiness in the world.

A special thanks to Mandy King of Every Moment Life Photography for helping out on their big day!

Here is Jill’s wedding experience through her review of La Brisa:

Brandi with La Brisa Photography did a phenomenal job capturing every detail of our wedding day! She is an incredibly talented photographer and so much fun to work with! Her energy and willingness to do whatever it takes to capture the perfect shot made our day absolutely amazing. Brandi started the day before 7 a.m. and did not stop taking pictures until midnight, when our dance ended. She even gave us a sneak peak of the images at the end of our reception! Within a day or two, Brandi had posted teasers to Facebook and just a few weeks later we had the DVD of our images! We (and our families) are in love with the images she created as they truly capture the emotion our special day. Thank you for sharing your talents with us, Brandi!

Thank you again so much for the opportunity to photograph your incredible day! You can view more images from their wedding on the La Brisa Facebook page by clicking HERE. And you can view all the images from their wedding through their online gallery by going to www.labrisaphotography.com and clicking on “Clients” and “Weddings”.

Dress Designer: Mikaella Bridal
Tuxedo: Jim's Formal Wear
Bridesmaid Dress Designer: Bill Levkoff
Ceremony Venue: Immaculate Conception Church
Reception Venue: City Limits Convention Center
Cake Designer: Kay Wade
Hair Stylist: Check Hers & His
Shoe Designer: Caparros
DJ: Complete Music
Caterer: City Limits Convention Center
Videographer: Complete Music
Flowers: Someplace Special