Richelle Dante Photography

Roslyn :: Los Angeles Newborn Photography

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:21:19 +0000

I only shoot the prettiest newborns in the world. Not joking! Roslyn was a week old when I met her and so, so pretty! She was born right before Christmas… what a perfect Christmas present!

Here are a few favorites…

Love when I get a little smile…

One of my favorites. She looks so sweet and peaceful here.

Newborn safety has been a huge concern in the photography industry lately so I want to mention that Roslyn was not dangling in the air. Mom was actually holding her in the sling. The magic of photoshop.

Killing Fields :: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:56:22 +0000

I’ve been really bad at blogging my recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam but I’m determined to at least do a few more posts from the trips. The same day we went to the S21 Prison (please read that post first if you don’t know much about the Cambodian Genocide) we also went to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center and killing fields. Yes, it’s as gruesome as it sounds. After learning a lot of the history from the prison, I wasn’t quite sure what to think about touring a place where there were multiple mass graves and over 20,000 people were killed and buried. As we started the tour I saw a piece of cloth on the ground. I had read that there are still bones and clothing that show up after the rain but I had no idea we would see what we saw. I tried picking up the piece of cloth (which I later realized I shouldn’t have done) but it was stuck. So I pulled a little harder and unearthed a little more of this piece of cloth which I realized was clothing. At that point I left it trying not to think of what could be attached to that clothing.

We did an audio tour which gave us a very real feel for what happened at these killing fields. I will spare you some of the details and if you don’t want to know anything graphic, I suggest not reading the captions I will have for the photos. I promise after this post, I will have more uplifting posts and photos from my trip. Learning and understanding some of the history of Cambodia was a big part of our trip so I feel like I should share it!

In one of the graves we found this tooth. Bones, teeth and clothing were everywhere.

Clothing coming out of the ground. The front piece could have been a blindfold.

More clothing… you can see how it is not just sitting on top of the ground but is literally coming out of the earth.

A few of the mass graves.

I thought this was strange because I didn’t see a ton of butterflies flying around and here one lays with another piece of clothing.

The tree on the left will forever haunt me. They hung speakers from this tree and played loud music to cover up the sounds of the people being killed. With the audio tour they played a sample of the music that was played. Both Denise and I would freak out a little anytime we heard a similar sounding music. I then realized that the only people who knew what that music was were either victims of the killing fields, soldiers and tourists. Kind of strange, isn’t it?

This tree I stared at for the longest time in disbelief. The soldiers would beat babies and small children against this tree until the died. They made the mother watch. They didn’t want to waste bullets because they cost money. I still don’t understand how any human could kill so many little children is such a horrific way. The grave on the right was where many women and children were buried.

Some of the clothing they have gathered through the years.

Bones… human bones.

More than 5,000 skulls are displayed in a huge memorial. They are organized by gender and age. Insane!

There were two little puppies (and a lot of chickens) wandering around the killing fields. Just a reminder that life continues on no matter what or where. I really wanted to bring this puppy home!

On our tuk tuk ride back we stopped at a few spots to see more of the beautiful side of Phnom Penh.

And we’re back in the city. Yes, they have lanes. No, they do not use them.

WPPI 2012 Shootout :: Walk in the Park

Richelle — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:42:22 +0000

Last year when I went to WPPI, I decided for the following year I wanted to plan a shootout. I knew for it to be the one that is talked about, I would need some major help. The first two people I thought of to help, is my good friend and amazing photographer, Abi of Abi Q Photography and the very talented design team Sugar & Fluff (their recent shoot with Jose Villa has been pinned like crazy). Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like to do anything halfway which of course means the shoot had to be exceptional and designed by a professional design team. With almost a full year of brainstorming and planning I’m excited to announce our WPPI styled shoot, “Walk in the Park”. Besides an awesome shoot, I wanted everyone to attend to have a chance to get to know each other. One of my favorite parts of WPPI is meeting new friends! After the shoot, we will head back the The Signature (hotel attached to MGM) for a super fun after party in our giant suite!

We are also excited the Visual Supply Co will be giving each attendee a little goodie. Both Abi and I use their Lightroom presets for at least 90% of our editing (if not more). Using their presets has significantly cut down my editing time and has made me even more excited about my photography! Seriously, they are awesome! We will also have a few other goodies to give away!

To sign up for our shoot, please go HERE. We look forward to seeing you there!!

A few more details:
It will be on Sunday, February 19th. We will start shooting two hours before sunset.

Back in July, I scouted out a location by literally driving through the desert. I finally found the perfect spot about 30 minutes outside of Vegas. We will meet at the MGM lobby and transport everyone there since it is a little tricky to find our shooting spot.

Both of the models have modeling experience. The child model has appeared in print ads and commercials, including a TLC advertising campaign. She was also the voice for Sea Worlds fireworks show last summer.

Hollis :: Four Weeks

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:30:42 +0000

Before I left for my trip I was lucky to meet little Hollis. She was four weeks old at the time and not interested in taking sleepy photos. I kind of love that she didn’t want to sleep because I got to take a ton of her being held. This is one of my favorite newborn sessions of 2011. I love how relaxed and natural they turned out. I like doing the posed photos but I also love doing some that show the feel of that time.

Here are some of my favorites…

Babies are not always sleeping peacefully and happy. Not sure why those are the only ones I normally post.

One of my favorites…

The way Sarah and Andy decorated their home made my job so much easier! Everywhere I looked was a cool place to shoot.

Kinda love this one too.

At first Hollis wasn’t loving the guitar…

But she warmed up to it.

Happy baby!

We had to at least get one with everyone looking at the camera.

So pretty!

Love the hand painted crystals over Hollis’ crib… although they may be moved when she actually sleeps in it. (safety first!)

Her eyes were literally sparkling in the sun. So pretty!

Tiny hands…

The chair, the cactus, the pink house… I was in heaven!

S21 Prison :: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:45:45 +0000

Our last day in Phnom Penh we decided we wanted to learn a little more about the recent history of Cambodia. There is an extensive history to lead to the events that happened just a little over 30 years ago. To give the short version, on April 17, 1975, Khmer Rouge soldiers came into the city of Phnom Penh evacuating over 2 million people at gun point. Within 3 days, Phnom Penh was a ghost town.

Pol Pot was a very disturbed man. From April 1975 until January 7, 1979 he killed an estimated 3 million people. Almost two million were tortured and killed and the others died of starvation. This was 20% of the Cambodian population! Anyone Pol Pot felt threatened by, he killed. This included members of the middle class and educated people such as teachers, police, military or people who wore glasses. He also killed their children because he was paranoid they would come back for revenge when they grew up. As time went on, he got even more paranoid, having some of his own soldiers and family beheaded and killed.

Pol Pot declared ‘Year Zero’ in 1975 and directs a ruthless program to “purify” Cambodian society of capitalism, Western culture, religion and all foreign influences in favor of an isolated and totally self-sufficient Maoist agrarian state. No opposition is tolerated.

Foreigners are expelled, embassies closed, and the currency abolished. Markets, schools, newspapers, religious practices and private property are outlawed.

This is really just touching on the history and I highly recommend googling it to learn more. I didn’t even know this happened until I visited Cambodia two years ago. You would never know it happened because the Cambodian people are so kind and welcoming. Such and amazing place with a very sad history. Most people have relatives they lost and still remember these horrible days.

The prison we visited was a school that was overtaken by Khmer Rouge when Phnom Penh was evacuated. Here they tortured and killed many. If they did not die during torture they were taken to the killing fields (this will be my next post).

The photo on the left is a skull with a bullet hole in the top of the head. Many times they would not just shoot people because bullets were expensive and they didn’t want to waste them. The photo on the right are some of the victims. They would take photos when they entered and photos when they were killed.

These are a few forms of torture and the devices they used. They would also rip off finger nails, beat, and electrocute them. There were only about 7 survivors from this torture prison and it was because they had skills that could be used.

More victims.

The buildings were covered with barbed wire so prisoners couldn’t jump off and commit suicide. They did this after one prisoner jumped from the third floor.

The cells where prisoners were shackled and kept.

Standing in the cell was surreal. Thinking of the people who were in here and died is almost incomprehensible. Blood stains can still be seen on the floor. The containers on the left were used as the bathroom.

This room still had the chalk board and what looks like nails for kids to hang their bags on.

Can’t even imagine what this was like when it was a prison…

Each room was numbered.

Shackles for multiple people.

One of the survivors from S21 sculpted these busts of Pol Pot.

This photo broke my heart. That baby would be 33 now.

One of the larger rooms where politicians or those higher up were held and tortured.

Three Days in Siem Reap, Cambodia

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:58:57 +0000

We are now heading into day four of our adventure through Cambodia and Vietnam. We decided this morning that we would head to Phnom Pehn for a few days. After that, we aren’t sure where our next stop will be.

The three days in Siem Reap have been amazing. I was here two years ago and Denise came last year. We both found our way here through Bobby Earle, a photographer who hosts photo trips called The Raddest Photo Trip Ever. When I came to Cambodia the first time, I knew I would come back. Luckily Denise felt the same way and we started planning a trip. We were lucky enough to be reunited with one of our tuk tuk drivers, Mr. Sith. He went beyond being a driver and I would consider him a friend now. It was really sad to say goodbye. He went along with us through most of our adventures and it was so nice having him there. If you ever head to Siem Reap, please contact me and I will give you his email address. Having a reliable, trust worthy tuk tuk driver makes a huge difference!

On the first day we headed to Angkor. I had been there before so I decided to leave my big camera at the guesthouse. I recently got a Canon G12 point and shoot and I have to say, it’s pretty amazing. All of these were shot with the G12…

The rest of these were taken with Denise’s 5D MarkII.

I love that I have pretty friends!

One of my favorites!

This little girl was the daughter of a woman cleaning the leaves around the ruins. She was a little camera shy but enjoyed seeing her image on the screen!

Humidity and my hair don’t go well together. Remember that episode of Friends where Monica’s hair goes crazy? Yeah, that’s me!

On our second day we headed out of town (a 2 hour tuk tuk ride) to see the most amazing temple ruins I’ve seen. I was jealous that Denise got to see these on her trip and I didn’t on mine, so we were sure to go. A two hour tuk tuk ride might not sound like too much fun but I love it as much as seeing the temples. We get to see more of the surrounding villages. While still in the city, we saw these three boys trying to cross a very busy street.

Mr. Sith stopped and got us some sticky rice while we ran across the street to take some random photos.

This little one doesn’t seem very happy but after a little candy, there were smiles.

This lady was so sweet and willing to let us take her photo. I was also able to give her an instax photo for her to keep.

Love this series of a wedding and the photographer that we happened to drive by…

The ruins of Beng Mealea…

These boys loved having their photos…

Mr. Sith goes beyond tuk tuk driver… he also helps us swing from branches.

We walked down a path looking for more ruins and came across these kids going for a swim. They were cracking up when we showed them these images.

I’m pretty sure they thought we were crazy foreigners but they loved getting their photos.

How crazy is this place?!?

Yes, she climbed through all of those ruins!

Seriously, how amazing is this!

Thanks to Denise for this one of me!

Love playing with crazy light…

This gives you an idea of how big this place was… and it’s just a small part of it!

On day three we didn’t have anything we HAD to do so we told Mr. Sith to take us anywhere. We started at a silk farm where they show you the process of making silk. They start with the silk worms and the cocoons.

Not quite sure what’s going on here… the guy explaining it didn’t have the best english, but she is basically pulling the silk off of the cocoon. They do this before the worms turn into moths.

Weaving the silk…

I don’t remember the name of this lake but is a manmade lake and a popular picnic location for the locals. There is a little island in the middle with a temple.

This has to be the coolest picnic area ever. They have their hammocks hanging and fishing poles ready to go. There were lots of laughs and it seemed as though they were enjoying their Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Sith got one of these and it looked good, I tried one too. It’s sticky rice with a banana in the middle wrapped in a banana leaf. SO good!

Wasn’t quite brave enough to try any of this.

Cutest kid ever. There are a lot of kids around begging for money. Of course, the temptation is to give it to them but it only encourages a cycle of begging and no education. Instead, I give them candy. I’m pretty sure I have contributed to the rotting teeth of some Cambodian kids but it always seems to bring a smile to their faces.

This is the mother with some of her children… she has 9 total. I’m carrying my instax camera and try to give a photo to most of the kids I shoot. Last time I came I felt bad that I was taking photos of so many people and not able to share them. It was nice to be able to give this mother a photo of her with some of her kids.

After the lake we headed to the old market. Here you can get anything from meat, motor cycle parts, home goods, silk and jewelry. You can even get your hair done!

If you are a vegetarian, I’m so sorry for posting this but it was already dead so what can you do? It’s kind of the reality here… meat is a big part of the diet and I guess that includes pig heads.

2011… Where Did You Go?

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:24:36 +0000

Seriously, where did this year go?? I feel like it went by even faster than last year. Actually I think it did, by a micro second or so after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It seems like this year was full of huge events that will be in future generations history books. From crazy weather, to international uprisings centered around social media to a war ending. I get AP news alerts on my iPhone and I don’t think I have ever gotten so many that made me say, “WOW”. Looking at my year, there were definitely some “news alert” moments. Organizing a trip to Haiti with multiple portrait projects had to have been the highlight of my year. A few years ago, I would have never pictured myself doing this. I guess once you see, you cannot forget. The more of the world I see, the more I want to do. It’s a dangerous but exciting cycle!

As for Richelle Dante Photography, this was by far the busiest year yet. If you follow me on Facebook, I’m sure you saw a bunch of status updates that had to do with me editing. I don’t think I have ever spent so much time behind a computer screen in my entire life! Luckily, I now have my assistant, Natalie, who helps with booking shoots and replying to emails in a timely manner. There were way too many emails I sent out this year that started with “sorry for the delay”. With a growing company, there have been lessons learned that will hopefully make 2012 even more successful!

I am so thankful for all my clients. Some have been coming to me for 3 or 4 years now and I have truly enjoyed watching their families grow! I seriously feel so blessed to get to work with such a nice group of people. You all make my job so much better and it makes all the hours I sit behind my computer worth it! I’m excited for next year… to continue seeing families grow and meeting new brides and grooms, and families.

For next year there will be a few new additions! DREAM sessions will be added (see my last post for more info). I’m so excited for these and for stretching my creativity even more. I’m also hoping to add more nationwide shoots… whether it is a wedding or a family/newborn shoot. I’ve had so many people say “if you were only closer”. Well, I love to travel and I love shooting in new places so I’m hoping I can make it happen in a way that is affordable for the client and me! There will also be more mini shoots, similar to the Santa shoot I recently did. Hopefully the first one will be in the Spring! To start off the new year, I will be heading to Cambodia and Vietnam. I’m looking forward for some downtime to think about the coming year. Details for the DREAM sessions and nationwide sessions will be announced in late January or February, depending on how bad my jet lag is.

Here is a recap of 2011. EVERY shoot from this year is in here including engagement, couple, weddings, weddings I second shot with friends, maternity, newborn, baby, family and my one senior. I hope you enjoy it! (PS, if I missed your shoot I didn’t mean to but I’m pretty sure every shoot is in here.)

Because I rarely post a photo of myself on here, this is the one I used for my Christmas card this year. If you didn’t get one, I only got about half of the cards out I was planning to send. Something else to work on for 2012. (Special thanks to Kim for the photo!)

DREAM Sessions :: Coming in 2012!

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:29:54 +0000

I’ve been dreaming of this idea since I started photography. I’ve never liked the ordinary and have always encouraged clients to go for something different. So, for 2012, I will be introducing DREAM sessions. It’s what I’ve dreamed of and I want it to be the session you’ve always dreamed you could have. Like when you see really cool styled shoots in magazines… that’s what I want your photos to look like! Why not? With the help of stylists, I will be offering these amazing shoots customized for you. It can be an engagement, baby or family shoot… really, any kind of shoot you can think of. I will still be offering regular shoots but if you want to go all out and have something that will make your friends jealous, you will want a DREAM session!

To give you an idea of what it could look like, here is a recent styled family shoot I did at the Salton Sea…

Peace…

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:53:19 +0000

More of this super unique, Salton Sea family shoot coming soon! For now, Avalon wishes for world peace.

Cari & Justin :: Married {Santa Barbara Wedding Photography}

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:20:23 +0000

I have so many beautiful weddings to post but since they are so long, I haven’t done a very good job keeping up. Hopefully when things calm down after the holidays, I’ll be able to share them all. I am excited that I get to share Justin and Cari’s wedding! Their wedding was the easiest wedding I shot all year. Mostly thanks to Donna of The Perfect Details and an amazingly calm and loving bride! Donna welcomed me to the venue by giving me some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Seriously, who does that? So thoughtful and sweet. If you are looking for a wedding planner I highly recommend The Perfect Details (they travel!). It made me even more excited to shoot Cari and Justin’s wedding and I had a yummy treat for the long drive home! Then, after getting the cookies, Cari greeted me with a hug and so much excitement to introduce me to her bridesmaids. To say the least, I felt very welcomed!

I met Cari and Justin a few years ago when I did a couples shoot for them. Cari told me then I would be shooting her wedding so I was so excited to hear the Justin proposed! I had so much fun with their engagement shoot, climbing rocks in freezing temperatures, I knew their wedding would be just as fun (and hopefully warmer). They were married at the University Club of Santa Barbara on a cloudy day in September. We shot their portraits at the nearby Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens and Courthouse.

This is a huge post, as they are a beautiful couple and Donna had so many amazing details I couldn’t leave any out!

Love all the colors in the table arrangements!

So many pretty details!

Love the something blue!

The invitation, designed by The Perfect Details, was probably the coolest invitation I’ve seen. On the inside of the box is a map of Cari and Justin’s journey together!

The bouquets were also really cool! Cari had all kinds of different orange flowers and each bridesmaid had one of those types of flowers in their bouquets.

A little wedding day Madlibs… of course!

I might have had a little too much fun with the antlers…

Gorgeous, inside and out!

Such a fun group of girls!

Cari’s sister is pregnant so of course we had to show off the bump!

Best. First. Look. Ever!

Cari’s face says it all…

I always have fun with the groomsman shots…

Umm, yeah, beautiful couple!

Love this one!

We headed over to the Santa Barbara Courthouse for a few more shots…

One of my favorites!

Loved their ride!

Every couple should look this excited when getting married…

I hope I am as excited when I get married as Cari was when they were pronounced husband and wife! Seriously, how sweet is this?!?

First dance…

Love this…

One single guy= easy win for the garter toss!

Cari and Justin, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your beautiful day! I’m so, so glad I was there to witness such a sweet, beautiful love! I can’t wait to take your family portraits.

Donna, thank you for making their wedding even more fun to shoot. You were a pleasure to work with and hopefully we will meet again in 2012!!