Road Trip + Lights

this past weekend has been a whirlwind. alec and i drove down to LA so i could attend the light & fast seminar, visit his aunt and go to universal studio. and it rained pretty much the whole weekend. the one week out of the year in LA it rains is when we drive down. by the time we'd gotten back home we'd clocked 910 miles. alec was a champ and drove the whole trip!

the light & fast seminar was a good time! the day was spent learning about studio lighting gear and techniques by john and jules' guerilla style lighting on location. the mixture was balanced and there was lots to learn. i'm going to rent a set up this week and try out some new things.

later that night we headed to alec's aunt's house for dinner. it was good to visit with her since the last time we saw her was at our wedding. the next day we went to universal studio... my first time ever going. thanks to the rain it kept away most people so the place wasn't crowded. no lines. it was the best!

jules and i at the end of the day

we brought along the point and shoot for the universal studio experience.

the back lot tour









3-D rides



driving in LA



crossing the grapevine

Hot Tamales!

my mom came to san francisco this weekend and we made tamales! julia, marissa and little gigi came over for the tamale party too. marissa had all the mad tamale masa spreading skills. our tamales weren't heavy on the masa, just a thin layer so we could add more filling. we kept it simple with two types - mushroom & onion with cheese and chicken.

we steamed about 30 and set aside a bunch to freeze to eat later. they were the perfect size to eat with one hand. instead of adding the usual salsa to the tamales i whipped up some cilantro-lime crema. they turned out delicious!

if you live in SF then you know about the tamale lady... she always shows up at some mission bar just when you need it. love her!


cilantro-lime crema recipe:
1/2c sour cream
2tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (1-1 1/2 limes)
1/4tsp finely minced lime zest
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp hot sauce

Whisk together the sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, zest, salt and hot pepper sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Let stand at room temperature for 30 mins. to allow the favors to develop. Serve drizzled over tamales. Enjoy!!

mushroom filling

chicken filling







cilantro-lime crema



spreading the masa







ready for the filling



into the steamer



all done!

Fresh Look

the blog got a new make-over by the talented jessica at cuppycake designs. what do you think?

if you're looking to for a new look or to spruce up your blog head over to her site. she has lots of ideas and is cool to work with. besides her kick ass designing skills looks like she can make a mean cupcake.

Happy Birthday Alec

today is alec's birthday!

when we woke up i whispered "happy birthday" to him. he peeled open his eyes, did a fake cough and said "i'm old". he cracks me up.

i left early this morning to get him some breakfast... bagel with cream cheese, onion and tomato. he also opened up one of his presents in bed. new shoes!

lucky guy has the day off work so he's going with two buddies to play golf. later he's meeting me at 6 to go out to dinner then to the studio screening of cloverfield. the studio i work at did the monster effects shots which looks awesome! i've seen our work over and over but i can't wait to see the final film. it's getting some great reviews. for his birthday dessert i'm picking up a variety of yummy cupcakes.

this sunday his band is playing at annie's social club so they'll be doing a joint birthday celebration for him and his friend josh.

**side note** tomorrow will be six years since alec and i first met. my friend, christina, was dating one of his friends at the time. i met up with them two at a bar then we left to go meet a friend of his who just celebrated his birthday. the rest is history.

i love you!

in bed with his new shoes

Macworld 2008

today i'm at macworld. wow. i'm haning out at "blogging lounge" with the fancy couches and chairs so people can chill out. a nice time to take a break.

this year the new "thintastic" apple macbook air has been unveiled. it's pretty slick looking! i love how each year apple has their new products displayed. last year they had the iphone encased in a glass half dome display. everyone surrounded it taking pictures. this year the new macbook is strung up on a vertical wire with about 5 dangling. and everyone is snapping pictures with their iphones.

the best thing i've seen so far is an old turquoise imac gutted and turned on it's back and used as a trash can. another way to use that old technology.

time to go.

Cute & Simple cards

check out these cute photo cards we got this holiday. i love the simplicity of them both. it makes me happy to see the photos i snapped used in a creative way for the holidays!!

ryan, my step brother, got married to stephanie in september. the wedding was sweet and lots of fun! ryan asked me to work their polaroid guest book which was action packed. i knew ryan's side of the family but it was a fun way to meet most of stephanie's family. some of their guests took more convincing than others but i think i got most everyone in the book. ryan took polaroids at our wedding and put the guest book together for everyone to sign (it turned out fabulous!!). it was my turn to return the favor. not only did i have my polaroid camera on my shoulder i also had my DSLR and wine in the other hand. i got some really fun pictures that night. here's one i snapped of them towards the end of the night. i'm so happy to see they used it for their holiday cards!

towards the end of november i shot marion and her family at their house. i love how she used the photos to create this cute family card. i think each picture shows the kids personality.

Sweet Family shoot

Thanks to everyone who's sent me emails & phone calls about the new website! Your encouragements and kind words mean so much!!

At the end of October I went to Sacramento to shoot my best friend, Christina, and her family for their christmas cards. The plan was to shoot at their new house to get some fun, cute family shots and to show off how big the baby is getting. I thought about shooting in the street... maybe move the couch or chairs in the middle of the road. Instead of the couch we went with the bench on the front patio. The look on Dereald's face was hilarious when I told him my plan to shoot in the street. Just work with me here.

After about 20 minutes I knew we got some good stuff to use so we wrapped it up. Besides, Christina had to hurry off to open the bar. She and her brother own the Elixir Bar (also just voted by SN&R as the Best Dive Bar) in downtown Sacramento. After she left Dereald changed the baby's clothes and he put on a different outfit too. The plan was to get some daddy and baby shots to surprise Christina. When she opened her gift and found the framed photos she teared up. It was so sweet.

I'm so happy that I could do something like this for a friend who has done so much for me over the years.

If you are interested in having save the date/thank you/greeting cards made just let me know.


the front of their card - printed on a 5x7 folding card

Dad & baby Zeke







i love his chubby cheeks!





Dereald getting all kung fu moving the bench into the street

New Website!

i'm so happy to announce that my new Jennifer Longaway Photography website is live! the website showcases my wedding and lifestyle portrait photography. and while i was at it i added a new header for the blog.

nothing like a fresh new look for a new year. 2008 should be pretty exciting. this is just the beginning for me as i pursue this photography adventure. thanks to my family, friends and especially to alec.

take a look and let me know what you think!

Cheers to 2008