Dana and Jeff Archives – Page 7 of 10

The Happiest Place on Earth…

On Thursday night, Jeff surprised and said he made plans for us to go to Disneyland on Saturday. I was having a bit of a down day, so he thought he would cheer me up…what a nice guy. We have been working a lot lately, so it was nice to just have fun! We didn’t get out there until about two o’clock and stayed until around nine…at that point my feet hurt and we were both exhausted. How did we do it as a kid? I guess the real question is how did our parents do it when we asked them to get us there when it opened and stay until it closed! Pure torture I say for our folks, they must of really loved us!

We had a fabulous day, rides, food & photos…who could ask for more!

The Happiest Place on Earth…Dana Sipper2011-04-26T16:51:52-07:00

Friday Happy Hour Shot!

Well we made it…Friday is winding down and our exciting weekends are about to come upon us! Anybody have anything fun planned? The hubby surprised me last night and said he is taking me to Disneyland tomorrow, thought he would plan something fun for us to do! I felt like a little kid about to go on Spring Break and we are going to Disney…ahhh my childhood memories are rushing back!

A little shot for you that I took last weekend at The Grove at the L.A Farmer’s Market, since we are approaching Happy Hour. I love the sign & lights at night, such a great mood!

Have a great weekend!

J+D

Friday Happy Hour Shot!Dana Sipper2010-11-28T21:34:54-08:00

Happy Birthday Max!

Happy Monday to everyone…it is a special Monday for us! Today is our dog Max’s birthday, he is 5 years old today! I don’t know if you all know the story of how we got Max…well a while back Jeff & I decided we wanted a dog. I guess we were gonna try a dog before kids or something like that! Anyway, we started to visit the local Pound here in Orange and on one day in October of 2004 we met Max. Jeff & I decided on a small dog since we live in a townhome with no yard…this was our second trip and we didn’t see a dog that connected with us, so we were on our way out. Just as we were leaving the gates and there was Max and his sister, a wiener dog who were both going to be given up for adoption. The lady asked the two of us if we were looking for a dog, both of us said “Yes”! Jeff immediately knelt down and took to Max right away! Max’s previous owner had an ill mother in Europe and was going to have to take off for several months to care for her, she had no one who could take two dogs, so was going to give them up. I thought the weiner dog was a good size, but Jeff really liked Max! He was happy, scruffy and just plain cute. We decided that Max was our dog, so the lady just handed us his leash, she said he was fixed, had his shots and stuff and she would mail us all the paperwork. How lucky is that?

Jeff, me & Max walked back to the car, so excited to go home! We just loved our dog right from the start and he is still the best! He has such an easy-going personality, sleeps in with me, cuddles on the couch, just a great dog!

Here is a photo of him after his grooming on Friday…because everyone has to look good for their birthday! Max thanks his grammy, she got him his new look!

Happy Birthday Max!Dana Sipper2009-03-02T18:20:43-08:00

Where haven’t we been?

Hola Amigos!

It’s been a little while since we’ve posted a catch up post. We’ve kinda been all over since last Friday. Here’s how it went down…

Last Friday we took off to Palm Springs so that I could ride in the Tour de Palm Springs. It was a bit more challenging than I thought… that, or I’m in a little worse shape then I thought! Either way, we scored great weather, in between storms. It was about 40 degrees when I took off on what ended up being a 65 mile ride. I had planned on riding 100 miles, but was having some knee issues, and at mile 35, they had a bailout route to shorten the course up a bit. I took this route, and had a great time! The people that put on the ride, and all the people that volunteer did an amazing job. The rest stops were fully stocked with great food, and everyone seemed to be having a good time! While we were there, I did run into a couple people I talk to over on Twitter. Black Bottoms Cyclewear, and MotorTabs. I can’t say enough good things about both companies! Great products from both, and I dunno if I would have enjoyed my ride as much without the killer fleece vest, and the amazingly delicious MotorTabs drink!
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We dodged the bad weather, once again, as we drove out to Fabulous Las Vegas on Sunday morning for the WPPI. Dana used her lead foot, and we got out there in a little over 3 hours! The WPPI is the Wedding and Portrait photographers convention that takes place every year, and lemme tell you… it is AMAZING how many people show up for it. All the big name shooters in our industry were out there along with people from all over the world to check out the tradeshow, and all the latest and greatest in the world of wedding photography. I had just as much fun pointing out the big name guys as Dana had playing roulette!

When we arrived on Sunday, we met up with our friends Kylee and Franjo, who are getting married later this year, and wanted to get some engagement pictures. They decided to go all out, Franjo rented a bad ass James Bond style tux, and Kylee had a killer Calvin Klein dress on. Lemme tell you… their pics look super HOT! We’re working on them now, and will probably have a blog up early next week. Stay tuned!

Even better, during the shoot, our friends Kerry and David from CameraDojo came out and videotaped the whole shoot for fun! I’m hoping they got some good stuff, as it’s always fun to see how we look when we work! I think they are heading back from Vegas today, so we’ll talk to them later on to see what they got. They run a great website, and podcast with TONS of information for photographers of every level.
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We saw so many vendors and people we knew, either in real life, or online while we were out there. Finally nailed down an album company for our higher end albums, and found a couple great printers to work with. It’s so nice to work with great people, and great companies! It really makes me happy to be doing what we are doing!
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This weekend looks to be a little more laid back, but with a boudoir shoot on Sunday! Can’t wait for that, it should be lots of fun!

J+D

Where haven’t we been?sipperphoto2009-02-19T12:06:27-08:00

Weekly Wednesday

Hola Amigos!

What’s happening out there? It seems we’ve been slacking a bit with the Weekly Wednesday posts recently, and that needs to change! We’ve been crazy busy, meeting new people, taking great pictures, and generally, BUSY! Busy is GOOD, right? At least we’ve dropped some great picture posts lately!
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So, for those of you on Facebook (and face it, who ISN’T on Facebook anymore… even my mom is!) what do ya’ll think of the “25 things” posts that have been going on lately? I, for one, can’t seem to pull myself away from reading all of them. Even people on my Friend’s list that I’m not super close to. I get to find out all sorts of new things about them!

Even better than playing MyFarm!
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So, other than being super busy, I’ve been getting back on my bike, and riding pretty well. Rode a 43 mile ride with about 2200 feet of climbing last Sunday. I thought it was going to kick my butt, but I felt pretty good afterwards! I have the Tour de Palm Springs next Saturday… 100 miles, and not a ton of climbing. It should be a fun ride. A little bummed that my buddy, Tony, isn’t going to be riding with me this time. Tweaked his shoulder helping a woman change a tire. Next year!
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And speaking of Sunday… did you watch the Superbowl? Looks like my Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked it out, and beat that other team from AZ. Being a lifelong Steelers fan, it’s always nice to see them win!
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So, another cool thing happened this week. Over at CameraDojo.com, our friend Kerry, who hosts the weekly podcast gave us a little shoutout in an interview about using video with Vu Bui, of the Bui Bros. He mentioned our video that we posted about a month ago, and how it could be used as an example to show clients how we work. Of course, he made fun of my mad video skills, or lack thereof. No worries… Kerry is a cool guy, and, along with David Esquire, put on an educational, and entertaining Podcast. Great for photographers on any skill level! 🙂
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Geez, Jeff can just go on for days, can’t he? Love ya babe, but the wifey is here to put her two cents in! Well, I am sneaking in on this post to share with you a wedding vendor in which I met with a few weeks ago…busy meeting new people as Jeff said and an awesome person at that. I had the pleasure of meeting Rebecca Calagna of Rebecca Calagna Events, she specializes in Event Planning & Custom Party Designs. Rebecca and I chatted over lunch at Panera Bread about our two businesses and our personalities just meshed so well. She is totally talented and can help you with your wedding or special event in all facets including custom invitations & favors and such. All around Rebecca is a great girl, with a great style and I hope our two styles collide a lot in the next years as we work together.

Well, I think that is all for J+D this week! Happy Hump Day to you all!

Weekly Wednesdaysipperphoto2010-07-11T19:12:23-07:00

P.J.’s Abbey Downtown Orange, CA

Yesterday was my birthday so I spent most of the day doing things for me. I started with a haircut & color because every birthday needs a new do! I have spoke about Hair by Kylee before, she works at the W Salon in Laguna Hills, so if anyone needs a new hairstylist, she is the one. You can reach her at 949.433.1279. As I left for my appointment, I decided to grab the camera and promised myself to just take a photo today, not for work, just for pure art & pleasure.

Later I met up with my mother-in-law Bev for my birthday lunch at P.J.’s Abbey restaurant in downtown Orange. We had both been there before, in the old Victorian style church such a beautiful setting for a restaurant. The food was great and as we sat and ate, my eye wandered at all beauty of the wood furnishings & stained glass windows, so here is where I would take my photo of the day…a birthday present to myself! As the place cleared out from the lunch crowd my photo opt was perfect. As I was shooting one of the owner’s came out and greeted me, he was the nicest man and told me some history of the stained glass windows. They were dedicated on an Easter Sunday mass in the late 1800’s and they were just beautiful. Here are a few of the shots I graced my birthday with, may you find some artistic passion in them as I have. Thank you Bev, for a lovely lunch and suggesting such an amazing place and to PJ’s Abbey.

P.J.’s Abbey Downtown Orange, CADana Sipper2011-04-26T16:53:47-07:00

Promo video-First shot!

So a few weeks ago, I had a chance to go see the Bui Brothers speak about the importance of video on a website, and videoblogging in general. I love learning cool, new things, and the workshop was great!

When we rolled out to Chandler, AZ for Christmas, Dana’s sister and boyfriend wanted to have a few pictures done. Dana shot it, and I decided to mess around with video. I spent the rest of the weekend editing, adding music, tightening it up a bit. It’s the first video I’ve ever done, but I’m pretty happy with it… as are a few of the people we’ve shown it too. I need to work more on my technique, but I’m definitely going to be doing more in the future.

Take a look at let us know what ya think!

J+D

Promo video-First shot!sipperphoto2009-01-03T17:36:19-08:00

Favorites of 2008…looking forward to 2009!

Happy New Year!!! Hope everyone brought in 2009 with a smile on there face and a kiss on the cheek. New Year’s Eve rocked for the Sipper-Aguiar families as we welcomed our new niece into the world at 6:48pm. Emmi Victoria Aguiar was born 5.1 pounds, 18 1/2 inches. Congratulations to Andy & Jenn on becoming parents to a beautiful little girl and to Jeff’s parents on there 1st grandchild!

Jeff & I partied in up in New Orleans last year when we welcomed in 2008, but the first part of the year had its ups and downs. We seriously considered moving out of state and making a fresh start, but as the housing market took a plunge we decided it wasn’t the best time to sell our condo. So, it was time to just make a change here and with that came new friends, a thriving photo business & a new family member.

We are so looking forward to 2009, yes the economy is struggling, but what we do makes a difference! We share moments in peoples lives that are important, the dollar can be worth whatever we want it to be. When the gift of family, new life and sometimes even death are cherished, there is no dollar amount that can replace that! That is why Jeff & I do what we do because it just means something!

Our goal this year is to really grow Sipper Photography, we want to make more friends, more memories and just have fun! Our motto is Simple+Modern+Casual…we want our clients to just be themselves, have fun and we will do the rest. Once we decided who we wanted to be as a photography couple things just flourished. Jeff & I absolutely adore each other…we are easy-going people who just love each other and I firmly believe that comes out in our sessions.

We would love to work with many more fabulous people in 2009, so if you know anyone who is engaged, getting married, has a new baby, families or just because…we want you in front of our camera!

Today, we wish all of you a Happy & Prosperous New Year! Here we will share with you some of our favorites from 2008 and look forward to many more in the next year.

Much love & happiness,

J+D

With Us…it’s just fun! Simple+Modern+Casual with J+D…we look forward to 2009 with you!

Favorites of 2008…looking forward to 2009!Dana Sipper2009-01-28T22:37:28-08:00

Weekly Wednesday- New Year’s Eve Edition!

With 2009 fast approaching, I am starting to reflect on the last year and what I want to accomplish in the New Year. Time is just flying by so quickly and there is little time to waste. Jeff & I are very blessed to have each other. We have many friends & family who we absolutely adore. We spent last week with both of our families over Christmas and each year we just love them more.

On Monday, Jeff celebrated his 34th birthday! Hubby received many birthday wishes on Facebook, he really didn’t think he was that popular, but happiness just kept rolling in. We went to dinner at the Clubhouse Restaurant in Costa Mesa. In the spirit of our trip last year to New Orleans for his birthday he ordered Jambalaya. We didn’t have the same company as last year when Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Shiloh sat at the table right behind us at a Irene’s Italian Restaurant in the French Quarter. That was a night to remember! The food was great though and the wine we brought was even better.

Here are a few photos from our birthday date…

Awesome wine we had with dinner…check them out at Silver Horse Winery

We are excited today for the birth of Emmi Victoria Aguiar…my sister-in-law is at the hospital now as we blog. She is supposed to come today per Jenn’s doctors, so we wait. As soon as we hear something we will let all of you know!

Well, we wish all of you a Happy & Safe New Year’s Eve and come back tomorrow because we will be blogging our Top 10 photos we took this year!

J+D

Weekly Wednesday- New Year’s Eve Edition!Dana Sipper2008-12-31T15:13:08-08:00

Weekly Wednesday-Christmas card style!

Ok.. yeah.. I know. It’s Thursday, not Wednesday. We both got a little busy this week, and I just didn’t get around to writing it on Wednesday like I usually do.

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So, how was everyone’s Thanksgiving? Ours was pretty good. Spent the day with my family, tossing rolls, eating turkey, and watching the three worst football games I think I’ve ever seen. Not a competitive one in the bunch. I’m not a huge football fan, but I at least like the games to be good!

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It’s hard to believe that Christmas is only a few weeks away. I think Dana and I are nearly done with our Christmas shopping. This year has pretty much flown by, as the years seem to do!

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So did you get our new Holiday card yet? We only had a limited number this year to send out this year, and hope to make a special card each year to send out. This year’s card was designed by Dana’s friend Melly, and we are super stoked with the way it came out! Check it out and let us know what ya think…

The front of the card

The inside left.

The inside right.

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Keep in eye out for new Family Christmas Sessions we’ve done the past couple weeks. We’ve been pretty busy working with great families, and hope to start showing them soon! 🙂

J+D

Weekly Wednesday-Christmas card style!sipperphoto2008-12-04T10:29:03-08:00