Here's us photographing some of the fantastic folks attending the Alzheimer’s Family Services Center's 11th Annual Gathering of Friends held recently at the beautiful Huntington Beach Hilton. The images of us in this blog post were taken by Stan Sholik, the event photographer for this event.
We were honored to be invited there to take photographs of many of the couples and families attending. As you can see, the AFSC set up a backdrop to go along with their theme of a "Garden Paradise." We brought in our lights and camera equipment and went to work (or should I say, "Play!")!
One of the beautiful folks we were honored to photograph was Dr. Cordula Dick-Muehlke, Executive Director of the center. She is undeniably dedicated to the well-being of her participants, helping them to age successfully in the context of Alzheimer's Disease and other dementia. She is such an extraordinary person and has touched countless lives doing what she does. What a beautiful soul!
Our team was fantastic - thank you, Hayley, Adam and Dave! They were also excited to be there, helping others, and helping everything to run smoothly. We could not have done it without them. We photographed over 60 groups of people during the two hour cocktail hour. So many warm, friendly and simply wonderful people - what a joy!
A little bit about the organization: Alzheimer’s Family Services Center is one of the most inspiring nonprofit organizations we love to support. AFSC is located in Huntington Beach, California and offers a warm and welcoming environment where people living with Alzheimer's and other dementia are able to spend each day. The people who run this organization (many of which are volunteers!) are absolutely phenomenal. They are gracious and so devoted to helping make their participants' lives as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. It truly brought me to tears, seeing how dedicated they are to their members.
Here's Prasad working with several of the AFSC staff:
After cocktail hour was over and our job was finished, we attended the elegant dinner where the organization honored their "Participant of the Year," honoring her with a slideshow and her beautiful story. We were all brought to tears, it was such a lovely and moving story. It really brought home the fact that most people with Alzheimer's and other such illnesses are normal, often brilliant people who can no longer function as they once did. AFSC is the only Alzheimer's Day Care Resource Center in Orange County, and many people we've spoken to about this have expressed their wish that they had such a place in their area, with its state-of-the art facility, expert staff, and programs based on the latest research.
Everyone we met was just phenomenal and we are honored to have worked with them!
We have the best job in the world. We get to spend time with and learn about beautiful, intelligent and amazing people. The Squire family is that and more.
We met Jason Squire years ago, but became quite close to him and his family after he performed as the DJ at our wedding ceremony in 2005. He and his beautiful wife, Roni, are the artists and entertainment behind Squire Productions, a mobile DJ entertainment company they started 12 years ago. They are the most amazing DJs and entertainers out there.
As if they weren’t perfect enough, they have four incredible children in their brood. Natasha, Natalie, Jaron and Renee were so enchanting – chasing bubbles in our backyard studio, laughing, enjoying each other’s company, and making it so easy for us to work with them!
Jason and Roni, who still act like newlyweds, were also wonderful to photograph, when we could get Jason’s phone away from him long enough to snap a photo! We only had to confiscate it once. As you can see, it was well worth it!
We so enjoyed our time with the Squire family. With such beautiful faces on everyone in that family, it would be impossible not to get some amazing shots! What a blessing to have them as part of our extended family!
Her bat mitzvah is one of the most auspicious events of a young Jewish girl's life. It is always an honor to photograph this very special coming-of-age ceremony, and none more so than our dear friend Lurae's. Lurae came into our lives when she was just two. As the years passed, watching her lead the charge around the cul-de-sac, bouncing blonde curls flying, was always a joy to watch.
Lurae's mom (Randi) was a single mother who had fostered ten other children. When Lurae came into her life, it was love at first sight, and she formally adopted the child. What a wonderful life changing occurrence for both of them! In fact, Randi's experiences as a foster mom inspired her to found a nonprofit organization, Education for Successful Parenting (www.eduparents.org<http://www.eduparents.org/> ).
Look at Lurae now! A young woman, surrounded by love, dancing with joy!
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Lurae's bat mitzvah ceremony took place at the Temple Shir Ha-Ma’alot in Irvine where she read the Torah and led part of the prayer service. Her grandparents came all the way from the east coast to witness the event, and many friends and family members attended - including Lurae's foster brothers and sisters - most of whom are grown now! How wonderful to see everyone together, celebrating this wonderful occasion.
After completion of the ceremony, it was time to hoist Lurae into a chair and take her into the reception room which was decorated as a jungle, wild animals and all (well, stuffed ones anyway)!
The food and decorating was provided by Solomon’s Bakery who kept that jungle theme going, including making a wild jungle cake!
The festivities were emceed by Chris Ledezma, a fantastic DJ from CD Players Entertainment. He came up with so many crazy and fun games, we secretly think he must be a kid himself! He even got the adults into the mood, playing games, joining the conga lines, and dancing along with the kids. Super entertainment by an amazing pro!
After the bat mitzvah, we invited mother and daughter to come to our studio to view a slideshow of their event set to music. They were both brought to tears and told us we had “...given [her] a gift [she] could never repay." In truth, it is our clients who give us the gift - the opportunity of being a part of their lives and sharing their special moments. That is exactly why we do what we do. And we love every minute of it.
