Jen and I met Sara last January. We attended a bridal faire at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland, and she and her mom perused by once or twice. We hit it off quickly, and I had a good feeling.
Long story short, a few weeks ago we started plans for a time to meet. Eric, her fiancé, joined us for a cup o’ tea and a little portfolio review. Some days later I got a call that I was hoping for, and pretty soon after, we headed down to Santa Cruz’s Boardwalk for an engagement session.
Legs dangling.
The boardwalk is such a great place to photograph due to all the colors, action, and perspectives. Plus, you can grab a Deep Fried Twinkie whenever your heart desires. Unless, um, your heart seizes up from too many said Twinkies. So grab your snack of choice, take a minute, and browse for a bit.
The start of the day's fun.
It's all fun and games, till you lose horribly at Dance Dance Revolution.
Cruisin'
Girls, we'll just never get over PDA. It's one of those things.
Wanted?
These two really are a bunch of clowns. Ohhhhhh! I just couldn't resist! (Horrible, I know)
And the wind up...
A few teeth down, but not enough.
When you go to the amusement park, you just have to play Skee Ball. It’s a given. And just doing this brings out the child, and the competitive side in all of us. Eric went for the big money ball in the upper corner. Sara played in more conservatively. Who would win?
Visualizing
Rollin'
Trash talkin'
Sara’s up…
Notice the little red ball about to go in the hole.
Sara's Bounty
Defeated.
Sara was graceful in her victory, and gave her tickets away to a little girl watching the action. She received the gift with great joy, and I am sure the 20 tickets, added to her already substantial handful, would almost certainly get her a Boardwalk Pencil or the like.
Carousel Time!
Excitement!
There was time for a few more rides.
Giant Dipper - Jostling
At the peak, just before the ride stopped and the angry man came over the loudspeaker to tell me to put away the camera. Ooops. Always beg for forgiveness. Asking gets you nowhere.
Over to the beach...
Eric - showin' the love.
We headed back up to Sara's old neighborhood.
Don't be a square!
That's better.
Main and First.
Middle of the road.
Right about here, our light started to fade, and the fog rolled in. We headed out to the pier and made the most of it. But I gotta tell you, crispy chicken tacos were sounding really good at that point.
Last shot of the day. Zero light, but a shoot-thru umbrella saves the day again. For the camera nerds - ISO 1000, 145mm f/4 @ 1/20 sec. Gelled full CTO (Color temperature Orange) to balance against the very blue white-balance setting.
Eric and Sara, once again, it was a pleasure. Thanks for your patience, willingness, and amazing skee ball skills. I can’t wait for the wedding at Stanford… gonna be magic.
See you down the road.
-Todd
TODD PARSONS PHOTOGRAPHY 
These shots are great! What a beautiful couple – I love the colors of the boardwalk and all the street and beach shots as well…congrats to couple and photographer alike!
nice action shots utilizing the rides and games….. final low/no light shot was spot on. The wedding looks like it will be a fun one………… nice work!
beautiful shots todd! love this series
Thanks everyone! The day seemed to go by in a flash (no pun intended). Sara and Eric were great to work with, and a beach boardwalk is always a great place for some photos.
Thanks again for the love!