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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Two generations: Mother & Daughter

I had the pleasure of spending the day with this wonderful Mother-Daughter team a few days ago. We went out to the Christmas Carnival for a fun portrait session that reflects their personalities. Hanging out with kids really does keep one young!

These images represent the fun vibe they gave off throughout the day's session!!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Holidays are officially here!

Hope everyone (in the US) had a great Thanksgiving, with their fill of Pumpkin Pie and Turkey. Yes, in that order one must never save dessert for last. :-)
During the busy holiday season don't forget to stop and remember why we celebrate. If for no other reason than to be with loved ones. And on that note... I would like to let everyone know I have a few days left, during this season when it's dreadful to go out into the crowds I will be doing Photo shoots in your home; by your tree, in your yard, in the baby's room. Drop me a note if you would like to book a shoot!

Enjoy the holidays and stop to have a nice cup of coffee, cocoa or tea.

Monday, November 5, 2007

BOO!


Halloween is the day kids break all the rules we've ground into their heads since birth-
Don't talk to strangers!
Don't take candy from strangers!

he he

Just a couple of pictures from a hard day at work. Ok not really - this is from our annual Trick or Treat around the office.






Friday, November 2, 2007

A & J; 10 years later.....

...decided to go a back to the location where their engagement photos were taken- Natural Bridges. (not by me- although I was at the wedding), to do their first official family portrait with their 10 month baby girl.
I was very honored to get a call from a longtime friend asking me to do this very special portrait session for them. After much planning the day finally arrived! I was very nervous, what if the beautiful weather was a facade and over the hill it was muggy cold very overcast. Or worse what if the sun was shining soooo hard that all the pictures would be blown out??!!

Upon arrival to Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz CA I let out a deep sigh- the weather was perfect, a bit chilly but only by California standards. ;-) and by baby standards as the little one found it a bit cold and shivered through a few shots before being wrapped in a blanket. She was a complete trooper and a joy to shot. I even had the joy of watching ( and photographing) as she discovered sand and its texture!! well enough of my blabbing..see for yourselves.



Many thanks guys! Can't wait to do it again!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Mexico

After much planning, canceling, re-planning, & re-canceling I finally made it to Mexico.
A quick stop in Mexico City allowed for some quality time with family and a visit to "La Casa Azul", where the Soul of Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera still find their way. It was amazing to see some pieces I had never seen before, rough sketches from both Frida & Diego. As well as many of the iconic pieces seen over and over again.

My main reason for the trip was to visit a couple of towns within the state of Guanajuato, including the capitol which has the same name. The city of Guanajuato is AWESOME!! Lucky me to get to go back during a world famous festival: Cervantino.

Unfortunately my trip was a bit whirlwind and very short. However I was able to scout some lovely locations-- If anyone is planning a wedding in Mexico this is a great location!!! And of course I'm available for international travel to shoot a wedding or a family vacation!!!

Here are some of the images from this wonderful country. Specifically from the state of Guanajuato.




For more images check my flickr collection of Mexico images.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Two Firsts all Rolled into One

I've been meaning to start a blog, as many ppl ask what I'm up to. Well here it is and what better way than with my First ever PreNatal shoot.

This was a split shoot between the couple's beautiful home located in Capitola, CA and on the beach as the sun was setting. The weather was perfect and we were lucky to have the most amazing sunset ever! See for yourself...



The mother to be was glowing during the whole session (it was a long one) and was quite the trooper! She was even started to get into a yoga position that is a bit of a make shift table - but I stopped her- i'm not ready to deliver a baby quite yet.. Plus I would have too hard of a time deciding if I should catch the baby or shoot it as it comes out-- With my camera of course! ;)

Here are a few more beautiful images from the session..

Dad was on hand too..

For now I leave you with this wonderful silouette...

Thanks to the parents for entrusting me to Immortalize this Time
and best wishes!!!!

-MM




Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Raves!

This is what people have to say about me. I have composed this list from comments left throughout my blog, sent to me in email & found online.

Thank you all for your Love. I am blessed!

-Mariana


Mariana is awesome! We were very luck to have Mariana for our wedding photographer, and she was amazing. For starters she is just a great person to have around all day at your event, she is fun, personable, makes everyone feel very relaxed and she is always professional all at the same time. She was able to get everyone to cooperate and also able to get all the group pictures done quickly while also getting great shots. The end product was really amazing all her pictures were great and really captured the emotion of the day. We couldn't have been happier with her as our photographer, and her second shooter is also great. We have so many great pictures to choose from, it will be difficult to narrow done our final product. Some friends at the wedding liked her so much they have already booked her to do family portraits.

-Amy M


So I was totally nervous at first. I have always been curious about taking some sexy photos for my long time love. He has always been the most supportive person in my life, loving me unconditionally, and making me feel beautiful no matter what I look like. I wanted to capture that, the way I feel when he looks at me...not the way I feel when I look in a full length mirror on a typical day. So the question was who do I trust to do something like that, someone who has that eye to see what I am feeling, someone to make me feel comfortable enough to show more than I normally show, and someone who is discrete....Why that would be Mari. I have known Mari for a few years, I have seen her work and have always been a fan, she is fun to hang out with and is not afraid to voice her opinion creatively. When all was said and done it was the best experience I have ever had...and the results were sooooo fabulous. They were tasteful, sexy yet discrete enough I was able to share them with my mom. Oh and my husband....he liked them too.

Mrs. F

"Mariana captures the moment like a true eye according to life. Her creative work shares her gift back to the community, family and friends. Thank you Mariana for your talent of photography!"
-Randy

"Mari did photographs of our newborn son, and did a fantastic job! Working with a small, anxious infant and equally neurotic parents is not an easy thing, but she did it with so much humor and such great tact that made the whole experience go very smoothly, the increasingly skeptical baby not withstanding. Her photography is creative and has a lot of charm and whimsy to it; it has an almost (for lack of a better word) journalistic quality to it that seems to narrate a story, rather than the kind of "stock images in artificial poses" style that you can see anywhere. She's a fun, engaging person with an equally fun, engaging viewpoint. We heartily recommend her!"
-Yuhri & Yan

"Talk about one fun shoot. Mari is awesome a true professional photographer. She made myself and my husband very comfortable during our spunky bridal shoot. I definitely recommend her; so if you want quality work and a really comfortable environment for your shoot please make sure to hire Mariana Maya Photography you will not regret it."
-Tina


If there was an option for 1 million stars that's what I would give her, She is the BEST Photographer ever! You couldn't ask for anyone better. Her work is flawless! You will extremely pleased and you will want to share your photos of her work with everyone. Amazing, Amazing!! I Highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a great photographer.

-Caroline

Monday, October 1, 2007

Gift Registry & Cards

Wedding-New Arrival- Graduation- Just Because

Are you stumped what to give that special someone who already has everything? Now you can give them a gift that will last generations. The gift of photography.

Gift cards are available and may be purchased below directly from me. If you would rather choose a specific gift please send me an email to receive a quote. I am also happy to meet with you to show you products to choose from.

Photography gift cards can be used towards sessions, products and for wedding couples to upgrade any existing Wedding Photography package or towards products!

You will receive a gift card in the mail, if you would like the card shipped directly to the recipient please reply to your confirmation email and let me know!

Thank you,

Mariana


Gift Certificate
Your First & Last Name

Your email address


Click here to proceed to secure check via PayPal



Thank you for your Purchase!

Thank you for your gift card purchase!

You will receive a email confirmation within 24 hours.

Mariana

Who am I ?

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by.

This is where I am supposed to tell you all the great things that qualify me as a photographer worthy enough to create beautiful fun images for you.

I could tell you that I am an award winning photographer with work in a museum and that my work has been shown in galleries in Chelsea, New York. I could also tell you that I was recently accepted in to the WPJA (Wedding Photojouranlistic Association) and am now a member. I would then go on to also tell you that if you are looking for me to work on a commercial project, I have collaborated on a couple of albums which are being distributed by independent record labels. This would all lead up to me listing all the years of formal photography education I have received.

Although all those things are true, I don't think any of that matters if my images don't grab you. If when you look through my wedding and lifestyle photography you feel nothing, then none of my qualifications matter to you because after all photography is about emotion and memories.

What I will tell you about myself is:

-Hablo español! Yes I can speak to your great grandmother in fluent Spanish or any other person who would like to chat in Spanish.
-Photography truly is my passion. It's such a cliché but it's true.
-I love being around people. Everyone is unique and crazy - in a good way.
-My photography style is ... well I don't really classify it.
-When you are in front of my camera expect to laugh a lot. I'm pretty goofy and the most random stuff spills out of my mouth.
-I love Polaroid cameras & Holgas. Film is not dead!
-I cannot live without lip gloss & coffee. Strange combo huh?

If there is anything else you would like to know- drop me a note, or leave a comment on my blog.


Photobucket

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Thank you!

Thank you for visiting my page and contacting me! I will reply to your inquiry within 24 hours, many times sooner!

Mariana

This session is booked.

Thank you for your interest! Unfortunately this session time is booked. Please try another time or if there is nothing else available, send me a note if you would like to receive advance notice next time I will be running a special.

Best,

Mariana



Your Name :
Your Email :
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Image (case-sensitive):

Contact me!

Based out of Silicon Valley, California armed with an international passport!

Email: info@marianamaya.com

Phone: 408.916.3474

Thanks for your interest!

I look forward to working with you!

I'ld love to hear from you!

Your Name :
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Subject :
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Image (case-sensitive):

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Thank you!

Thank you for purchasing a session! I will email you to confirm a date and time.

Happy Holidays!

-Mariana

Sold out!

I'm sorry this special deal is sold out.