Hello Internet,

I know I have been away for so long. Life has been bananas, both personally and with work, but I promise you my camera has not stopped clicking since we last talked 😉  I have so much I am dying to share, and I’m hoping that once I complete this flurry of editing I will finally get to reacquaint myself with you and share all the incredible moments and beautiful people I’ve had the chance to photograph over the past months. In the meantime, I hope you’ll check my Facebook Photography Page to catch a glimpse of all the amazingness that has come my way as of late … talk soon xoxo

Warmly,
MarieSam

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The past couple months have been a series of marathons and 100-meter dashes, life has been non-stop. Work wise, I have been inundated with some of the biggest stories I’ve ever covered in my career as a journalist — i.e. camping out in front of a controversial filmmaker’s house, waiting to catch a glimpse of him for 3 days. Yep, 5 hours of sleep in 3 days does crazy things to your body and mind. But the good thing was, I got THE SHOT and Tommy got THE VIDEO!!! I will eventually share this landmark point in my career on the blog ~ they are images and video that only a handful of people in this world captured, and we are proud to be among them — even had our stuff featured on the Huffington Post homepage *WOOT WOOT* But more on this later …

Lately, my work as a photographer + journalist have never worked so beautifully together and this excites me to no end. Since I was a little girl, I have always been enamored with the power of the written word and striking impact of images and video. So I guess it was only natural that I become a news reporter and as of two years ago, a photographer as well. Both worlds have given me so much and taught me so much about the human spirit and fragility + beauty of life.

A few weeks ago, one of my colleagues, the very talented journalist Paige Austin, reached out to me asking if I could do a quick engagement session with a very special couple to accompany a story she was writing. But this couple was no ordinary pair … they happen to be two people who found each other in the aftermath of the Seal Beach Shooting Massacre of 2011. Their union is a story of hope and faith derived from tragedy, they saved each other — proving that love is louder than anything. Here’s a link to their beautiful story written so eloquently by my friend Paige … it’s actually featured on the news site that I manage — Cerritos-Artesia Patch — yep you’ll see I’m the editor of the site on the top left corner 🙂 And of course, the photos attached to this article are by yours truly and Tommy …

I hope you’ll take a moment to read how these two souls found each other … it is amazing + inspiring and you will walk away with a newfound appreciation of how incredible life and love can be, even during the darkest moments of despair. The best part, these two will be sharing their vows this Saturday in a small ceremony in Seal Beach and we truly could not be happier for them. 

And because a post is not a post without photos, here are a few of our favorite images from their impromptu 15-minute session on the shores of Seal Beach …

Best wishes to you Doug + Tammy ~ we know this is just the beginning of your love story. Thank you for showing everyone that love conquers all …