Christopher Cooke Photography » Portraits

Jennifer & Jake :: Anniversary :: Balboa Park, San Diego Portrait Photography

cmcadmin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:32:06 +0000

This last shot pretty much sums it all up! LOL

Dennis Statewright :: The Corner Dancing Guy In Suisun City :: Suisun City Portrait Photographer

cmcadmin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:49:04 +0000

If you have ever driven through Suisun on Highway 12 you most likely have seen Dennis. He has become a local icon/celebrity/destination. He is a sign spinner and he knows how to get peoples attention!! When my wife and I moved to Suisun about 3 years ago we got to experience Dennis’ talents on the corner of Highway 12 and Sunset Ave. Over these past years we have seen him work for several local businesses and watch him come out of his shell a little more each day. Now you will see him full on dancing on the corner!! He works the sign too, but he puts on a show! Splits, high kicks, waving, blowing kisses and everything in between.

About 2 months ago my wife decided to make a fan page for him on facebook (Click here) mostly as an innocent way to show support for a person who we didn’t even know. Within 2 weeks the site exploded!! Going from 30+ to over 1000 in a matter of days! Friends we telling friends and it became Solano county’s viral site. It got press from local websites like Suisun City Patch, and has even influenced some satire sites ( you know you have made it when people are doing satire!!). Well local wasnt good enough, we wanted to share our phenomenon with more than Solano County. My wife got in touch with Kristin Marshall from KCRA in Sacramento and told her about Dennis. The story was pitched and was given a green light! Now with almost 1700 fans Dennis’ story has been shared with all of Northern California!!

In all of these events we have got to know Dennis pretty well. He originally was thinking of going to the Academy of Art in San Francisco to pursue a career in film, but he has now decided to go down south to be in the middle of the industry in LA to study. Last week I did a portrait session with Dennis and had a blast! Getting to know him more and helping him get some photos to share with his ever growing fan base. Not only has Dennis gained local fame but he has proven to be a great motivator. A scholarship is in the works for Dennis and it is going to be the first one given out by the Solano Arts & Music Foundation, a non-profit organization being developed by my wife to help out students in Solano County follow their creative dreams!

Good luck Dennis in all your endeavors!! If you would like more information on the Solano Arts & Music Foundation please visit the Facebook page HERE

Taylor :: Aspiring Musician :: Santa Rosa Portrait Photography

cmcadmin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:14:10 +0000

I met Taylor last year at a wedding in Healdsburg, and on top of being a total sweetheart she is quite a talented musician. At the reception she serenaded the bride and groom and over time I have learned she writes music and plays the guitar as well. She definitely needed some new photos to show off her personality and her love of music. For some time we tried to set up a shoot but it kept getting delayed but we finally got together and I got some great images of her!

Enjoy!

The Cron Girls :: Vacaville Family Photographer

cmcadmin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:57:41 +0000

Brooke Bosler – Opera Singer :: Vacaville Portrait Photographer

cmcadmin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:28:12 +0000

I have been fortunate enough to work with Brooke for a couple of projects now. Since Brooke was in town and we happened to cross paths at an event we were able to get together to get some photos for her upcoming adventure to NYC for some auditions. Brooke is an AMAZING opera singer and just graduated with a Masters Degree in Performing Arts! She is performing locally tomorrow at an event in Vacaville at the Buck Mansion and then will be going on some auditions in the Big Apple! Hopefully the world will see a lot more of Brooke in the future….maybe something on Broadway?! Best of luck to Brooke and her adventures! In the mean time enjoy a few images from our shoot.

The Isles Family :: San Francisco Family Photographer

cmcadmin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:27:30 +0000

Christina is one of those people that I wonder why it took me so long to meet. She knows almost everyone that I do! LOL Luckily our paths crossed at 2 weddings over the past couple of years and I got to do her sons newborn photos last year as well. Now its time for family photos and since they live in San Francisco we wanted to use some of the landmarks in the city. The beach was the first choice but wind made that impossible! The Palace of Fine Arts was our next stop and it worked out great. Still a little wind but nothing we couldn’t handle. I think we got some great images!

Enjoy!

Robin :: Balboa Park Photoshoot :: San Diego Fashion Photographer

cmcadmin — Wed, 18 May 2011 23:57:37 +0000

I got to meet Robin last year at the Miss California United States International Pageant. Needless to say she won! Lucky for me I got to do a photoshoot with her after she was crowned for all her official photos.

As her reign comes to an end she wanted to do another shoot with me but with photos that weren’t “pageant”. Since Robin is a fairly active runway model she wanted some more photos for her portfolio, and I jumped at the chance to have her model for me again.

I heard she has a meeting with a pretty well known agency this weekend so Im pretty excited that I got to give her some photos to show off and hopefully get her more work in the fashion world. Good luck with your meeting Robin!! I hope the photos knock em dead!

Enjoy!

The Bettiga Family

cmcadmin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:20:34 +0000

About a month ago a long time friend called me asking if I would be interested in donating my services to a benefit event her father was putting on in association with the charity he is a part of. Each year “Men-r-Pigs” , a non-profit organization created when a coworker had a life altering stroke, holds a benefit golf tournament and banquet dinner to raise funds for an individual or family struggling with life changing illness. When I heard of what this charity does for the community I had to be a part of it. This year the event benefits Stephanie Bettiga, her husband and twin 6 year old boys. Last year Stephanie was diagnosed with 3 types of cancer. She is battling this disease in her liver, her lungs, and in her spine.

Today I got to meet Stephanie and her family. Not only did I want to donate a family portrait session to the banquets silent auction, I wanted to do something for the family as well. I wanted to give Stephanie and her family a portrait. A portrait that makes them smile. A photograph that during the rough road ahead, Stephanie can look at and make her forget, if just for a second, what her body is battling.

Thank you Stephanie for allowing me to capture this moment in your life. Please enjoy these images.

The Golf Tournament is sold out but the banquet dinner has plenty of space available. It will be held Friday April 15th at Charlies @ The Windsor Golf Course. It starts at 5:30pm and costs $40 per person (adults only). There will be a silent auction with all proceeds going to Stephanie and her family. Please email me for more information or if you would like to make a donation. I hope to see a lot of you there!

Recent Sessions:: Family & Children

cmcadmin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:12:38 +0000

Its been way to long since I have posted! Between the weather, illnesses, and some travel I just haven’t thought about any posts.

The weather cleared up for 2 days this past week and I was able to get in some sessions that have been put off. One family session and one child session. Both for long time clients and both equally fun.

The Witt family was first in Davis and we had a good time. Although little Owen was distracted by the play ground we were able to get some nice photos of the family and him by himself!

Next it was time for Xander’s 1 year old portraits! This little man has some serious facial expressions! He was a crack up!!! I had such a great time photographing him and seeing him grow up!

Summer in February!!

cmcadmin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:24:23 +0000

For those of you in the Midwest or East Coast of the United States, you might not want to read this post.

Last week, while most of the country was experiencing TERRIBLE weather, we here in Northern California had some pretty AWESOME weather. Temperatures in the 70′s and perfect blue skies!! The whole week I watched weather.com to see how long these gorgeous days would last and luckily we got about 10 days of early Summer in February!

As a photographer I had to be outside shooting ESPECIALLY since I got a new camera during this great weather. The opportunity to get some portrait sessions in was to great so I ran a special on sessions and got a lot of interest. I did a total of 5 sessions in 3 days and each one of them was so much fun and a great way to stay outdoors. Here are a few of the images I got from 3 of the sessions. (2 of the shoots were for surprise gifts so I dont want to ruin it for those getting the gifts!)

Enjoy the images and watch out for more specials as the weather (hopefully) continues to improve the next few months!