Miracles and Guardian Angels

First I can't believe how well my father is doing after his terrible accident. He is definitely out of the woods and is very stable. I cannot offer enough praises about the hospital staff where he is. The doctors, nurses and therapists have all gone out of their way to make his recovery an absolute miracle. I look at him today and cannot believe how he looked last week after the accident. I believe in miracles!

Although he will be in the hospital for another couple of weeks - it is now a spinal cord issue we have to deal with. Many tough decisions and choices for my father and mother. Just remember how precious life is and how quickly it can all change.

Last, while up here in Canada before the accident the local TV news ran a story about how 42% of Americans believe in angels - especially guardian angels. Well, all I can say on the night of my Dad's accident I met a real live guardian angel named Mike Calhoun. My father fell on the road and hurt himself real bad - with lots of bleeding. As I held my dad and tried to control the bleeding - a set of headlights appeared on the road and stopped. Out jumped Mike who helped with first aid and coordinating the arrival of the ambulance. While we were sitting in the hospital emergency waiting room, who should appear - Mike Calhoun - to make sure we were alright!

It turns out Mike lives around the corner from my parents and has offered to help all he can when I return to California. Mike you are truly a guardian angel. Thank you so much.

Canadian Update

It is Tuesday and has been three days since my father's accident. Although there are many bridges to cross over the upcoming days, weeks and months, I am extremely pleased with his progress. The staff at Victoria Hospital in London Ontario Canada are awesome! The journey my dad has traveled the last three days is nothing short of a miracle. Thank you for your comments and concerns.

My Hero is Hurting

Sorry I have not posted since my last wedding. I flew up to Canada to visit my parents and expected to be home by now. Last Friday evening I decided to go and have a coffee at the local coffee shop and work on emails. It was suppose to be my last evening in Canada so I invited my Father to tag along and hang out. Walking to the car parked in front of his house he tripped and suffer a horrific accident. He fell straight on his face shattering bones - including his nose and cheek bones. He has also suffered bruising to his spinal cord resulting in a strange syndrome that results in extreme nerve pain in his hands.There were also many lacerations on his face. It seemed the ambulance took forever to arrive as I held my Dad in the middle of the street. Many good samaritans stopped and offered assistence. We spent 24 hours in emergency and he is now in the Trauma Critical Care unit. The good news is he is in one of the best teaching hospitals in Canada and the nurses and many doctors have been awesome.

My hero and friend is really hurting and looks terrible with bruises, swelling and stitches everywhere. He has been examined by emergency, trauma, orthopedic, and plastic surgeons. But I tell you - my Dad is one tough guy. The staff in the hospital has commented that his generation (folks from the WWII era) are extra tough.

Although my Dad's vitals are stable, I believe he is in for a long road to recovery. I have to return to California next week as I have five weddings in October to photograph. I am very lucky to have a sister that lives an hour away and is here too. I am going to spend this week by my fathers side and try to make new living arrangements for my mother and father.

I will keep you posted. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Audra & Dan

On Saturday, we traveled to Le Chene in Agua Dolce for the wedding of Audra and Dan. Although it was a little hot, it was a perfect day for an outdoor ceremony and reception.

The outdoor setting at Le Chene is awesome. We photographed the bride's dress outside by the water wheel -

Audra and her MOH - Tisha

The Brides daughter, Kirstin, baked all the yummy wedding cakes. I usually don't eat the cake at wedding receptions - but did have some this weekend. The lemon cake was my favorite.

The bride and groom getting a little time to themselves out front of Le Chene.

New Website

I am so excited to launch my second website - WilliamInnes.com I've been busy working on this site for the last couple of weeks. This website will showcase images not available on my regular website. Please check it out and feel free to leave me a comment.

Bailey and Steve

It always amazes me how many different looking images you can capture in an hour or less. I hooked up with Bailey and Steve yesterday morning at the Santa Monica Pier for an engagement session. We covered a lot of ground (including the spot where they had their first kiss)!

Here are some of the images we found...