The night we elected Barack Obama to be our next President back in November, I didn’t have to leave the house to know that lots of people in Santa Cruz were happy about it. From my back steps I could hear fireworks, car horns, chanting, singing, laughter, and general woo-hooing. The noise and excitement continued late into the night.

For some reason, I didn’t expect Inauguration Day to be quite so exciting.

But I should’ve known better. After all, the previous Inauguration Day in Santa Cruz was an occasion for mourning, with everyone walking around near tears, evidence that Inauguration Day really does mean something in this town. This time around, Santa Cruz was ready to party.

It was a wonderful surprise to me when I walked into the inauguration rally downtown last week, and boy was I glad I had my camera with me. Lots of cool people showed up to celebrate and represent, including the Reverend Deborah L. Johnson of Inner Light Ministries, the Watsonville Brown Berets, the Santa Cruz chapter of the Raging Grannies, and numerous other local activists, performers, artists, parents, children, pets, dancers, sign-wavers, and friends.

I’ve included several photos in this post, and you’ll see many more if you click the link below. Also, if you were at the downtown Santa Cruz Inauguration Day party and you see a photo of yourself or your group that you’d like to have, email me at redbatphotography@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to send it to you.

Congratulations Obama and Santa Cruz and the USA and everyone who made this day happen!

WANT TO SEE MORE? CLICK HERE.

WANT TO SEE MORE? CLICK HERE.

A few weeks ago, Rachel wanted to know if the Red Bats could take some holiday photos of her daughter, Sadie. (We photographed Rachel’s family a few months ago and posted about it here.) The theme for the holiday portrait session: Christmas at the beach, overwhelming-cuteness-style.

Rachel prepared thoroughly for this shoot. She bought the right outfit, she checked with her photographers to make sure the quick turnaround time was possible, she even planned around Sadie’s naptime to ensure the best possible mood. However, all the planning in the world can’t guarantee a smile from a baby at the right time. We got a few grins out of Sadie, but it was hard work. She was simply too mesmerized by the cameras to show us her biggest, goofiest smile. Fortunately, she smiled just enough to yield at least thirty adorable smiling shots, which was more than enough for Rachel’s top-secret purposes.

Here’s a little movie that tells the story of that shoot (click the photo to play it). As you’ll see, Sadie is ridiculously cute no matter what expression she has on her face.

UPDATE: There’s a new Sadie movie, for December 2009! Click here to see the post.