Meet Stella

the photographer behind the lens

A Los Angeles based wedding and couples photographer

I was born and raised in Los Angeles – close to DTLA. Love my Southern California area – the weather is great. I have a wide range of shooting options  – mountains, beaches, deserts, urban settings, woods, and so on. Though the only thing we rarely have is snow and that’s 2 hours drive away. But there are areas where you can find pine trees!

Photography has been in my blood since I was young. My former boss gifted me a Nikon compact film camera when I was younger and it was the best thing ever. Until digital cameras came into my life. My first camera (Minolta) was purchased at Costco and I returned it a few months later because I broke it. Then, as time moved on, I had a bunch of other digital cameras, including the point and shoot & DSLRs. Now – I’ve earned myself a grown-up photographer badge: full-frame Sony mirrorless!

My photography journey started with landscape – considering  I have traveled to National Parks. I enjoy driving as I find it relaxing. Turn on the music and just explore my surroundings. Landscapes were my thing but I also, love doing cityscape shots. Night photography has been a hobby and sometimes I like being able to drive at night to see DTLA views.

Facts.

Get to know me. I spent so much time rebuilding my website from the Flotheme WordPress fire, I hope my new updated website looks better.

I LOVE MY TRAVEL PARTNER

If you haven’t figured it out – my mom! She is my travel partner. She is amazing and she is a better hiker than me! I do all of the driving and she does the cooking. It works out. I love traveling with her and I will continue to do so. I will continue to keep her active by taking semi-strenuous hikes. My mom walks too fast for me.

I WAS FORMER FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE WORKER DURING THE PANDEMIC

For almost seven years, I worked the frontline and did so during the pandemic. And oh my! It was an eye-opening experience and what you saw on the news – I dealt with that. I had to work along with our fire and police departments. The Emergency Department is not for everyone but I am thankful for the people I’ve worked and met in that department.

SUCCULENTS

One of my favorite activities is gardening when I need a computer break. You’ll probably see a bunch of my stories of my succulents. If you are into succulents and live in LA and would like cuttings, please contact me. I’d love to share.

I LOVE WORD SEARCHES

And I blame going on my Alaskan cruise for getting me addicted. I love the challenging ones. And I love doing it before bed. Honestly, I’m always like ONE MORE word and I’ll go to bed. NOPE. Does not happen at all!

I LOVE BINGING ON NETFLIX SHOWS

(Favorites: Selling Sunset, Love is Blind, The Crown, Virgin River, etc)

My obsession when I do deep dives for those Love is Blind contestants. I hateeeee waiting for weekly episodes now.

TINY HOUSE LIVING

My dream and goal is to learn how to downsize and buy a tiny house and park it in someone’s yard (because I cannot afford empty land in LA). The idea of this is so appealing. If you can’t tell, I’ve watched a lot of Tiny House tour YouTube videos. It’s a beautiful dream to have though!!

STELLA LOU

…. is my travel keychain where I will take pictures of her and the places we go to. She’s from Tokyo Sea, one of the Duffy’s friends.

UTAHHHH

It’s one of my favorite states because I love the National Parks there. Moab is one of my favorite little towns that is near the Arches and Canyonlands. I may get some hate for this but Zion is NOT one of my favorites. The only time I’ll go back is if I can take my mom to Angel’s Landing. I will drive to Bryce than go to Zion. I’ve spent some fun time at Capitol Reef and I’ll go back.

I am a huge road trip National Park girly

I hate winter and don’t like the cold so I look forward to late spring and I plan out my road trips. I told myself if I could – I could take up to 4 road trips a year and one international trip. That’s how many vacation days I have. If you want to talk about planning a road trip and need some help, I can give you some tricks, send me a DM.

let’s be friends on IG

As a natural light enthusiast, I adore working with the sun’s golden rays, allowing them to weave their magic into each photograph. I believe in harnessing the power of sunlight to create warm and luminous imagery that evokes a sense of joy and tranquility.

learn about me

I love watching Netflix. Especially Love is Blind and Selling Sunset! Selling the OC isn’t the same. I really like “reality shows” and generally just love watching regular shows (Bridgerton, Virgin River, etc). I seriously love a good documentary (Our Father, Icarus, The Keepers, etc). If you have any suggestions – I’m down for anything!

This is embarrassing … I am lactose. BUT I don’t care! I just love drinking iced coffee and boba!!! Coffee is my favorite and I love Starbucks seasonal drinks. Boba is for the weekends. If I could wake up earlier (maybe leave the house 15 minutes before), I’d probably drink iced coffee every single morning.

If you haven’t figured it out – my mom! She is my travel partner. She is amazing and she is a better hiker than me! I do all of the driving and she does the cooking. It works out. I love traveling with her and I will continue to do so. I will continue to keep her active by taking semi-strenuous hikes. My mom walks too fast for me.

It all started with a road trip with a friend to Zion and Bryce. After that, I’ve been taking my mom because she is retired and has a lot of time off. I love keeping my mom superactive and will probably do it for as long as I can.

I’ve been many but these are some of my favorites: Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, and Yellowstone. I do prefer parks with lots of hiking options. Crater Lake just has the most beautiful lake and that hike coming up from the lake is def harder than you expected. Utah is one of my favorite states, especially for traveling. Moab holds a special place for me.

I will do anything for a destination wedding in Europe. I was supposed to go in 2023 but things changed.

But I do want to go back to Japan again!!!

I am a late bloomer but I got into succulent when I was gifted one in a baby shower. Since then – my collection has grown since 2022. I prefer the more unique succulents – Korean imports! I love the uniqueness you cannot find in your typical box stores. I did start with a lot of the more common succulents. And a lot easier to deal with and does not need any special care. I like the fact that succulents can be ignored and water-tolerant.

If you are local to LA and would like some cuttings – please send me a message. I am happy to share my succulents. I am running out of room and would love to give them away instead of throwing them away in the green bin.

For almost seven years, I worked the frontline and did so during the pandemic. And oh my! It was an eye-opening experience and what you saw on the news – I dealt with that. I had to work along with our fire and police departments. The Emergency Department is not for everyone but I am thankful for the people I’ve worked and met in that department.

I am thankful I don’t feel stressed out anymore because I got so many migraines from the lack of staffing and the heavy workload. I am glad I am working in an office that isn’t as stressful.

  • It’s not so much of an obsession but I got back into word searches! It all started when I was on an Alaskan cruise and one of the activities was a word search. You bet my butt I went on Amazon and order a “hard” word search book. Best thing ever! I love a challenge and it’s a great way to get my eyes off my phone and laptop.
  • OMG audiobooks! I used to be a huge nerd when I had time as a kid. My favorite places were the libraries. I used to love reading when I was younger and as I got older, I found myself listening to audiobooks. Thank you to Libby. And all of my library cards.