About us

Welcome to Choco Studio’s blog

Thanks for visiting our blog! We are Mike and Natasha and along with our love for photography we absolutely treasure the opportunity to capture some of the most cherished moments in people’s lives. Our blog is a place where we can get more personal and share the experiences of our lives.

We hope you enjoy your time here and leave a comment if you see something you like!

Mike and Natasha

A bit about Mike

Totally crazy about: ambient music, wine, nature, exploring the world, traveling, my family and friends, and of course, photography!

Something people might not know: I absolutely loved playing guitar for 5 years before I realized it’s not my true calling. I’ve been involved with photography for many years now and could not imagine a better career.

Love to munch on: Salty foods. Just give me a giant salt lick and I’ll be a happy camper - JK, heh! :) I also like tangerines and all kinds of tropical fruits.

Guilty pleasure: I love cool cars and technology. There, I said it :) I think I feel better now…

An amazing experience: After finishing college at UC Davis my friend and I backpacked through Europe for 2 months. One of the many highlights was being in Spain right at the time of the famous annual bull-running in Pamplona. It was equal parts exciting and unnerving at the same time. On the morning of the run just about the only thing giving me calm was a lady in her 60’s who was participating in this event for her 30th time :) It turned out just fine, but I don’t know if I’ll seek out this level of an adrenalin rush again anytime soon :)

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A bit about Natasha

Totally crazy about: warm weather and sandy beaches, being with friends and family, traveling to new places, and kick-ass photos! :)

Something people might not know: when I was in middle school I completely fell in love with tropical plants: I learned how to grow them and kept about a hundred different plants in my room. Naturally, it became very time consuming, and while I still like them a lot I only keep a couple now.

Love to munch on: Hi, my name is Natasha and I’m a chocoholic. That’s right, I loooooove dark chocolate and I can have it anytime of the day. Did you know that the Aztecs called it the “Food of Gods?”

Guilty pleasure: I love to read blogs and I have about 50 favorites at this point. I think it’s called ‘blogstalking’ :) To share with you just a couple, check out these amazing So Cal photographers: The Image is Found and The Becker

An amazing experience: The most amazing experience that comes to mind is the birth of my niece Dasha. Although I’m far away from her and my sister I feel that I’m very emotionally involved in her life. It still amazes me how the baby appeared seemingly out of nowhere and immediately took a giant part in the hearts of my family. I’ve only seen her once and now, only 5 months since her birth, it’s impossible to imagine how the family ever lived without her. Thinking of her makes me very emotional every time.

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We both love to travel and these are some of the places we liked most: Costa Rica, Greece, Spain, Israel, and now Thailand! You can see some of our travel galleries here: http://photos.chocostudio.com

Some of the countries we hope to see soon: Brazil, Argentina, Cuba and pretty much any place tropical :) We also want to see Alaska and the famed coast of Oregon.

Mike and Natasha

You may find our wedding portfolio site at chocostudio.com and we look forward to hearing from you!

Mike and Natasha
650-906-0445