Offbeat Bride

I found this very cool site on Facebook and really dug the funky ideas. Want something different at your wedding? Check it out: http://offbeatbride.com/.

Wedding Mapper

Well, just ask my wife, Jeni about how much of a map freak I am and she'll tell you about the box of maps I have of places I will more than likely never visit again!
This is different, this is very cool and super useful!
www.weddingmapper.com is a free service to create a map with points of interest for your guests. I made a sample one just to show you how cool it is:
http://www.weddingmapper.com/fullerton/ca/visit/0jqi6e
You can also customize the url with your names, add photos, etc. and there are so many other useful tools too.Of course it Google Maps- my favorite!

Busy Weekend- Stefanie and Travis

Another engagement shoot- this one was of Stefanie and Travis at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. They are planning an amazing smaller wedding with family and close friend at Shutters next month.

I know I say it all the time, but these two were so great to work with- we had a blast! (I guess I just love my job:) Their coordinator, Terri Doria had to pry my camera from my hands because I wouldn't stop!!:)Love the wavy fences- remind me of the East Coast.

Cool vent for a big building next to the beach.
We found this awesome brick building with a fire escape- I don't get to shoot many of these so I was stoked!
We all had a great time- Terri was relieved because she found me online and we never met until the shoot. She said "I was a little worried because you never know what you'll find on the internet but you are great!"

Looking forward to this wedding as well!

Busy Weekend- Maggie and Raymond

Three Engagement shoots, two soccer games (I have been elected to coach both teams now), and a wedding this weekend... and I still didn't get Monday off!

Maggie and Raymond are getting married in a couple of months at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach. We did their engagement shoot mostly at the UCI campus- they are alumni and thought it be a good spot. The campus was great fun to shoot- lots of man-made and natural settings.Love her laugh!!


Just off the campus next to a nature preserve- my arm and head were stretched through the sharp barbed wire fence:)
Can't wait for the wedding guys!!

Sebastian and Gentry

Sebastian and Gentry had their commitment ceremony at the always fun to shoot Muckenthaler in Fullerton- Love this place!

This was my first ever commitment ceremony and I had a blast. These two and their friends had so much fun; the decor was amazing thanks to Urban Gardner in Newport Coast and Colette's Catering from right here in Fullerton; and the sun was on our side for spectacular light!
Great ceremony!
Being a 'plant guy' I loved the centerpieces: they were all living plants in cool urns!
So many cool textures at 'The Muck'.
Like I said: They had a blast!
I like the effect I got with the rings. I shot this on top of a glass display case in the gallery using the brightly colored mosaics in the background for the cool blurry color.

Studio Progress- March

Well, I sure am ready to be done with all this construction stress! It's actually going very smoothly I just don't realize how long everything takes and how many pieces there are in this crazy puzzle! The front is all done now, we may add some text in paint to tie in 'eckman maus photography' somehow.

The inside is going well too. We're on to the trim and built-ins (one piece is a 12' tall by 12' wide bookshelf/display case- crazy!) then we can paint it and start installing the fun stuff: computers, theater, stereo system:)

Jeremy, my amazing brother is doing most of the design and all the work on it.. and Jeni's been painting walls, trim, ceiling, etc. and scraping some of the old pieces that need cleaning/ refinishing. They are both kickin' some butt! Yes, I'm staying clean for the most part... someone's got to keep the biz goin'!

If you in the area feel free to swing by, we're just West and a little South of the intersection of Harbor and Commonwealth- right in the SOCO district in Downtown Fullerton.

Las Vegas (and a P&S photo tip)

As some of you may know, one of the largest photo conventions in the world happened last week (or so) in Las Vegas. I went for a few days: I hit a couple parties to see long lost friends, checked out a few seminars (Jared Bauman with Bronson was the best), volunteered a few hours in the Special Kids Photography booth (a non-profit that trains and educates photographers about kids with special needs- awesome group!), and of course checked out all the coolest, latest, and most expensive gear at the tradeshow.

I always start feeling pretty poopy after a few days of not seeing the sun and breathing poorly filtered second-hand casino smoke so this year I brought my bike to check out the riding- it's been a few years since I rode on the convention trip.

The closest riding to "the strip" is at a little town called Blue Diamond- very fun stuff!

A few shots: (please bear with me as these are from my point and shoot again:)
Looking back at Blue Diamond after a quick climb.
And the goofy tourist shot of me- there's actually a little sign just out of the frame that says "Kodak Photo Op." like at D-Land. Just kidding:) Off in the distance to the right is Red Rock Canyon- never been? GO- it's so amazing!
The terrain changed quite a bit- this hard-packed red clay was a welcome sight after riding lots of sandy, rocky trails.
People think of the desert as some barren wasteland like Mars- but it is so beautiful- especially in the Spring.

So, here's a big tip:
I realized at one point that landscape photos in the daytime were always over exposed with my point-and-shoot camera so I used the exposure compensation to under expose every shot by 1 full stop- makes for so much richer colors! If you're not familiar with this on yours have a look at the manual... find out how to set this in the menu, set it to '-1.0' and you'll be all set. Don't forget to set it back when you're done with the landscapes!!