Stef and Isaiah- First shoot in the studio!

Stefanie, my number one photographer and editor extraordinaire is getting married in November to Isaiah at the Turnip Rose. We decided to do her engagement shoot at the studio- still under construction of course- but has very cool light and textures.

This is where our front door will be...Amazing that this will a super swanky studio in a couple months!
I am standing in what will be a hip new Korean seafood restaurant while they are in a doorway that leads to the studio- it will be blocked off, of course.
This is in the front space which will be The Dresser- awesome north light! My shooting area will have this brick on two walls- sooo cool!!
More from the restaurant looking into our space- what a disaster!
This shoot was great for Stefanie to get a taste for how it feels to be on the other side of the camera- she was surprised at how hard it is!! She may be gentler on her next shoot:) She did great! Oh, and Isaiah was OK too-

Jean & Rob's Engagement Session at the Fair

What a fun shoot this was!!

We went a little before the sun went down so there was really cool light. I love it when the lights of the fair balance with a nice blue sky at twilight...

This was Jean and Rob's second (they wanted two- not a re-shoot!) engagement shoot- their first was in Downtown Fullerton, so they will be total pros at their wedding!! ...coming up quick at the end of the month.

I love these food stands for backgrounds- all the color and craziness:
So much Fun!

I said I would suffer through one ride knowing that I would feel queezy for the rest of the night... they picked a good one!
This ferris wheel is where Rob proposed!!! How cool!
Can't wait for their wedding at the Huntington Hyatt!!

Walter and Kara at Arroyo Trabucco

What a busy Labor Day weekend for me: I shot a wedding with a friend, Mario, all day Saturday, then an awesome wedding on Sunday- Kara and Walter- and a commercial shoot at 7am on Monday for Consumer Reports Magazine.

Kara's wedding was a little warm but the beautiful venue, Arroyo Trabucco Golf Course, made-up for the heat! Everything fell into place perfectly: Right before the portraits a thin cloud covered the sun to soften it just a little, did I say the location was cool (?), then, after the ceremony the sun came out again just before it set so we got some killer low sunshine- what else could you ask for?? Great subjects? Yep, got that too!

Walter and Kara are friends with other wedding clients of mine- Jean and Rob- who are getting married at the end of the month. It was great seeing them at the wedding and seeing Rob with his digital SLR- shooting away with the other 20 or so photographer guests- I love it! Jean says it's going to be tough for me to impress her with her wedding photos after seeing how great the images were from Walter and Kara's (I played my slideshow on my new 30 inch Apple HD Display)!! Little does she know that every next wedding is better than the last wedding- It just happens that way as I am always after the next cool shot!!

Thanks for the good light God!Another cool aerial shot:And, the camera-in-the-bushes shot:This was under the pergola- so cool with vines all over it. The grounds were great- especially to a plant freak like me!What troopers! All these lovely people jumped the horse fence to get to this trail... even the bride!See their slideshow HERE.

I met some cool vendors for the first time too:
Michelle is right next door in Placentia- www.makeupbymichelle.com
Joe (videographer) was so easy to work with- Today's the Day Weddings
Alyson at Arroyo Trabuco was too nice! Arroyo Trabuco Golf

Last night was a great wedding for me too- down at Surf and Sand in Laguna with a great couple- Mike and Julie got a lot of practice during their engagement shoot in Central Park in May.

My good buddy Mario from Vero Image helped myself and a new assistant, Jeni (no, not my wife) to get some killer images at one of my favorite venues ever.

Jeni did great at thinking for herself- I like to let assistants and second shooters be free and use their own brains to express themselves with their own style instead of shooting like me which wouldn't be true. By the looks of her images, we will be seeing a lot more of her in the future- she was great to be around.

I also got to work with a great coordinator for the first time. Maria Lindsay and her assistant were totally on-top of everything and still easy to work with.


Mario got some extra-credit while I was shooting the boys:


At the bell-hop's desk, yes, that's a phone on the left- we'll Photoshop that out during the edit...Such a beautiful day and the perfect time to be on the beach! ...except for the waters rolling right up to the hotel and all around us! It was high tide.
Check out more images HERE.

Pejman and Diana at Coyote Hills

Stef and Brandon score again!!

I spoke with Stefanie last night at midnight as we were both driving home from our respective weddings. She told me I would be very proud of the wedding she just shot... I was!! She and Brandon totally exceeded my expectations once again!!

They got some amazing images of the good looking couple Pejman and Diana- looks like they did a great job too!

The wedding just just the other side of the hill from my house at Coyote Hills Golf Course- such a beautiful venue. I have been waiting seven years to shoot there!

Check out the slideshow HERE!

Just In Time- Nikon's New D3

Just as I was about to buy a Canon for the first time to get the benefits of a full frame (same size as a 35mm piece of film) sensor, Nikon announced yesterday that theirs will be shipping in November! With many cool features that Canon doesn't posess, I am, once again, glad I waited!

For all you techies out there: The D3 introduces the latest advancement in Nikon sensor technology with its full frame FX format CMOS imaging sensor. This new sensor technology promises reduced noise levels and higher quality images in low-light situations with an ISO range from 200 to 6400 (expandable to an equivalent of 25,600 or down to 100). It also features the EXPEED image processing system, which allows the D3 to process massive amounts of information. The EXPEED system features 14-bit A/D conversion with 16-bit image processing. The D3 is expected to ship in November 2007.

More D3 features include:
• First ever Nikon DSLR with a full frame sensor (FX format)
• 12.1 megapixel full-frame sensor
• ISO 200 - 6400 (with boost up to ISO 25,600)
• 14-bit A/D conversion, 12 channel readout
• Nikon EXPEED image processor (Capture NX processing and NR algorithms, lower power)
• Super fast operation (power-up 12 ms, shutter lag 41 ms, black-out 74 ms)
• New Multi-CAM3500FX autofocus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
• Scene Recognition System (uses AE sensor, AF sensor)
• 10/11 frames per second continuous in DX-crop mode (AF / no-AF)
• Dual Compact Flash card slots (overflow, back-up, RAW on 1 / JPEG on 2, copy)
• 3" LCD monitor
• Live View with either phase detect (mirror up/down) or contrast detect autofocus
• Virtual horizon indicates if camera is level (like an aircraft cockpit display)
• Buttons sealed against moisture

I called Calumet to pre-order as soon as I heard the news so I will be one of the first to enjoy this new rig!!

Nikon has once again restored my faith in their company and it's products. I still wish service would catch up with R&D to make me a truly satisfied Nikon owner.

More info: click here.

Rich and Jen

Rich and Jen were so great to work with- they we big fans and trusted me to do whatever I wanted which always makes for great photos. To be honest I wasn't too excited about shooting in Santa Fe Springs because I didn't think there were any cool wedding venues there- ignorance limited my excitement- terrible.
When I walked into the courtyard of the 100+ year old Clarke Estate I was super stoked to be there. The light was bouncing all over the place: off the walls, through the arches, into the hallways- awesome!!
Add these two factors together and you have the making of some great wedding photos.

Jen's lips:
Coolest columns- everything was smooth concrete- love it!
Hot momma- I told her to be serious... right at this moment the Bridesmaids were harassing her to make her laugh:)
Rich
Cool architecture at the estate
The secret remote camera- the half person standing on the far left of this image was me firing this camera that made this shot- I was solo!
These two are crazy in love!
And, don't forget the coolest: a huge bamboo forest! So fun to shoot!
Reception under the trees.
Can't wait to go back!