Kimberly and David Married! | Private Residence | Saratoga, CA
Kimberly and David are two of my favorite clients. Nina and I savored their sunny day at a beautiful private residence atop a Saratoga hillside. This was a delicately paced affair that was very simple, social, and intimate. She's got a MA in art photography so I was on my best behavior. =) Anyway I shot all available light, photographing their closest friends and family naturally interacting, the kind of wedding that I enjoy most. Check out this slideshow... Comments appreciated!
I haven't updated for the past month as we've been out of town. Today's blog entry is directed more to photographers and gearheads.
When people hire us they expect us fully equipped and prepared with contingency plans. Doing that for destination weddings requires even more detailing and backups. I've shot in Big Sur, San Diego, L.A., New York, as well as Germany, France, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, Canada, and Mexico. Being in unfamiliar locales and subject to unpredictable airlines, we pack light while still being adequately prepared. Here's how we do that.
I carry-on most of the gear but check my Osprey Meridian 22" rolling backpack, with clothing, personal items, Bogen tripod, Gorillapod, medium sky/gold reflector, and one compact strobist lightstand inside. Also any rechargeable lead acid batts, some airports don't like those on carry-on. This is my favorite traveler bag ever! For boarding I zip off the daypack w/padded laptop sleeve to carry a 13" MacBook, Nuvi 660 portable GPS, and WD 320Gb portable drive. Every shot gets backed up, twice. NEVER delete images or format cards while on trip. Also, we board in wedding clothes in case we're delayed or loses my checked Osprey gets lost.
We run around a LOT and one day my pants tore up the middle, right before the first dance! Luckily H&M and Nina were close by. Now I always have an assistant and an extra set of wedding clothes.
As photojournalists we used to buy Domke shoulder bags religiously, but with weddings I needed a lot more equipment than those can comfortably carry. Now I love the ThinkTank International v2.0, a newer roller with security features and a laptop sleeve. Its exceptionally well-designed and fits everything, while being compact enough to fit into the smallest airline overhead bin. My favorite piece of photo equipment! While shooting, extra lenses go into ThinkTank Skin belt pouches, thus distributing weight onto the hips. I haven't felt any backpain since going this route.
Nina updating clients at Chicago O'Hare. She's my awesome studio manager. Without her I'd be mired in marketing, accounting, booking, and pre-production rather than photography. She's also trained in graphic design and system networking so she does layout for the storybooks. She handles logistics while putting up with my hunger tantrums. She cooks good too. God I love her.
We arrive at least one full day before the wedding. It costs more but it's totally worth it; this allows for delays and we scout the offisites, preview venues, and attend rehearsals. For security reasons we will stay in nicer hotels or b&b's because gear thefts will occur in cheaper motels. (Yes, we've been robbed!) I'm now a fan of Hotwire.com, we pay half of what walk-ins pay, for the same room!
In the Fingerlakes region of NY, we enjoyed a couple of wonderful nights at the Bragdon House which just oozes charm and the delightful owner is a real character. (The best part of this job is definitely the people we get to know!) The Fingerlakes is like the Napa wine region in many ways, but bigger, older, less hoity-toity.
To make up for these costs we buy a lot of food from grocery stores rather than restaurants. Btw, in SoCal for dinner there are an abundance of beachfront tables with sunset views, free of charge...
Destination weddings can be incredibly exciting and visually rewarding but it takes a lot of additional planning and investment. When it's all over, we save a day or two afterward for ourselves to explore and decompress.
Here's me enjoying a picnic lunch after Montreal's awesome Atwater outdoor market. Montreal is surrounded by beautiful geography and rolling bike trails.
At Montreal's Riverwalk; the end of a 40 km ride and a 4000 mile commute!
Veronica and Gerardo Married | Alameda St. Joseph's Basilica | Sunol Golf and Country Club
It seems like I've known Veronica and Gerardo for such a long time now. They are all about celebrating their family, tradition, and culture. Their wedding was at one of my favorite and local churches, and the reception was in Sunol's Golf and Country Club. 400+ people in attendance!!! Keeping with the fast pace of the day, and especially the crazy party, was just awesome. Everyone went absolutely nuts for them during the reception. Check out the slideshow below and feel free to leave a comment!
Michelle and Marcus | Carmelite Monastery | Adobe Lodge | Santa Clara CA
A natural, beautiful wedding in two rare venues. Michelle and Marcus are open, affectionate, artsy-types who travel the world and treasure family heirlooms and photography. I was honored to shoot the monastery--it's closed to the public and not many photographers get this opportunity! All day I was just along for the ride, looking for warmth and atmosphere. Didn't have to look far, there were so many genuine moments and emotions. And all the kids were simply a joy to photograph.
We met down at Villa Montalvo; their personalities are a vibrant combo of fun and romance. I seriously cannot wait for their destination wedding in amazing upstate New York!
Here's Lacey doing her thing on the Montalvo stage for Sean.
Afterwards I followed them to their home, (which is going to be the venue of another wedding I'm shooting!) and got to see them playing with their two jack russells and cooking dinner.
Jacks are so cute and energetic, but tough to lock focus onto since they're so fast. Mr Crostini kept darting in and out of my field of view. And Dingus is about to have puppies... whoa!
Sunset champagne on the roofdeck... This is how Sean proposed!
So goofy!
*Friday update: Dingus just had her puppies--five total! Hmmmm...
Nader and I went over to Dennis and Paul's house to photograph them cooking and hanging out. I love their contrasting personalities and they even prepared us this fantastic steak and pasta dinner!!! They'll be tying the knot on the Commodore's Galaxy yacht, and we get to photograph them celebrating it all smack in the middle of the San Francisco bay on June 28th. Yes, on the bay, during Gay Pride weekend. It is SO on.
For Francis' birthday, a bunch of us guys went on a backpacking trip down in the Santa Cruz mountains. I got to play the embed photojournalist.
We split meals and duties into team groups. We covered a range of grueling terrain utilizing an assortment of cool gear and demonstrating survival techniques...Okay maybe not as much on that last one but we did do a lot of Bear Grylls impressions.
We checked out redwood groves, waterfalls, lush mountain streams and valleys from Saratoga to Big Basin. It was pretty awesome. Good job everyone and huge thanks to our support team!
Genine and Robert met while attending UC Berkeley. So we began our session where it all started, Priestley Hall. From there, I followed them up to Indian Rock where Robert proposed. Then we went to their home which they happen to be renovating into an architectural gem! They are very athletic and tailing them up trees and cliffs was a bit of a workout for me. Theirs is a destination wedding so we'll be shooting them again down in sunny southern Cali later this summer.
They met us at some old military bunkers. He's the strong Army type and she's the romantic so I thought this was the perfect spot to convey both of their personalities. I've always loved the dreamlike qualities of this beach. It was a wonderful afternoon spent. We met them through another wedding over a year ago and it seems like their day is coming too quickly now. Their wedding will be at two very picturesque venues in Alameda and Sunol so I'm stoked!
I went to this show in NYC a few years ago and it remains one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. It brought me to tears (not that that's very difficult.) A friend co-photographer and I were deliberating the subject of truly passionate photography and the haunting work by Gregory Colbert instantly came to my mind.
Here's a news story on it when the show came thru LA.
Destination weddings can be incredibly exciting and visually rewarding but it takes a lot of additional planning and investment. When it's all over, we save a day or two afterward for ourselves to explore and decompress.
It seems like I've known Veronica and Gerardo for such a long time now. They are all about celebrating their family, tradition, and culture. Their wedding was at one of my favorite and local churches, and the reception was in Sunol's Golf and Country Club. 400+ people in attendance!!! Keeping with the fast pace of the day, and especially the crazy party, was just awesome. Everyone went absolutely nuts for them during the reception. Check out the slideshow below and feel free to leave a comment!
So goofy!