Allison + JC - Lowes Coronado Bay Resort

first wedding of 2008!

Allison and JC were married at the marine recruit depot chapel. both were adorably nervous before the ceremony. there's something about a tough marine in uniform weak in the knees over a lovely lady that was incredibly endearing. i caught him wringing his hands behind closed doors at the church. he looked a little like a deer caught in headlights. but when i asked him to tell me the story of how they first met, his face just lit up. they had literally crossed paths on the street and caught each other's eye. he said he knew "i had to go talk to this girl". and so he did. he deployed for Iraq shortly after they started dating. she waited.

so often there isn't enough time set aside for pictures of just the couple, or things run behind and time just runs out. this was a couple after my own heart. they allotted tons of time to run around the fabulous grounds at lowes to find some really great hidden spots and take some fun shots. they were also just so comfortable with each other and being in front of the camera that i mostly just sat back and watched. the way JC looked at her all night made me all melty.

to think these guys normally carry around big guns :)

so so so sweet.

everything was just lovely. it was a beautiful day, the wedding party and guests were wonderful and Lowes Coronado Bay Resort is one heck of a place to throw a party. and thanks to everyone who made it happen so smoothly.

Ceremony: Marine Recruit Depot Chapel
Reception: Lowes Coronado Bay Resort
Wedding Coordinator AND DJ (awesome husband and wife team): The Best Wedding for You
DJ: The Best DJ for You

What a way to kick off 2008! And to Allison and JC, what a way to kick off what will hopefully the best part of the rest of your lives.

Workshop Update!

I've had a great response so far to the first workshop on Jan 27th. Ii think the seats are filled (i'll know for sure by monday), but I can always take backups. if you wanted to come along but couldn't get in, never fear, because i've opened up a second one on Feb 9th. the price for the workshop will be $100. details will pretty much be the same, but if there are any bumps to iron out from the first workshop, i'll make adjustments as needed and let you know.

just a review of what we'll be covering:

-a tour of your camera and many of it's mystifying settings
-the importance of and relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO and how these three things control all things exposure (or "how to take non-blurry pictures of your kids").
-depth of field
-a little geeky gear talk
-a trip to the park to practice practice practice

what you need:
-a digital SLR
-at least one zoom or two primes
-the knowledge and ability to get your photos onto your computer for viewing

more details are below a few posts ago. you can always email me with questions.

i look forward to hanging out with you guys and talking geeky photo talk!

Patricia + Jim - Maderas Golf Club 12.29.07

what a way to close out '07. this couple, their friends and the whole wedding was just so much fun! i'm not sure i've experienced a wedding with so much laughter. this truly was a celebration. if there were nerves, i didn't sense them once. everyone was there to kick back, have a great time and celebrate this super special couple. jim and patricia love to laugh, and this day was an obvious extension of their personalities. and what a lovely place and day to do it.

Location: Maderas Golf Club
Catering: Maderas (and thanks to Susan Khania for the lovely veggies and her day-of coordinating)
Wedding Coordinator: the whole family (and special shout-out to the best man for keeping this puppy on track- huge help!)
Cake: (need to find her card! coming soon)
DJ: Kris with Positive Energy Productions

they arranged a first-sight meeting out on the course. they were so excited. one of my favorite quotes from patricia "tell me if i smile too big!" are you kidding?? she has one of the greatest smiles and she was very liberal with it.

they did this alot. i loved it.

a little private time before the action

maderas is really scenic. it was gorgeous. and the music was provided by friends- really cool and personal.

not hard to see where patricia got her smile. look at her happy dad!

did i mention that they laugh alot? so my favorite quote was delivered by the officiant. apparently our couple got a little slap happy the night before and came up with some funny vows and forwarded them on. they weren't supposed to be used. but, the officiant decided to keep them. when asked to repeat "I promise to make the bed because i get up later than you" came out, I thought patricia was going to laugh herself off the side of the ceremony site. it was hillarious.

told you they did this alot :)

a little mood-lighting experiment under the lamp post

one more example of their sense of humor. every plate came equipped with star viewers. even flat guest got one.

i think i also see where she got her sweetness from

Patricia and Jim, thanks so much for having me be part of your day! have a great time on your honeymoon. i have no doubt the laughter will ever run out between you two.

Photo Workshops!

with the wedding season suddenly slowing down, i am bored in anticipation of no or few weddings for awhile. all i do is talk about photography (and bore most of my friends), so i thought, hey, why not talk to people who actually want to KNOW about it?

so.. introducing, photo workshops for the new DSLR user!

if you don't know your aperture from your.. um.. shutter speed, this workshop may be for you! it's geared towards the new DLSR user with little experience.

this is my first try at a workshop. i've done plenty of one-on-one tutoring, but it's never been cost effective for anyone and there's so much information that it's hard to get through it and then actually have it stick. plus, with a group, i think it'll be more dynamic and i think more questions will get raised as everyone tries things out together.

here's my plan:

i'm looking at December 8th right now, from about 1 to 4 or so. we'll start off inside, go over some basics, like giving you a tour of your camera, discussing gear in general and then going over the essentials of proper exposure. then we'll head outside and practice what we've learned.

topics to be covered:
-those mysterious buttons on your camera
-focusing and focal points
-shooting modes: aperture priority, shutter priority, that little running guy, etc.
-the definition and relationship of aperture, shutter speed and ISO
-ISO settings
-why you want to know about depth of field and how to control it

because this is my first workshop and there may be a few hiccups, i'll be starting the first one off with an introductory price of $75 per person. the group will be limited to 5.

i've already had a number of people contact me, so if you're interested, let me know soon! i'll hopefully be offering more after the New Year and holiday craziness passes.

in the meantime, happy thanksgiving everyone!

Meet Ruby!

little ruby is one month old! these are portraits of one happy baby. she's tiny, but she already has quite the funny personality. normally she doesn't take too kindly to being out of mom's arms, but once she woke up in that leaf pile she just giggled away.

Heather + Chris - Estancia Hotel and Spa

this amazing wedding was a joint jen lacey/kim seidl production, invented specially for this ocassion. i met jen via cell phone a few months ago. she was calling from the food poisoning wing of a DC hospital. she needed someone to take her wedding that day and had been given my number by the fabulous Mary Kate McKenna. ironically (coincidentally?) i was in her home base, san diego, checking the city out. i sadly couldn't help her out that day, but here i am now in san diego ready to heed the call. fortunately this time the call was a happy call, prompted by the need for help with her good friend's wedding.

in a story told by jen, she was with the future groom Chris, the night he met Heather. i don't remember jen using the word 'electric' or anything similar, but apparently there were drinks to be had that particular night and i do remember her saying the words "drunkeness", "drool" and, "that's the girl i'm going to marry".

sometimes when you know, you just know.

Woodend, you've been replaced by Estancia Hotel and Spa as my new favorite place to shoot. it was reeeally hard to take a bad shot in the place. it was just gorgeous. of course it doesn't hurt Heather and Chris are as well!

thanks to Heather, Chris and Jen for inviting me to participate in this amazing day!

i loooooved this dress. she looked amazing in it.

there were flowers EVERYWHERE

my favorite quote of the day. "I, Heather Smith, take you, Chris Frazier, to be my lawfully wedded wife."

heather, originally i was going to provide you with all of the "cake incident" photos for legal purposes, but on further review.. the only clear-cut victim here was the cake.

what can i say?