Over the last few weeks I’ve been reaching out to a select group of vendors whom I know could help make these shoots absolutely magical.  One of the vendors I contacted was Lollipop Events & Designs.  Lollipop is run by a triumvirate of talented ladies–Vanessa,Jen and Cortnie–all of whom have known each other since the ninth grade.  They’ve quickly become one of the most sought-after event planning vendors in California.  We’re all from the Encinitas area so we’d all bump into one another quite often, and we’ve been dying to work together for the last several months.  So when Vanessa called me a few weeks back to express interest and run some ideas by me, I was thrilled!

Their concept was “Wild Seaside Garden” and we selected a small area next to the La Jolla Bridge Club, just down from The Cove.  The bridal model, Ren, was gorgeous, talented, and such a pleasure to photograph.  The groom model, Kiptyn, who was recently featured on “The Bachelorette” TV show, did a fantastic job as well!  We also teamed up with Isari Flower Studio for the gorgeous florals; the über-talented Alisa Benay provided the gown and head piece; the jewelry was created by Noaki Schwartz of Noaki Jewelry; Kip’s styling was done by Tam Ashworth for Stylish Silhouette; the wedding cake was created by Truly Scrumptious; makeup was beautifully done by Jennifer Budner.  Special thanks to Girard Avenue Collection for the chairs and “I Love You” blocks; gourmet chocolates were provided by Dallmann Confections; hair styling was done by Jamie Rosa from Orange Blossom Salon.

Now, let’s get down to some tech-talk…

We wanted to keep everything looking pretty simple in terms of lighting.  Most of the still life/food images were made using natural light, which was open shade.  We mixed in a white reflector where necessary.  We got a little more creative when the models, Ren and Kiptyn, were photograph.  The main light was a large Chimera softbox camera left, about 6 feet from the subjects.  We also had one ProFoto strobe (with standard reflector), camera right, as a kicker to throw some light on the bottom half of the frame where we were getting a little fall-off from the main light.  We also had another ProFoto strobe behind and to the right of the models to provide some edge light.

There were so many great elements in this shoot, all of which are best described in Cortnie’s words on the Lollipop Blog!  You can also catch a recap on the Ruffled Blog (parts I, II), which was kind enough to feature the shoot!

Special thanks to the entire crew and to our gorgeous model, Donna Feldman.

Last weekend it was Natalie and Dave’s intimate wedding at the MoPA.  This weekend it was Amanda and Greg’s wedding in Menlo Park!

Amanda and Greg were referred to me by Amanda’s cousin and his wife, Jeff and Stephanie, whose Mazatlan wedding I photographed back in October 2008.  Amanda and Greg were gracious enough to fly me up to the Bay Area for the weekend to photograph their wedding.  Amanda and Greg are such a sweet couple–it was so great to work with them and I had a blast meeting their friends and family!

We began shooting at the Stanford Park Hotel, a gorgeous hotel located a stone’s throw from Stanford University.  Since their wedding date is 1/16/2010, I thought it would be fun to do a quick little portrait series on parking spot 116   The ceremony was held at a beautiful church in nearby Portola Valley, which was followed by a reception at an intimate hall in Mountain View.  Enjoy and would love to hear your comments!

During our hike, the landscape struck me as something that would be a great site on which to photograph portraits.  This past Sunday I had the opportunity to photograph some very good friends of ours, the Marazoni family, and I chose those same hills as the location for the shoot.  I photographed the girls several years ago and in looking at those pictures now, it’s amazing to see how much they’ve grown.  They are one of the sweetest families you’ll ever meet and my family and I are very lucky to have them in our lives.

Work-wise, I couldn’t have imagined a better way to start the year than by photographing Natalie and Dave’s wedding at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.  From the get-go, Natalie and Dave were totally into my wedding photography vision–they dedicated nearly an hour just for portraits.

The afternoon started with a wonderful first-sighting, something I encourage for every bride and groom who choose to see each other before the wedding.  There’s nothing like that first look!  We then strode down the Prado, allowing the beauty of San Diego’s Balboa Park to serve as an element in each image.

Their wedding was in intimate affair, which really fit in well with the clean, symmetrical lines of the main gallery, where the ceremony was held.  Fazal Sheikh’s ‘Beloved Daughters’ exhibition, a beautiful installation of arresting portraits from India, made for an impactful background–the soulful eyes and expressions of unknown subjects watching Natalie and Dave’s every move.  Natalie and Dave chose two simple willow towers as their ceremony arch, opting to let the visually spectacular surroundings take over.

The evening was catered by the always-great Indulge–Flor and her staff served up a delectable meal I’ll never forget.  The reception was punctuated by great dancing in the atrium and a kick-ass photobooth, complete with great props!