Merry Christmas from RTP!

25.12.09 the latest & greatest

Gooood morning, friends!  Wanted to wish you the happiest of holidays today wherever this may find you.  I’m up bright and early recovering from a late night of Christmas Eve church, homemade lasagna, some memorable gift giving, and some mad board game playing.  :)  I’ve got my Starbucks Christmas Blend (a gift from Jesie) in hand with a dash of egg nog to sweeten it up and I’m headed south to the parents’.

Thank you all so much for an incredible 2009.  Your support and love means the WORLD and we can’t thank you enough for giving so much of yourselves to us and our cameras.  Thank you for being you.  On behalf of myself, Jesie, Michael (more to come on Miguel), and Calvin too, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

With Love,

All of us. :)

Shove Chapel: Julie & Robert – Pt I

22.12.09 weddings

He stood turned away.  His back towards her.  Cherished loved ones, dressed in tuxedos and turquoise dresses stood near, gathered for this glorious moment.  Click clack click clack. The sound of her heels grew louder.  He took a deep breath, shook the nervousness out through his hands, closed his eyes and tilted his face towards the heavens.  “Thank you for her,” he whispered.

“Baby….” she called.  With a jump of his body, he turned around and saw his princess for the first time.

Married: Julie and Robert

What do you think of when you hear the term “romance?”  A true romance?  I never could quite put a scene to it.  Until I met Julie and Robert.  Everything about their story and their wedding day is pure romance.  I highly encourage you to read about their story and engagement session here before moving onto their wedding photos.

It was difficult to take a bad picture at this wedding.  EVERYONE had permanent smiles on their faces.  Not even smiles… but the biggest expressions of joy I have EVER seen.  Their sweet September day started at Aveda Salon and moved to the Glen Eyrie Castle where Julie put on her dress in the exact spot where Robert proposed, followed by their dramatic first look!

You know this is going to be good.. look how stunning she is!  Julie reminds me of a princess with these romantic braids.

Love this shot that Jes grabbed of Julie looking at her finished hair with her best friend, Abbey, in the reflection! This one takes some time to figure out.

Another shot that takes a minute to figure out; luckily Jes grabbed a shot of me taking the one on the right.

Julie’s oh-so elegant dress hanging in Glen Eyrie Castle.

Two of Julie’s sweet bridesmaids (both pregnant!) were so incredibly joyful to see their best friend and sister in her wedding gown.

Julie’s future niece or nephew:

Okay, so get this, Robert owns a locksmith business in San Francisco, so their theme for the day was centered around him unlocking Julie’s heart! How awesome is that?!
Found this neat key hole at the Glen:

The Glen Eyrie Castle is a photographer’s dream for photos:

Julie you are breathtaking!

Okay, this is where it gets good!  Introducing the oh-so handsome Robert who is about to see Julie for the first time:

His first reaction followed by some jumps and screams:

He couldn’t believe his eyes!  “Can I touch you?!” he asked as he circled her several times.

Ugh… GOOD. STUFF!

Julie and Robert were SO easy to photograph. I felt just like a fly on the wall.

More awesome wedding party shots to follow and some super expressive ceremony shots!  Stay tuned!

Mike Colón Workshop New Orleans – Pt II

21.12.09 portraits, the latest & greatest

Okay, a word to the wise… listen to Madonna’s Vogue while you look at this post.  It’s just better that way. :)

Part II of Mike Colón’s shooting workshop in New Orleans:

She was wearing the poof-iest dress I have ever seen!

Okay, can we talk about complimentary colors here?!  Look at those blue walls and red hair!

The workshop was starting to wind down and as people were heading back to the conference, I got this gal all to myself.

Which was SO cool cause I got her to disassemble her outfit and play with this crazy shawl:

I originally planned to do these in a single series…

…but I just love them SO MUCH that they had to have their own moment of fame!  Is that okay?

I can’t get enough of her eyes!

Three words: Bette Davis Eyes.  Oh where’s Kim Carnes when I need her…

Good times with Mike:

The end!  Pretty sweet stuff, huh?!

Mike Colón Workshop New Orleans – Pt I

19.12.09 portraits, the latest & greatest

Wow.

You all are incredible.  The results of the Mike Colón workshop came in last night; unfortunately Jesie didn’t win, though she did come up 5th in her poll!  That’s remarkable considering how many people there were.  Jes received 129 votes, and the winner received 728!! Come on! How do you get 78 votes?! A+ for effort, my friends.  Thank you so much for helping to spread the word.  We’ll get there next time…

Speaking of a Mike Colón workshop… I had the opportunity to shoot with him while at the Pictage Partner Conference in New Orleans last month. It wasn’t quite the workshop Jesie would have attended; this one was only a couple of hours with 24 other photogs plus Mike.  We had four models to take around the French Quarter, all adorned with the latest and greatest dresses, including Vera Wang.  Each of us got a few minutes to be the lead photographer while others had to stay back and shoot around the leader while he or she directed the model.  Meanwhile, Mike observed and critiqued.  You could have heard a pin drop when he asked who wanted to go first… that is, until yours truly spoke up! The first 17 shots are a result of my directing the model.

What a rush it was to have Mike’s full attention on me!  He even took the time to look through my LCD screen.  He didn’t have any constructive criticism, but said my exposures were awesome (everything below shot in 100% manual) and I did an excellent job of getting a huge variety.  Many times at weddings, you’re so pressed for time that you have to think fast and place the bride in one location, but move around her to get different looks.

Enjoy these next two posts! They are eye candy for sure!

I’d pay big money for one of my brides to rock this hair.

Ugh!  I love her posture on this one!

I can’t believe I get to do stuff like this for a living!

Love how that blue came out in the background and makes that mane P O P!

I adore all these by the green wall.  I threw on my 14-24mm 2.8 and got the coolest looks!

These were taken with the wide angle as well.  When we were changing leaders I took the opportunity to get RIGHT in her face and capture those killer lashes!

Part II is awesome!! Two more models..