Welcome to my blog! This is a place for my latest pictures, as well as some thoughts on creative inspiration and life in general.
Hello from Granada, Spain! :P Coincidentally, this wedding occurred in Alhambra, California, and I visited the Alhambra here in Granada today.
This was a classic wedding: full of spiritual significance, tradition, friends, family and little games and playful moments.
When Amy and Adam met with me to discuss their wedding, one of the first things they said was that it was going to be in New York, and that the weather has a tendency to be unpredictable around their wedding date. I found this to be an enticing proposition, which was strange to me. I am generally more of a controlling nature, and I spent many years of my life trying to plan out my next 20 years. For some reason though, I am finding that when I get to photograph, I love to throw myself into situations where I am not sure what to expect. For those moments I’m behind the camera, I enjoy reacting to events and emotions as they unfold.
It turned out to be a brisk, but dry day, with Amy braving the low 40′s without a jacket for some portraits. The intimate collection of friends and family from literally around the globe was rather incredible, with Adam’s family flying in from the UK, friends from all over the east coast, and many flying in from the west. Some girls even decided to participate in the British tradition of donning hats and fascinators. As I always tell my clients, I like flowers and cakes and pretty things, but the people are what make me excited about weddings. The friends and family that came to support Amy and Adam really made for a beautiful celebration of life and love.
I had the treat of having Eliesa Johnson fly out from Minneapolis to shoot this wedding with me, and I gave her the assignment to take portraits of anybody wearing a hat or a fascinator. She did an awesome job:
The rest of the story:
This is the beautiful story of two people being at a place and time when neither had plans to be there… and meeting. For YukLung and Clair, meeting was enough to completely change the trajectory of their lives through this relationship.
I often reflect on things that have changed the trajectory of my life in amazing ways, and I realize most of the time they are things that I do not plan for. Opportunities come, and we get to choose whether or not to interrupt our plans for something curious and fascinating. Isn’t this the way kids live and love with such reckless ambition? Photographing YukLung and Clair was a great reminder to live in a way in which interruptions are welcome.
My first rainy day wedding, and it was phenomenal! I love the rain, having grown up in Portland, so this was actually an oddly ideal situation for me. Molly and Peter are goofy characters and brilliant people whose love of their friends and family was on display at this wedding. The entire wedding was in one building, and it made for cozy quarters as nobody cared to go outside into the courtyard in the rain. And I have to think that these two rather enjoyed it that way.
I thoroughly appreciated Peter’s transparent happiness and Molly’s contemplative affection throughout the day. In a superfluous industry with so much -stuff-, I’m thankful to always be reminded by my clients that it’s all about the people.
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Venue: Bell Tower Club
I’m so grateful to have met these two people. I’m so grateful to be allowed to photograph their beautifully revealed selves. Confident in person, and confident in front of the camera, they really inspired me.
I’m very excited to finally reveal the pictures from the wedding of Carey and Keith. I went to Hong Kong to shoot this wedding, and it was an amazing way to be introduced to a full Chinese/Western hybrid wedding there. The morning was orchestrated by the a series of negotiations and games, followed by tea ceremonies for the two families. In the afternoon, a more western “legal” wedding was performed and the evening reception had the energy of a college party while maintaining a wedding elegance. I really can’t say enough for embracing the traditions and ceremonies at hand, whatever they might be. Even though I didn’t understand what was said through half the day (sadly, I don’t speak Cantonese), I had a great time just received the amazing moments that were happening all around.
(I will post later with their wedding portraits, as this set of pictures has a cohesive story that I didn’t want to disrupt.)
Sometimes we take pictures. Other times we get to receive them.
I didn’t even get to meet Amy and Andy before their wedding day. If you read a lot of photographer blogs, you have probably read others mentioning if they haven’t met their couples before the wedding. It probably doesn’t seem to be a big deal, but photographers will tell you that it’s a HUGE deal. The chemistry between the couple and the photographer, between the couple themselves, the clarity of communication, issues of personal space and expectations, etc. – these all play into capturing the day.
I actually was booked by Amy’s mom Jeannie, who I adore and trusted that her daughter would be of the same fabric. The moment I met Amy and Andy, though, I knew I was about to witness something really special from them on their wedding day. The energy was absolutely electric before they even saw each other, and it just carried the day. It certainly helped that Jeannie had arranged for a full-on live swing orchestra at the reception and Andy’s brother spontaneously stepped up to the mic to sing “Take The A Train”. You can’t predict stuff like this!
I just looked through my lens to receive these amazing moments. Here are some of images from that day.
Ceremony: Church Of The Incarnation (Glendale, CA)
Reception: Oakmont Country Club (Glendale, CA)
Swing Orchestra: Blue Note Swing Orchestra
… I married this girl. Things have never been the same. My eyes are wider now, my world expanded, my thirst for life ever more viable. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done.
[P.S. If you're at all curious what we looked like on our wedding day, feel free to hop on over to Boutwell Studio: blog (I really had to go digging in the archives to find this one!)]
16 hours with an amazing couple, their radiant friends and family, celebrating their marriage. In Hong Kong. A great day to be a photographer.
It’s so interesting how you can go from strangers to friends in a couple of short hours.
I love the way they look at each other. I have shots where they are looking at me, but they just lit up when I told them to look over at each other. A beautiful moment to witness.