Having known Dave since college, it was a huge honor when he asked me to photograph his wedding and engagement session in San Francisco.  Back at CSU in Ft. Collins, Dave was a genius.  Now?  Well let's just say Dave runs Silicon Valley.  :-)

So I flew up to San Francisco for a day and instantly was sad when I looked up.  Clouds, even a little rainfall?  This was not going to make for good photos.  Then after Dave picked me up and we headed down to Woodside, once we broke the "fog barrier" of SFO, it started to clear up.  It was amazing.  And then at their friends amazing estate in Woodside, I got to meet the beautiful and very friendly future Mrs. Dave.  Shirine was soon to be Dave's better half, and I was happy to finally meet her.  They were truly a perfect couple and so much fun to hang out with.  I wish I had more then just 1 day, but we had to jump right to it.

We wandered around this beautiful area filled with trees, ponds, vine covered walls, and more.  The owners even took out their Audi R8 and let us take a few photos in his 1960 Mercedes 220 SE Cabriolet.  Nice!!!

As we headed off to Downtown SF, we took a few photos at his house with family dog Tucker.  Then a few more at the Ferry Building.  After an amazing dinner at Kokkari we headed out to a bar for some additional cocktails.  With one last find, we got our favorite photo of the night with the Transamerica Pyramid in the background.  An end to a perfect night for a perfect couple. 

Thank you to you both for the hospitality and I can't wait for next year!!

On August 27th, 2010, 11 amazing competitiors performed at the Ford Amphiteather for the prize of $1000 at Kollaboration Acoustic 4.  Kollaboration is a non-profit organization that holds these fun filled talent show style performances twice a year.  Once for a full on 6000 packed main event, and once for a smaller casual acoustic show.  With a sold out crowd tonight, Dawen came out ahead with the votes from the celebrity judges. 

As the totals were tallied, one of the very talented guest judges performed a few songs as well.  Marie Digby, YouTube star turned mainstream popstar, sang 3 amazing songs for a very enthusiastic crowd.  Just 3 years ago Marie was singing her version of "Umbrella" in front of her camera at home, and today she has 3 records out, has sung on Carson Daly, and even has a ABC mini-series coming out soon.  Her video on YouTube still continues to play and has racked in over 17 Million views.  She is not only extremely talented, but super nice.

Dawen is an R&B, Soul, Singer-Songwriter based in Los Angeles.  As he came to the stage, you could tell he had a following as his fans and supporters started to cheer.  With a funny, lighthearted song entitled "Shoes", his humor was apparent as well as his musical talents.  In the end, that was all he needed to do to win his title of Acoustic 4 Grand Champion and claim his oversized $1000 prize.

Congratuations to all the performers, to Dawen, and all the Kollaboration Staff for an amazing job and excellent show.  Please check back for an additional blog posting with additional photos of all the performers and more information about Kollaboration.

A few months ago, I took maternity photos of Sabrina and Hua!  Now, they have an amazing new addition to their family, baby Alan.  Congratulations to you both and to the entire family.  Alan is such a little cutie.  He stayed awake for as long as he could until 15 minutes into it he started to fall asleep again.  They're cute when they're awake, they're cute when they sleep, and they make great photos for either.

Cheers!!

Scared of using your flash at a wedding?  Pictures come out too bright?  Well check out our latest episoe of Photosodes.com and find out about a few nice flash attachments that you may want to purchase for your off camera flash to help your flash work get just a little bit better.

Episode 8: Flash from Photosodes on Vimeo.

Nathan Mintz is running for California's 53rd State Assembly.  But on top of his engineering career, his political race, and other activities, he also has a family.  His wife Judy and their dog Nopey, named after Gumby's dog Nopey, met up with me at Founder's Park next to Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes.  On a bright sunny day, we wandered around the grounds and captured just a few of their fun candid moments, hiked down to the water, and let Nopey run around in the grass.  Both Judy and Nathan were great during out session, even after a little extra hike up from the beach.  Note to self, next time at Founder's Park, save the hike to the Beach for last.  :-)

Good luck Nathan in your race for the State Assembly.  And thank you Judy for setting up the family portrait session!

Cheers!

Last week I got my first West Coast Albums Guestbook delivered and was very happy with the results.  These top quality albums can be used for wedding albums, guestbooks, parent albums, or any other type of album your clients might want.  So stay tuned, as more products and photos will definitely be ordered.

With many swatches to choose from for the cover options, we went with the black leather cover with a window photo on top with text in the photo.

Each page was very thick and sturdy, giving it a professional long lasting feel that won't bend or warp over time.  An almost semi-glossy feel on the pages gave it a great look, not too shiny, but not too flat either.

Add some quick drying pens and this album was set to go to my friends Jason and Alisa for their wedding in Estes Park, CO.  With 20 pages and a 9x12 size, this guestbook made from their engagement session was large enough for the 110 guests with no problem.  Now not only do Alisa and Jason have some of their engagement photos in a lifetime printed keepsake, but their guests have wished them congratulations, love, and words of encouragement.  Congratulations Jason and Alisa!!!

I'm sure you've heard me mention Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden at CSU Long Beach before, but get used to it.  As I love shooting there and would be happy to shoot 50% of my weddings there.  It's an amazing garden secluded from the highway with trees, a Koi Pond, beautiful bridge to get married on, and of course an amazing staff.  And best of all, it actually fits a lot more people then you'd expect.  Joining their preferred photographers vendor list this year, I am happy to have a bunch more weddings there.  Chelsea and Michael must have known that this place was magical as they booked their wedding there, called me up, and we were set to go on July 18th, 2010.

With friends and family, a photobooth, and more, Chelsea and Michael started off with the photos around the gardens as their family started to arrive.  This first look opportunity not only saves time, but allows your guests and family to mingle during cocktail hour instead of having to get family portraits directly after the ceremony.  A great idea and a wonderful way to get some great photos while everyone is looking their best.  As the ceremony began, the sun shined through the trees to get some perfect lens flares as Chelsea and Michael recited their vows.  It was a beautiful wedding and everything went smoothly without a hitch.  Chelsea commented to me at one point that she was just waiting for something to go wrong, but nothing did.  Everything was perfect and everyone had a great time.  With the photobooth spitting out fun photos, the DJ rocked the dance floor while, the wedding continued on into the night.

Thank you to my lovely Fiance Allison for assiting and Jaemi Suh for 2nd Shooting.  Thank you to Chelsea and Michael for the chance to capture their beautiful wedding and I hope you enjoy all the photos!  Best Wishes!!

Photobooth: Pacific PhotoBooths

DJ: DJ Sota Entertainment