Herb & Natalie Say "I Do"! (Part One)

I'm excited to present Herb and Natalie on their wedding day. Herb is my brother-in-law. Since this was a family wedding there will be many photographs to share from this event.

It was a delightful day, beautiful ceremony and fun reception. Bet you can't tell it was in the 90's!
There was a soft breeze rolling through which kept everybody comfortable.
Here is the first set, hope you enjoy them.

More on the way...including some of my favorites!!!
(remember to click to enlarge each photo for best viewing)

Married at "The Grove".
Natalie & My Nieces and Nephews as They Arrived~

The Happy Couple~

Love This One!

A Favorite of Mine...My Mother-In-Law Walking Away After Lighting One of the Candles.
I like her expression and the way everything else is out of focus around her.

Natalie's Dad Hugging His New Son-In-Law Right Before the I Do's~

The Ceremony Kiss (barely caught it)~

The Modern Day "Brady Bunch". Aren't they a Gorgeous Family?Congratulations!!!

Herb & Natalie Say "I Do"! (Sneak Peek)

More Coming Soon...

Friends Make all things Brighter

Jen-thank you for these kind words & mention in your profile and I'm so happy that quote resonated with you in those dark days. Thank goodness they're in the past now!

Jason-thanks for featuring me earlier this month! I don't how I forgot to mention it sooner. Your blog rocks and I'm loving your photographs from Paris!

Have a look at my profile featured on Jason Moore's Blog earlier this month if you fancy. And make sure to check out Jen's profile and blog as well.

I'm so blessed to have great friends that brighten my days!

A quote to learn by,

“When you have come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown…Believe that one of two things will happen to you…Either there will be something solid for you to stand on or you will be taught how to fly.” Unknown Author

Goth Dreams

Wedding Memories

My dear friends Nydrie and Tony were married last Saturday. I've known them and their families for many years now and was so elated to see them come together in marriage after twelve + years of dating. Congratulations you two! From the ceremony to the reception every detail was carefully planned out and it showed. I loved the beautiful color choices of brown and blue. It was a striking combination.


This couple was so adorable to watch throughout their celebration...they never once stopped smiling! Ear to ear smiles all day long!

Interesting tidbit of info...my husband's birthday was the same day! Happy belated birthday hunny! :) Nydrie and Tony were so sweet to remember my husband's birthday and announce it at the reception. We couldn't believe they did that...too awesome!

This window in the church had my eye almost as much as the stunning bride.
It was truly breathtaking~

The gorgeous triple berry cake. It tasted as great as it looked~

The delicate details made it even more memorable~

The ceremony~

The funnest couple...smiling the whole day I tell you~

My Friend Jen Weaver

I had to take today to say a little something about my dear friend-Jen Weaver of Jen Weaver Photography. If you're in the New Jersey area and are looking for a "heart & soul giving" photographer-she is who I recommend you should go with. I'm being honest here. She puts everything she has into everything she does and the results are always FANTASTIC. Not only does she do a great job at being the best photographer she can be, she is truly a giving and thoughtful friend too! Just take a quick look at her blog and you'll see how many tips & tricks she provides for other artists so they can go to one place and get the goodies instead of spending hours and hours researching in hopes of finding what they're looking for. Her newest blog on "Creative Common Textures" is just an example of how helpful this great woman is! Thanks for those textures Jen!

Jen always finds time to leave me an encouraging comment or email about my latest work and I am so very grateful for the gift of her genuine spirit in my life. Way to go JEN WEAVER!

This One Gives Me Chills!

"Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings-always darker, emptier and simpler."

Fredrich Nietzsche


This photograph of my son instantly hit me as thought provoking. I like the dark and the light side of it. The way the shadows hit his face, but still show the form of their origin. The "mood" of the photograph is what makes it all the more interesting to me. The intensity of the stare combined with the obvious young age of the subject...bringing the heaviness of a man to a little boy's world. I don't know-this photos gives me chills. There is another edit in my mind's eye in the works that is sure to bring the rest of you chills as well. We'll see if I can make my thoughts become reality...but lets save that for later.

“An optimist is a person who sees only the lights in the picture, whereas a pessimist sees only the shadows. An idealist, however, is one who sees the light and the shadows, but in addition sees something else: the possibility of changing the picture, of making the lights prevail over the shadows.”

Unknown Author

MAD AT THE WORLD!

" Do not teach your children never to be angry; teach them how to be angry." ~Lyman Abbott

I wanted to share this one from the shoot with my daughter the other day. As soon as I reviewed the images I had this photo manipulation in mind for the photo. The first one is the original photo that my idea formed from. And the story goes like this-

My son was watching the photo shoot and my daughter wanted him to stop whatever it was he was doing when she stared him down as you see in the photo. I am so glad I captured the look on her face at that moment because as all of you with teens out there know-this look is the typical "Mad at the World" or "Stop Bugging Me" look we all can do without on most days. This day I didn't mind her being a little mad!


"The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough." ~Bede Jarrett


So...how do you get a manipulation like this? Well, it's a lot of playing around in your favorite editing program. I knew I was going to use some of the cloud photos from my "Heaven's Above" blog, but didn't know which one until they were each tried one by one. I went with one that had both a dark side and a brighter blue side to it. I don't know why I picked it, it just looked good to me. My edit of the original photo already had extra noise added in to make it a bit more interesting and kind of deep. Sometimes I add noise to give extra interest to a photo. Normally photographers try to reduce the noise in their photos, which is at most times true for me too, but in some cases, usually when doing artist manipulations-adding noise is the better choice. I next added an adjustment layer to my existing layer (the original photo), positioning it just right. I then duplicated that layer and erased the clouds and sky from her face giving it the effect you see. I also tweaked the opacity on the second layer so that there was a bit of both layers (photos) present in my final piece. I think I added in some contrast and adjusted the hue on this as well. If you haven't tried this type of photo-reworking-do so! You may just find you love it like I do!

Anyhow, I loved the result...my daughter? I'm not so sure...I can say she didn't seem to hate it as she sometimes feels about my digital creations.

This brings up a topic to mention...what about ethics and photo manipulation? Is it unethical to alter photos in this way? Here's some interesting reading on the subject of digital manipulation and ethics if you're interested.

Also, I see your watching my posts closely...leave a comment now and then and let me know what you think-especially about my photo manipulations like this one...after all they are one of my favorite things! :)

Take this to bed with you tonight and wake with it in your head every morning-I dare you!

"If you're angry at a loved one, hug that person. And mean it. You may not want to hug - which is all the more reason to do so. It's hard to stay angry when someone shows they love you, and that's precisely what happens when we hug each other." ~Walter Anderson, The Confidence Course, 1997

You see...there is a message to find in every image created, there is something to be learned in every struggle we go through, something to be gained in every emotion-if you are willing to embrace it!

My daughter

Once in a while there is a cooperative teen around my house...it's not often, but earlier this week it happened and I took advantage of the chance to photograph my beautiful little girl!

Thanks for enduring my photo attack Brit!

:)

Aren't I fortunate to have such a fun & adorable model available to me? I sure think so...

A GIANT THANK YOU!

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot a super romantic wedding for an old friend and her sweetheart. The wedding was in the garden at Caltec College in Pasadena, Ca. I was accompanied by my sister who assisted me the entire 14 hour day!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you Stef for all your hard work on Saturday-lugging around my equipment, making sure everybody looked their best (no hair out of place) and for simply being the best sis around. It was great working with you...I'll always cherish experiencing doing a wedding with you! By the way...I just looked through the photos you took and they look fabulous...your attention to detail and the time you took to get the photos just right-especially with minimal lighting conditions really show. And to think you achieved all this with a CANON! Ha!

What's the saying..."A good photographer will capture a great photograph no matter what camera they shoot with." Unknown Author.

I agree.

I took this photograph of my sister at the reception on Saturday...I just love it!

I will be posting a few photos from this wedding in the coming days.

I'm Back!!!

WPPI was the place to be last week...it was my first time attending and I was blown away with new ideas and information on wedding & portrait photography. I can't wait to sit down and sort through the piles of information I received and put it to use in my daily work. I knew it would be a week to remember when on the first day I got to Vegas I went to check into the hotel and they were out of the standard rooms...I was upgraded to a suite for the entire trip (photo of my sweet room included above)!

I have to thank my friend Joe for giving me the gift of knowledge about WPPI a few months back. He was such a big help in showing me around and I was able to meet some phenomenal photographers through him and his friend Frank (an orange county Master of Photography). I've included a photo of Joe viewing an Album's Inc. Album up close at one of evening parties.

I wanted to say hello to a friend I met at the convention...hey Nisha! Nisha and I had a lot in common and had a great time looking over everything at the trade show all day on Tuesday. We'll be getting together soon since she's just a hop, skip and jump away in San Francisco. The last photo on here is us at the trade show together...the photo was taken by Hanson Fong himself (Nisha is his studio manager).

I got to speak with Hanson for a while and get some inspiration for wedding photography and specifically was intrigued by his ideas on posing techniques and on striving to photograph people (in particular-women) in a way that flatters them. Simple changes in posing make a huge difference!

There is so much more to share about this exciting event...so I'll be including WPPI tidbits throughout my posts in the coming weeks!