Saturday, March 31, 2007

A Surprise Wedding at Figueroa Hotel

maria & matt.

Today I shot a wedding with the talented Julie Weaver. Although we've known each other for about 10 years, this is the first wedding we've shot together! We were at the GORGEOUS Figueroa Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Talk about character! There are Moroccan touches everywhere.

What made this wedding particularly special was that it was a SURPRISE WEDDING!! Maria's friends thought they were coming to her 30th birthday party, and after an hour or so, they were told to please create an aisle for the belly dancer who was about to come through. Who REALLY walked down the aisle however, was Maria in her wedding gown being led to the alter by her father!!

What I saw:



Party Attire...







Maria's cute bouquet...



I LOVE the expressions on the guests faces here when they realize the birthday party is ACTUALLY a wedding!









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Vegas, Baby, Vegas!!

Every year, all the wedding photographers I know gather in Vegas for the WPPI or DWF convention. Albeit exhausting, its always a really fun time!



Me and my fabulous roommate, Joy.



I always want to support my friends, so I made sure to catch the talks (from top to bottom) of Rob Evans speaking at the Pictage booth, Dane Sanders speaking for LiveBooks, and Dina Douglass giving a lecuture on lighting for the DWF...



... and to buy one of Jessica Claire's cool new Shoot Sac camera bags!



LiveBooks grabbed me for a quick interview on the Trade Show floor...



And later I was interviewed by Ron Dawson of Cinematic Studios for a promo DVD he is doing about me and my studio!





Here I am with the winner of the Thirst Auction mentor session, Penny Sylvia!! She is a great photographer, and I really enjoyed meeting her.



Carrie Phillips, Cat Krantz, Christine Marie & Sara France



Yvette Roman, me & Suzi Varin



me & Jon Barber



Me and the adorable David Jay

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Friday, March 30, 2007

The Bianchi Sandwich

My twin sister, Joy, has been working with me for over a year. She came to Vegas with me last year to help facilitate the DWF workshops I was doing, and she had such a great time that she came back this year.

Everyone we hung out with thought it was just so much fun to make a "Bianchi Sandwich." Joy said it would be funny to post all the "sandwiches" we made while in Vegas, so Joy, here you go! I know there are more out there, so if anyone has a "sandwich" on their camera, please send it to me!

I am going to post more images from Vegas soon, but for now, here is me and Joy with the following folks (from top to bottom, left to right), Rob Evans, Becker, Dane Sanders, Sara France, Brian Kramer, Matt Gillis, Joshua Bobrove and a Vegas showgirl!

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

What happens in Vegas...appears on my blog!!

Joy and I have been in Vegas at the WPPI/DWF convention since Monday afternoon. Although going to seminars and the tradeshow is a great component, one of the best reasons to go to Vegas is to hang out with other photographers and reconnect after a year of working hard shooting weddings. This afternoon we ended up at a fun lunch with a bunch of my friends, so Joy passed her camera around the table got the following video.

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Monday, March 26, 2007

Verandas, Manhattan Beach

hiroko & richard.

Today's wedding was at the lovely Verandas in Manhattan Beach. I loved the overcast weather - it brightened up just a little bit at just the right time, but not too much to make it too hot. Joy flew into town yesterday to go to Las Vegas with me tomorrow, so she was able to shoot today's wedding, too!

I have sooo many favorites, but I still haven't packed and Joy and I are leaving for VEGAS (and the big WPPI convention) first thing in the morning. Check out the ones I pulled for you:

Hiroko looked beautiful.



Richard laughed all day long!



Some ceremony details:



This is always my favorite moment - the ceremony has just ended and they are finally husband and wife!!





This shot Joy got makes me feel like a rock star.



This is what I was shooting:



We headed down to the beach for a little private time:











Everyone had a gift waiting for them...



...they were these gorgeous bowls with a poem inside.



These marshmallows were for the chocolate fountain...



I love this long exposure - Joy held the shutter in "bulb" mode, and I ran around the room with my flash... so fun!!

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Contest results!!

Congratulations to Vanessa SJ who correctly guessed the answer to this week's contest, "What the Heck is that??" I was really impressed with the amount of guesses, and I can't believe only Vanessa guessed correctly! Your Starbuck's giftcard on its way!!

I own many vintage cameras, so I thought it would be fun to use one in the contest. I shot this Kodak Instamatic with my macro lens and focused only on the flash.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

March PUG

I want to give a big thank you to Jim Kennedy who graciously gave his time to be this month's Pictage User Group speaker. I feel so fortunate to know Jim because he is so extremely well respected in the industry. Jim owns a beautiful studio in Orange County which shoots over 100 weddings per year. He will be teaching a Master Class next week at WPPI in Las Vegas, and I think everyone got a lot out of hearing what he had to say tonight. And after listening to him, I no longer feel as bad about how fast I talk!

I also want to thank Edo Photographer for being tonight's Studio Spotlight. Edo has been shooting weddings for two years and really has his own take on things. I love the Studio Spotlight because each week we really get to know that one photographer just a little bit better.

Jim teaching to the group:







William Henshall getting creative with his projector during our "tips & tricks" portion of the evening:

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Sunday, March 18, 2007

A Soolip Wedding, 2007

Today I got to hang out at the hip club, Social Hollywood, to shoot this year's "A Soolip Wedding". It was really fun event with tons of amazing ideas and vendors for brides-to-be.

check it out:



The Soolip Table:



Sooo many great details:



Wanda Wen is a good friend of mine and the founder of Soolip Paperie & Press.



Getting ready for the Monique Lhuillier fashion show:



I loved that all the girls wore red shoes with their wedding gowns:



The show was gorgeous:







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Friday, March 16, 2007

What the heck is that?

This week I did a really gorgeous boudoir session with one of my brides, but unfortunately, I can't show any of my images here. Not only are they are a little too private for public viewing, but the photographs are a secret gift for her groom, and we don't want to ruin the surprise by having him see them here!

Instead we are going to have another contest... so let's see who can tell me what the heck this is?? I know its not nearly as exciting, but its still fun.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Jules is boring

I think my pets are trying to tell me something.



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Sunday, March 11, 2007

Manhattan Beach

I love my engagement shoot questionnaire. It really helps me figure out WHO my couples are, and we always come up with places to shoot that are significant for that specific couple.

Teri & Chris decided they wanted their pictures taken at their home (so we could incorporate Groucho,, their cute dog) and at their two favorite restaurants - just walking distance away. They were really fun to be around, and I can't wait to shoot their wedding on Catalina Island this September!

Teri is sooo pretty!



Mr. Smirk...



They both liked the wall in front of North End - one of their favorite spots.





I love that Teri's engagement ring is a sapphire - so unusual!



Restaurant #2 - Sloopy's (funny name, cool place)





The fabulous Mr. Groucho...







Its fun to get shots at home!

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Saturday, March 10, 2007

Turning 13

My job is really too much fun. Jalen will be 13 next month, and his mom wanted fun, natural portraits that would really reveal who he is right now. (A super cool kid.) Jalen is also a rockstar basketball player, so after we were finished with the portraits, we headed down to the courts so I could get action shots while Jalen played hoops with his brother.

LOVE THESE:













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Olive

My dog, Olive, has patiently sat through many lighting tests, new lens tests, new camera tests, etc. She is my constant muse. I am finally compiling all of my favorite shots of her into an album. Below is a shot I took this morning during a lighting test. I think its going to make it into the book!

Don't you just want to squish that face?? Okay, I'm off to a portrait shoot now!

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Friday, March 09, 2007

THANK YOU!!

The Thirst Relief auction was really fun to be a part of. THANK YOU to everyone who bid on me...I heard we raised over $23,500!!

I'm excited to meet Penny, the photographer who won the 90 minute session with me. Penny! Please contact me before Las Vegas so I have a good idea of what you are interested in talking about! I want you to get everything you can out of our time together. And again, lunch is on me so decide where you'd like to go!

Also, CONGRATULATIONS are in order for my good friends, Dane Sanders, who raised $1050 and Becker who raised a whopping $2630!! I feel sooo fortunate to know them!

Vegas is about two weeks away, and I can't wait!!

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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Last Chance!!!

Today is the LAST chance to bid on a 90 minute mentor session with one of these fantastic photographers !

Of course I would love for you to bid on me. 100% of the money donated goes to help provide clean drinking water for people who really need it. You can find out more about the organization at ThirstRelief.Org

So! If you would like to have a 90 minute session with me, please click here to vote now!! I will be giving the winner fabulous Kolo products that he or she can use to get their clients raving about them, but we can discuss any issues you would like from how to get your weddings published to how to become the brand you want to be. We can chat over lunch - my treat!!

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Monday, March 05, 2007

Indian & Catholic wedding...

danielle & ameet.

This past Saturday I shot a wedding with the super talented Dina Douglass. Because Ameet is Indian and Danielle is Catholic, we shot two full ceremonies in one day!

What I saw:

Handsome Ameet:



Danielle looking gorgeous in her western gown:



My favorite moment of the Catholic ceremony:



During the formals:



Ameet & Danielle in their western attire:



Danielle had her feet decorated for the Indian ceremony:



Ameet's uncle put on his turban:





I love this shot of Ameet fussing with his new wedding band:



The Barat:





The Indian ceremony:





The cute couple again, but in their Indian attire:



Super gorgeous details:



First dance:

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Sunday, March 04, 2007

A night with Skip Cohen

A few nights ago, Cat & Adi of Next Exit Photography hosted a talk by Skip Cohen. Skip is the President/Chief Operating Officer of Rangefinder Publishing Inc. and has responsibility for Rangefinder Magazine, the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Association and the WPPI Convention.

His program was titled: "The Whacko Factor - It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you!" It took a fun look at an extensive variety of ideas on diversity in business, cost-effective self-promotion, publicity generators, ideas on networking, cross-promotion, packaging, direct mail, website development and online hosting. The group was small, and it was great to be able to get to know Skip afterward.

Thanks to both Skip and Next Exit!



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Friday, March 02, 2007

Thirst Relief Auction

When I was in Vegas for WPPI last year, I conducted two workshops for the Digital Wedding Forum and two mentoring sessions for Pictage photographers. Because I am not speaking anywhere this year, I have decided to donate my time to contribute to the efforts at Thirst Relief International. The mentoring sessions that will take place during the WPPI Convention later this month in Las Vegas are being auctioned off now. Auctioning ends March 8th, so get your vote in now!!

Of course I would love for you to bid on me, but be sure to check out the rest of the fantastic photographers who are trying to give a little something back.

100% of the money donated goes to help provide clean drinking water for people who really need it. You can find out more about the organization at ThirstRelief.Org

If you would like to have a 90 minute session with me, please click here to vote now!! I will be giving the winner fabulous Kolo products that he or she can use to get their clients raving about them, but we can discuss any issues you would like from how to get your weddings published to how to become the brand you want to be. We can even talk about Olive & Blythe!!

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Contest results!!

Okay okay... I admit that I am completely obsessed with Blythe. I fell in love with her after I saw Gina Garan's book.

Anyway, the contest winner (and Starbucks card recipient) is blog reader Scot who came up with the following Blythe trivia:

1)The Blythe dolls were created in 1972.

2)They were made by Kenner and produced in Hong Kong.

3)The original dolls were only in production for one year.

4)The original dolls featured blinkable eyes that changed the eye color with the pull of a string in the back of the dolls head.

5)Gina Garan, a photographer, is probably most credited for the return to popularity of the Blythe dolls.

My Blythe also has the string in back that will change her eyes, so this is the same doll in all four photos. And she was customized especially for me! If you ever need to get me a gift, you can't go wrong with something Blythe!



and close up...(the blue eye has the tiny camera from my logo, but its really too dark to actually see)

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