A while back I read in an online forum for photographers how those of us in California aren’t so much talented as we are just lucky to have “that great California light.” The statement is bogus, the quality of our light aside we have to deal with some things my Midwestern friends will never have to work with.

Like surfers photo bombing our weddings….

But then again that light is pretty sick.

Hey so how do you photograph a family of 19 all at once? You find a HUGE location with even light, layer and stack the subjects and then put a 5 year old in the foreground.

Actually this image was made after the large group shots. We knocked out the smaller group shots by the wharf and then moved to these boulders for the large group shot. We still had some time and so I asked for a volunteer. Little Em here climbed down and stood here for me while I snapped away.

Thanks so much to the Widman clan, it was a blast.

A photographer whose work I admire wrote the following on his blog the other day,

” Art teaches us what it is to be human”

To which I say amen. That is why I photograph. That is why I pursue images with people. I’ve never enjoyed shooting landscapes or abstracts. But if you put a person in the frame in front of my eye my heart thumps in my chest.

I work hardest not at the technically “good” image, but rather at getting to know the people I photograph. I love the consults I have with brides and grooms. I get to know them and their story.

I studied (among other things) Anthropology in college but fell short of ever exploring another culture. So maybe I’m a frustrated anthropologist, my camera being my way of studying people.

Henri Cartier Bresson said the hardest thing was to get his camera between the shirt and the skin of the person he was photographing.

Maybe so.

I also think it is the point. To get not only between their shirt and skin, but under the skin and into their world and then reveal the captivating uniqueness of the person I’m photographing.

That’s why I shoot weddings and portraits. Because of this need to know and understand. When I’ve captured it in an image I think somewhere in my head I feel I’m contributing to the world body of knowledge of humanity.

Doing my part to learn and share what it is to be human.

(thanks to Kirk for the quote)

Sometimes I get these crazy ideas about how I want images/shoots to turn out. I have concepts I want to try. When I’m tooling around I will find locals I think would make for a great shoot or I’ll find graphic elements I want to include. Sometimes these little ideas work out, sometimes not.

I had a few concepts and locales I wanted to try with Kevin and Primavera. None of them happened. Instead the shoot came out a thousand times better than I could have imagined.

This is how it should be. The images just happen. They lay there in the grass waiting for you to pick them up.

Thanks Kevin and Primavera. Can’t wait for your wedding in Capitola.

Jen and Alex were the first wedding I shot this year and if they are any indication of the kinds of couples and images to come my way this year it will be a rad year of photography for me. Just look at these two…

I have to say I got pretty lucky with these two. Between their choice of locations – holy smokes San Francisco are you kidding me? and their sense of style it was hard NOT to get great images.

Thanks so much Jen and Alex for choosing me to be your photographer and giving me the opportunity to capture some amazing images.

So tonight (Tuesday 03/30) Jen and Alex are revealing to their friends and family that they sneaked off to San Francisco and got hitched … Shush! Keep it under your hat until this evening.

To be honest I think it has got out a bit. I’ve been getting some visits from OZ on the blog. Which is great cause I will travel anywhere for a wedding (hint, hint).

At any rate I don’t think any thing says “Ta Da we sneaked off and got hitched in San Fran” like this image.

Enjoy. More to come.

When I edit I do three things… I keep in my heart the feeling I had while interacting with the people I photograph, I cue up songs on iTunes that “fit” the day/the couple, and I try to develop a few different edits that just “work” for the images. I always have an idea, before a shoot, what I want the images to look like, how I want them to feel.

For Jen and Alex I developed a post production that mimicked some one of my favorite black and white films I shoot with when shooting street photography. Following are a few images as a result of that process.

I mentioned in a previous post that Jen and Alex wanted to have a traditional English tea time on their non-traditional wedding day. So we headed off to the Crown and Crumpet. I can’t say enough good things about this little tea room. Beautiful soft light. An amazing staff. Unheard of service. They even provided a little cake and bride and groom toppers for Jen & Alex’s visit. Really, I was just blown away by this little place. I will always try and find a way to work a stop into their little shop for every San Francisco couples session.

I will have more images soon, but I couldn’t resist posting this one. Jen and Alex skipped the usual wedding traditions and eloped in San Francisco. It was a long day with lots of traveling around on MUNI, a bus load of Japanese tourists who kept “uncle bobbing” my photoshoot, and did I mention we spent a lot of time on MUNI?

These two Brits were my first wedding of the year and if they are any indication of what this year holds I’m gonna have a killer year in images.

I only wish I had more time with these two. So entirely off beat in their approach to life. Such a different take on weddings. I have to admit I was a little unsure about an elopement. That little part of my brain that always worries about getting great images for the portfolio was worried that without a “traditional” wedding the shoot wouldn’t do much for my emerging business.

Boy was that a stupid thing to worry about. Yeah, yeah there wasn’t a ceremony or lots of little details to photograph that are so popular. But these two more than made up for it in flair and humor.

I love Jen’s dress. The “I DO” was their idea (thank you to what ever photographer they Bogarted that idea from). I take full credit for the “DO I.” The expressions were all Alex and Jen.

I was listening to NPR the other day and they had a neuroscientist talking about how our choices are largely determined by these little squirts of dopamine and a bunch of other stuff I would like to pretend I understood.

One thing I’m pretty sure I could get my head around was that there are all kinds of things in life that give us these little squirts of dopamine, in other words, little bio-chemical shots of happiness.

Right now I’m building a sample album to present to couples during our consults. I’m using a wedding from last fall that was one of my all time favorite weddings to photograph. I’m culling images, doing little edits, sorting and thinking about how I want the images laid out and I realized I was getting these little shots of joy.

I thought I would post a few.

Photography, for me at least, is about looking for the right light, anticipating a moment unfolding and then capturing it when it does. This one unfolded while Steph was getting ready. Mitch and Steph had decided to have a private moment before the ceremony to see one another. Here she is just about ready to walk out and see Mitch. The light from the window was soft and bright and she was holding her flowers just so. I waited until something in my gut said “hit the shutter dummy!”

This is the result.

Mitch has his back turned waiting for Steph to come up to the alter where he’ll see her in her dress for the first time.
This is seriously one of my favorite moments during a wedding. Steph approaches with her grooms gift and flowers in hand. Shaking just a bit.

Image on left is Mitch just before he turns, image right is Mitch right as he sees Steph. Need I say more?

A deep breath… an embrace.