Archive: ‘Personal’



NW Food & Wine Festival 2011!

Friday, November 11th, 2011

This year’s event was held at the Double Tree Hotel by Lloyd Center in Portland, OR.  The theme was Pate, and boy did they have a lot of Pate.  My wife and I are big fans, and this year did not disappoint!  To our delight, there was even a Pate contest!  There was no question that the best was in town that day.

http://nwwinefestival.com/

The Judges of the Pate contest.  They make the big decisions.

As good as it looks.

Unbelievable number of top notch wineries, too bad I don’t have the tolerance to try them all!

Mixologist contest, we got to share an incredibly delicious whiskey sour.

There are more photos, but too many to post!  More information on the website, hope to see you there next year!

http://nwwinefestival.com/

Lisa and John Cancun Wedding

Monday, June 20th, 2011

I’ve stopped shooting weddings as of last year – so this isn’t a normal thing :)   I know the whole “don’t post what you don’t want to shoot more of” rule, but the reasons I felt compelled to post this particular wedding are 1.) they’re my close friends and 2.) it was just so gorgeous.  Beautiful bride, handsome groom, amazing location – how can I not???

My very good friends Lisa and John recently got married in Cancun, Mexico! They are one of the most selfless and loving couples I know. I have to say, having them as our friends is one of our biggest blessings!

Lisa is an amazing cake decorator, she creates fabulous flowers with sugar. She’s indeed Sugar Blessed! She puts so much work and so much heart into our social gatherings and just makes them breathtaking. Please check out her work!

John has such a big heart. There is not much he won’t do for a friend. He is starting law school in the fall, and I know he’s going to kick some ass and take names.

At the ridiculously awesome all-inclusive resort.  Service and friendliness was outstanding – highly recommended!

The water was gorgeous… oh how I wish I was still there…

Morning breakfast with the girls!

No breakfast is complete without a mimosa :)

The guys are excited for the big day!

Lookin’ sharp!  Love the coral colors, it pops so well with the tropical aqua-tones of the surroundings!

Sharp, John.  Sharp.

Lisa gave every bridesmaid a necklace from Tiffany & Co!  Don’t you just love how the colors complement so well?  Gorgeous!

Traditional Korean Hanbok.  Beautiful.  There are so many details, and the craftsmanship is amazing!

Oh Lisa, you are a real princess today :)

First look – to be honest I was super excited for this moment.  John looks great, and Lisa is just stunningly beautiful.  I couldn’t wait to see how John is going to react!

You can see the love in John’s eyes.  They are perfect together – this picture says it all :)

The bridal party.

The wedding was held in a terrace overlooking the white sand beach.  There was a constant warm breeze, the light was soft and warm – it was perfect!

Getting ready for the big entrance!  Nothing but excitement!

It’s done!  Party time!

The staff at Playacar Palace Resort did an amazing job decorating the restaurant and making it special.  They matched Lisa and John’s wedding colors perfectly and placed each rose petal on the table by hand!  Each one was meticulously placed to have even spacing.  They even made a heart in the center of the table with lit candles and more rose petals!  Big props to so much work – thanks for making it so special.

A little background behind this picture: the glasses started to chime and it was a cue for the bride and groom to kiss.  With the very slight hesitation between them, one of the groomsmen took the opportunity and went for the groom.  Needless to say, everyone (especially the bride and groom) was taken by surprise!

Unbelievable service – they brought out three rounds of shots for us for us to toast with!  These were non-alcoholic mixed drinks – very yummy.

You know it’s a great party when the moms are having a great time!

Congratulations Lisa and John!  We wish you a long and happy marriage with lots of children! :D

Eli the Adventurer #2

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Today is part 2 of the Eli Adventure series. Today was a little different than normal. We went out to my friend’s 92 acre property to check it out and do a photoshoot. We actually spent most of the time hauling scotchbroom and burning them to help clear out the land. At first we shot a few frames of just Eli with the landscape in the background. Those turned out pretty well, so we kind of stopped there.


The real magic happened when we stopped shooting. Eli’s father held him because Eli was getting tired and sleepy. I was just about to put my lights away when he asked if he could have a few shots with Eli. I said, “Of course!” I had them stand in front of the bonfire so it was slightly out of focus, and dialed my exposure in to make sure it was slightly underexposed. I managed to catch a moment where he was looking down at Eli, and it was such a powerful moment. The expression on his face towards Eli shows so much about their relationship: love and protection. This is by far my favorite photo from the shoot: