A bit of change

I mentioned a couple months ago that change is in the air. Well, after quite a bit more work than I was expecting my new look and some much awaited updates will start happening this week! I'm really excited as these updates will do much to better represent me and to serve my clients.
The first thing most people will notice is my logo update. The background pattern will show up in many places as will the "Colin Michael Photographer" logo. The frame around "Colin Michael Photographer" will be used where appropriate. I really like the background as it has the look of vintage wallpaper to me, I love it! Be aware that the page that comes up when you type in www.colinmichaelphoto.com will soon be changing so don't be surprised!
The next major change is to my client area where I have just introduced a new e-commerce site. The new system is much more user friendly and offers so much more flexibility! I will now be able to offer gift registries, gift certificates, and even albums directly to registered users. Registration is super easy, just name and email so that the system can keep track of your favorite images and any orders you place. If anyone has images saved on the old cart, I can email you the link to that site which I will keep running through mid-January. As a special promotion, I am offering a 20% coupon as a "thank you" to everyone who orderins within the next month, just enter "SLO" into the coupon code when checking out. The coupon will be good for one month from today and can not be combined with other offers.
I should mention that some events are hidden and others are not yet posted. If there is an event you wish to see, please contact me.
I also recently added a couple of new weddings to the site and will be adding a couple more in the coming weeks. I also plan to launch a new website with personal art from my fashion work and landscapes, but that is a bit further down the line.
I'm really excited about all the changes and hope they better serve all of you. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact me or leave a message here.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Brenna and Joshua's Pismo Beach Wedding

There is just nothing like a good beach wedding! Don't get me wrong, I completely take for granted that the beach is right here and I shoot several beach weddings every year, but in the end I always love them. There is just something so unique about getting to photograph a wedding at the beach, I always remind myself that it is such a privilege to be able to a photographer who gets such amazing venues to shoot. The light has a magical quality that permeates every image and inspires me. Add two people very much in love and it makes for some great images!
Josh and Brenna were married in Pismo Beach just about a week ago and I had the opportunity to share the day with them. They are a really great couple and are just perfect for each other. Everyone was a bit concerned as the day before the wedding the weather was very cold, windy and a bit rainy, but it cleared up and was a beautiful December day. Everything went really smoothly, the weather was great and their families were awesome! Thank you so much for having me!

Knocked up!

Nice title, right? :)
So in case you were wondering why my blogging has been so bad for the past month or so it is because Stephanie is pregnant with our second child. Check out that thumbs up in the ultra sound! Uh, at least that's what I see!
We are stoked on having another kid (we find out the sex this week) but unfortunately Stephanie has been having a really hard time having been diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. She spent a bit of time in the hospital and has been on bed rest for about a month now. She had it with her first pregnancy too but thankfully this doctor is taking it much more seriously than her last one. She is at 17 weeks right now so hopefully she will start to get well enough to move around soon. The good part is that Steph says the delivery is actually the easiest part of pregnancy!
Anyways, thanks to everyone for the well-wishes we have already received and know that they are very much appreciated!
I also attached an image of Caiden who loves to put on daddy's bike gear and pretend to be a bike rider, it is pretty funny. Walking around Avila Beach in bike shoes with big plastic cleats on the toes isn't easy for a 2 year old!

Yosemite Wedding

A couple weekends ago I headed up to Yosemite to help my friend John Griffin shoot Emily and Will's wedding. I arrived Friday evening after dark and checked into our cabin. After a bit of confusion because of some odd bugs in our beds (yikes!) we switched rooms into the bug free cabin you see in the pictures. We headed over to the Ahwahnee Lodge to meet with the couple, who were incredibly nice people, and to get a bite to eat. When you are out in the woods you don't really think about dressing nicely so we actually weren't allowed into the dinning room because we didn't have collared shirts! The bar suited us just fine however :)
When you arrive in Yosemite at night then wake up in daylight you are so awestruck by the cliffs, it is stunning. The next morning I did the standard, "walk-out-the-door-look-up-stand-with-jaw-hanging" that every tourist does. My intention was to run 4 or 5 miles but I got caught up in the beauty of the place so ended up running more like 10 miles. I can see my friend TJ Cameron shaking his head at that after our extended run in New York City a couple months ago! But it was gorgeous and the weather was perfect, what was I supposed to do!?
What a great place for a beautiful destination wedding! We started off shooting the ladies at the Ahwahnee then headed over to the Yosemite Lodge to shoot the guys. The ceremony itself was by the Ahwahnee with the reception inside one of the dinning rooms. The surroundings at the ceremony was breathtaking. I had a great time and have to thank John again for inviting me along. Thanks to Emily and Will and their families for being such gracious hosts as well.


Front of our cabin


Here is what my run was like, can you blame me for staying out too long!?


Will is 6'5" so it seemed appropriate to frame him with Half Dome!


The view over the head table


The details were perfect


Just a fun portrait


I always get a variety of portraits so parents have something they like too


John posing while I check the lighting setup


The results of the lighting

Bowling and Halloween

It must be in the gene's because Caiden loves bowling! Not that either Steph or I are avid bowlers but back in college we both took bowling for PE credits and used to play whenever it was a rainy day. The only problem was that Caiden doesn't want to wait his turn for his frame so we had to get him his own lane! He played 3 games in the time we played only one!
The other pic is from Halloween night when the downtown merchants in Paso Robles hand out candy for kids. We found Eli and Calista (and their parents of course!) while we were walking around and they all had to stop to try some candy.

Rob and Elisa's Sacramento Wedding

One of the great things about shooting weddings at destinations away from home is finding great new locations to explore, even better when they are not all that far away! Sacramento is overlooked by many on the coast as most people think of LA and San Francisco as being the centers for excitement and urban life in California. Well, I can now add Sacramento to the list of great California cities with nightlife filled downtowns, beautiful and historic neighborhoods and plenty to do.
I headed up to San Francisco the night before Rob and Elisa's wedding and stayed with my long time friend Jen and her husband Rodger (thanks guys!). The next morning I headed out from their place for a quick run down to Baker Beach and then headed out to meet Elisa at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel which is just down from the State Capitol Building. Elisa is part of a large and extremely fun Portuguese family so there were tons of fun moments and everyone had a great time. Elisa is probably one of the funniest people I know and she is so well balanced with Rob, they are perfect for each other.
The ceremony was at a beautiful church in Mid-town, Sacrad Heart Parish. Rob's choir performed all the songs, I wish I would have gotten an recording because they are truly amazing! After the ceremony when headed back to the Capitol Park for some pictures then the party began at the reception.
I had a great time and have to thank Rob and Elisa for having me as well as Chris and Danielle for helping out. I can't wait to head back up there to hang out with everyone again!

Email Issues

I love where I live but the one problem is that my internet is a bit unreliable! Unfortunately, my ISP has been having issues so much of my outgoing email has not been getting through. If you have tried to contact me in the last couple of weeks and are waiting for a response please let me know as I have no way of knowing what is getting through and what isn't.
Know that I am doing everything I can to resolve this and should have everything back to normal next week.

Mike and Beth's Carmel and Monterey Wedding

Last week I had the privilege to shoot Mike and Beth's wedding in Carmel, California. I was really excited coming into the weekend because this would be my smallest wedding of the year with less than 10 people. It is so fun to shoot intimate weddings because I really get to share in the day and get to know everyone who is there.
We started out at the Salon at Lincoln Lane where Beth and her daughter Laura were getting their hair and makeup done. Gaspar and Carrie took great care of us before we headed back to the beautiful Old Monterey Inn. The Inn was an amazing location that I can't wait to visit again and provided a great location for bridal shots! It was so good in fact that I'm going back to shoot a bridal fashion shoot there later in the year.
We then loaded up and headed down to Carmel Beach for the ceremony. Is was pretty breezy but warm enough and the light was gorgeous! It was so cool to have a very free ceremony where everyone was very much a part of the wedding and yet could feel the sand between their toes. Everyone was so happy for Mike and Beth and had a great time, I was totally honored to be a part of such a beautiful wedding.