Vegas! WPPI '08

Wow, I've now been home for exactly one week and I'm am just now feeling normal again, what a great time! I left on Saturday afternoon to head down to San Diego for an engagement shoot. The drive was kind of brutal but I had my latest book on tape from audible.com so it was all good. Saturday night I met up with my friends and past bride and groom Angie and Brian for some drinks and dinner. The next morning, after the engagement (I'll post those soon!) I drove out to Vegas where I had a shoot then the festivities began.
I met tons of great people and had an awesome time. Not much sleep though! The convention is the largest of the year and brings together pretty much everyone in the wedding and portrait photography industry. It is a far cry from my everyday life in little San Luis Obispo! I get the chance to hang out with many good friends, meet the vendors I use and check out new products that are offered. Basically, it is the same as any other tradeshow but you know me, I always manage to have a good time wherever I go :)

Brian and Angie



Jason Groupp,Aimee Cooper and Me at some party...not sure who's as we went to a ton of them but I think it was at my new friend Sara France's.


Gene, who I have far more embarrassing images of but I won't do that to him! We're making fun of modes...sorry, the patron was flowing so it seemed funny at the time...


The San Francisco Crew, left to right
Jesse, John, Augie, someone I don't know (sorry) and Gene


John with his girlie drink our server set him up with!


Gene and Angelica oh my, after this we had the most wild limo ride ever! That was too fun!


My new favorite Southern Girls! Amy Martin and Mary Beth Tyson. That isn't my arm, but that would be funny if my hands were that feminine!


Jason got a really weird fortune out of a giant fortune cookie...only in Vegas!



Almost missed this one so I'm adding it in. Jefferson Todd, me and Aimee



What a great time, I'm looking forward to next year! So much more fun stuff, I had 7 shoots over the past 2 weeks so I've got tons of blogging to catch up on. But you know how it goes, you leave for a week and it takes a month to make it up!

WPPI Photo Contest Winner

I just got back from the annual Wedding and Portrait Photographer's International convention in Las Vegas and yes, I'm exhausted! I will post more about it after I get some rest.
One thing I am very excited about is that I got an "Accolade of Excellence" in the 16x20 photo contest for the above image of Becky! Becky is stunning and looks great in this image and I'm honored by the recognition!

Eric and Hayley's Paso Robles Engagement Session

Last week Eric, Hayley and I headed over to a couple of local Paso Robles wineries for some engagement photos before their June wedding. Conveniently enough, Hayley is an assistant winemaker at Summerwood Winery so we had access to all of their beautiful grounds and vineyards. Heck, we even used the production facility!
It was a beautiful and warm afternoon, the kind we wait all winter to enjoy. So warm in fact that Eric and Hayley were wearing flip-flops! You have to love California's Central Coast in March! They are both really quite funny, especially around each other. It was cool to see how they would communicate more with glances and body movement than with words, it's the kind of thing only people truly in love can do and it was beautiful to watch.
After running around Summerwood we headed across Highway 46 West to Peachy Canyon Winery just as the sun was setting. The light spilled through the trees and into the vineyards creating a very surreal environment. I did not know, but Peachy Canyon is now accepting weddings at their facility. It's a beautiful venue, I would love to shoot a wedding there sometime. We even found a fun little tunnel and played around in there before getting some night shots and wrapping it up.
Thanks again to Eric and Hayley, I'm really looking forward to hanging out with you again and am excited for your wedding!

Christina Bridal Images

Last week I headed over to Eagle Castle Winery which is just over the hill from me in Paso Robles to shoot some Bridal images with the beautiful Christina. Eagle Castle is a newer winery with a ton of great spots to shoot. They also have some fantastic wines as well...you didn't think I would go and not try them did you? They are quickly growing to become one of the premiere wedding venues in San Luis Obispo county and after shooting there I can see why!
We started off inside in the Library which is baroque in design and quite stunning. The fabrics and interesting metal work made for a wonderful setting that just needed some touches of my lighting to really make them come out. We then headed up the grand staircase for some natural light shots. I have to say that I wasn't expecting to get much natural light inside a castle but the architects did an great job of keeping the design but also adding in windows to allow for beautiful natural light. I was completely prepared to shoot all with strobes and ended up hardly using them at all!
We then headed out onto the patios and then the vineyards themselves. The sun went behind a hill just to the west of Eagle Castle and shaded the entire venue (which would be awesome during the hot summer months) but left the far hills lit and gave us some of the best natural light I have ever had. It was a great shoot, Christina was amazing and the venue was perfect! I love my job!

The dresses are from Central Coast Wedding Center in San Luis Obispo. Kim, the owner, is fantastic to work with and has an amazing selection. I was very surprised by the wide selection when we were picking out the dresses for this shoot, she's got everything, I'm going to tell all of my brides to check there before driving to Santa Barbara or San Francisco!
Thanks again to Eagle Castle Winery for allowing us to use the facility for this shoot, it was amazing!