Our goal was to start at one end of Abbot Kinney Blvd. and make our way to Primitivo, the restaurant where Brent and Tracy had their first date. Every few feet, we would encounter a quaint alley or a colorful stoop and have to stop for a few snaps. Brent didn’t seem to mind though, he was quite content to take his beautiful fiancée into his arms and shower her with kisses.

In an inspired move, Brent and Tracy brought along a couple of their favorite possessions: a guitar and a treasured book. Of course, a little serenading ensued.

We ended the session as all photo sessions should end… with a delicious meal – in this case at the Dogtowndog hotdog truck. Thanks again guys, for letting us shoot in front of your super cool truck!

It was so much fun getting to know Tracy and Brent better. We can’t wait to photograph their wedding at the gorgeous Hideaway Golf Club in La Quinta next year. We know it’s going to be just fabulous! All the elements are in place: a great location, the fabulous team at Celebrations of Joy making sure every detail is perfect, and of course, a super cute couple with great chemistry.

It has been said that every photograph a photographer takes is on some level a self-portrait. Every image is essentially the photographer trying to express some part of himself. This is something I was thinking about when Isabel and I were traveling through Pozos, a weird little ghost town in central Mexico where there are lots of dilapidated structures and hungry dogs roaming the streets. We actually stopped at a local butcher, and for a couple of dollars bought one of the most desperate looking dogs the equivalent of a five star meal. At one point the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and and I saw these impressionistic shadows on a wall, as I moved into position there, I became a little part of the scene.

This is a platinum/palladium print. It’s made by brushing liquid emulsion onto a piece of paper and contact printing the negative. The paper and negative are sandwiched between two pieces of glass and exposed in the sunlight. Not only is this one of the earliest printing processes and most archival but it’s also, in my opinion one of the most beautiful.

a great day to take flight.

The beautiful thing about being a wedding photographer is that there are so many exquisitely lovely moments that unfold in front of your lens. Some are completely spontaneous and let’s be real, totally accidental but sometimes, a posed shot that I may have composed many many times before, manages to come together so perfectly that it’s as if it’s the first time I’m seeing it through the viewfinder. When this happens, all I can do is hold my breath, pray nothing changes and gently press the shutter.

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school, but if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you haven’t learned a thing.”
~ Muhammad Ali