Ashley and Isai came up from the Los Angeles area (where their wedding will be next April) for their engagement session. They are the sweetest couple and it was nice to finally meet them in person as we’ve handled all of the booking via phone and email. Isai proposed to Ashley on a trip to New York with some friends right on the Brooklyn Bridge! How cool is that?
We started off with some photos in the industrial area around the San Francisco Design Center (which is actually a pretty cool wedding venue) and then headed over to Chrissy Field for some sunset photographs in front of the illustrious Golden Gate Bridge. I can’t wait to photograph their wedding and be with them on their special day.
On another note there are two very special things that happened while photographing this session. In one frame you’ll see some kind of bird who decided to fly overhead while we were at the beach and made a great frame even more awesome! In another one, you’ll see how the flare (created by the sunlight hitting the glass elements of the lens) that I captured came out looking like an angel. Now I don’t want to get a bunch of people wanting to pay $1 million for my “Angelic Flare Lens” but I thought this was super cool and I might be calling the National Enquirer. So here are a few frames from the day. Enjoy.

Angel Flare!

The awesome continues everyone. I’ve got two awesome weddings this weekend. One will be out in Oakdale at an amazing private residence that I’m absolutely in love with. I’m going to overload on the details of this place! Another one with a sweet couple from the Seattle area who are getting married in Lodi, I can’t wait to meet them since we’ve only talked on the phone and by email. Also this week I added two awesome weddings for 2010, one at the ultra fabulous new Ritz Carlton at Northstar Lake Tahoe and the other at one of my favorite local venues, Viaggio Winery. Both of the couples are awesome and from San Francisco, which usually go hand in hand.
Speaking of San Francisco, Ashley and Isai came up from the Los Angeles area for their engagement session and we had an awesome time. I’ll be photographing their wedding next April in Southern California. Here is a little teaser from the end of our session at Chrissy Field in San Francisco with the lovely Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Love it. Stay tuned for some more awesome to be dropping soon and some of my personal work from New York City (maybe even some film if I ever finish this last roll). Enjoy.

New York City is the greatest city on the planet. Don’t argue, you will lose. I love NY. It is a city that shouldn’t be there, it shouldn’t be successful, it shouldn’t populate the world with the best and brightest, it shouldn’t be the epicenter of culture and trade…but despite the critics and despite the adversity this city has faced (not just since 9/11) New York City has risen above the status quo. This city represents a beacon in our world that success and freedom is still at hand to those who are willing, I love it!
Needless to say, I cannot wait to go back to New York. I cannot wait to walk the streets of Manhattan and feel the energy that I feel. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been quite as inspired by a couple as I have been by Tracy and Matt. Tracy is a true New Yorker, born and raised in the city, she is a product of this great city. Matt moved to the city in 2003 from Albany and is another success story of this great city. These two have a very real love for one another and I can totally see them doing great things in the future. I’m really looking forward to doing more weddings and engagement sessions in New York City. If you know anyone in the city, please make sure to refer them to the blog and the website for more information about my low travel costs for New York couples.
We started out the session in Central Park at the Botanical Gardens where it decided to pour rain almost as soon as I got my camera out. So like a pack of wet puppies, we headed down to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for some photographs inside the beautiful building (and away from the downpour). The Met was great and it was extra special since Matt is an artist himself studying for a post-grad degree in Art Education. From there we headed over to the West Village and the Highline (near the Standard Hotel) for some awesome sunset photographs. It was a beautiful day and we ended up at The Red Cat for a fabulous dinner (super highly recommended, probably the best salmon I’ve ever had) with Tracy and Matt. It was so great to have my wife, Cheryl, along helping out and keeping me sane. I think I need her to assist me more often.
So here are a few photographs from our awesome engagement session. Make sure to tell a friend and spread the word. Enjoy!

There are so many great photographs from this session and I think I’m just going to have to post a few at a time. This photograph was made on the Highline near the Standard Hotel in Chelsea (such a rad place). Anyhow, check it out. More to come later.

At 2:00am (PST) TODAY Cheryl and I were on the New York City Subway in a state of weariness and pain. I couldn’t help but sit there and think about how New York City has been such a point of inspiration in my life. It is truly the most amazing city on earth. We hopped on a plane (I love Virgin America) and flew to San Francisco. I can’t even begin to list all of the places that we went and the things that we got to see in the short four days that we were in Manhattan. But needless to say, my feet hurt yet my mind is filled with memories of another great time in a great city far from home.
Tracy is an original New Yorker, born and raised in the city. You don’t even want to know how cool she is and she loves my kids which adds bonus points to her coolness. Then you throw Matt into the mix and they’re just a couple that is totally off of the charts. We braved the rain, grumpy museum security people and a stolen purse to make one of the most memorable engagement sessions I’ve photographed in my tenure as a wedding photographer. I can’t wait to cull/edit/process the whole session, Tracy and Matt are simply beautiful people. But until then, here is a little teaser with one of the coolest bike cabbies in Manhattan. Enjoy.