Oceanside wedding – Paradise Gardens

San Diego Weddings

This beautiful wedding at Paradise Gardens in Oceanside was an absolute pleasure to be a part of. Aside from the weather being a little on the hot side when we arrived – I can’t imagine how the day could have gone much better. From the perfectly behaved dog, to the children’s parade, to the absolutely gorgeous grounds where we were able to take the wedding photos, this was definitely one of those days that made me LOVE my job. Looking back, I think my favorite part of the day was the first look. The funny thing about “first looks” is that they can sometimes feel a little “contrived” as the bride and groom get ready. But as you can see in the resulting images here – the experience of seeing your spouse for the first time on your wedding day is a special moment that is guaranteed to create some strong emotions.













































Jessica and Chad :: Tom Ham’s Lighthouse

San Diego Weddings, Uncategorized

Small is beautiful – and this amazing little wedding took place at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on Harbor Island in San Diego. After getting ready at the Hilton I walked to the wedding venue (Loved that part!!) to wait for the bride. Tom Ham’s has gone through some significant renovations in the past year and I absolutely loved the new layout with bright interior rooms and a new ceremony site out front. As for the wedding itself – rarely have I seen more smiles at ANY event before… I love these guys!!




























Lao Wedding – San Diego

San Diego Weddings

I’m a huge fan of variety in weddings – so when I was told of a Laos ceremony in the morning followed by a more “western” ceremony in the afternoon I was very excited. Laos is a small country sitting between Thailand and Vietnam, and from what I understand there are a lot of similarities between traditional Thai weddings and traditional Lao weddings. This was my first Lao wedding so I did not have a basis for comparison, but it was full of fascinating traditions (including a bribe to the parents of the bride…) and it had an absolutely elegant traditional wardrobe and styling. I decided that this wedding would be a really cool set of pictures to put in a slideshow so here it is.

http://sdphotostudio.smugmug.com/Weddings/2013/Ty-and-Mark-Video/30752067_4ZbZRh#!i=2662884199&k=JdGhSM2&lb=1&s=A

The afternoon ceremony took place at Island Palms in San Diego

New Children’s Museum – Mass Cr8ivity

Video Production

Mass Cr8ivity was a series of 8 community workshops with 4 artists that took place around San Diego. The culminating event took place at The New Children’s Museum in Downtown San Diego, and we were brought in to provide both photo and video coverage from this final event. The day was really diverse with lots of different art activities geared to all age groups – so there was no shortage of fun material to sort through when it came time to put this final production together.

http://sdphotostudio.smugmug.com/Video/2013/NCM-Mass-Creativity/30183183_prWw8h#!i=2629101647&k=md7n2sd&lb=1&s=A

La Jolla Elopement

San Diego Weddings

To elope, most literally, merely means to run away and to not come back to the point of origination. Some people think that elopements are not romantic and not special – but I would have to strongly disagree with that opinion. This incredibly romantic wedding on the shores of La Jolla had only one witness (me) and the whole experience was pure joy.

The advantage of this being an elopement is that we were not tied to plans or a timetable. Being the 4th of July we were all worried about getting in and around La Jolla so I arrived an hour and a half early, which by coincidence was EXACTLY when the happy couple arrived. Rather than get married first do pictures second, we decided to get started on the pictures right away. And as we were walking and shooting (and getting hotter-and-hotter) somebody came up with the brilliant idea of jumping in the ocean right after the wedding.














The ceremony was performed by Rev Christopher Tuttle from http://www.elopetosandiego.com/

California Tour L’Etape

Sports Photography

I have a long history of covering Mountain Bike events… but I have not had a lot of opportunity to photograph road racing. So when I was offered the chance to cover The Tour L’Etape in Escondido this year I was thrilled. The route took the riders up Mt Palomar from Escondido so it was a formidable climb, but it was a beautiful day and the roads were surprisingly quiet.
I decided that since I was not offered an official support vehicle (motorcycle) this year – I really needed to maximize my opportunity to get some photos when I had the chance. I was able to set up in 2 locations during the race (I beat the racers to the top of the mountain after shooting my first location) so I decided to use 2 cameras simultaneously in both locations so I could get 4 completely unique set of images. At both locations I used a telephoto lens to catch the riders at a distance, and then I had a remotely triggered camera to catch a wide-angle shot as they came past me.
If you are looking to purchase photos of yourself from this race – please visit Scott Christopher Stolarz Photography

Location 1



Location 2


2013 Tour L'Etape Mt Palomar
Tour of California Mount Palomar Bike

Shelby visits San Diego

San Diego Family Photography

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of photographing a really nice beach wedding in Mission Bay for Brian and Heather so I was thrilled when they told me they were coming to town with an adorable new bundle in tow. I met up with them this morning for some quiet beach time before the crowds picked up – and Baby Shelby was (almost) perfect :). Everyone insisted it was OK to get some pictures at the rare moments when she got fussy so I was sure to include one here!!








Kelsey and Steve Engagement Photos

Engagements

Kelsey is soon to be my baby boy’s pre-school teacher, although our family has already gotten to know her pretty well. I was very excited for her first when she told me she was getting married, and then when she announced that she wanted me to be her wedding photographer. I had not yet met Steve so we arranged a meeting and immediately began planning their engagement photos. Our session 3 days ago started at Old Poway Park before returning to the magical trail behind my home.















Casey + Cathy = Married

San Diego Weddings

Its always fun shooting weddings when you already know the bride and groom – so this was a very special wedding.  Not only are Casey and Cathy my neighbors – but I actually traveled to Santa Barbara last year to photograph the surprise proposal.  This wedding took place at the Sheraton in Carlsbad with the portrait session happening nearby at the San Diego Botanical Gardens (aka Quail Botanical Gardens).

The day was long but super fun – and as a result of those 2 things (long day and fun time) I shattered my record for the most pictures I have ever taken at a wedding.  In fact, while I was creating this blog post I was struggling to narrow down my list of favorite images to get below my top 200.