San Diego

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.





































Cute Doggies

San Diego Family Photography

The flowers behind my place are in full bloom right now – so I am thrilled to have a few photo sessions lined up to take advantage. These nasturtiums grow under a beautiful canopy of mulberries creating a magical lighting scenario for photography. I was lucky enough to photograph Melissa and her adorable dogs once before… and they behaved very well for me once again today.














Camp Pendleton Mud Run 2013

Sports Photography

Today I was out at Camp Pendleton for my third mud run of the season. The races are a ton of fun to spectate but they are a little rough on me and my gear. Take today for example… in that first picture it would not immediately come to mind – but every drop of dirt and sweat that might come off the athletes on this obstacle is going to land directly on me and my camera (yuck!!). At location #2 it might not be hard to imagine how I might end up a bit messy :). But in any case – when you are hard at work, you soon forget about the little things (like someone else’s sweat dripping on your face) and it is not hard at all to get caught up in the excitement of a fun event like this. For now… I have a while before I need to consider whether I want to subject myself to something like this again next year!!



La Jolla Engagement Photos

Engagements

I almost always get to do some location scouting – even if it is just a google search for other photographs or a street view. But heading into this engagement photo session I was flying completely blind. We were meeting in the middle of an upscale neighborhood in La Jolla near a small trail that accessed the ocean (at low tide). The funny thing about last Saturday is that the tide was high and so was the surf. We ended up on just a small cliff about 30 feet above the water, and with the high surf I still managed to got soaked in the first 10 minutes of being on location. Still, the conditions were great for taking pictures and these guys were super photogenic. And not only did the beach location work out well… I may have discovered my favorite stair case in San Diego only about 200 yards from our beach trail.









Superstition Mountain

San Diego Weddings

When Fallyn first called me to tell me she wanted me to be her wedding photographer… and that the wedding was “out in the desert” I knew I was in for a treat. Of course – what inspired me to leave my SUV at home in favor of the hybrid sedan is another matter all together (but I still managed to show up early). This wedding fulfilled all expectations with an absolutely stunning location and a beautiful wedding with good friends and family. Not even the 95 degree heat could put a damper on this spectacular celebration.







































Breakers Beach Wedding – Coronado Island

San Diego Weddings


North Island Air Station on Coronado is a spectacular location for a wedding. The beach is enormous and the new hotel is comfortable and elegant. On top of that Freya and Justin are an amazing couple who can’t seem to take a bad photo if they tried.  Both Jon and Chris of SD Photo Studio were very excited to be a part of this amazing day.

 

 

Crystal Pier Engagement

Engagements

I met Ben and Christina at 8AM on Sunday down at Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach. Of course the first thing I had to do when we met up was apologize for being a bit wiped out – I never would have guessed that the wedding I shot in Laguna Beach the night before was going to be 100+ degrees – and it really took a lot out of me. But Ben and Christina are a super chill couple and the whole theme of the shoot was a low-key “lifestyle” shoot so I like to think that my fatigue helped contribute to the final look in a positive way… haha – at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it