“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”
From the Claremont Hotel to the top of the Berkeley Hills at the Lawrence Hall of Science, Christine and Ty have started their story together.
The scientist couple chose this unique venue to get married to represent who they are. Friends, family and guests all had an amazing time and incredible views.
Here are a few from the evening. . .
I had worked with Milly on a previous wedding as she was the event planner. She was dedicated, sharp, and funny. I hoped that I would get the chance to work with her again. And then, one day, I got an email from her about my availability for another wedding. I took that as a compliment because when a wedding planner/coordinator likes you, that's says volumes about you as a vendor. She liked my work, she liked me as a person, she thought I delivered to my clients. . . all those great things. We went back and forth a few times, and then , in her last email, she wrote : "oh yeah, by the way. . . it's for MY wedding". I was floored. Out of all the photographers she deals with from all of the events she puts on, she thought of me.
Well, getting to shoot Milly (and Jeff's :) ) wedding gave me the opportunity to get to know Milly even better. What a wonderful person. And this was my first time meeting Jeff. . . again, incredible guy. There are, unfortunately, wedding I've shot that I wonder why the two people are going through with this. Milly and Jeff are NOT one of those couples. They play off each other, are intensely in love with each other, and have so much fun together. It was such a pleasure to watch unfold.
Here are a few images from their wedding that I hope captured all that makes them so perfect for one another.
I will never be able to appropriately describe Mariah and Clay. I used to work with Mariah years ago, and although I've seen her on the periphery via Facebook, we haven't connected in quite a number of years. Well, a lot has changed. . . she's married, has a house, and now expecting her first baby in a few months. So when she got in touch with me to take maternity photos, I jumped at the chance ( ...said in my best dad voice : and I could check out this "guy" she was married to). Well this "guy" was equally as wonderful, funny, well spoken and super fun to be around. There are not two people more suited for each other. Their humor and fun loving nature made it a dream to shoot. . . . not taking everything so seriously, and just "going with it". I've said it before, that a photographer is only as good as what they get from their subjects. . . and they gave me LOTS. I can't wait to meet the little man when he arrives (and take some "outside" photos of him :) ). (oh yeah, and their dog 'Moose' joined in for some of the fun.)
Anyone that's on social media has seen an onslaught of profile pictures with a rainbow overlay. That is , or course, wonderful to show support for something that is long overdue. My girls and I decided to take a different spin on it. . . :) (even the sky decided to show it's support) #loveislove #pride
I've had the pleasure of working with ZipCar to shoot stories for them for their online magazine. The people have been so wonderful, and call me whenever they have a story centered in the Bay Area. Melissa Pocek had the opportunity to speak with the two head managers of the social media at NASA, John Yembrick (featured in the photos), and Jason Townsend.
When John arrived to meet me, he informed me that he only had 30 minutes. I knew I had to work fast. And since I was not allowed to go "inside" NASA, we did the shoot at the Visitor's Center. It's an interesting place, but essentially a giant tent that was constructed in the parking lot outside of NASA that acts like a mini museum/learning center.
In typical fashion, I got there super early, which was really helpful in this case to figure out how to make this shoot interesting and try and do as much prep work as I could. I always want to give my clients, especially ZipCar who calls me again and again, the best images possible. I also like to get as many different looks as possible because you never know what will strike the editor and connects to the vision he or she may have had in their head.
Well, the Visitor's Center had an open "theater" setup inside where they were just finishing an informational movie about space. I was able to have the guy that ran that off of a laptop put up an image of the Milky Way to use as a backdrop for John. A nice woman who worked at the Visitor Center was my stand in and ended up holding a light for me for the shot of John. For the second shot, I really wanted to find a NASA logo since it's what the story is about, and it's so incredibly recognizable. We saw the "meatball" , as John called it, over by the small gift shop. I moved signs and baskets and other things that were in the way to get a clear shot. But a man up against a white wall , even with the NASA logo on it, was still dull. There was a giant globe hanging from the middle of the tent which had various surfaces projected on it. The images could be rotated and changed. A man was giving a tour of this and teaching people about various scientific things (I didn't have time to pay attention to the lecture). I went completely across the room (tent), with a long lens, and was able to shoot between other displays, the lecture around the globe, and people walking by, while getting some of that globe as my foreground element , all with John still 50 yards away from me.
I ran back and forth giving John some direction since he couldn't hear me (or barely even see me through all the obstacles). I placed my softbox ,conveniently hidden by the giant globe, over by John to get some light on him in the dark corner of the tent which I triggered with my radio transceiver on my camera. I saw him several times looking at his watch, which is not stressful at all for me. I knew I didn't have much longer, so I was counting on my idea working because I knew that he would not have stuck around for another setup.
I know what you're saying. . . "Photography is so glamorous"!
Ok, so it might not be glamorous. . . but I LOVE it. :)
Here are some of the results. . . .
My latest baby shoot was for the gorgeous Ella. This little one , beyond being beautiful, was so incredibly strong. At 1 month old, she would roll herself off the blanket on the floor, and even held her head up for me to take one of the cutest photographs I've ever taken. Take a peek at our shoot . . .
