Sarah and Ben’s wedding took place at Hastings House and was a gorgeous and intimate wedding in Half Moon Bay. Hastings House is a beautiful garden setting and the weather was perfect. Most of the weddings I photograph are 200 or more guests so it’s always fun to get to shoot a smaller wedding where I really get to know everyone and really feel a part of the day. Maybe it’s the intimacy or maybe it’s just because Stephanie and my wedding was very small but I had a great time! After the garden wedding ceremony at Hastings House we did a photo session then drove over to the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto. The hotel is a great spot for an intimate reception and the staff was wonderful. Sarah and Ben’s signature drink was flowing and the food was great! Sarah’s family came in from all over the US while Ben’s family came in from his native Australia so I had a great time getting to know everyone and thank everyone for being so gracious with me! And thanks for the VB, that was great! You have to love a bride in a birdcage veil! 
Downtown Palo Alto 
I loved the details! 
The ceiling lamps combined with my off camera lighting make some cool colors! 
This is one of my favorite Photojournalistic photo’s from the wedding. It shows Sarah and Ben dancing then each of the other couples is their parents, very cool! 
Posts Tagged ‘Napa Wedding Photography’
Sarah and Ben’s Half Moon Bay and Palo Alto Wedding
July 30, 2009Vancouver Wedding/Whistler Vacation/crazy month!
July 21, 2009
A couple weeks ago I headed up to Canada to visit my good friends Chris+Lynn, shoot an amazing wedding (thanks Sonny and Sandy!) and ride my bike at Whistler. The wedding was enormous and a ton of fun, some of the most friendly people I have ever met! Here’s a couple highlights and some fun ones of me doing stupid stuff at Whistler 
Here’s a couple from Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The first couple days there it was beautiful but we didn’t break out the camera until the weather got really nasty! lol Thanks for joining me Bill!
Jumping in the rain was pretty sketchy, especially as I had so much mud in my eyes that I could barely see!
See, I told you it was a bad idea! Thankfully I was wearing body armor, without this I would have had a broken knee for sure!
Bill going off the GLC drops (about 6 foot drop). A minute later I followed with about $5k of camera around my neck, probably not the best idea ever!
We had a day off in the middle of the 4 days of wedding shooting and it was a beautiful day so Chris, Lynn and I headed to the sea shore for lunch, it was a beautiful day!
Even time/a couple recent FILM (gasp!) wedding pics
July 8, 2008With all the pics of Kyla we haven’t seen much of Caiden! Here’s a funny one I shot with my trusty Holga film camera. I love this shot, if I ever had a band it would be my band’s poster! I have not edited this image, this is how it came out of the camera.
And here a couple shots from a recent wedding with my friend Gene Higa. I have to also congratulate Gene on being named Top 10 Wedding Photographer of 2008!
It was a beautiful wedding out in the Livermore area with a very fun couple, Will and Andrea. I shot a ton (of course) but these are just a couple of my favorites from the film I shot. I find it really funny that I will take 1,000 digital images and yet my favorites are usually from the film though I only shoot maybe 100 frames of film! Part of what I love about film is the amazing and soft skin tones I get. The other part is that you can’t look at a LCD to see what you captured so you really have to concentrate and trust your skill as a photographer to get great images! Plus, at more than $1.75 for every time I push the shutter button, you want to be sure that every shot is a great shot!
It was really windy so we had a fun time trying to keep that long veil under control! 
I love this shot of the Fathers talking. There is something so amazing about the look of a good and grainy black and white film when combined with a rangefinder camera! I love the mood and feel of this image.
LOL, yes, I even use my $12 Holga camera for ceremony shots!
Shooting Film in Napa with John
May 4, 2008
About two weeks ago I headed up to Calistoga Ranch (which is in the Napa Valley) to shoot a wedding with my buddy John. John could easily have handled this small wedding himself but his wife was due the following day with their first child so I went up just in case he got “The Call.” Luckily that did not happen; John and Jody had their daughter several days later, congratulations guys!
Calistoga Ranch is a beautiful location and was a joy to shoot at. It was super windy but Jenny and Daniel braved the elements and still had an outdoor ceremony. I wanted to post a couple of B+W film shots I took with my new rangefinder 35mm camera. Both these images were shot in almost total darkness inside a wine cave with just a few candles for lighting. It was quite a difficult shoot, technically, but these two image really capture the feel for the wedding.
For anyone curious, I do shoot both film and digital. Both have their strengths and weaknesses but I believe that combining them to only use the strengths gives a much broader look than shooting all of one or the other.
OK, I couldn’t resist posting just one digital shot 
WPPI Photo Contest Winner
March 21, 2008
I just got back from the annual Wedding and Portrait Photographer’s International convention in Las Vegas and yes, I’m exhausted! I will post more about it after I get some rest.
One thing I am very excited about is that I got an “Accolade of Excellence” in the 16×20 photo contest for the above image of Becky! Becky is stunning and looks great in this image and I’m honored by the recognition!
Christina Bridal Images
March 1, 2008
Last week I headed over to Eagle Castle Winery which is just over the hill from me in Paso Robles to shoot some Bridal images with the beautiful Christina. Eagle Castle is a newer winery with a ton of great spots to shoot. They also have some fantastic wines as well…you didn’t think I would go and not try them did you? They are quickly growing to become one of the premiere wedding venues in San Luis Obispo county and after shooting there I can see why!
We started off inside in the Library which is baroque in design and quite stunning. The fabrics and interesting metal work made for a wonderful setting that just needed some touches of my lighting to really make them come out. We then headed up the grand staircase for some natural light shots. I have to say that I wasn’t expecting to get much natural light inside a castle but the architects did an great job of keeping the design but also adding in windows to allow for beautiful natural light. I was completely prepared to shoot all with strobes and ended up hardly using them at all!
We then headed out onto the patios and then the vineyards themselves. The sun went behind a hill just to the west of Eagle Castle and shaded the entire venue (which would be awesome during the hot summer months) but left the far hills lit and gave us some of the best natural light I have ever had. It was a great shoot, Christina was amazing and the venue was perfect! I love my job!
The dresses are from Central Coast Wedding Center in San Luis Obispo. Kim, the owner, is fantastic to work with and has an amazing selection. I was very surprised by the wide selection when we were picking out the dresses for this shoot, she’s got everything, I’m going to tell all of my brides to check there before driving to Santa Barbara or San Francisco!
Thanks again to Eagle Castle Winery for allowing us to use the facility for this shoot, it was amazing!
