Swine Flu

In addition to being extremely busy still, I got the swine flu :( It was the worst! I felt weak, achy and brittle all week. Sorry for the delays that this caused to all of the photos that I need to edit. I hate being sick!

Dan and Natalie

I'm so excited that I will get to photograph Dan and Natalie's wedding next year! I went to high school with Natalie at Dos Pueblos. Actually, she used to live up the street from me on Taraval when I first moved up to the city too. Kris and I went to a party at her house (after we all bumped into each other on MUNI), where I met her boyfriend, Dan. A couple years later, it was awesome to hear that they are now engaged. They are so cute together :) You can see more photos in the SLIDESHOW too.
We met up at this moss covered pond in Golden Gate Park, and then wandered around taking photos.
Dan and Natalie with a few random kids who were drinking in the park .




This statue is so emo, that we had to get a joke photo with it.


After coffee, we took some night shots in North Beach, and up at Coit Tower.





I love this one!

Coit tower looks really cool at night, and I was glad that we were able to get it in some of the shots.


By the time that we were done, it was super late. Time flies when you're having fun!

Mikey and Ashley Got Engaged!

I am very happy to announce that my brother, Mikey, and his girlfriend, Ashley, got engaged! Mikey is also a photographer, and he has help shoot a lot of weddings with me. I offered to drive down to do photos for him, so we spoke on the phone about his plans for the engagement. He wanted to do it up at Lizard's Mouth up in the mountains about Santa Barbara. There are lots of rocks and bushes up there, and the view is amazing. Below is the map that he drew for me so that I would know how and where to set his stuff up once I got to Lizard's Mouth. Alexis, Daniel (my other brother), and I went up there early to set up a jewelry box that Mikey made that had the ring in in. The plan was that we would be in the bushes so that when they got there, the box would already be there, and we could take photos while he proposed. I love that he thought about all of the potential photo hideouts and drew them on the map for me.

Will you marry me?
Yes!
It all happened pretty quick, and I was not very set up when they got there, so I had to scramble a little bit, but it still worked out. Good times!

we took some other engagement photos too while we were up there.









I normally never stage moments after they have already happened, but we all had a good laugh setting this up.
We all got in cammo gear so that we could hide in the bushes and go undetected. It was stealth!


I can't tell you how happy I am for Mikey and Ashley, and it was really special getting to be a part of Mikey's master plan. It was perfect!!

Mercedes and Jarrod

Alexis and I went to her friend Mercedes and Jarrod's wedding reception. The ceremony was earlier in the day, and it was smaller, so not everyone could go. It was pretty nice being a guest at a wedding because I am so used to working at them. Come to think of it, I don't think that I've been a guest at any weddings since I've been doing photography. Anyway, it was a good time!

Fire in North Beach

My friend, Kris, had just moved to a cool new apartment in North Beach with another one of our buddies, Dillon, when this happened. Kris found this image of the fire on the web. It is the roof of his place. Luckily his room did not burn down, although many of the other people in his building were not as lucky.

We set up a temporary Red Cross Shelter in my room for Dillon and Kris's stuff. They have been living out of suitcases and couch surfing since the fire. As bad as it was, it could have been worse. I'm glad that nobody was hurt.

Saison

I took some photos for the hottest new restaurant in San Francisco: Saison. My friend Kris helped start it, so it has been cool to see it start to take off. They are currently only open on Sunday evenings, but they will be adding additional days in September. Alexis and I were able to eat there, and we loved it! You should check them out. Here are some of the shots:

Chef Joshua Skenes.
Kris Esqueda

Jeff and Sarah Passage

I went to another awesome wedding this weekend! Jeff and Sarah got married at the Admiral's Mansion on Mare Island outside of Vallejo (Bay Area). I posted some of the photos here, or you can see more in their SLIDESHOW.

One of the most laughter filled lunches ever! Full BM (Bridesmaid Mode) ;)















Kevin Toqe has been friends with Sarah for a while, and he was singing at the wedding. I met him at church last week when he sang for us there. Amazing!

A beautiful day!










I love the industrial looking buildings in these shots! I think the color and the juxtaposition with the wedding outfits works out well.










A perfect day! Thanks for all of the smiles.

Mike and Betsy Braun

Mike and Betsy are one of the coolest couples! I'm so glad that I got to photograph their wedding in Pacific Grove this weekend. We are all friends from Dolores Park Church in San Francisco. There are a bunch of photos below, or you can see more in their SLIDESHOW. Cheers!

In addition to photos, I also tied Mike's tie for him.



Betsy and her dad entered from the path that was in front of the ceremony, so all of the guests just looked straight ahead, instead of turning and looking back. This was really cool, and I've never been at a venue where something like this could happen.







This part was awesome... I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now shake hands on the deal (or something like that). It was shortly followed by the kiss :)















After the reception we did a few more portraits; which turned out to be essential. There were a lot of cool spots that we were able to use right around the venue, and on the beach.










These rocks were pretty gnarly, but Betsy was doing it in her heels. Good stuff!
Thanks guys!!

Also a quick shout out to my friends, Jocelyn and David, who also go married today down south. Congratulations!