Scott and I are always researching new gear to buy. We both have several wish lists, broken down into several categories. They range from 'really should have and will buy this year' to 'want to have and will buy in the next few years' to 'will buy when I have a million dollars'. Our list of things we need to own has dwindled to just a lens each, so we're starting to purchase off of our want lists.

A few months back I bought a Sunbounce off of this list, and quickly realized I had it in the wrong category. This thing is amazing. The light it produces can be used in almost any scenario. It allows us to isolate the subject from the surroundings, take advantage of a backlit situation, and remove harsh shadows on faces during the midday sun. I don't know how we survived without it. The only downfall is that it requires a dedicated person to hold and aim it, and it gets even trickier in windy weather (it turns into quite the sail at 4'x6').

Enough of me telling you how amazing it is, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. I took Kathleen out as the Sunbounce operator and her sister Kendra was nice enough to model for us.

There are a million things about weddings that I love. They're the reason that I choose to spend my Saturdays photographing them instead of playing video games or sleeping in. Photos like this one that Scott took are one of the reasons. Carly has the happiest, most anxious smile on her face, and her dad Dave has the proudest half-smile-half-smirk I've seen in a while (I'm finishing up editing their photos and came across this and just had to share it).

We shot our last wedding of the year this last Sunday and are looking forward to getting caught up on all of the administrative tasks we've been neglecting. The weddings and casual section of the website are embarrassingly out of date, and there are some behind the scenes updates I need to make so things are easier for Scott and I come tax season. Don't worry though, we have been busy taking photos outside of weddings that will be posted in the coming months. If either of us go for more than a few days without taking photos we get restless; expect those random moments to populate the blog.

We shot Rodger and Amy's wedding a few months ago and had a great time doing it. Amy's sister is also a photographer, but due to her obligations as the matron of honor she couldn't photograph the wedding. This worked out beautifully for us because she helped Amy leave enough time for us to take photos. We had a solid 2-3 hours before the ceremony to take all of the bridal party and family photos, and another 45 minutes after the ceremony to get photos of just the happy couple. It was amazing and we loved every minute of it.

We rarely have that much time to take photos and not being rushed works out quite well. Everyone is much more relaxed and the photos really show it. We also have the time to capture the intimate moments when they happen rather than forcing them and then rushing off to the next group photo or the reception.

The wedding was pretty amazing too. The ceremony was in a beautiful church in Fresno lined with blue stained glass. After the ceremony Rodger and Amy left in an old woody that was owned by a family friend. Scott and I gave chase and got some photos of it on the road, then had some time alone with the newlyweds before the reception.

Their entrance to the reception was unforgettable; the entire bridal party was doing a line dance to 'She thinks my tractors sexy' only to be interrupted by Rodger and Amy driving in on a red tractor. The reception ended just as uniquely as it began when Rodger and Amy tried to drive off but instead found out the groomsmen had filled their truck with popcorn. I'm not talking a few bags of the microwave stuff sitting on the seats either. Think solid wall of popcorn reaching the windows. Rodger's brother spent a whole afternoon with an army of air poppers filling his living room floor with popcorn, then loaded it into trash bags and brought it to the wedding. I'm pretty sure there were some happy birds the next morning in that parking lot.

The ring bearer modeling on the tractor Rodger and Amy will use a few hours later.

If they knew about the 98,436 presents he left in their car, they would object to this a little bit more.

We met up with Patrick and Kim at Heather Farms a few months back to take some engagement photos. Scott and I had been to Heather Farms many times before, but always to the pool for swimming (well Scott swam... I just watched... I enjoyed the land sports more). We walked around the gardens and took photos while we heard how they met, how he proposed, and the details of the wedding. The weather was very cooperative too; some high clouds giving us soft light. It was a nice afternoon. Then I went and tried to find a trailhead I had been to a few months back. As I'm sure you can guess based on my subtle foreshadowing, I failed.

There was a really cool entrance to the north side of Mt. Diablo through a residential neighborhood Kathleen and I hiked at with Scott and Carly months ago. I had scrawled down some directions on a piece of paper to get us there from Heather Farms. Things looked different on the way in, but I attributed this to coming in from a different direction. We got into the park and it still looked wrong. After about 5 minutes of driving I was certain I had never been here before. Failure achieved. It wasn't a loss at all though; we were on the north side of Mt. Diablo with the sun about to set behind the green hills, surrounded by a single lane road and the occasional tree. There was nobody around and it was a beautiful location. We pulled off the road and got as many shots as we could before the sun disappeared. It ended up being a great end to a fun day.

Here are a few shots from the day.

Nevermind the shoes in the bottom of the frame. Shooting with a fisheye on the full frame 5D Mark2 can be dangerous if you're not watching where you are.


Their wedding is just under 3 weeks away. We can't wait.

Here's another wedding Scott and I shot a few months back. Kathleen and I first met Jen while we were all helping out at a high school youth group. We got to know Jen quite well. Then she started dating Brian, so we got to know him quite well. Before I met him, everyone told me he and I would get along great, based solely on the fact that we both have engineering degrees. I wanted to prove them wrong for stereotyping me, but it would have been impossible; we had more in common than I realized and things just clicked between us. Less than two years later they were engaged, and shortly after they were married.

Scott and I had a great time spending the day with them and their bridal party taking photos. Due to time and lighting constraints, Brian and Jen met up before the ceremony and got all of the group photos taken care of. As a photographer, this usually works out nicely because we're not rushing through things to get the bride and groom to the reception. It takes a lot of pressure out of the day and gives us more time to get great shots of the couple and bridal party. Brian and Jen started their day early and scheduled several hours for us to take photos, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Here are some of our favorites, and by our I mean Kathleen. She's been a huge help by picking out the photos and leaving me a blank blog entry to write in when I have the time. I owe her.

Scott captured one of my favorites of the day. The sun was about to set, so we got a few last shots of the newlyweds.

This was one of those shots that shouldn't have worked, but it amazingly did. The sparklers were lit earlier than expected, so I had to shoot without a flash. f1.2, 1/80 of a second, iso4000. The depth of field on a photo like this is just a couple of inches, and with them walking towards me in the near dark focus is hard to achieve. I love when things just work out.

Here are some of the photos that Scott and I took of Rodger and Amy a few months back. I'm trying to get all caught up on blog posts as a break from editing photos (we have a backlog of 4 weddings to edit from the last several weeks). Kathleen has been a huge help in picking out the photos, but since she wasn't at the engagement shoot or wedding she can't really write anything (she could certainly try, and it would probably be entertaining to watch).

We met Rodger and Amy in Fresno and spent some time at Amy's parents farm, then headed into downtown Fresno. It was a lot of fun to meet these two, they're great people. I can't wait to post their wedding photos either (they'll be up in another 3 posts). One would think that spending 6 hours driving just for 2 hours of taking photos would be frustrating, but it isn't at all, mainly due to the awesome clients we have. Rodger and Amy were a blast to get to know and quite easy to photograph. Here are a few of the favorites from the day.