…So we were’nt kicked out of somebody’s yard… but we definitely overstepped onto some private property by half-accident. I was under the impression that we were at the Jones Creek State Land Trust by the DNR but apparently that was two miles down the road and we were trespassing. So said the family that walked out to kindly greet us. They were polite and let us take a picture or two but we quickly moved on once we realized what we were doing. OOSPIES!

For Michael’s senior pictures we went down to BA beach, got some ice cream and lunch at Pappa’s (almost getting free ice cream) then we traveled up to what we thought was Jone’s Creek, then up to ACTUAL Jone’s Creek. I tried some new lighting on this shot and even snapped one of myself at the end! Enjoy

Thought I’d put up a quick sneak peak of Cody and Allison’s wedding as I’m going through the shots.  And before I get a ton of questions as to the designer of Cody’s suit… let me answer them all right now.  YES it IS a Sean Jean original. Cody and Allison remind me of two kids flirting on the playground.  Their tone was so playful and relaxed the whole time.  Cody and the groomsmen set the record for being ready the fastest.  I showed up to the church around 9:00 to do some “getting ready” shots and they were pretty much all “ready” and playing board games.  Usually the guys get ready last minute and rush things but I was pleasantly surprised at how ready they were before I even arrived.  Afterwards we were invited to the family potluck dinner which had some of the best potato enchiladas we’ve ever had.  yum yum.

Today, I bring you a wedding with hints of Germany, Ireland, and of course, the good ole’ US of A! Alisha and Thorsten met in Ireland and planned their whole Seattle wedding from Ireland – What a task.  My girlfriend, Allison, and I met them for dinner at the Ram in U Village the Thursday before their wedding and had good drinks and better conversation.  It was great for me to get an idea for what kinds of personalities Alicia and Thorsten had.  My job depends on capturing their essence as people so it’s important for me to pick up on their communicative subtleties as soon as I can.

The ceremony took place at Graham’s Visitor Center at the Arboretum.  For you Seattle-ites you know this is a beautiful spot with lots of greenery and shade (WIN!).  As I came upon the ceremony and reception site, my eyes immediately drifted upwards to the giant floating paper orbs.  The decoration was awesome and I knew their photos were gonna rock! The ceremony ended in the traditional Bavarian style.  The bride and groom’s first act as a married couple was to cut a log in front of everyone.  Alicia and Thorsten might have been brought a log that was a bit too large for their thin-bladed saw, as this log proved “un-cuttable”.  Not breaking tradition, Thorsten was quick on his feet and grabbed a tiny twig which they broke.

Alisha and Thorsten were always laughing and I absolutely loved listening to Thorsten’s accent! Have a look at the sneak peak:

Kevin and Devon got married at the BEAUTIFUL Domaine Margelle Vineyards. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed the scenery. They had everything a photographer could ask for… neatly manicured yards, a cool stone wall, a vineyard, and lots of shade. The only down side was the interior was all-wood (not fun for your photographer) and there was no outdoor lighting. Other than that, this was probably one of my favorite venues so far. And to top it off the owners were VERY nice. Can you tell I like this spot?!

Kevin and Devon’s guests were very nice and fun to work with as well. The coolest part of my job is hanging out with the whole wedding crew. The pictures always turn out best when your photographer mingles well with the guests so I make it my point to get to know everyone on a first-name or nick-name basis. I’m a people person. Well, enough talk, why don’t you check out some of the photos here:

David and Chelsey are two people very close to me. In fact, I see them almost every day… they are my roomies! As I sit here in the living room writing this post and getting some pictures quickly edited before people fly back to the east coast I think Penny (David and Chelsey’s dog) is chasing a cat in her sleep. It’s pretty funny to watch and I’m thinking of the kind of shenanigans Penny and I will get in to as I watch her during the honeymoon. ANNNNNYways… Let me tell you a bit about David and Chelsey. David is one of those guys that will glance at something… remember it forever… and then be able to talk about it in detail at the drop of a hat. Yes, David is a lawyer – a mighty fine one at that. So if you have an employment law case have a chat with Dave… he’ll tell ya everything ya need to know. When I met Chelsey for the first time we talked for a good long time about non-profits and our zeal to encourage others to succeed. It was a conversation that kind of stuck with me and paints a picture for me of who Chelsey is. It was a great honor to be their photographer and my only frustration is that David kept walking off at crucial points… you know, the times when you are taking his picture!!! These are good people and I hope you see a little bit of their personalities in this sneak preview.

In order to clarify a few things, this Chinese-American wedding featured a little tradition on both sides. It was actually kind of awesome to witness a Chinese tea ceremony and to see how everything in the house is transformed to red (the color of good prosperity in China). Also, while David gave his future father and mother-in-law some tea he told th

em, “now get ready for the wildest ride of your life.” The brief moment of silence followed by a burst of laughter after set the tone and became quote of the day. Everyone had a such a great time and I even got some dancing in there!

The World Concern “Free Them” 5k Run was held at the CRISTA campus in Shoreline/Seattle today (May 1st). The “Free Them” run was started to raise money to help put an end to human trafficking… such a wretched thing! If ever there was a cause to fight for it is human trafficking.  Just watch the movie “Taken” with Liam Neeson and it will get you fired up about the issue.  Ending human trafficking is a cause everyone can and should stand behind – speaking plainly.  I originally was just going to take photos of my old college roomie, Joseph Lee, but when he took me on a tour of World Concern and I got to meet all of his coworkers they seemed like they would be interested in photos of the event.  Of course I was obliged for such an awesome cause (if you haven’t caught my drift yet) so I woke up quite early to snap the following shots:

Oh and by the way… I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here but I’m living in Seattle officially now (have been for about a month).  I’m living with my OTHER old roommate, David Chen.  I’m shooting his wedding later this summer in exchange for rent at his place.  It’s a great deal for both of us, especially because I’m now only 15 minutes away from Allison, who ironically also works at CRISTA but in the senior living area.  She loves the people there and I’m beginning to see why.  You can see from the pictures this is quite a fun bunch. ‘nJoy

ONE more thing… You can feel free view / download / buy all of the other pictures I took HERE (http://www.zenfolio.com/onephotonerd/p823929524/)  All I ask is that you spread the word that there is a cool new photographer in town.  By the way… the cool new photographer is me.

Joseph and Myself

More photos HERE

Todd, Ashley, Marley and Me had a fun time on Marley’s first photoshoot. She did surprisingly well. All this talk of “terrible twos” that i’ve been hearing maybe just hype. Marley did great and even had a few wardrobe changes after about 3 locations.  Also, near the end you will see some pictures that I did for Nadia later that day.  I love Trista Martin’s creative take on life and we always work great together when it comes to planning sets.  It was her idea to place the pink chair in the middle of nowhere and I think it turned out awesome.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  On a more personal note… I’ll be moving up north to Seattle soon.  I will be traveling back and forth between Vancouver and Seattle (as I already do).  If you’re looking to book me for a shoot make sure to send me an email so we can arrange things. I’m gunna be moving in with my old roommate, David Chen, in exchange for shooting his wedding.  I’m very excited to move back in with a very good friend, but more importantly to be only 15 minutes away from Allison.  WOOT!

Yes, it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted on my blog.  Today (as beautiful out as it may be) has been a day of updating.  I’ve been getting my blog layout super-simplified.  Before it was a bit too difficult to find certain things.  Now I’m hoping the layout will be easy for everyone to navigate.  This isn’t permanent, but nothing ever really is with an artist is it?  So I’ve decided to post a few shots from a concert I attended a while ago.  Playing at this benefit show was The Neverclaim and Addison Road.  I really dug Addison road a lot… And so did the 15 year-old boy who was assisting me.  In fact, I’m pretty sure his heart dropped when he found out that the lead singer was married.

Last Saturday, studio lights met with Christmas lights for a complimentary photo/video shoot put on by Focus Designs, Valeo Visual, and David Martschinske Photography to give our community something different this year.  It was awesome to see the studio packed with people listening to Christmas music, riding SBU’s, enjoying plenty of holiday snacks, and yes, even samples of SPARK from Cindy Wood.  The idea was to give people something different, awesome, and FREE while exposing everyone to what we do.  In the time that I have been working as a photographer I’ve found that the best advertising has come from the people that know me well and talk about my work to others and I’m excited to see new clients emerge from Saturday’s festivities.

Garret Hergert:

David, Jordyn, and David:

Katie and Cindy:

The Caudle Family:

The Chumbley Family:

Karyn and Philip:

The Dennis Family:

Along with my previous photoshoot, I had the priveledge of shooting Christmas photos for Grace Foursquare Church in Camas, Washington.  The coolest thing about this shoot is that they even had a well-known National artist, Elida Field paint a mural on a wall.  When they asked me what I wanted on the wall, this is what I gave them to give to Elida:

…I’m really glad she just used this as a starting point because what she came up with was 300% better than what I gave her.  Below is only a few of my favorite photos.  These photos are available for download below.  You can download each file to have it printed somewhere OR you can order on the website if it is more convenient for you.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3 – Thank you Dale Chumbley for doing the photos this week.  I was visiting Seattle to see the Nutcracker Ballet with Allison.  It was awesome.

Week 1

Week 2

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