I don't normally post the non-wedding work that I do on this blog (actually, I have a separate web site for the documentary and photojournalism work here), however, I've just finished a major project that launched today and consumed much of my September and October, which also happened to be two of our busiest wedding months, and so I thought I'd share it. It's a combination of photographs, audio and video in a documentary/promo style for La Colectiva, a worker-run collective that's based in San Francisco. I photographed ten women and recorded their stories, and then created a multimedia piece (in Spanish) about the domestic worker experience as well as La Colectiva. I encourage you to visit the web site where you can see the photos, listen to the stories (they're all in Spanish, but there are English translations), and watch the video (again in Spanish with English subtitles). This was a really fun project for me (even though extremely challenging since I'm not fluent in Spanish), and it was such an honor to meet and photograph such amazing women!
Alison + Bryan Engaged!
Disastrous and embarrassing, yet oh-so-fun! Alison and Bryan's engagement shoot was a bit of a foley on my part. During the stunt portion of their session at Crissy Field, I fell hard (or rather supermanned) on the rocks damaging myself, my pride, and my brand new leather boots. I wanted to wear my new boots so much that I neglected to consider they weren't exactly made for walking on wet rocks. It took me a minute to recover, but we were having so much fun that we joked our way right through to the end. Leading up to (and including the fall), their photoshoot felt more like a day out playing with friends than work. Actually, we met Alison and Bryan over a game of beanbags at Jaclyn and Andy's wedding this past summer so we knew their session was going to be a good time and full of laughs. At the end of the day all was well because we alleviated my aching body with wine and delicious food at this amazing little French Bistrot near their apartment in San Francisco.
I should note that where I fell was just a short walk from where Bryan proposed to Alison. He lured her to Crissy Field with a little white lie and had to pay off some skateboarding kids to scram so that they could be alone on one of the benches. Furthermore, the restaurant that we went to with them was the same place they went after he popped the question! So, basically we relived their proposal, but with a little comic relief thrown into the mix.
We did a pan and combined exposures at one of the piers. I know it's really small, so you can check out a larger version here.
I love the ballerina pose!
Adm had to make this silhouette given the incredible sunset we had!
Aubra + Justin in Berkeley, CA
Wow, where to start with Aubra and Justin's wedding? Adm and I had had such a great time with these two during their engagement session, we knew their wedding was going to be really fun, but it completely exceeded our expectations. Let's start with Aubra. She was absolutely breathtaking! And her dress, well, let's just say I fell in love with her dress, which perfectly went with the feel of their wedding. And Justin looked very handsome as well and was, hands down, the star of the dance floor. Next time we have a party, we're totally inviting him to get people groovin'!
Now, moving onto the ceremony. Aubra and Justin were married in the Redwood Amphitheater at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens, and their ceremony was completely magical. For starters, Aubra seemed to appear as a fairy nymph coming out of the redwoods as she approached the stage to meet her groom. The image of her walking through the beautiful trees by herself might be my favorite from the whole day. They had a traditional Jewish ceremony and added in a lot of themselves and their friends to completely personalize it and include the people closest to them. As I looked around at all of the guests during the ceremony, every single person there seemed to be completely engaged in what was happening and full of genuine happiness and love for these two. What a privilege for us to be able to witness that!
The ceremony really set the tone for the rest of the day which continued with just as much love and beauty. In addition to being surrounded by so many people who loved them, part of what made Aubra and Justin's wedding so special was that it was a complete reflection of them as a couple. They were both equally involved in the planning process and because of that, they really made this their event. This seems so basic, but with lives being so busy today, often the wedding planning falls primarily on one person (the bride) who relies on help from her mom or close friends. I just loved that these two worked together to make this day truly theirs.
Following two photos and details by Adm:
The ketubah:
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Featured: Cake and Pictures!
I had a lovely surprise when I opened my inbox this morning: a sweet email from the good people at Cake and Pictures notifying me that they've featured Marika and Felix's wedding on their blog, the Pantry! Cake and Pictures is an exclusive international directory of wedding photographers that I was recently invited to join. For those in the editorial world, they're the brainchild of the same people who started Wonderful Machine. I'm so excited to be part of their community, and, attention brides, The Pantry is a fabulous resource to help with wedding planning! So go check it out and bookmark that page! OK, here is a sneak peak at Marika and Felix's feature:
Yesterday, they did a great post about photo booths that I was also a part of. Hot damn! Back to back features.
And here's one last little feature:
Jaime + Bryan in Oakland, CA
Jaime and Bryan had a really lovely wedding right here in Oakland at the Montclair Women's Art Club. They had lots of beautiful details including a paper flower wall, succulents in the flowers, and postcards of their favorite movies for table place cards. The Montclair Women's Art Club was also fun to make photos in - Adm especially enjoyed the bar area which had some fun murals on the walls. All around, good people and a beautiful event.
Following two photos are by Adm:
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Adm set up and made this photo below at the Montclair public library across the street:
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Adm lit this photo below, which I shot:
Tracy + Ian in Oakland, CA
A few weeks ago we photographed Tracy and Ian's wedding in Jack London Square in Oakland. This was our first Buddhist ceremony, and we always love photographing things (and people) new to us! Their ceremony took place just before and during " golden hour," the period before the sun sets when the light is magical so we had a blast shooting during the beautiful light! In addition to being treated to such gorgeous light, we also had a blast photographing all of the dancing! Tracy, Ian and their family and friends tore up the dance floor for the duration of the reception. Check the photos at the end of the post for all of the dancing. What a great way to spend our Friday night!
Following three photos below by Adm:
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