It's all in the smile!

One of my favorite moments to capture when I shoot weddings, is when the couple first comes out of the temple! They look so excited, and everyone is excited to see them too. At this wedding, if you look at the very first photo, Cassie's smile tells you all you need to know. She's happy! That's all you have to say... she's happy!

This wedding was for a family that I have gotten to know very well. I've shot this family's last 3 weddings, and I'm sad to say that Cassie was the last of their unmarried children. The Singley family has the best receptions. It was evident at the first wedding I did for them. When they opened the dance floor, I expected the usual shy empty dance floor, with a few kids running around, and maybe one or two couples that would dance to a slow song. To my surprise, the whole family got in to it. I'm not talking about slow dancing either. I mean full on boogie time! It was so fun to watch, and it was easy to see that this family had a lot of fun!

The next wedding I did for them was no let down! The reception was in the backyard of a beautiful mansion! They also had a live Jazz band, and the bride got into the music and sang her heart out!

I anticipated that I would have a great time at this last reception as well! They had a Bluegrass Band, and they were terrific. I was surprised when I saw the bride pick up the banjo, and get right into it as well. How can an entire family be so talented? I had a great time at this reception, even though I was in a lot of pain. I wouldn't have missed this for the world!

I hope that I get to see this family again, even though the last of their kids is married. They do have extended family, and I already know they all know how to have a good time! Thanks to the Singley family for all the good times, and allowing me to be a part of it! I wish Mike and Cassie all the happiness in the world. These two look so good together!

Engagement Specials!

With wedding season beginning, engagement sessions come like crazy too! I love doing engagement photos. It's time to really get to know the couple and build a relationship with them that will carry over to their wedding day!

It's kind of fun to watch young couples that are in love. As mushy as it can get, I really do have a good time working with these couples. Engagement sessions are so relaxed. It's just a good time hanging out and laughing most of the time.

I'm excited to offer engagement photo sessions at 25% off thru the end of April. If you book me for your entire wedding, your engagement session will be 50% off! Please email me or call me for complete details about this price special!

For Sale!

I'm selling my backup camera. It's a Nikon D50 that has been well taken care of, and babied. I will include the original box, manuals, all the cords, battery and charger. I am also including a 1GB Ultra SD Card, as well as a Pro Nikon Bag that will fit all your accessories as well. The lens that comes with this camera is a Nikon 18-55mm. Basic lens with a nice range.

This camera has treated me well. Most of the photos you see on this blog have been taken with this camera. It's a terrific camera for someone who has a budget, but still wants to take some fantastic photos!

I'm selling this all for $500. I think it's a fair price, and I would love to sell it to someone who will take care of it, and will enjoy it.

Do what you love!

On Tuesday night, my wife and I had the opportunity to have dinner with a fellow photographer who does amazing work! Her name is Naomi Masina (Omi for short), and she is truly inspiring. Once a month she hosts dinner development meetings, where she is willing to share all her knowledge, and help in any way she can! My wife was originally going to go without me, but I decided to crash the party last minute. I was welcomed graciously, and I was happy for it! There was a small group of us, and it was nice to meet other people with common interests, and learn from them as well.

I was so impressed by Omi's drive and passion. She reminded me a lot of my wife. Jeane gets so excited about things she loves, and she is always looking for ways to be better. I could really see that photography is her passion. You won't find many people out there who are willing to share the way that she does.

Anyways.. something she said struck me to the core. She said, "Do what you love". I left the dinner thinking about it, and I really do love photography. I consider myself very blessed to be able to do something that I love, that brings happiness to me, as well as many other people. It provides me with a source of income and allows me time to enjoy all the other things I love, especially time with my family!

Well, I chose the photo above, because while I was shooting this wedding, I watched this lady sing her heart out. I could see that she really loved what she is doing. I find it inspiring to watch people "do" what they love.

Thank you to Omi for the great motivation, and ideas! Check out her blog by clicking on her name above. It's great and refreshing to meet such a wonderful person. If you haven't found what you love to do, take the time to try everything. So much joy comes when you see what it is that you truly love, and then you "do it"!

Wedding Season Begins!

I've already got the first wedding of the year done, and it was terrific, but wedding season has only just begun! I thought since I will start getting busy with shooting weddings, I'd share some of my favorite shots of weddings from recent history. There are so many shots that I love, but these really stood out to me as I was making my selections!

I really enjoy shooting weddings. They can be very stressful and chaotic, but I love the challenge. The part I really enjoy is the time I get to spend with the wedding couple. I spend more time with them on their wedding day than anybody else. I have some great conversations, and I also have a chance to impart some marital wisdom. I've only been married a little over 3 years, but that's much longer than the newlyweds, so I feel like an old vet when I'm talking with them.

My 2nd most favorite part of shooting weddings, is getting to know some great families. I've shot multiple weddings for a few different families, and it makes me happy that they appreciate my work enough to want me back! I enjoy seeing some of the same family members and feeling like an old member of the family myself.

I get a great sense of satisfaction when I receive emails or phone calls from these families letting me know how much they love their photos. It's a huge compliment because these are some of the most important memories of their lives. I smile when I think that they are happy to show off their wedding photos to all their friends.

I do get nervous before each wedding, because I always want to be sure that I can deliver "the goods". I take on the personal responsibility of making sure that the bride and groom (more so the bride), look their best on their special day! I love when I look back on the photos at the end of the day, and see some amazing images! I get so excited to share them with the families!

Anyways, I'm excited for another wedding season, and I look forward to where it might take me this summer. I've been fortunate to travel all across the country for weddings all over the place. We'll see where we go this summer!

As promised...

Since I've been out of commission for a while, I got a little behind on some of my work! I did a little sneak peak for the Navalta Family, but I promised more photos for you to look at. Well, as promised, here they are.

In anticipation of this photo shoot, I was a little leery of the amount of kids that would be there. In past experiences, it can be a little nightmare trying to make sure they are all happy and ready for photos. I made sure to get plenty of rest the night before, and I ate a good breakfast in my preparation for what I thought was going to be a long morning!

Well, Malia found a great indoor place to shoot with plenty of natural lighting without the natural cold. Thanks for thinking ahead Malia! To my surprise, all of these kids were very well behaved. No one threw a fit. They all remained in control and took direction very easily! I couldn't have been more thankful. I enjoy family photos when the kids make it easy on me. I'm sure that being in a warm area helped, but I think these kids would have been fine anywhere. What a great treat! It was a bonus that all of them were so cute.

While I worked with individual families, Jeane ran around and took individual photos of the kids. I think we both had a great time. It's always fun to watch families interact with each other. Watching the Navalta family, I could really see a lot of closeness, and gratitude that they could all be together for the holidays. I could also see that they must have had a fun time growing up together in Hawaii.

I am happy that you all asked me to capture some memories for your entire family at such a special time of year. Jeane and I had a blast, and we were very impressed with all the kids. I hope you all made it home to your various destinations safely. Thanks so much for a wonderful time!

Sneak peak for Cassie & Mike

I have so many more photos to work on for you to take a look. Thanks again for another great wedding! Come back later for more photos!

Out of Commission!!!

I'm sorry! I have been sick in bed for the better part of 2 weeks now. I've been unable to do anything but lay in bed and have my wife wait on me hand and foot. I'm very blessed to have such a patient wife!

I have so much work to catch up on, and I'm just excited to be out of bed. I'm still not 100%, but I'll be catching up on some work first thing tomorrow morning!

I really have to thank my awesome wife for keeping our house in order, and keeping me sane. She kept up with all my liquid intake, and food needs. She's also posted a few photos for the blog so it didn't look like I just died.

I love my wife so much, and am truly blessed to have her in my life!!!

Sneak peak... The Navalta Family

Here is just a sneak peak... more to come very soon. I promise.

more photos of the Sagapolutele Family

Here are a couple more photos of the Sagapolutele Family.