Paparazzi Style:engage3

So my very good friend Daniel decided he wanted to pop the question to his lady Scherrie.  Not to be outdone by anyone, he made sure to make it an occasion to remember,  first he picked up a ring from Brilliant Earth, a supplier of conflict-free diamonds from eco-friendly mines in Canada, then he called me to drive all over Newport Beach with him to help plan the Reality TV style scavenger hunt he was going to be sending Scherrie on.  It included about a dozen stops that all were relevant to things they had done together during their time dating.

Next we scoped out “The Spot” (Inspiration Point, near Corona del Mar), checked what time the sunset was and stopped in our local Calumet Camera to see what kinds of telephoto lenses they had available to the day (which was still a couple days off).  We booked a 300mm F/4 IS and he spent the weekend acting all strange around her while he fretted over how it would play out.

Monday was here. I picked up the 300mm and met Daniel at a coffeeshop where I proceeded to drink an amazingly strong latte, and listen to his nerves rattle.  We didn’t want Scherrie to know I was taking pictures, so we got to “The Spot” about an hour early and started figuring out how this was going to work.  Finally we decided to hide me behind a towel thrown over the railing and have him positioned in the middle of the overlook.   I had my 135mm f/2 on my 5D and the 300mm on a 20D (giving me quite a bit of reach for tight portraits).  Hidden behind my towel I was able to shoot the entire event covertly without her ever knowing I was there!

And the best part? …she said yes.

Afterwords we spent about 20 minutes doing a quick set of engagement pictures and then they were off to their dinner reservation.

Congrats Daniel and Scherrie!

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