Seattle Pride Parade 2016

June 27th, 2016:

seattle, pride, parade, photography, photos, lgbt

Felicia and I are supportive advocates in the fight for equality for all, so when the opportunity came to march with Amazon at the Seattle Pride Parade, we whole heartedly signed up. We’ve only lived in this city for a couple months, but the love of this community was shocking. The streets were packed with supporters, screaming crowds and people of all walks of life – the joyfulness of this mass of humanity left me in awe. I am thankful to have such openness and acceptance to the place we now call home.

Thank you Seattle.

seattle, pride, parade, photography, photos, lgbt

Matt + Katie | Oxnard Barn Wedding Photography

June 21st, 2016:

Graf, Barn, Wedding, Photography, Photographer, Rustic, California, Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard,

Earlier this month, Cara and I headed out to Oxnard to spend the day with Matt + Katie at the “Barn” (which is a super secret venue, that can’t be found on a map and you can only get there with the secret code words and confounding directions… Seriously). Anyhow, it was a perfect day for these two, from confetti with the girls while Katie was getting ready, glasses of whiskey, perfect weather and all the way through the sparkler send off at the end of the night. For me I was stoked to capture this wedding, especially since I have already shot a few of Matt’s Groomsmens wedding (Avi + Angie and Justin + Christa), and I felt right at home with this batch of filmmakers and L.A. creatives.

Thanks Katie + Matt for having me as part of your celebration and I can’t wait to see your next friends wedding!

Graf, Barn, Wedding, Photography, Photographer, Rustic, California, Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard,

Dietmar + Gemma | Death Valley Astrophotography

June 13th, 2016:

Astrophotography, astro, portraits, Death, Valley, National, Park, Stars, Night, Skies, Wedding, Photography, Photographer

I love being out under the stars in our National Parks, so when Dietmar and Gemma told me they were coming in from England to elope in Vegas and wanted to have their wedding pictures in the stark nothingness of Death Valley and under the vast night skies, I was totally in. We met up just before sunset and headed to Badwater Basin to start the shoot off before hitting a couple other spots and finishing up at Zabriski Point.

Thank you both for your epic patience (creating these type of pictures takes time) and I thoroughly hope you are enjoying your California honeymoon!

Astrophotography, astro, portraits, Death, Valley, National, Park, Stars, Night, Skies, Wedding, Photography, Photographer

Tiffanie + Inkyu | Malibu Engagement Photography

June 10th, 2016:

Adamson, House, Malibu, Creek, State, Park, Engagement, Session, Photography, Photographer, PCH, Los, Angeles

I started off last weekend in Malibu Creek State Park with Tiffanie + Inkyu for their engagement session. It was the first day of a heatwave across southern California, but fortunately by time we started shooting in the late afternoon it had dropped to the low 90’s. After about an hour in the hills, we crossed over to PCH and were astounded to find that the temperature plummeted and we were thrown into a dense coastal fog. We wandered the grounds of the Adamson house for a while before braving the surf and getting a few images down on the beach.

Thanks for the great afternoon you two! I’ll see you next month at your wedding!

Adamson, House, Malibu, Creek, State, Park, Engagement, Session, Photography, Photographer, PCH, Los, Angeles

C + D | Palm Springs Windmills

May 20th, 2016:

Palm, Springs, Windmill, Engagement, Photography, Photographer, Desert

You want the windiest shoot ever? How about you go and stand next to a ton of windmills like I did with C+D a couple of weeks back in Palm Springs. It was wonderful to know the area lived up to it’s windy reputation, but C+D we total troopers, braving the buffeting gusts and pretending like getting pelted with random flying grit is par for the course. After the sun went down, it was even dark enough for us to capture a few astro photos with the mountains silhouetted in the background!

Thanks for the great evening! I’ll see you both back in Palm Springs in October!

Palm, Springs, Windmill, Engagement, Photography, Photographer, Desert

Nancy + Chris | Palm Springs Wedding

May 17th, 2016:

Joshua, Tree, National, Park, Wedding, Photography, Astro, Astrophotography

Last weekend I headed out to the desert to spend a couple evenings with Nancy and Chris, photographing their intimate wedding ceremony at the Moorten Botanical Gardens and shooting an astrophotography session for them under the stars of Joshua Tree. For two days these two were all laughs and smiles and even took it in stride when we started shooting under the night skies and we didn’t get those perfect clear skies Joshua Tree is known for (it did eventually clear up and we were able to create some dramatic images).

Congratulations to you both, thank you for trusting me and letting me celebrate with you and your families on your wedding day!

Palm, Springs, Wedding, Photography, Photographer, Moorten, Botanical, Gardens Joshua, Tree, National, Park, Wedding, Photography, Astro, Astrophotography

Angela + Victor | Grace E. Simons Lodge Wedding

May 9th, 2016:

greace, e, simons, lodge, wedding, photography, photographer, los, angeles, elysian, park

Angela and I first met way back in 3rd grade when she started attending Twinhill elementary school where I had been going since Kindergarten. For the next decade, all the way through high school, we were in the many of the same classes and were surrounded by the same kids – eventually college happened and 15 years flew by before Facebook and Instagram hooked us up again. A couple years after that, Victor proposed and we got started on planning their wedding photography.

Cara came out with me to help photograph their wedding celebration in Los Angeles and it was absolutely fantastic to meet Victor and get a glimpse into what life has brought for one of my childhood friends.

Congrats to you both, and from the pictures you are posting, it looks like Iceland is making for a damn epic honeymoon!

greace, e, simons, lodge, wedding, photography, photographer, los, angeles, elysian, park

Castle Green Wedding Photography

April 25th, 2016:

Castle, Green, Wedding, Photography, Photographer, Pasadena, Los, Angeles

Rain is good luck on your wedding day, right? Well then, Andrew and Natalie killed it on the luck front and it looks like they’ll have the luckiest Southern Californian marriage I have seen yet. Despite the steady April drizzle, these two smiled throughout the day, laughed with their family and friends, and celebrated their new life together without a thought about the weather.

Congrats to you both and thanks for letting me join the excitement!

Castle, Green, Wedding, Photography, Photographer, Pasadena, Los, Angeles

Ryan + Nicole | Topanga Canyon Engagement Session

April 15th, 2016:

Topanga, Canyon, State, Park, Point, Dume, Beach, PCH, Engagement, Photography, Session, Malibu, Los, Angeles

After a couple of days of rains in March, Southern California experiences an extremely quick “Spring”, where the normally brown grasses turn green and the flowers pop to life. Fortunately for Ryan and Nicole, that brief Californian springtime landed in time for their engagement session in Topanga Canyon State Park and up at Point Dume, overlooking the Pacific ocean. Up for anything, these two trudged around the waist high prickly grasses and braved the cold winds of the bluffs over the ocean and we’re smiles the entire time.

Thanks Nicole + Ryan for the excellent shoot and I look forward to your wedding in October!

Topanga, Canyon, State, Park, Point, Dume, Beach, PCH, Engagement, Photography, Session, Malibu, Los, Angeles

Matt + Jason | The Living Desert Wedding

April 5th, 2016:

The, Living, Desert, Palm, Springs, Wedding, Photography, Same, Sex, Gay, Photographer

A high-fiving porcupine named Mr. Prickles, an unplugged ceremony where our laid back grooms asked all their guests to turn off their devices and be a part of their marriage, a Lady and the Tramp style churro eating to replace a cake cutting, and even getting up close to a giraffe and various other desert creatures throughout the day; With promises like these, you can imagine I have been excited to shoot Matt + Jason’s wedding day at The Living Desert in Palm Springs for quite some time now.

Needless to say, these guys brought love, excitement, and their laid-back attitudes to what is easily one of the most fabulously fun weddings I have photographed in a long time.

Thanks for letting me celebrate with you both and congrats once again!

The, Living, Desert, Palm, Springs, Wedding, Photography, Same, Sex, Gay, Photographer thelivingdesertwedding104