Love and Carriage

If we're lucky, we find love once in our lives. You might say Jimmie Guzik and Pat Lauer are luckier than most, finding love again later in the happiest times of their lives. More photos here.

The Big Meet Before the Big Event

I've only known Abigail and Jordan a few weeks, and I still don't know them much. But I thank them for trusting me to deliver on their wedding day. And meeting with me prior to the big event. They were ready to book me -- the wedding was in two weeks! -- but I told them I needed to meet them first. So, why is that so important?

There are people who can shoot on a moment's notice and capture art the first time out, and post pics straight out of camera. I'm not that person.

I believe in the need, at the very least, to meet a couple before the event and give them some expectations in regards to what I'm able to deliver. The portfolio gives some clues, and so does the shot list that I bring to the meeting. But some small talk and chatter gives me an idea who I'm shooting, and I think the reciprocal of that is that they develop a certain level of confidence in my abilities by just chatting.

After we've talked and listened to each other, I offer up a game plan for how the day will go down. I also see if they're looking for absolute encroachment into their big day, or if they're looking for me to shoot from a distance, or if they're looking for a mix of both.

I'm pretty sure I've lost a client or two because of a meeting, but that's okay. At the end of a meeting, I usually tell a client that after the meeting, they should give it some thought as to whether I'm the right guy. If I am, let's follow up by signing a contract. If not, I'd still love a referral or two if they feel my work is worthy for one of their friends. (And I'm sure there's a sales lesson or two I need to understand to get me to win more clients, but I'm not there yet.)

Ultimately, I want the potential client to be comfortable with me. If they're not, it'll be a long day for the both of us.

42....

No, not my age; I'm two years past that. It's track #4 on Viva la Vida; no other reason for posting here other than I love this song's dramatic ups and downs. The driving guitar sound is killer. From http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=473

Drinking and Dancing Mix

I love drunk people. They wear their emotions on their sleeves, even when they don't have any. And they usually don't care if and how you're recording it.

J. threw a birthday party for G., the one in the hat whose face we don't see here, at Temecula Stampede. J.'s story is a sad one, which I won't share here. Suffice it to say that G. is a friend who was there for her as she went through a traumatic experience and at the time this photo was snapped, she repaid his friendship and therapy with a surprise birthday party, replete with a dozen other drunk friends in a stretch Escalade and papparazzi (me and one other shooter). Temecula Stampede was their first stop, but I didn't follow along for the rest of the night. I'm sure the rest of the evening was crazy, balls-out mayhem.

This is another in a series of photos coming from my backup project.

San Diego Skyline, Looking SSE

If you've ever seen a San Diego skyline shot, you may have seen this one or this one or this one. A few years ago, I thought about a skyline shot that wasn't typical, where you'd think immediately, "Is that San Diego?" Here's a version, circa 2004. (Click on the image to view it in all its panoramic mediocrity; extra points if you can guess what street I was standing on.)

It's dark on most monitors; it was about 5 p.m. with the winter sun setting quickly. My 10D wasn't up to snuff, but I snapped the sequences anyhow. I figured I should capture "something." Some day, I'll take a much better version.

HDR of Hotel Del

Here's how I spent evenings over the winter when Patty was at her bowling league. I'd drive around to the beach or to a San Diego landmark, then look for a good vantage point. If I was close to it, I'd get out and walk with all my gear. I also had Lulu in tow.

This is the result of one evening. Took about 6 shots and merged them in PS via HDR action. This one would need a bit more touch up to be good. Almost there with this one, but I won't waste any more time with it. It was just an experiment.

Let me know if you want to see data on this one and I'll update this post.

NPR: Eyes of Want...

I went through an upgrade of my storage system and have been reloading all my files onto this roomy hard drive, for backup as well as easy access. There are some pretty lame-o pics in the bunch, and I think I've improved immensely as I look back at many of them. Equipment upgrades sure helped out in this regard. Here's a photo that brought back a minor memory.

Once upon a time, Patty and I commuted by train from Vista to Orange County. The idea of train commuting was novel for us, but got old real quick when it seemed the train always ran later than usual, which meant the cars would be packed with early arrivals for the next scheduled stop, which meant I usually gave up my seat for Patty and I stood the whole way. Not a bad way to travel, but it meant I was standing with the others who reeked of B.O. Thankfully, this was not one of those times and we had a pick of the seats facing each other.

I love this photo, as it depicts a very rare occasion when I'd have a camera in her face and Patty would look introspective rather than give me those eyes of want, but rather I's of want, as in "I want you outta my face."