The story of Armando and Kristine began in the Dominican Republic.  Last weekend, another chapter was written on a small beach in Puerto Plata, surrounded by close relatives and friends, under the warm, well, blazing Caribbean sun!  Despite the language barrier, Armando's family, mostly from the Dominican Republic, welcomed Kristine's family with open arms.  The love shared between these families was thrilling to photograph and a real treat to be a part of.  One of my favs is the group shot we put together.  I've decided to plan out the wedding party shots a little more now and I believe they are coming out better and better.  Any favorites?  I also want to be sure to thank the whole staff at Sun Village Resort for keeping all the details together, they did a fabulous job.  Of course, don't forget to check out their killer slide show.

On the 20 minute drive up to San Clemente, the rain drizzled down and the grey sky began to get even darker.  I was getting a little worried.  The phone rang, it was Lilian and Joe who's engagement shoot was about to begin.  Let's do it!  I knew we could get some fabulous shots, but only if Lilian and Joe had a positive attitude and were able to put a little trust in my work.  We ended up having a great time and the overcast day provided for some sweet diffuse light.  Here are a few of my favs:

For the rest of the summer, I'm running a sweet little sale on all canvas prints!  If you have been thinking about gifts or looking for something to fill that blank white wall, this would be a great time.  At $120 for a 16"x20" or $200 for a 20"x30" you'll be set.  Just shoot over an email and we'll get you set up.  Thanks to Sarah and Tim for rockin' the sample.  Happy summer!

Stephanie and Gary knew exactly where they wanted their engagements done and it turned out to be a blast!  The Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach is a permanently moored cruise ship complete with restaurants, bars, live bands and endless opportunities for fun photos.  When the sun began to set, we jumped on the local bus and explored the nearby harbor.  They were even patient enough to experiment with some night shots using the off camera flashes.  As always, we tried I few things I've never done before and as always, a few of them didn't work out at all... on the other hand a few worked fabulously and that makes it all worth it! 

I had the great honor of capturing Connie and Cuong's wedding right here in Del Mar, California.  It's such a treat to cover local weddings and these two planned an incredible day that sailed right by without a hitch.  Here are a few of my favorite shots pulled from their slide show.  I have been having a blast capturing audio clips for the shows, so be sure to have your speakers on when you watch.  The passing trains are a part of every wedding at Seagrove Park, so including that along with some special vows will really draw you in. 

A big shout-out goes to Banquet Captain Joe Patt at L'Auberge as well as Stacy Porras and team for the smooth sailing, LaVonne at Adorations for the fabulous flowers, and Melanie for great hair and makeup.

Just finished up Heather and Jim's photos from a fabulous wedding last weekend in Seattle, WA.  We spent an incredibly intimate afternoon at the courthouse and I had a blast shooting this wedding.  It's always easy to post the "WOW" shots.  The visually stunning shots, however, I want to be sure to show you a few of the other kinds of photos I like to capture.  They aren't going to win any magazine awards, however, these end up being some of the most favorite shots of my clients.  Quiet and subtle, looks and sincerity and genuine emotion.  Also, I captured a few audio clips for their slide show, be sure to listen for Jim's vows and a few other fun captures.

It has been several difficult months, however, I'm happy to finally to announce my new line of camera straps!  So check out the most stylish, retro and comfortable camera straps available at RileyG Strapworks.com.  We have already begun taking orders and will be offering some sweeeet hand straps in the near future, so stay posted! 

With all this crazy San Diego weather, it has been tough getting a little sunlight into a photoshoot, but last Sunday, Holly, Dave and I lucked out.  We got plenty of good light, dramatic skies and even a few puddles for a spontaneous reflection shot... one of my favs.  I had an awesome time with you two!

I'm thrilled to announce Steph and Ryan's wedding has been published in the latest issue of Pacific Weddings Magazine!  A big thanks of course goes out to Steph and Ryan for a wonderful love story as well to Shaunna at Pacific Weddings for putting it down on paper.

I finally got my film developed from my Holga photos!  These are so cool.  With only 12 shots per roll, and about a buck each, every shot takes some consideration.  Then again, it's a $30 plastic German camera, so how serious can you get?  But that is just the begining of the story shooting with the Holga.  There is something liberating about only having two shutter speeds.  No thinking, just shooting.  The best part is, I have no worries about anyone trying to take my little toy camera.  If you want some inspiration, I would recomend picking one of these bad boys up, I think Amazon even has them.  Here are a few of my favs from down in Mexico last November.  Thanks Jose!

Most of my photography is very spontaneous and un-planned.  So it came at a little bit of a surprise when I decided to begin planning a few shots, working with the bride and groom to create an image.  This usually always comes up when we begin to talk about those "crazy" and "fun" wedding party photos.  Pre-planning that "crazy" shot is a big big part of the creative process, especially when working with a dozen subjects.  A group that big is hardly spontaneous and usually need some specific direction.  I don't know about you, but when all eyes are on me, sun is blaring down and I've got three minute, no make that "WERE LATE!" to create some magic I just go blank.  Robin Rachel and I began looking at and discussing some "fun" ideas prior to the wedding.  When it came to down to creating the shot, (in a hurry) we were all on same page, easy, no stress and FUN! Here is what we came up with, along with a few of my unplanned favs.

By the time we got downtown, we had lost most of our light... that didn't stop us from getting some super cool night shots!  Here are my favs.  Be sure to let me know what you think... all you ghost readers out there :)

Had to post three of my favs from Sarrah and Tim's wedding.  Be sure to check out the SHOW below for the full experience!  Make sure your audio is on (ie headphones for those of you at work)...

Ashley and Dongkyu planned a fabulous afternoon wedding and reception in La Jolla.  The full sun dished up some dramatic lighting, but the tall towers of the Hyatt Regency La Jolla gave us some warm shade and sweet colored walls.  My favs:

Finally got a chance to go through a few more of my shots from last weeks workshop in Mexico. I'm convinced, they have a different sun down there! I've got a laundry list of to-do's now that I'm back home. The four days I spent with Jose Villa, Cameron Ingalls and Karina Puente have inspired a new direction in my photography that I never thought possible. There must have been about 20 of us together for those 5 days and I'm still amazed by the talent and drive of each of these photographers. Of course I only pushed the shutter button, so here's a shout-out to Hacienda Del Carmen for the backdrop and of course that amazing food. Mar Romero for hair and makeup (all the way from Cali), and of course Miiriam, Danny, Valeria and Martin from Citro Models who didn't miss a step.  It wouldn't have been the same without Gene Higa, Ann Hamilton and of course Joel Serrato with those inspiring Super 8 films.  Here are a few of my favs.  I've thrown in a few shots from the fomal shooting sessions as well as my own goofing around. 

Just finished my second day with Jose Villa, Gene Higa, Cameron Ingalls and about 15 other amazing photographers here in El Camen, Mexico.  Wow.  Lovin' it.  The talent, drive, and inspiration is thick as butter.  Here are a few shots from today's shoot.  We had three, (yes, that's 3) minutes with the models to do our stuff.  I was lucky enough to pick up a notorious Holga camera and am excited to see the results, but will have to be patient for the film factor.

My birthday party ended up being just a few close friends and family, but that didn't mean we didn't have any fun!  We attempted to make an ice luge for drinks... I'll just say the attempt was well worth it. Of course we busted out the camera so we had a chance to explore the high ISO abilities of Nikon's newest cameras.  I was amazed.  Upgrading equipment can be a tough decision, especially when "want" and "need" don't seem to agree.  In my mind, the digital camera is just a computer and should probably be "updated" regularly.  The ability to shoot quality images at 3200 ISO (as in the fire shot) can really open some fun doors creatively.  So here we go...!

I was expecting some great wedding details and design ideas from Yelena and Michael and boy did they take the cake.  With flip-flops for the girls on the dance floor, a club-like loung area and the coolest table flowers I've seen, these guys had it all.  Be sure to check out their SHOW. The day was a bit overcast, so the lighting was just perfect.  I found the low light also helps to get my shutter speed down, adding a little movement blur;  just to give it that extra something.  Thoughts?