Walnut Creek Wedding Photographer. San Francisco Bay Area.
Wedding Photography – George and I recently spent a very warm (but fun) day shooting the wedding of Lian and Roy in Walnut Creek at The Garden at Heather Farms. The flowers had started to bloom, really showing off the venue space. It was so much fun to get to know them a bit and photograph their day. Couldn’t be happier for those two!
Had an awesome afternoon recently with Tiana. She needed some headshots done for an upcoming audition, so we spent an hour getting a few different kinds of photos done to giver her some options. Sessions like these are useful for all sorts of things, if even just for posterity. Please get a hold of me and you and I can do the same!
Like any artist, I have my bread n’ butter photo projects as well as my side projects. And like previous years, 2018 hasn’t failed to deliver the opportunities to stretch my wings a bit.
I’ve always been a huge, HUGE fan of Back to the Future. If I dress up for Halloween, 90% of the time you’ll see me around town dressed as Marty McFly. So naturally, when I saw that some of the film’s cast were getting together at Fan Expo Dallas this year, I submitted for media credentials and hopped on a plane to Texas. It was totally worth the trip, for these two photos alone:
It’s been rainy, and wedding season hasn;t kicked in yet. So two weeks in a row, I hopped over to Oakland (once in the pouring rain) to photograph two very well known English musicians, Roger Daltrey (of The Who) and Noel Gallagher (of Oasis).
I am a fan of both artists, and a giant fan of Noel’s music specifically. Needless to say, both shows were fantastic and I was thrilled to be able to capture them.
Our wedding photography season for 2017 has come to an end, and we’re now gearing up for 2018.
For many people, this year brought some challenges but it didn’t stop us or our wonderful brides and grooms from having a blast and celebrating their new lives together. Here are just a few examples:
//DANVILLE, CA – CROW CANYON COUNTRY CLUB
Shannon & David found me through his daughter – for whom I shot wedding photos in 2014, in San Francisco at the General’s Residence of Fort Mason.
This time around, we found ourselves at the Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville. Not only do they have beautiful landscaping and a great facility for weddings and events, but the bride and groom happened to be avid golfers as well. So much, in fact, that we got some fun tee-off photos in the wedding dress and tuxedo just after the ceremony.
Lots of dancing followed into the night, while the golf section of the crowd gathered on the upper balcony for a late night putting contest (off the balcony, one bounce off the pavement below, onto the putting green and into the hole, which was lit with glow sticks).
//WALNUT CREEK & NOVATO, CA – STONETREE GOLF CLUB
Following a fun engagement photo session earlier in the year, it was time for Mariel & Jesus’ wedding. The ceremony was at a church in Walnut Creek, with reception following at Stonetree Golf Club in Novato.
I was at the bride’s house bright and early to document the getting-ready process. Her family and bridesmaids were awesome and welcoming; happy to be on camera, and happy to keep offering me coffee and breakfast. Meanwhile, my 2nd shooter George was already onsite at the church, hanging out and getting photos of the groom and groomsmen.
After a lovely ceremony at the church, we braved the warm Saturday traffic past Sonoma/Napa and into Novato, where Stonetree was ready and waiting. The crowd was all smiles, tons of laughter, and very engaged in the couple’s happiness. It was really something special to watch the family and friends interact. Such a tight knit group of people.
//SACRAMENTO, CA – STATION 1
On the opposite end of the wedding spectrum, Lauren & Zac sure showed us a rockin’ good time up in Sacramento at Station 1.
These two met on the front rail (front row) at a concert years back, and made a habit of continuing that tradition throughout their relationship. Not wanting anything resembling a traditional wedding, this event was held in an upstairs jazz club, decorated with rock n’ roll memorabilia, electric guitar wedding cake, drum heads for guests to sign, a rockin’ playlist, and even custom guitar picks for the guests to take home with them (I snagged a few, being a guitar player).
The happy couple got married on the stage while their guests held their drinks up high in cheers, and the rest of the day was full of food, drinks, hugs, conversation, and rock. George and I showed up in suits as usual (especially because I had another wedding to attend as a guest after we were finished here), and we were immediately encouraged by the bride and groom to strip down to just T shirts and get comfortable along with everyone else. It was a blast, and such a welcoming crowd.
//SONORA, CA – INDIGENY RESERVE
This time with Tyler as my second shooter, we met early in the morning and headed out to Sonora (about a 2.5 hour drive each way for us – plenty of time to catch up with each other in the car) to Indigeny Reserve, known for their awesome hard cider. Today’s wedding was that of Matt & Joy.
Once again, we were lucky to have such a laid back and friendly couple to work with. After the long drive, we arrived to find that last minute preparations were still under way. The groom wasn’t dressed up yet, helping lift boxes out of cars and set up decorations.
But with the snap of a finger, everything fell into place and everyone was ready to go for a pleasantly warm (but shaded) outdoor ceremony and reception in the foothills, near a creek.
Similar to the Sacramento wedding, very little of this one was traditional either… minus the clothing and the beautiful ceremony. The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking, mingling and laughing. At the groom’s request, we had some of Indigeny’s organic cider. Man, was that tasty on a warm day! Highly recommended.
Watching this small group of family and 30-year friends have so much fun with each other was completely worth the trek out to Sonora, and Tyler and I talked about how much fun we had with them the whole way back.
I could write paragraphs about every event we had in 2017, but you get the gist. We had a blast with so many people this year, and we can’t wait to do it again in 2018. If you’re thinking about meeting with me or having us handle your wedding photography (or event/engagement/etc.), please get a hold of me soon!
We wish you all a Happy New Year!
As wedding season 2017 approaches, I’ve been keeping busy doing some different types of photography – family, engagement photos, musicians, concerts, etc. It’s always entertaining to look back at my calendar and see a family shoot scheduled one day, and a punk rock show in Berkeley the next. Keeps life interesting!
Recently, I went out to Danville with a new family. The parents were celebrating their daughter turning 1 year old and wanted to document the milestone, so we spent some time at Osage park. Beautiful day, and an adorable kid. Here are a few of my favorites, and find us on Facebook to see more current work:
Before taking a week-long vacation in Pennsylvania, I made some time with a really sweet couple to do their engagement photos. We hit the legendary Fenton’s Creamery (as seen in the Pixar movie Up) in Oakland/Piedmont and then walked around Lake Temescal. I don’t know what I’m doing right, but I keep getting ridiculously lucky with the weather lately! Maybe it’s reward for having to shoot a wedding in the pouring rain last December.
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Recently, I hopped in the car with Cameron & Holley and headed up the steep winding roads of Mount Diablo here in the East Bay Area (the Danville side). The torrential, drought-relieving rains had subsided for a few days so we figured it was the best time to get their engagement photos done while we had a few hours of sunshine.
Man, was it a nice day to head up the hill! The sheer amount of the color green was almost overwhelming. I mean look at this! The grass looks like it would be straight out of Breath of the Wild (that new Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo Switch, if you hadn’t heard of it):
We had a fun couple of hours just snaking the hills and finding some good spots to snap some images, eventually coming down the other side of the mountain into Walnut Creek. I keep forgetting all this awesome open space is right in my own backyard. I hadn’t been up there in years.
Once the 2016 wedding season was wrapped up, I focused my time and energy on family and the holidays. Once New Year’s Eve was done, I hopped a plane in San Francisco and headed off to Venice, Italy. The first stop on our Venice – Prague – Edinburgh – London trip.
Naturally I had some photo work to do while I was out there, and came back with some pretty great images. Have a look!
After a few days, we grabbed a water taxi back to the airport (as my wedding assistant George is demonstrating in this photo):
…and we jetted off to Prague, in the Czech Republic. It was quite chilly there, and I spent most of my photography time with a scarf wrapped over my face so I could keep the feeling in it.
A handful of cold days here and next stop was up to Edinburgh in Scotland. Castles galore! And fog. Lots of fog.
That evening, after much castle-ing, we headed to Glasgow to catch my buddy Kevin singing with his band Candlebox. You might know them best from their 1993 hit “Far Behind”. Great show… snapped some photos there and met up for a drink afterword:
On our last day we hit Edinburgh Castle, and I think it was the right choice. The fog lifted a bit and we got some great sunset opportunities while up on the hill.
One more quick EasyJet flight and we were in London. I think this was my 4th time there, but I always love coming back. I didn’t bother with as many photos this time.
That was a long post! If you made it this far, congratulations. Just a glimpse of what I like to do when I’m not seeing you wonderful people at weddings. Looking forward to meeting you guys (or seeing some of you again) very soon! Shoot me a message.
Hi guys! Don’t get me wrong… I personally love the rain, and here in California (especially the Bay Area) we needed it. Badly. But it does make taking photos more difficult. Not impossible, though! As I shall demonstrate:
Just before Christmas, we got to shoot a holiday-themed wedding at Dublin Heritage Park out in, well, Dublin. It was pouring rain, and everyone was huddled inside this small wooden chapel or in the reception room with the fireplace and Christmas tree.
Everyone stayed in good spirits (and relatively dry), and it turned into a cozy festive event with close friends and family. Here are a couple of shots we took out in the rain after the ceremony:
So there you have it! Don’t worry about rain on your wedding day. It can make it even more fun!
Before this, in the opposite sort of weather, my assistant and I had gone out to Sequoyah Country Club in the Oakland hills. Extremely bright and sunny, but we made it work. Everyone in the crowd was fantastic and we had a blast here too.
It’s been an interesting year, weather-wise. Now on the downhill slope toward October, it’s been hotter than it was all summer. I think brides and grooms have noticed that here in California, which would make sense why more and more of my couples book me for weddings in the Fall months. It’s still warm!
What have you guys been up to? We’ve been having a ton of fun this year, snapping away and making a bunch of fun stuff happen. Here are a few of our favorite photos since we last talked:
On a non-wedding note, I got to spend some time shooting photos with the band We Are Scientists while they were hot on the heels of a Jimmy Kimmel performance. Then I headed down to Mountain View to get some shots of Heart at Shoreline. Nancy and Ann Wilson were nothing short of amazing. As always:
