Vegas WPPI 2008! The recap.

WEDDING AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS INTERNATIONAL 2008 - LAS VEGAS

So usually a week in Vegas is too long for us but I definitely take that back. To say this trip was cooler than penguins would be an understatement. Where do I even start?! We made so many great contacts, met so many talented people, learned from the greats in our industry, and had tons-o-fun. Check out the recap ya'll... (keep in mind the shots were taken with our "point & poop" camera so excuse the quality)
Let's start things off right shall we? Well, not really. We heard a weird noise while driving before even getting on the freeway from San Diego so I thought it wouldn't hurt to go to the nearby tire store because it sounded like a flat. Well, I came to find that our tires were way too bald to risk driving to Vegas with it fully loaded. So with new tires all around we were on our way finally, just a mere $660 dollars later!
For those people who tell us that Marissa and I will create beautiful children...reconsider based on the photo above. We got this done at the New York New York hotel, pure comedy. I can't wait until that style of wedding photography comes back. j/k

This is Crystal being optimistic after having a full glass of red wine spilled on her by our lovely waitress at restaurant with lame service in the Planet Hollywood Hotel. Poor Crystal, she didn't deserve that; or me blogging it for that matter...whoops.

This is right before we were going in to see KA at the MGM Grand. Compliments of Sean and Kevin from KISS Wedding Books (www.KissWeddingBooks.com), you guys flippin' rock! Thank you! It's a seriously good show, not better than "O", but different and unique to itself. The other shot is a compilation of photo booth shots from Kiss' hip photo booth that they had at their WPPI booth.
Here we are after seeing "O" at the Bellagio Hotel. WOW is all I can say. The scents, the sights, the performers, unbelievable. SEE THIS SHOW in your lifetime. They had to kick us out after the show because we just wanted to sit there and marinate in the experience.
Here we are hanging out at New York New York Hotel with the guys from KISS Wedding Books along with some other awesome photographers such as Mike Larson (you rock!). Drinks were on KISS, again thanks you guys!
Kimee, me, and Marissa wishing we had a time machine after bloating ourselves with Del Taco.

Here are our 3 lovely employees (that's sounds so impersonal, you guys are such blessings) Crystal, Kimee, and Deena at the Bellagio Piano Bar.
This is Carlos Baez who was kind enough to befriend us, take us under his wing, and share some of the awesome advice and insight he had to offer. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, definitely check him out. He spoke at Graphi Studio's booth and at the Adobe booth which we both attended and loved.
This is inside the Celebrity Suite inside the Palms hotel. It was a sweet industry party put on by Pixel to Canvas and Flo Sites. Thanks for the invite guys! Ross, looking forward to working with you ASAP.

We also got to attend the insane BluDomain and KISS party at a Las Vegas mansion called "Paradise Palace". It was like being on an episode of MTV cribs, seriously. All the big names were there like Mike Colon, Jeff Woods, Jesh De Rox, and I even got to meet the drummer from LA Slumlords whose song appeared in Guitar Hero III! I love that game! Rockband is taking up my evenings lately though. Marissa and I are called "The Butchers" and we are currently on tour.

Here we are at the WPPI Canon welcoming party. Pretty cool but it was so huge that it was hard to get to know anyone.

Okay, so people think that PURE at Caesar's Palace is one of the best clubs in Vegas? Ha! That place is all hype and they think that you should be touched by God (or Satan) to enter their mighty gates. Scoff, that place is lame compared to The Bank at the Bellagio. Better sound, better crowd, better staff, better layout, better DJs, period. By the way, hit up the Bellagio Cafe for the best belgian waffle you've ever had or try the Eggs Benedict for a flavor blast on your tongue.

One of our favorite seminars that we took was by Matthew Jordan Smith who was a frequent photographer on America's Next Top Model. What a seriously sharp guy who made success a reality by going after it and not taking no for an answer. Other seminar highlights included Yervant of course and Hernan.


Me and Marissa with Eileen Rafferty from Collages.net. Meghan and her are so good with people, I don't think there's anyone better for a face of a company than them. We've been hosting our proofs with them for a couple years now and haven't looked back. They offer some awesome Gallery Wraps too. Great color accuracy and construction. They've been kind enough to feature some of our images on their homepage, albums , gallery wraps and at their convention booths.

We absorbed a ton of information and found out about some really cool products while at the show. Finally bought a Lens Baby 3G, but dang the learning curve and logistics of the thing take some time. Worth it though once you get the hang of it, or at least that's what I keep telling myself to feel better. :)

We got a chance to dance at Studio 54 at the MGM Grand but it took some major coaxing on my part. Looking back I thought that was weird because usually I have to be forced to dance but I don't know what it is about Vegas that just makes me feel totally relaxed dancing horribly in front of spectacular dancers. So this guy in the middle here was the highlight of the night. I would love to know his story. My guess is that his grandson didn't want to watch him so he gave him his hip, stylized hoodie sweatshirt and said "this is studio 54 grandpa, now go have fun!". Everyone in the club loved this guy because he would shamelessly dance with all the girls, for hours at a time. We know because we danced our butts off at this place. Good times. 'Til next year!

Lily & Chris at La Jolla Cove!

Lily and Chris' engagement shoot down at the Cove was a seriously good time. It reminded me of how blessed Marissa and I are to be involved in a profession that literally documents and celebrates people finding love. And for good measure, also being able to live and shoot in sunny San Diego is something I constantly try to remind myself of how lucky we are. I mean being down at La Jolla cove where tourists are swarming from all over the world and we are just a hop, skip and a jump away. I'm not sure anyone can deny that being near nature is literally healing to the soul. It somehow makes everything else you were worrying about in life seems so small; it's a serious perspective shift; suddenly being a beach bum sounds kinda nice :).

My impression of Lily and Chris was simply genuine. They really impressed me and Marissa with their striking expressions and you couldn't help but admire how with the closer they embraced, the more calm they appeared finding comfort in each other. Lily is a delivery nurse while Chris works for the gaming commission. The guy has got a seriously intimidating stature about him but he's so welcoming at the same time which you wouldn't think would make sense. We like them a lot and after the session we knew the wedding day would be breeze with how well they photograph.

It's pretty funny to watch me and Marissa shoot a couple because we're always laughing at each other as we shoot. For instance, I made the stupid mistake of wearing this cadet style hat with a bill and since it got in the way of putting my camera's viewfinder to my eye I had to just prop it up on my head which made me look like a total clown. Marissa didn't hesitate for a second to point out how lame I looked, lol. Then she took a shot of me (see below). I tried putting it backwards like Sylvester Stallone in that arm-wrestling movie "Over the Top" but that was super-lame as well. Then at another recent shoot with Ashley & Eddie I found myself in a peculiar position (to get a certain angle on a shot) which Marissa also didnt' hesitate to point out that I looked like I was in position for a camping-style bathroom break (photo also below). She was right though, I look pretty ridiculous. I know she loves me at my best or worst, bad breath, good breath, bed head, so whateves! ;p

Yoko & Shane at the Grande Colonial in La Jolla!

Hey Yoko & Shane! Hope you get a chance to read this blog post because we've been dying to show off some of the photos from your gorgeous wedding at the Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla. We added a gallery to our new website as well because these babies need to be seen!

So a little background on the couple...Yoko is a massage therapist (Shane, you scored there!) and Shane is in the same business as us, photography :). When we first met Yoko & Shane it was at Bondi restaurant in downtown San Diego for their engagement shoot. We admired Yoko & Shane right off the bat with how down to earth and humble they are as people; it made shooting them a piece of cake and gave us all the creative freedom in the world. Long story short the engagement shots turned out awesome(of which I'll be adding some to our site's engagement gallery soon).

Come the day of the wedding, these two were extremely jazzed about taking even more photos now that they were all spruced up for their big day. What was great about Yoko & Shane was that they valued the photography so much that they allocated more time than any couple thus far that we've worked with. We can't stress the importance of this enough to couple's we meet with. If Marissa and I can be given solid creative freedom and time in the schedule, your photos will be testament to those factors. Sure we work great under pressure and get what we need, but that's really a disservice to what could've been had we had more time.

The wedding was a complete success, Marissa and I were honored to be a part of Yoko & Shane's union and merging of two very unique and special families. Speaking of, what a great bunch of family and friends you guys have! It was so cool seeing Yoko's Mom in traditional Kimono attire. Also, loved the custom ring made by Derrick Obatake at www.SteelFlame.com.

A Beautiful Palm Desert Wedding

Holy Guacamole....Jacklyn and Scott. Another match made in heaven. You two wowed us all day with your love, your friends and family and your..... organization. What an on the ball couple ;) Their ceremony was at a gorgeous church, St. Francis of Assisi Church in Palm Desert. The reception was in a tent at The Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells. The day could not have been better.

Here are some teasers until we have you over to show you all of them on the movie screen.
They are coming out beautifully.I told you they are loved ;)I wonder who's idea this was????