We had a blast shooting Naomi and Steve’s engagement session on the grounds of the Babe Zaharias golf course and then chased the last rays of the day along the hills of Walnut Ranch. It’s funny because I have vague memories of meeting Naomi when she was much, much younger but it is difficult to recount the details. I do however remember one part of the day clearly, and that was my lunch run to the local taco shop where I had sesos de tacos for the first and last time. (I’ll leave you to google what sesos tacos are.)

Naomi’s family and Ham’s family are such good friends, they call each other cousins. That means Steve is practically one of the family. Naomi has a great laugh and smiled the whole session. And Steve was just a cool cat the whole way. We’ll get to see Naomi and Steve again real soon as they get married later this month.  Can’t wait. Until then, enjoy these photos guys.

We love the way this tree framed Naomi and Steve.

But this tree is certainly cool as well.

Loving how the light made the leaves glow. Matches up well with Naomi’s glowing smile.

I know, when we see a nice backdrop like this, we just have to stop what you’re doing to take a few shots. Steve quickly go into the swing of things.

I love this moment between Naomi and Steve.

The sun was setting fast and made for some awesome backlit shots. Loving the spacing of these palm trees at aptly named Pacific Palms Resort.

Helping Naomi avoid the prickly weeds that protected the entrance to this hillside.

You can just feel the warmth of the light and between the couple.

Naomi having fun working it for the camera. We love it when you guys cut loose and have fun.

No more prickly weeds, just soft…textural grass and flowers.

You find hillsides like these all around southern California. It makes for a great natural backdrop and put you high enough to gather the remaining light of the day. I loved exploring these kinds of hillsides growing up in SoCal.

On most non working weekends, you’ll find me driving the family up the coast to Dana Point to let the kids visit their grandparents. But on this particular Sunday, I got to make the drive up the coast to meet up and second shoot for my friend Sarah K Chen at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel. I have admired Sarah’s work and her photographic vision for a long time now. But every opening that she had for available for a second shooter have always coincide with my own shoots. However, the stars seem to align for Jackie and Lee’s beautiful oceanfront wedding.

Second shooting allow us photographer who are used to playing the primary role the opportunity to think and see the day in a different way. It helps to expand the range of our creativity as you specifically shoot shots and angles that helps to compliments and complete the story the primary photographer is capturing. Instead of duplicating their shot. But one of the best thing is simply to stay connected and grow with other awesome photographer. Case in point, I had the pleasure of meeting and working alongside a new photographer friend Jen Lauren Grant. Who’s vision and style is uniquely hers so it’s great to be able to see the same day from the perspective of multiple photographers. Be sure to check out Sarah’s blog for a awe inspiring look of Jackie and Lee’s wedding day. And then jump over to Jen Lauren Grant’s photo blog for an alternate view.

A big thanks to Kerrie of Platinum Weddings and her team for coordinating the day and not only keeping it going smoothly and on track for Jackie, Lee and guest, but helped us vendors all stay updated as well as fed. :)

Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel is perch above the Niguel Marine Life Reserve with a fantastic view of the Pacific and Salt Creek Beach Park to the north.

Being part tech/part art photographer…we always take the latest technology and technique, mesh them together to make the image. And sometimes, what’s old is new again…so I shot a couple of rolls of film at Jackie and Lee’s wedding. I find that shooting film really help to refine my vision as a photographer. And taking the pros of a mature medium such as film helps to define and control any weaknesses in the new digital medium. Look at the awesome dynamic range of FujiFilm Pro400h stock taken of the wedding site.

While the girls got dolled up, the guys chilled and practiced their surprise dance routine. Lee told me guys get’s dress really quickly and that they were all set by 11am. What’s left is just doing what guys does best, and that’s chilling with their best buddies on one of the happiest day of any guy’s life. I love the tropical feel of this image as I caught Lee on the patio dancing.

Lee and his entourage just relaxed and having a great time before the ceremony.

A couple of shots with the film camera as Sarah set up the formal portraits. Loving the color of this tropically lined courtyard and the lighting from the sun peeking out from the clouds. Jackie looks amazing as she wore her hair down for the prewedding formal portraits. Choosing to put it up for the wedding allow for a couple of varied looks in your formal portraits. For our brides out there, make sure to your coordinator is aware so that the appropriate time can be factor into the day. I think it’s a great idea if you can swing it into the timeline.

Sarah set up this tender moment at a sweet spot by the pool. Being an lovely summer day, the pool area had a lot of traffic. But that doesn’t deter us photographers who are used to working in busy environment. I love this moment captured and the resulting candid that immediately follows. We look for these moments in between the shots because it’s sincerity comes out in photo. These photos and the two above were shot on the film body again.

Some details of the ceremony site. The sun continue to play peek a boo with us as it comes in and out from behind the cloud. Making for some different lighting looks for the ceremony.

Another shot on the film body. A simply beautiful location for a wedding.

A moment I hope to have one day if I am ever bless with a daughter of my own. I think all fathers dream of the day they get to walk their little girl down the aisle. So I cherish these moments of a wedding day.

See how dramatic the clouds where that day? We got a good display from mother nature, that’s for sure.

A view from below as the couple speak their vows. I love to seek out alternate point of views. One of the perks as a second shooter.

Just lovely…in case I didn’t express that enough.

The kiss…but I love the moments right after too. Total love, happiness, joy and …elation. Just emotion in the purest sense is how I would summarize these moments.

A quick drive to the beach below. Like typical summer days in southern CA, there were surfers catching waves. Some shouted their congratulations to the newlywed. So fun!

A relaxed portraits of Lee and a detail shot. Both via film. The grain adds a certain tactile feel to the photo.

The bridal bouquet is Oh so pretty. I am a guy and I too “swoon,” borrowing a word from Sarah K Chen, over the bridal bouquet whenever I see these pieces of floral art. Yes, it’s my creative side confessing there. Florals by Flower Allie, captured on the same FujiFilm stock.

Jackie and Lee are so cute together.

With plenty of moves too…as they later treated their guest doing the Foxtrot. Here, Lee demonstrate the dip and kiss routine. Some tips for guys out there, coming from the guy side of myself. A strong, wide stance is the important technical part of this technique. Because the weight of the bride, plus 50lbs of wedding gown can be big surprise for the unsuspecting fellow.. ;)

A dramatic B/W shot showcasing the soft lighting on display in the sky.

Some details I was able to grab of the reception. Check out Jen Lauren Grant’s blog post for more detail shots she captured of the reception while Sarah and I were with Jackie and Lee on the beach below.

Some dramatic lighting work, highlighting the table arrangement and wedding cake, courtesy of Atmosphere Entertainment.

The bridal party did a fun dance routine preceding the arrival of Jackie and Lee to the reception. Here is a shot after their grand entrance. These moments of the wedding day go by in a flash, and photos like these allow us to look back at all the fun.

We’ll leave with a last shot of an expression of laughter on Jackie’s face. I just love how this shot compliments the last shot on Sarah’s blog post. Two different views of the pure emotion are the nestle gems on all wedding days.

Sarah, thanks so much for having me along for Jackie and Lee’s beautiful wedding. We need to set up a play date with our little ones one of these days. -David

They say everything that is old is new again and I find that so true in many ways. Among all the things I am passionate about, is the new development of technology, techniques and trends that help us adequately capture the unique story of our couple in a way that is not only fun and in a relaxed nature, but to allow for that capture to be modern, real. But in story telling, it’s the looking back of our experiences and history that add credence to who we are today. In the realm of photography, film has that history and maturity that I always loved and have always compared new technology with.

Digital photography certainly brings with it a lot of advantages and allows for clean, spontaneous capture of an event. However, growing up shooting film cameras, the technology of it’s day, I missed the tactile feedback of the motor advancing the film. Even the smell of the freshly release film from it’s canister invoke a certain feel of nostalgia. This involvement of the senses in creating the image allows me to slow down, refine my vision before making the capture. To top it off, the surprise you get when that roll finally makes it back from the lab and you get to see what you got on it is priceless.

So despite the additional effort to carry along an additional camera body; the hassle of shipping the film in advance so that the x-ray at the airport doesn’t destroy the media. And then finally shipping the exposed roll to a professional lab and waiting to get it back. I decided as a personal project to shoot more film this year. Certainly having a clearer understanding of the advantages to each medium will only allow us to refine our art.

So here’s a few frames that arrived from our pro lab of Tina and Bryan’s recent Engagement in Monterey.