Alexis + Jason: Maxwell House Pasadena Wedding

Disclaimer: No coffee was involved in the making of these photos. Alright, now that I’ve pointed out the obvious dad joke with the venue name, Maxwell House, we can move onto the wedding.

The interesting thing with smaller weddings has got to be the connection you make with the couple. Though we had an engagement session together and I’ve put them under the spotlight before, a wedding day differs as you can expect, with heightened emotions and anticipation. As there was no wedding party to split my attention, they were the story in almost each frame. With the luxury of more time and space, I really appreciate how many of my horizontal compositions turned out.

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Rekha + Bethany: Saguaro Palm Springs Wedding

Prior to Rekha and Bethany’s wedding, I’d never been to Palm Springs before, so getting to visit a new destination was the cherry on top. To no one’s surprise, this is a very colorful set of photos, from the Saguaro’s vibrant venue down to the wedding party’s outfits.

After the sun set, making my own light really helped to capture all of the portraits and moments at reception. I am still a fan of working in the dark after many years, so the long daylight hours of summer might have me reminiscing.

Also, it’s just great to see people enjoying themselves again. Not trying to stir up controversy or anything, but real expressions are a key part of photojournalism. Smartphones and masks have been extra layers I need peel away to do produce some of my best work.

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Jess + Rita: Santa Monica Beach Wedding

Jess and Rita reached out to me in the middle of the shutdown. Due to restrictions worldwide, Jess was stuck in her home country and they had to postpone their wedding a few times. Their plans did not change, however, to be wed at Santa Monica Beach, not too far from the iconic pier.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if an event happened earlier, or later. The conditions–weather, traffic, etc–would be different, but would the story unfold the same way? As a photojournalist, I love the emotions that I captured in this particular turn of events. Had it been months earlier, who knows how many factors we missed that created the outcome we experienced. Distance making the heart grow fonder, if you believe in that. Similarly, my craft is influenced by recent experiences, so which version of me might have showed up?

In some photos at sunset, I went for drama with adding some lighting. I included two of my film scans at the end, one of them a double exposure. I’d say I’m off to 2022 with shaking things up a bit–can’t wait to share more work!