My original concept for Jessa was the first shot you see here.  A “Trash The Dress” idea, (one in a series of Bridal Portraits I will be sending to Grace Ormonde’s Wedding Style), with tuule being representative of the dress. The Congress Street Bridge in the background making this iconically Austin, and I wanted to stretch my own ideas and concepts to something grander than I had before.
Unfortunately for Jessa, I was not around Austin this summer when the water would have been twenty degrees warmer in Town Lake. She was a popsickle in about 10 minutes… not to mention she CAN’T SWIM!

She was a trooper though and after she thawed out, she stuck around for some more photos which you’ll see below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them!

That being said, I’d like to take the time to say “Thank You” to a number of people that made my trip, and the soon to come photos, possible.

First and formost I’d like to thank Huong and Ben Crouch, (pictured above), my clients in Houston for having me photograph their wedding. That extends to the Crouch and Nguyen families for their hospitality. The Nguyen’s were so accommodating and looking out for anything we needed. And the Crouch’s, for whom this is my second wedding (I photographed Meg’s wedding to Don Lichay on July 17, 2004), are a family full of love. And I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Thank you to Maria Bernal and her husband Eric for putting me up in their house in Austin for the week. They were incredible hosts and took care of every need I had while in town. Eric is a rediculously great guy who bent over backwards for me when I needed help. And Maria has always been there for me as a friend/mentor, and this trip was no different.

Thank you to Chris Lin who not only second shot for me in Houston, but also assisted me with three of my conceptual fine art bridal shots in Austin. He was outstanding as a technical and lighting advisor, worked like a madman to help me get the shots and had the endurance to go Friday, Saturday and Sunday on just few hours of sleep. If you are a photographer in Austin, Chris is the man and you should grab him up quick.

Thank you to Gina at La Chatuise Couture and Lori at Elle Couture Designs for the dresses. I’m very honored to have them on loan for my shoots.

Thank you to Edythe Blackwell at BWC Photo Imaging for the insanely fast turnaround of the 20×40 canvas of the above image. Edythe, I will be ordering another print from you for my next print comp.

Thank you to Carissa at Flora and Fauna for the bouquets, (cross your fingers Carissa).

Thank you to my models; Jessa, Kareena and Max. I put them through freezing cold tempertures, long wait times and situations that often made no sense at the time. The girls were troopers the whole time.

Thank you to Mike, Trevin and the whole bunch at Spider House for letting me take over and do a full photoshoot in front of their bar.

Thank you to Nathan Johns for loaning out his ladder and Gorilla Pod.

Thank you to Sarah Limerick for letting me use her Montero while in Austin.

Last but not least are two special women in San Diego, my Mom has been there from the start and has always will be a great source of support.
And my Dear Friend, Marne who was always there by phone or text message for inspiration when the road got rough.

On a final note, I had the privilege to see Maria kick off her speaking tour at the Austin PPA meeting while in town. She said something that really stuck with me: No one accomplishes anything solely by themselves, and that she is where she is now because of the people she has around her, she then thanked her hair and make-up artists, model, and her core group of photographer friends at the end.
This has rung with me all week long. In my 18 years of photography, I’m confident that I’m doing the best work ever, and I owe it all to these people… Thank you all, from the bottom, to the very top of my heart.

Last night was the bi-monthly Professional Photographers of San Diego County print competition night. I had entered a photo I took while in Telluride, CO a couple weeks ago. If you follow the blog, you might have seen another version of it in another post.
Well it received a “Merit” last night at the competition, which means that it scored at least an “80″ from the judges on the panel. And believe me… These guys are TOUGH! The judging is the same level as the national PPA judging, so now I have a good idea of how tough things will be when I start entering on the National Level.
What’s great is that my Merit goes towards becoming Photographer of the Year. That may be a bit of a stretch right now, but as I get better, maybe a possibility.

Here’s the image. The title is “Riding the Storm Out Together” Let me know what you think.

Let Me Tell You About Texas Radio and the Big Beat…

I will be heading back to Austin for a week! I’m so excited for a number of reasons:

• November is my favorite time of year in Austin
• My photo BFF Maria Bernal is doing a studio fashion lighting demonstration at the Austin PPA
• I’ll be shooting a wedding in Houston for Huong and Ben on the 21st (Ben is the brother of one of my Brides from way back in 2003! – How Cool is that?!!!!)
• I’ll be shooting a big range of stuff during the week, from holiday family photos to a nude commission, to some conceptual/arty Bridal photos I want to submit to Grace Ormonde magazine. Whew boy, my compact flash cards are gonna get a workout!!! I’m shooting everyday I’m in Texas except one!!!
• I’m gonna get to hang out with some of my 512 area code friends and hang at some of my old haunts like Spiderhouse.
• Texas Barbecue!!! Say no more!

Amazing Dresses

I am super blessed to have on loan to me while in Austin, two AMAZING Bridal gowns designed by La Chatuise Couture for my Grace Ormonde shoot. The dresses (below) have been loaned to me by Lori Davis at Elle Couture Designs in Costa Mesa. Elle Couture is the exclusive representatives for the La Chatuise line for Southern California. So I am tremendously grateful for them to loan out these dresses.

What do you think of these dresses? Are they HAWT or what?

What’s next? Well, Maybe top five… There are definitely some strong photographers here in Austin, and I’m delighted to be mentioned in the top ten group. I think I will sit down a year from now to re-evaluate my position in the pantheon of wedding photographers here in our beautiful Hill Country and see where I am then.