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2008-09-04T12:21:00.001-07:00

Back home, power is on, back to work. There's a wedding this weekend!

Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

We will be leaving for Jackson,MS on Sunday to wait out Gustav. New Orleans will begin a mandatory evacuation Sunday morning. Hopefully we'll be back by Thursday and New Orleans will be intact.

All wedding images are with me as well as a 3rd backup system out of state so everyone's wedding images are safe. Did the same for Katrina and keeping everything with me went well. Of course that means camera gear and harddrives all over the car and little clothes again.

Stay safe everyone.

*** photo credit to Craig "Deaf Forever" Allen

More wedding images from Rachel and Michael

2008-08-18T19:58:00.001-07:00

Rachel and Michael June 14th 2008

2008-08-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

Wonderful wedding! Rachel and Michael's wedding started with getting ready at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans. All the way from Tampa,FL I had Tina Ortiz of Ortiz-Sellers Photography help me out with the wedding photography.

While Tina was photographing Rachel, I went over with Michael and we shot some images on the balcony at the Ritz. Cool view just outside the Fr Qtr Bar.

The ceremony and reception were held in City Park at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters . I love outdoor daytime weddings since you have allot more shooting options with the light. The reception went great and I think was the first time I've ever been to a 25 minute long 2nd line parade at a reception. Non stop, and since it was Tina's first 2nd line I think she had allot of fun shooting it. Yes, they don't have 2nd line parades in Tampa - I know, weird but true.

Special thanks to Rachel and Michael for letting us capture their special day, and I hope they enjoy the northwestern part of the USA.

Slideshow link: http://www.zoeicaimages.com/Rachel&Michael

Way to long between posts!

2008-08-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Yikes, it's been over a month since I posted anything. I'd say moving was part of the reason but also it's been very busy so putting albums, orders and wedding images together come first before any posts.

Kay and Corey - June 8th 2008

2008-07-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting this engagement session but Kay and Corey were a great couple to work with! Can't wait for the wedding later this year. And special thanks to Corey as I'm told he picked me for the photography.

We started in Jackson Square and walked around the French Quarter before heading down to Audubon Park. The sun was going down at the park so there was some great light to work with.

Slideshow link: www.zoeicaimages.com/Kay&Corey

Ashley & Kevin - June 13th 2008

2008-06-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Wonderful couple! And Madison also, if I did not mention her she will probably never pose for me again! :)

Ashley got ready at her mom's house before going to the ceremony at Lady of Good Counsel in New Orleans. I loved the window light inside the front door, made for some beautiful portrait of Ashley.

Believe it or not, the Archbishop of New Orleans wants to close this church! the parishioners have launched a lawsuit so we'll have to see what happens. One look inside this church will make anyone wonder why they would want to close it.

The reception was held at Generations Hall in New Orleans' Warehouse District. The Bucktown All-Stars provided the music. Can you ask for a better(or crazier) band? It was cool to have all 3 rooms at the Hall open.

I think the reception went til after midnight! Allot of dancing I remember well. Plus there was a groomsmen claiming to be a doctor showing up in allot of photos after 11pm. He knows who he is, whether he remembers anything after 11pm is another story.

Thanks to Ashley & Kevin(and Madison) for letting me capture their day!

Slideshow link: http://www.zoeicaimages.com/Ashley&Kevin

Virginia & Bret - June 7th 2008

2008-06-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Virginia and Bret had their ceremony and reception at The Balcony in Metairie. Virginia got ready at a nearby hotel and we photographed some bridal images at Lafreniere Park before heading over to the wedding.

Overcast skies gave off beautiful lighting for Virginia's bridal portraits. Credit to her mom for thinking the tree looked like a great area. The area reminded me of what the early 1920's color postcards resembled so I attempted to recreate that look on a few portraits.

Ceremony and reception went great! With the indoor lighting I was able to capture allot of available light images which I'm trying to do more and more now.

Virginia is from Bulgaria so they had a breaking bread tradition during the reception. Whoever pulls the biggest piece is in charge, of course Virginia won out on that contest!

Slideshow link - http://www.zoeicaimages.com/Virginia&Bret

June 22nd 2008

2008-06-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

Real busy editing weddings right now but I thought I would share something I do not recommend trying at a wedding. Can you guess how this shot was done? It's allot of fun to try but make sure you're good at catch.

Jonathan & Princess 05.31.2008

2008-06-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get this wedding posted for the past couple of days but it's been pretty crazy around here with weddings and other photography work. So FINALLY.......

Jonathan and Princess's wedding was just an awesome,non-stop party, with an extremely emotional ceremony in-between. Now I can see why they decided not to have the wedding portraits together before hand!

Both bride and groom were getting ready at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in the French Quarter. One of the top 3 hotels IMHO anyway. More than enough areas for photographs, and the daytime wedding allowed for great light through the hotel windows. Carlos Pasos photographed the guys while I stayed with Princess and her bridemaids. Princess went over and left a gift for Jonathan at his hotel door. Funny shirt there Jonathan! Check out the guys socks as well. I had hoped for some more time with Princess' bridal photos but this is a wedding and time can be short, and try getting a dozen guys to leave a bar so the bride's not seen takes some time.

The ceremony was held at St Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. Princess got a photo shoot with a street performer on the walk to the Cathedral, he's probably still looking for that tip!

I've been told already be a few who have seen the slideshow that a few ceremony images bring tears so I'll warn you ahead of time. :)

After the ceremony and some quick wedding party/family photos it was time for the 2nd Line Parade (just type it in on YouTube if you've never seen one before). This one was for sure in the top 5 of 2nd line wedding parades I've photographed! Lots of fun!

Back to the Omni Royal for the reception which felt like it went by in a flash. Plenty of non-stop dancing from everyone. We finished the night with some shots of Jonathan and Princess on the Omni rooftop which offers a panoramic view of New Orleans. You can just make out the St Louis Cathedral behind them in the last photo.

Big thanks to Jonathan and Princess, it was allot of fun capturing their wedding and I hope I delivered what they were looking for!

Slideshow - http://www.zoeicaimages.com/Jonathan&Princess

ps - note to self, it's June now, do not wear black during a 2nd line parade!

June 6th 2008, 64 years after DDay

2008-06-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Spent some time at the World War II Museum in New Orleans last Friday on the 64th anniversary of DDay. Congress had it changed to the World War II Museum name, but I still like the original name - DDay Museum. In the next couple of years, the museum will have more new buildings on the surrounding blocks.

WWII Vet Bob Bearden was signing his new book "To D-Day and Back" so I made sure to pick up an autographed copy. Later I thought I should have grabbed a photo with him. As a photographer, one would think to realize this before and not later!

Remaining images on this slideshow are just some images taken on the walk back to the car on Magazine St.

Slideshow link: http://www.zoeicaimages.com/June6th2008

Andrea & Daniel 05.17.2008

2008-06-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

I had the priviledge of having Will Jacks of www.wiljax.com help me on this wedding. He's an awesome photographer from Mississippi. He captured some fantastic images of Andrea and her bridesmaids getting ready for the wedding. Thanks Will!

Andrea and Daniel's wedding took place at the Botanical Garden Study Center and Lathe House in City Park. The ceremony was held in the garden, just at sunset so there was some great light to work with just as the ceremony started. The reception was took place at the Lathe House, rebuilt after Katrina's damage.

A couple of images are long exposures of the Garden Center, I love that way they came out. Nice moonlight sky.

Thanks Andrea and Daniel for letting us have allot of free reign during the wedding, I think it shows we captured some great images. And hey, what was that song playing on the iPhone?

Slideshow link : http://www.zoeicaimages.com/Andrea&Daniel

Denise & Hunter 05.10.2008

2008-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

What a great wedding! I had the privilege to photograph Denise's sister's wedding last year so I already knew this would be another fun wedding. They do not disappoint!

The before ceremony photographs were taken at the Ritz Carlton, I used a hallway outside Denise's room for some of the bridal images. Hunter and the guys were photographed by Carlos Pasos on the Ritz Carlton balcony and French Quarter Bar.

Ceremony took place at the Immacluate Conception Church on Barrone just off of Canal St. I think I've been there 5 or 6 times already this year, just a joy to photograph. After the ceremony we moved on to The Foundry for the reception. Denise and Hunter took a Bentley to the reception and I rode along getting some shots along the way. We had an idea to shoot some photos of them around Canal St but the heat and humidity was just too much, it's that time of year here. Though once arriving at The Foundry we did capture some great images of Denise and Hunter along the Foundry's alley way.

The BRW Group kept the crowd going all through the reception. Even a bridesmaid joined in for "Proud Mary". Of course no wedding in New Orleans would feel complete without oysters and Lucky Dogs!

Slideshow link : www.zoeicaimages.com/Denise&Hunter

French Quarter Images

2008-05-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

An assignment last week to photograph a couple of buildings in the French Quarter. I attempted to not get your typical French Quarter tourist images. It's getting HOT down here in the swamp!

Slideshow - www.zoeicaimages.com/612RoyalSt

Carmen & Rick 04.12.2008

2008-05-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

Carmen and Rick's ceremony and reception was held at the Audubon Tea Room in Uptown New Orleans. While the early morning weather was appearing dark, by the time the ceremony approached, the sun was shining and we had perfect weather.

Plenty of dancing at this wedding, and lots of it from the groom's dad! The daytime light coming in through the Tea Room's windows pretty much allowed me to shoot available light.

We finished up photography at the Ritz Carlton with just Carmen & Rick, shooting on the rooftop and balcony, as well as in the hotel's lobby. Again, excellent area for available light photography.

Slideshow link : www.zoeicaimages.com/Carmen&Rick

Tara & Mike 04.04.2008

2008-05-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Tara had told me to go shoot the guys getting ready before going over to where she was getting ready. Ha! You know guys, they were just hanging out and in no way ready to put on suits. But Mike got 'em to get dressed so we did get some photographs. Can't really blame them, it's guys right?

So now on to Tara who was allot of fun during her prep time. I loved her take on the whole "bride in doorway" image!

The ceremony was held at Rayne Methodist Church on St Charles Ave while the reception was at the Riverview Room in the Jax Brewery building down in the French Quarter.

Methodist churches usually make you shoot from the back of the church but with Rayne it's not that large so it was not a problem getting shots from the back. The church itself is still under repair from Hurricane Katrina damage on the outside.

So the best part - the reception. I've never been to a reception where the band plays "LA Woman" and "Burning Down the House". Awesome! Tara and Mike know how to through a party! Plenty of dancing the rest of the night. I may have overkilled the fisheye lens on the band shots.

Special thanks to Tara and Mike for letting me document the whole day. Later I received an email from Tara stating "kick ass images". That's the first kick ass I've ever received! Cartman would say, "sweet".

Slideshow - www.zoeicaimages.com/Tara&Mike

Yolanda and Carlos - 04.11.2008

2008-05-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Yolanda and Carlos were married at the Immaculate Conception Church on April 11th 2008. I do love the lighting on that altar, always makes for great ceremony images.

Yolanda and family got dressed at the Intercontinental Hotel , which is just a few blocks away from the church. Great room to photograph with the window light. Following a quick 2nd line parade after the ceremony we headed back to the hotel for the reception. Dr Jazz (Always great to see them!)performed during the dinner and into the first dances.

Glad Carlos warned me about the dip at the end of the dance, always helps that I can wait for it!

Slideshow link : www.zoeicaimages.com/Yolanda&Carlos

Late posting: French Quarter Fest 2008

2008-05-08T19:56:00.001-07:00

Finally getting around to posting some French Quarter Festival images from April. While you can wait a couple of weeks later to go to JazzFest and spend way too much money and not even be allowed to bring in your own Abita Amber, you can go to French Quarter Fest and see the bands for FREE. Of course once your brought from home Abita Amber runs out, you'll have to pay for more while you're there.

Here's some images from that weekend, and of course some Kermit Ruffins images included. The last few photos include the St Louis Cathedral with the front two stained glass windows lit up. My only guess is the Pope was in the USA that week because I've never seen those lit up at night.

Slideshow: www.zoeicaimages.com/FrenchQuarterFest08

Kristin & Kevin - 03.29.2008

2008-05-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Kristin and Kevin were married in March at St. Stephen's, reception followed at the Elms Mansion on St. Charles Avenue.

Great daytime wedding, plenty of nice light for images. Notice that Kristin wore comfortable shoes!

St Stephen's was still decorated from Easter so the inside photographs turned out great. As many times as I've been in that church I never noticed the wood carved angels on the ceiling. See something new all the time! Daytime photography in a church is awesome with all the light!

Slideshow link - www.zoeicaimages.com/Kristin&Kevin

Kristin's bridal portraits were at the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. Love the way the step images came out!

Slideshow link - www.zoeicaimages.com/KristinBridals

Alton Brown Book Signing - 04.23.2008

2008-04-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

We went down to Octavia Books today for Alton Brown's "Feasting on Asphalt" book signing. Plenty of people but we did not have to wait too long. Alton was extremely nice to meet. An assistant offered to take our picture so I handed over my camera. I had it on 11fps so it went off like a machine gun. Alton noticed and afterwards proceeded to shoot some self portraits. I snuck into a few. Hilarious!

Slideshow - www.zoeicaimages.com/AltonBrownNOLA

Erica & Mark - 03.21.2008

2008-04-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Fun wedding!

Erica and Mark were married in New Orleans on March 21st 2008. Erica's preparation was at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. The ceremony and reception was held at Latrobe's on Royal St.

Two of my favorites places to photograph! The Royal Sonesta offers great views of the French Quarter on the hotel balconies. Latrobe's has to be one of my favorite reception venues. Built in the early 1800's as a bank, it still has the vault room inside with the original vault door. Peeling paint, crumbling brick, centuries old wood, and high ceilings. Perfect for a New Orleans wedding!

I loved how Erica's expression changed as soon as the dress was on.

I used one of the corner's in Latrobe's for some great available light images of Erica and Mark. Turned out even better than I thought it would.

Extreme thanks to Erica and Mark for letting me capture their special day!

Oh, and I have to plug the band : Big Sam's Funky Nation

They were awesome! Really kept the crowd going.

Slideshow link : www.zoeicaimages.com/Erica&Mark

Mighty Miss

2008-04-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Mississippi river is at 17ft in New Orleans, which is just under the 20ft levee system. I took these images last Friday night. Last time the river was this high was 11 years ago.

Susan & Jason - March 15th 2008

2008-03-31T21:22:00.001-07:00

Wow, March has really flown by!

Another great wedding for this month. Susan and Jason had their wedding/reception at the Loew's Hotel in downtown New Orleans. The ceremony was outside in the Piazza D'Italia which is behind the hotel. The sun was just setting as the ceremony started so it made for some great lighting.

Slideshow link: www.zoeicaimages.com/Susan&Jason

Available Light!

2008-03-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

2 recent wedding images from separate weddings using just available light. This D3 is awesome!

Trang & David - March 7th 2008

2008-03-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

Trang & David were married at the St Joseph Mission Church in Algiers and the reception was at the Cricket Club on St Charles Ave. The building used to be part of the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Both Trang and David were extremely easy going with photos so I think I did a good job at capturing everyone there. It was cold and windy outside so any portrait photos were done inside. I only managed a few outside wide angle shots of the building because of wind.

Slideshow Link: www.zoeicaimages.com/Trang&David