New Blog

2009-03-20T02:50:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I launched my new blog here let me know what you think!

Reality check

2009-03-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

This is so true:

A little (soon to be big) secret!

2009-03-03T22:03:00.004-07:00

Hey guess what everyone? I have a little secret that I can't not share with you any longer. I am developing an entirely new, totally awesome, very sexy, super delicious, sink your teeth into, OMG that is so cool, why didn't you do this sooner Jeff ... BLOG! Blogger is great but it has it's limitations. BTW, that probably has more to do with me than Blogger. Wait 'til you see the new one.

When is that gonna be Jeff? Well, as soon as possible I promise. I'm hoping by March 16th. It's so much more robust and I'm trying to develop new material as fast as I can for it. It will be a wealth of resources for brides, some meaty links and other goody's for other photographers and simply put, a whole showcase for all things photography related. To be honest, it will be a lot more "fun" than my main portfolio website, but hey, I've gotta show the goods too, right?

So stay tuned, I promise it will be worth the wait. It will have a new address, but I'll put the new link address everywhere, including here. Thanks so much for you patience.

Jeff

Cheeeeese sandwich

2009-02-20T13:27:00.001-07:00

I thought I was having a pretty good day, but when my sandwich smiled
back at me I knew it was an extra special day!!

Sent with my iPhone

I saw LOVE!

2009-02-18T19:57:00.006-07:00

I just got back last night from the WPPI convention (the largest photography expo in the known universe) in Las Vegas. Wow, was it cold there this year. It even rained all day Monday - the one day Karen and I walked from Planet Hollywood to the MGM Grand where the expo was. It's funny how all the hotels look "close" until you start walking the distance. Shoulda cabbed it!! Karen didn't like me too much after that walk.

Speaking of Planet Hollywood, ummm don't think we're going to stay there again. We stayed in the Forest Gump room and this place really was like a box of chocolates. It was okay but talk about chintzy! Wow, was I surprised. One bath towel (make that a very thin, small, scratchy, $2.99 Walmart towel) per person, no complementary 1 cup of coffee in the room (I have to have my morning blend), only about 13" of hanging closet space, 2 very small drawers, and our wall-mounted TV was positioned 90 degrees from the bed. And we stayed in an upgraded room with about 100 more square feet of space. Karen spent 10 min. ordering a bathrobe to be sent up our first night, only to have the maid take it away the very next morning of our 4 day stay. Oh, and the really yucky part was there were food dishes from other rooms on the hallway floor for 2 days. Apparently that's not the maids job. Sorry, just had to share that part too.

We went and saw LOVE, the Cirque Du Soleil tribute to the Beatles. Totally amazing and I highly recommend it. Wow, what a show.

The photography expo was good but never-ending as usual. Even MySpace had a booth selling ... well, I don't know what they were selling because MySpace is free, go figure. I made it out of there only spending about $150 on a ShootSac to carry my lenses and things while shooting weddings.

Back up those images

2009-02-05T14:59:00.006-07:00

I met with a couple last week regarding their wedding photography (BTW, I just found out they booked me so THANK YOU Erin & Erik - I can't wait!) and we got on the subject of preserving old family photos. I was urging them (and Erin's parents who joined us in the meeting) to scan any and all of their family heirloom photos regardless of its current condition just so they'd always have something to show their kids and grandchildren.

I strongly suggest this to everyone. Not only scanning them into your home computer but also keeping another copy somewhere outside the home - just in case. Let's face it, people run back into burning houses for these keepsake memories.

It's really easy to do and these days there are several places to instantly upload those photos to servers outside your home so you'll always have a back up copy. There are numerous internet storage sites that are free but I really like smugmug. It's not free but I like their simplicity and options.

I can upload large versions for both personal and professional use and there's no limit to how many images I can upload. Some free sites limit how many images you can upload or let you upload a few for free and then charge you so make sure you understand the fine print. BTW, I'm not involved with or paid by smugmug in any way, shape or form I just like them. My only point is to urge you to get those photos stored somewhere/anywhere digitally and safely and have back up copies.

Also, Erin's mom suggested scanning the back of those old photos too as often the date, place and other important info is written there as well - great point!!

A part from Corporate America

2008-12-17T20:20:00.003-07:00

Okay, I just had to share this with everyone because it's fairly comical. I ordered one of those all-in-one fax, printer, scanner machines the other day and when I opened it there was a little tiny broken plastic part. It was like 2" x 2" and about 3 mm thick. I thought rather than sending the whole 35 lb machine back I would call the manufacturer directly and just ask them to send me this little part and I could fix it myself.

I talked to the rep and explained the part I needed. I was sure she new the exact part I needed and she said she would send me a replacement immediately. Totally cool!! Well, today Fedex shows up and the box for this part is 4 lbs and about 3 ft x 3 ft. I couldn't believe my eyes.

It turns out she sent me the entire top assembly to the printer that contains the part I needed. Okay ... that's one way to go about it I guess, huh?

The little black thing on top of the box is the part I ordered.

Here's the actual part I needed

I'm not complaining because they actually went above and beyond helping me out, plus now I have a total replacement document feeder if I ever need it.

Carissa & Dara

2008-12-04T11:00:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to document Carissa & Dara's wedding in one of the most beautiful places in Arizona - Desert Mountain. It's hard to describe in words just how beautiful this place is. Simply breathtaking. Carissa and Dara came all the way down from Toronto, Canada to exchange vows here, and it's easy to see why. It's like walking into a storybook. It was an amazing day for an amazingly beautiful couple.

Valerie & Lil' Roman

2008-11-24T15:32:00.008-07:00

I don't do a lot of baby shoots but when I do, I LOVE them!! I did an executive head shot of Valerie last year and when little Roman came in to this world she came back to see me. He's a little more than 7 weeks here and already you can tell this is one handsome guy.

By the way, I thought I'd share these awesome little trifolds we made for Roman's announcement cards. It's a really classy way to show off multiple images and it folds down to 4.75" x 4.75", about the size of a CD case.

South of the Border

2008-10-07T16:45:00.001-07:00

I got an early birthday present last week from Karen. She took me down
to Nuevo Vallarta (right next to Puerto Vallarta) for a week of total
R&R!

We had one LAZY week and it was so great!

Her favorite part was when Javier - our waitor - would come by with
more drinks and refer to her as "Princessa"!

Tasha & Brian

2008-09-23T17:38:00.010-07:00

Wow, it's been way too long since I've blogged!! I'm getting anonymous requests to update this, and while I'm terribly sorry for the delay it's really nice to know so many people look at this. I'm honored and thank you to all who busted on me for not getting to this sooner!

One the best things about my job is that I get to meet so many really wonderful people and I mean that to be true on both sides of the camera. Both clients as well as other photographers whom I respect and admire.

A couple months ago a fellow awesome photographer and friend of mine Sergio of Sergio Photographer told me that his friend Joe Dickie of Generation Photography based in Minnesota was looking for a second shooter for a destination wedding. I was more than happy to oblige especially since the destination happened to be in Scottsdale while I was in town last Saturday.

We had a blast at Tasha & Brian's wedding at Sassi! What great group of people and Jennifer Thye of Imoni Events did an excellent job of organizing and coordinating the entire event. I'm also excited to see Joe again in February as he'll be among the staff at the Foundation Workshop 7 - an intensive week-long Photojournalistic experience - which I'll be participating in.

Here are some fun moments from Tasha & Brian's wedding last Saturday.

Nothing says I Love You like a text that says "I Love You" ;)

You think there's a little pride in this family?

There were more than a few tears of joy shed as you can see in the backgrounds of these two.

Another reason I love this career - sometimes you DO have lay down on the job. Here's a couple of Joe getting the angle.

I love a parade!!

And so their story begins ...

Jeff

Amanda & Erik

2008-07-22T14:37:00.013-07:00

Wow, what an awesome 4th of July I had. I spent the whole weekend down in San Diego enjoying the awesome weather and ocean breeze. However, by far the highlight for me was shooting Amanda and Erik's wedding in Mission Bay. What a beautiful day it was!! We had SO much fun that it was one of those times when I just didn't want it to end. Here are just a few of those awesome moments.

50 years and still getting better

2008-06-14T23:53:00.012-07:00

Okay this is by far the most personal entries I've shared on here to date. As part of their celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary my mom & dad renewed their wedding vows last Thursday evening at their home. I have to say it was one of the most inspiring moments I've ever witnessed. Not many people ... couples ... marriages get to this milestone and I have to say it was so moving. I'm so proud of them!! If you ask them if their love is still as strong now as the day they got married, they would say no ... it's far stronger and much more meaningful now.

Mom & Dad I love and respect you more than you will ever know!

If you've never failed

2008-06-03T11:08:00.003-07:00

A fellow photographer friend of mine named David Jay posted this on his blog the other day and I felt compelled to share this. Pretty interesting.

Ali & Troy in Cave Creek

2008-06-01T12:35:00.008-07:00

Last weekend was really special for me. My two dear friends Ali & Troy finally tied the knot and I was privileged enough to document their awesome day. To me, Ali & Troy are one of those couples that are just meant to be together. They're so friendly and loving that they totally deserve each other.

Last Saturday was also amazing because usually the temp's in and around Phoenix are about 105 or so this time of year, however, their day didn't get past about 82 degrees. It had even rained the day before so everything was so green and clean. I just love that "new day" smell!! It was perfect!

Jono & Brittany at Laguna Beach

2008-05-19T22:15:00.008-07:00

This weekend I headed over to the Laguna Beach area to take some Sr. Portraits of Jono (Yes, that would be Bono with a J). What a look huh? We had an awesome time. I also begged is girlfriend Brittany to come with us and join in for a couple shots. Talk about a couple of NATURALS!!! Wow, did we get some cool stuff!!

Hmmm

2008-05-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay,just how stupid does Safeway think I am?

Jennifer & Steve

2008-05-14T18:17:00.002-07:00

I thought I'd share a small sampling of Jennifer & Steve's 800+ wedding images a few weeks ago at the Millennium at McCormick Ranch. They are an amazing couple and their day was absolutely perfect.

Long Beach Weekend

2008-04-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm over in Long Beach this weekend shooting a wedding with my friend
Jerry Frazier. This was at the LB Museum of Art which is a really cool
venue. It was a little cool yesterday but everything turned out awesome!

$16K Album anyone?

2008-03-24T23:01:00.005-07:00

Last week I headed up to Vegas for the WPPI Convention. Among the largest of all photography conventions in the country - if not the largest.

Just had to show you this photo (from my iPhone with low light - sorry) of a $16,000 wedding album. That's just the cover mind you. Chalk full of diamonds, gold plate and genuine ostrich skin. Pretty fancy but in the end, didn't do much for me.

Back In OC

2008-03-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

I'm back in OC this week. I gotta say there's nothing like a nice walk
on the beach to clear the mind and put everything in perspective
sometimes.

Arizona Gladiator

2008-02-22T15:39:00.014-07:00

Okay, this is really cool. I've known Todd for about a year and a half now and it came to my attention that a recently revived TV show is very interested in him as perhaps becoming one of their GLADIATORS!!! How cool is that!?? Todd is a personal fitness trainer at Personal Training 101 - which is one of the coolest gym concepts around if you're interested.

So, we couldn't send him off to Hollywood empty handed without any headshots. Todd met me at my Scottsdale office and we had a 30 minute impromptu photo session in the parking lot. I think he thought we were just going to do a quick headshot, but we decided to really have some fun with it.

Here are some of the results.

Oh and by the way - I heard about all this through my friend and creative advertising guru - Steve Klein, who coordinated all our schedules together as well as helped with the lighting of Todd.

Steve, however has not been asked to be a gladiator just yet, but he does make a great light stand! Thanks Steve.

Along came Elizabeth

2008-02-14T11:31:00.013-07:00

I have had the incredible privilege of documenting the life of Charlotte for 4 years now. I have photographed a lot of kids in my career and this charming little angel steels my heart every year we get together. A little over a year ago she had to start sharing the spotlight with her new little sister Elizabeth. I must say, she didn't bat a lash at showing her the art of "ignore that funny guy with the camera".

We recently just completed another chapter in documenting their lives and thought I'd share a few moments.

Here's Charlotte the first 3 years when she had the limelight all to herself.

And then along came Elizabeth.

And Charlotte's life took on a much bigger meaning.

Something tells me Charlotte's going to be an awesome big sister.

I already can't wait for next year!!

Winter Blues ...

2008-02-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Blue skies that is. Not too shabby of a week as far as weather goes here in the Southwest. And if you're in much colder parts of the country don't feel too bad - ironically enough I'm totally battling a flu bug right now. Touché.

Jeff

iCandy

2008-02-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

I had to go to the Apple Store to return an iPhone case that broke
right after I got it.

The problem with the Apple Store is that it takes like 2 hours to do
anything there. That translates to 117 minutes to play with all the
cool toys and 3 minutes to actually buy something ;)

I'm so bad that way.