Manly Beach with Mike and Melodie

These pictures are from the shoot we did after the ceremony.  The wedding was held in Manly Beach which is about 25 minutes from Sydney.  After the ceremony we took the Bride and Groom to this amazing location that I had found the day before.  It really was as beautiful as the pictures show....the clouds, the sky, everything....all natural.  

It's so important when you're shooting a couple that they have a chance to flirt and have fun....that is when you get the best shots.  Mike being Australian was such a gentleman and kept us laughing from start to finish. Melodie was just radiant...it was almost impossible to take a bad picture of her.  Most importantly is that these two are really in love....and that is exactly the element that I tried to capture in these images.  I hope you enjoy!

Cinderella

I'm very excited to release my first image from my most recent wedding in Australia!!!  I have named this image, "Cinderella" for obvious reasons.  This is one of the last images I shot as part of the wedding. As a photographer there are a few distinct areas of the world that you have to shoot before you consider yourself, "Complete."  For me the Sydney Opera House was and will forever be one of them.  

This unbelievable piece of architecture creates lines for photography that are out of this world. It is also one of the most recognizable buildings in the world...and I was determined to get this shot.  I can't thank the bride and groom Mike and Melodie enough for working so hard with me to get this shot.  I also can't thank Kara and Cameron for providing the lighting that made this work.  A shot like this takes many people to create...and for me it took our team to make it happen.  1 Photographer/Director (me), two lighting assistants (Kara and Cameron), and the bride and groom....a total of 5 people....but it was worth it....I truly love the shot and I hope you do too!  This will be my first entry into the WPPI competition coming it.  I hope you like it!

Sydney Wedding Interview

I still have a few days to post from our adventures in Australia but I'm really getting the itch to post some wedding shots....those will be coming shortly.  To help scratch the itch I wanted to post a picture of the interview we did on the Harbour in Sydney with the ocean and Sydney Opera House in the background.  It is the most stunning place we've ever done an interview. Cameron was shooting the video while Kara held the video light and I got this shot on a remote trigger using my D90 while my D3 was on the tripod firing at the same time.  

So much about photography is related to finding the perfect location, and ensuring that the lighting is working the way it should to get what you want.  I'll use any kind of light; car, video, building, natural, etc. to get the job done.....I love natural lighting and with the D3 I can use natural lighting better than any other camera on the market....but sometimes you need more.  I find any flash on top of the camera to be the least effective of any alternative lighting sources available...and I do love the Qflash....it works great.  I'll never forget doing this interview and this wedding....just unbelievable.  

Kuranda Cableway

So how do you get out of the rainforest when you took a train up and you have no car?  Simple, you fly over the canopy of the rainforest on a cableway for 40 minutes!  I remember when they had a ride like this at Disneyland but they took it out...too many people making out I guess....Well the ride at Disneyland was only about 5 minutes long and not nearly as high.  This thing was awesome.  It was so neat to fly over the rainforest and with the cableway so quiet you could hear every sound in the forest...the insects, the animals, the water....it was amazing.  It also gives you some pretty unique vantage points to get shots.  The cableway flies you down into the Tjapukai Aborigini Village where we continued our adventure....

Kuranda Railway

The day after the Great Barrier Reef we went took a train ride on the historic Kuranda Railway which leaves from the Cairns train station and goes all the way up through the city and into the rainforest.  It truly is amazing to take a train through the rainforest...it goes all the places cars can't go and gives you sights of things you haven't ever seen before.  

We were so tired from the night before that we missed breakfast...so when we got to the last train stop at the Kuranda Village we grabbed breakfast.  Kara went shopping in the village while the boys and I took a walk through the jungle....it was awesome!  The boys and I saw a crocodile in the river and I had to keep telling the boys to stop throwing rocks in the water because everytime I heard a splash or other water related noise from them throwing the rocks I was convinced that a crocodile was coming to get us.  The most amazing part was when we stopped and just listened to the noises for about 5 minutes...the boys were asking me every 5 seconds, "What's that noise?"  

I cherish our "Boys Moments" so much....the moments where it's just me and my boys.  I remember how important my moments were with my Father, and I try to make those moments every day with my boys.  I love the shot of my son Kevin being a photographer's assistant by carrying my Manfrotto tripod for me.  He didn't last very long but it was very cute....I've named the shot, "Daddy's Little Helper."  Kara spent a ton of money and we all got poured on by a torrential downpour.....it was a perfect day.

Great Barrier Reef

The day after the rainforest we headed out on an all day excursion to the Great Barrier Reef.  Cairns is the best place to go if you want to see the Great Barrier Reef.  We took a 90-minute boat ride out to the reef where they set up a floating vessel that accommodated snorkeling, scuba diving, semi-submersible submarines, and helicopter rides.  The whole family went snorkeling which was just awesome.  

Kara and I decided to go down into the water for scuba diving while I decided to go up on a helicopter ride that was nothing short of amazing.  At one point I had to remind myself that I was flying a private helicopter over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia....just an awesome thing to experience sometime in your life.  

There was a photographer there with underwater equipment and shot with Nikon which I found to be a good choice of course!  I'll post the pictures of Kara kissing fish and the boys floating in the water next.  I hope you enjoy the shots below which were from the boat, and then from the helicopter ride.  If you've never flown a helicopter....just let me tell you it is an unforgettable experience that I loved.  I hope you enjoy!

Off Roading and getting stuck in Australia's Rainforest

Click on the link below to view the video of our adventure in the Daintree Rainforest, one of the most amazing places I've ever been.  True to form in the middle of the video you'll see me get my family stuck in the middle of the rainforest with little options to get out....you'll have to watch it to see how we got going on the road again.  

We crossed rivers, saw wild boars hanging from the back of bushman hunter's trucks, found abandoned houses, and crossed a crocodile infested river on a ferry pulled by a cable.  We just had the time of our lives.  I hope you enjoy the video!!!  Kara and I have vowed that if we do one thing again before we die....it will be off roading again in the Cape Tribulation part of the Daintree Rainforest!!!!

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO!!!

Noah's Beach

Towards the end of the off roading adventure we stumbled upon Noah's Beach...a beautiful untouched beach right in the rainforest.  The most amazing thing to imagine about this beach is that there are crocodile warnings on all the beaches in this area....so it's so funny to see something this breathtaking and all the while you're looking out to make sure crocodiles aren't sneaking up on you.  Kara stayed in the car and I took the boys down to the water to see everything.  My only "weapon" was my Manfrotto tripod...but I reasoned that if I had to use it to fend off a crocodile...I might get a sponsorship by Manfrotto for use of the story!  That's a dumb joke...but I did have it ready to use as a meager defense if necessary.  

One other unique thing about this beach were the little trees that grew out from the rocks on the ocean floor as you can see in the pic below...I thought it really made the image much better than just the ocean alone.  I hope you enjoy!

Cape Tribulation River

This is a picture taken in the Cape Tribulation area of the Daintree Rainforest in Tropical North Queensland, Australia.  I can't wait to share the video of our adventure in this magical place....because it truly was one of the most memorable and unbelievable experiences of my life.  

Australia is so overwhelming in all it has to offer....if you ever have the chance to go....definitely do it.  One thing that struck me as a photographer were the constant supply of beautiful clouds...which for photographers is a must for dynamic photographs.  I hope you enjoy.  I'll be posting the video of our entire time in the rainforest next!

Bracketing for Portraits using HDR

Even though I have a studio...I still prefer to do most of my portrait and photography work outside the studio....I prefer making a backdrop like the one you see below rather than taking a boring backdrop on paper....and those don't look real anyways.  So there are a couple of things to consider when shooting portraits outside.

1. Lighting- do you expose for the person or the landscape?  Use HDR and bracket the picture using a tripod.  So find the backdrop you want and take two or three shots using the bracketing function on your camera to expose all the points on the picture that you want to expose.  So in other words...take a beautiful landscape shot and then take it into photoshop and merge the layers using masks.  Add some dodging and burning and you have your backdrop.

2.  Put your subject in the picture and take the shot worrying only about the exposure for the subject, exposing particularly on their skin.  The key focal point for the portrait should be on their eyes.  So now you have some terrific focal points for your picture because you expose for the entire frame on your landscape shot while you expose for the eyes on the landscape....so now both are exposed...fixing another chronic problem for photographers.

3.  Using photoshop merge the backdrop shot and the subject image into one.  Put the subject image over the backdrop in photoshop, and using a mask wipe away all the boring areas of the subject image except for the subject (person)..in this case my son Michael.  Dodge and burn a little to make sure the person looks like they match the exposure of the backdrop and now you have created a beautiful portrait.

The result: you get a picture perfectly exposed and in focus.  The sky, clouds, everything in this image is natural even though you may look at it and think I photoshopped the heck out of this....I didn't.  I didn't add or take away anything...the only thing I did was underexpose the landscape shot for the sky and then using dodging to brighten up the plants and mountains, and a little burning where necessary to darken.  This was especially important in this shot because the forest was pretty dark while the sky and ocean in the background was very bright, so the only way to get it all exposed was using HDR bracketing.  

If you have any questions let me know!!

Daintree Rainforest

This is one of my favorite shots so far from Australia.  This was taken at the Daintree Rainforest which is in North Tropical Queensland in Cairns, the most beautiful and lush area on all of Australia...as you can see by the picture.  We took an awesome 4X4 and went off roading but before we got to all the wild stuff we came along this overlook that was nothing short of breathtaking.  We got some great family shots as well.  

I really liked the fact that there were tree branches that came down and framed the shot....no photoshop.  I can't wait to show the rest of the images from Daintree as it was truly one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life.  I hope you enjoy this image!

Flip Video Camcorder

I have to say that I just love the Flip Video!  I bought this tiny HD camera at a camera store in LA hours before leaving for Australia....and it's one of the best buys I've ever made.  The camera costs around $200 and is the easiest thing in the world to use.  I bought a car tripod mount and hooked up the Flip video and got some of the funnest video I've ever taken.  

Visit the Flip Video Store

If you want to be able to shoot some great video and be able to make some quick fun movies this is the camera for you.  The camera plugs into your computer on the USB jack with a USB that is built into the camera, and it opens up software that allows you to make some movies and share with friends.  I'll be posting video of our 4x4 adventure in the Cape Tribulation Rainforest where this camera held up through water, mud, dirt, and rain.....I love this camera.

Australia Day 2- Blue Mountains

The day after the wedding we went to see the Blue Mountains National Park which is about 1.5 hours out of Sydney.  The park is best known for the picture you see immediately below...the Three Sisters Rock Formation.  This place was amazing and beautiful.  We started off by visiting the Three Sisters and then took a sky rail over the canyon to a place called Scenic World.  

Scenic World runs the steepest railway in the world, taking you from the top of the canyon to the bottom of the rainforest floor below.  It was truly amazing and exhilarating to ride down the side of a cliff and go through a huge beautiful gorge as you travel down the side of a massive canyon.  

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO!!!

We walked around the bottom of the rainforest floor for about 30 minutes and then rode the cableway back to the top of the canyon where we took another ride in a skyrail over the canyon that was AWESOME.  I got the picture of the waterfall from the skyrail and absolutely loved it. Even if you have a fear of heights....this is something you have to do...truly unforgettable.  

We left the park and headed back to Sydney for our flight to Cairns, the "Hawaii of Australia"....but I'll be posting on that later.  Sydney is truly a remarkable city and beautiful all around....traffic stinks but everything else is truly stunning.  I'll be posting more later so keep checking back!

Sydney Day 1

I have traveled to Europe, Asia, the Americas, Hawaiian Islands, and now Australia....and it's my favorite!!!!  I can't tell you in words how amazing this place is, and how wonderful the people are there.  They are like close cousins to Americans...so laid back, friendly, and genuinely happy to have you in their country.  

I started off our first day there after sleeping off the jet lag from the red eye by taking my boys out to go shoot the sunrise with me.  We didn't quite make it so we just decided to play around the Sydney Harbour which is just stunning.  The boys are so used to getting their picture taken at this point that they pretty much just ignore me and play now....I took them down to a cut in the wall where during low tide you can walk into the ocean water of the Harbour which is where I got the shot of the three of them with the Opera House in the background.  

The most hilarious thing was when they tried to get up....Kevin managed to climb up, but his brothers needed help...so while Kevin pulled on Michael's arms, JJ pushed him from the backside to help him up....it was even more hilarious to watch than the shot shows.  Both boys then turned and pulled JJ up....it was a classic moment.  

We then returned to the hotel to pick up Cameron and Kara so we could find our locations for the wedding the next day.  I took the boys for breakfast in the restaurant and the Host accused me of having Swine Flu because I sniffled...and seriously refused to sit me.  I told him he either sat me or he left the restaurant...but that I wasn't leaving.  He decided to see things my way.  We went scouting locations the entire day which was awesome.  The top two pictures were taken at the end of the night...one of the Opera House, and the other taken of the Sydney Bay from the Manly Beach cliffs which is where we were shooting the wedding the next day.  I was in heaven with all the picture opportunities.......and I am SO excited about the way the shots from the wedding turned out....but that's for another post.....

I'm sorry it took so long to post but we were so busy I truly didn't even start processing shots until I got back to the US yesterday.  I'll be posting this entire week to make up!!!

St. Peters Castle- Australia

We are loving Sydney!  This is a picture of a beautiful castle in Manly Australia....this is the place where Nicole Kidman was married.  This was taken during a beautiful lightning storm  which is what made the sky so blue and bright...this was taken shortly after we finished the wedding which was amazing!!!!  I can't wait to share the pics.  

A big thanks to Jared and Melanie for housesitting while we're gone...and for taking care of the pets.  Sydney is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and I can't wait to see more.  I'll be posting more later!!

Swine Flu- Airport Quarantines

Well....the time has finally come!  Tomorrow we leave for Australia for the next 2 weeks.  I will be in Sydney for 5 days shooting the wedding with Cameron my video guy and then enjoying some sights with my family.  We then go to Cairns to visit the Barrier Reef, Daintree rainforest, Aboriginal villages, and more!  

The thing we're most concerned about are the quarantines that are happening in airports across the world.  From what I understand if you are showing any signs of sickness at all they are holding you in quarantine in the airport and won't let you go until they've ruled out the Swine Flu.  As you know little boys can almost always have something going on with them that ISN'T swine flu....so hopefully we'll make it into Sydney without any incidents.  I'll be updating the blog with pics from Australia every day if possible...so keep checking back!

California Love- Gangsta Style

This is a music video I put together from a collection of video taken on my D90 of our Triple "G" dance crew throwing down the moves (also known as my boys dancing).  The video in here is taken from footage shot by me, Kara, and one of my camera guys Chris Cahoon.  I thought we needed some good natured fun so I hope this video brings some laughter to your day...I know it did to mine.  Enjoy the Triple "G" crew in their video premiere!

Click to see "California Love"

Remember When....

Click to see the video

For Easter we got all three boys Ipods...and this morning Michael came and asked me to put some new songs on his Ipod...and so we sat down in front of my computer and started looking for songs.....

The first song we found was "Remember When" by Alan Jackson and the minute it started to play I knew I was in trouble.  The song always makes me think about how much I love my wife and kids...and I'm a softie.....

Tears started coming to my eyes and the boys started wondering why I was crying.  They've seen me get emotional when I've thought of my Dad that's passed and wondered if I was thinking about "Grandpa Joe".  I explained to them that sometimes you cry a little because of what you love...and that they're happy tears.  I explained I was thinking about Mommy and the three of them.

Within 30 seconds I felt tears on my arm where JJ was laying.  I asked him what was wrong as I pulled him up to me and he said. "My love you so much Daddy."  Immediately Michael burst into tears and started saying, "My love Mommy."  Kevin looked around and didn't know what to do.  I told him it was okay to cry, but also okay not to cry...he went away for about 15 seconds and when he returned he said, "Look, I got a tear," as a tear wiped down his cheek.  We shared a group hug and then watched the video and I explained to them that the most wonderful thing in life is your family....and that sometimes you love them so much that the love has to come out of you...and when it does, it's a tear.  

Whoever you love...please let them know....there truly is nothing greater in this world than loving and being loved......

So Beautiful- bridal shoot in an abandoned house

Click to view!

Check out the video of my shoot in the abandoned house in North Carolina!  The video contains the first walk through I did of the house when I discovered it, footage of me working with and shooting the bride, and 9 shots from the shoot that I love.  I hope you enjoy...this was one of my all time favorite shoots and I have to thank Christine again for making it possible.  Thanks Christine...you did great!

North Carolina Paradise

When I was in North Carolina I had the opportunity to do a shoot with one of my brides who will be getting married in August, Christine Holcombe.  I found an abandoned house that had been vacant for at least 25 years...and with when we went inside the house we found newspapers, checks, magazines and other items that were 60-100 years old.  It was truly an amazing place...and we took some video of the shoot to share later.  

The house had so many great places to shoot and was better than any Hollywood set we could have created.  To make it better the weather outside was just amazing with all the flowers in bloom.  It had rained for several days before the shoot...so the sky had amazing clouds as you can see in this shot.  I can't thank Christine enough for helping me with the shoot.  I hope you enjoy!