The Expressive Blog

From time-to-time, I meet folks who I just know I will have a blast working with, and that is exactly what happened when I met these two, at a bridal show, a few months ago. They asked if we could do their engagement portraits in Big Sur - one of my favorite places!

We decided to begin the photography session with a tour of the Point Sur Lightstation, which is something I have been wanting to do for some time, but had never actually done on my visits to the area. Since none of us had ever taken the lightstation tour, we did not know what to expect in the way of photo-opportunities, but we were not disappointed. Even though we were on a docent-guided tour, we had plenty of chances to create photos along the way, while learning history, and odd facts about the lightstation. For example, who would have thought that due to the strong winds common on the high rocks where the lighthouse is located, the former lightkeepers would keep their chickens on leashes, to prevent them from being literally blown away? I am happy to report that we too, were blown away... by the amazing beauty of this place!

Here is a small selection of images from this Big Sur portrait session...

The lighthouse sits atop the rocky pinnacle, shrouded in fog in this image.

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Cherry and Will had me create their engagement portraits in Monterey and Pacific Grove, and even though it was a bit cold on this day, we had a blast roaming around Lover's Point, Berwick Park, and many little-known spots along the rugged rocky shores of Pacific Grove. I loved working with them, because they were full of aliveness and open to doing anything to make an interesting photograph. These two did a lot of laughing and smiling, and I think they had as much fun during their engagement photo session as I did. I can only imagine how much fun their wedding will be, later this year, at Highlands Inn, in Carmel!

A few images from this session follow...

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Rocio and Ruben asked me to do their engagement portraits on the Stanford University Campus, at and around the Stanford Memorial Church. With the beautiful architecture in that part of the Stanford Campus, and lovely spring blossoms all around, it provided an amazing backdrop for me to work creatively with them. Many folks feel at least a little on-the-spot or shy about being in front of the camera... that is until they are in front of my camera, having a blast, as these two did! There was plenty of happy laughter, and we all enjoyed a magical spring-like evening. We collaborated on lots of ideas for fun, interesting photo-opportunities, which helped us create these engagement portraits. Thanks again, Ruben and Rocio, for a wonderful photo-session! I'll be looking forward to the wedding later this year!

Here is a sampling of my favorite images of Rocio and Ruben...

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I am pleased and honored to announce that one of my images was chosen out of thousands submitted by a select group of California wedding photographers, to grace the cover of the January 28th, 2010 "The Ultimate Wedding Guide" issue of Good Times Magazine. Shown below, is the cover of today's issue of Good Times, illustrated by one of my recent wedding images, taken at Carmel River State Beach. Although Expressive Photographics is available for weddings and events nation-wide, the majority of my work happens in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. The Carmel and Pebble Beach area has some fabulous wedding venues, all within short distance from amazing photo-opportunities such as this beach photo-spot!

Cecilia and Ron held their fabulous, festive, wedding at their home on 12/31/2009. From now on, NYE will be twice as fun for the both of them! I had a blast capturing all the laughter (there was a lot of that), and everyone celebrating this sweet occasion. Congratulations Ron and Cecilia, and thank you for allowing me to be there as your wedding photographer!

They also had the able assistance of Nina Leis, of Leis Events, who choreographed a perfect night of ceremony and celebration, and worked tirelessly to make sure everything went off without a hitch. If you are planning a wedding or other special event, and you want it to be fantastic AND easy... do connect with Nina, to see how she can help make it happen for you!

I could go on and on about the beautiful sparkly details, and great things that happened on this evening, but the photos tell the story so much better than I can. Here is a small sample of the pics from Ron and Cecilia's wedding...

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Kelvin and Sumaiya held their wedding overlooking the Monterey Bay, at the renowned Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row, Monterey. The day was amazing, and the couple and their guests were all great fun to work with. I would like to send out my personal thanks and best wishes to Kelvin and Sumaiya! Here are a few of my photos from their wedding day...

Hair styling was done by Nana, of Artisans Salon, of Monterey.

Makeup by Terri Estrada, Monterey area aesthetician.

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Recently, and old school buddy, Mark Martinez, asked me to do portraits of him and his two children, at the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk. Of course I loved the idea, and we recently did the portrait session. Mark explained how he loved the action-oriented portraits of kids he had seen on my website in the family portrait gallery, and wanted to know if we could do something like that at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. He was not looking for the traditional style of portraits, but preferred more of a lifestyle portrait, that would show them all just having a fun time together. We also did a few shots in a traditional portrait style, because we could, and also because I know parents and grandparents also love to see those! Here are a few of my personal favorite photos from this fun portrait session. I hope you enjoy them!

I also want to acknowledge Mark, for his recent accomplishments in publishing a new book, that is very relevant to our times. It is called "The Myth of the Free Market: The Role of the State in a Capitalist Economy". Congratulations Mark!

Okay, here is a sampling of the cool photos from our session at the beach and boardwalk, in Santa Cruz...

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