Essential Lighting (more shots)

Due to popular demand, I've been asked to put up some more images, so here we go. These top images of me were taken by Cory McNabb Thanks Cory,




and thanks Jefferson Todd holding the reflector as a seasoned pro, and taking some images on his little point and shoot, (see his blog to see how they turned out).

Las Vegas Bridal Couture Shoot

Well, you guys asked for it, here they are, a quick selection of the photos from the shoot we did last wednesday. The view was amazing. We were hooked up thanks to the amazing Las Vegas Couture Bridal Shop(web link coming soon). They supplied some of Vera Wang for us to work with. The Great Brittany & Eric Hanson from Las Vegas, and I are kicking off our Step it up 2007 destination workshops for professional Photographers looking to Step up their image, lighting, products, and to give their brides better service and higher end quality. We want to help as many studios as we can to build their portfolio up and to move up to the clientel they want. Email Mike Larson for more info.



Kasia, our local model did a great job.


I wanted to throw a special thanks to Jefferson Todd for holding the reflectors for a great part of the time, thanks buddy!



Here is Mike Larson Shooting Tala, indoors using sunlight shining through the window and using a reflector inside to fill in the bride, (see the only inside shot above)

Here is Brittany talking to the photographers in the mini mentor session.


Thanks So much to everyone who helped out, to the photographers who showed up, email some of your best images from the day of us shooting and I'll try to post some of them up here.

WPPI 2007

One of the most beautiful things is being able to fly out of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, or Monterey to SF, LA, Vegas, or Sac in less than an hour. but canceled flights are a bummer, that means if you take the last flight of the day and it gets canceled and you have to be there in the morning, you have to drive at night. US Airways canceled on us and our annual trip to Vegas for WPPI , a conference for photographers. Thanks to my amazing bride, she drove most of the way and I was able to get some shut-eye so i could be ready for the day when i woke up when we arrived. Its always great to come out here to meet with friends from all over the country that sometimes we only see once a year.

So to recap the week, It was great to visit friends and hang out at WPPI this year at Ballys in Las Vegas. (Vegas on the strip is overload and once you get out of the town, its just like any other city) Well, The rooftop shoot we did on Wednesday at the Platinum Hotel with BLR Life Photography was a blast, there was about 100 photographers there at one time or another during the 2 hour shoot & talk. We had some brand new Vera Wang Vera Wang Dresses, and the sun came out and the wind died down and we got some amazing shots, I will put them online tomorrow (friday). Thanks for all those who helped put everything on, California Sunbounce and our Models Tala and Kasia, and the whole staff of BLR, and last but certainly not least is my wife Rachel.
Visit Tomorrow for a bunch of images from the shoots...

A Beautiful Sunday Wedding

Today we were honored to be photographing Al & Kristin's wedding, here are some of our favorite shots and the stories that went with. They had the most amazing outdoor ceremony. Inside the rustic French restaurant La Provence . The food was great, and the people were wonderful. I highly reccomend this place. But more imprortantly, the story of the couple, the day and all the friends that made the whole event complete. In last October we met them in Hawaii for their e-session, and had an amazing time shooting for 2 days. I'll try and post some of the highlights in a day or 2.

Here they are dancing at sunset under the lights.


Thanks to the winter rain and spring sun, they were able to get lost in the grove of trees and fresh grass. I saw this tree throughout the whole wedding day and finally we ended up crossing the stream to get to the other side, It was really worth it! I am so stoked on the images!




Al looks on at Kristen and her dad as they walk up the isle, you should have seen the range of looks on his face when his beloved bride came down the isle, you can tell how a man loves his woman by the way he is captivated by her when she walks down the isle and he sees her for the 1st time. They are going to have a great marriage.



Getting ready...




The cutest flower girl in the world!


I was listening to this conversation two of the younger bridesmaids were having. Talking about the dress and getting excited for their friend to get married. The desctiptive comments they spoke reminded me of how girls get excited and plan their weddings in their minds from when they were young. These girls have a head start!



There is something so special to a bride when her bridesmaids are surrounding her with love, support and encouragement, while they have fun taking photos before the ceremony. Kristen was really loved, and she will be able to remember that for the rest of her life.



Thanks guys, may God Bless your marriage forever...

WPPI Lighting Workshop

We are shooting a reflector lighting demo for California Sunbounce on wednesday on the top of the Platinum Hotel, on the strip, of a Bridal Couple, and an e-session. Interested Photographers need to present this pass they can get from the CA-Sunbounce booth at the tradeshow. Its going to be a fun time, We'll do a wireless highlights demo of the images on a big screen after. See you guys there...

The Grove, LA

Back from a New York to a warmer city, even though it was raining earlier, this e-session goes to show that rain or shine, our couples can get great images. Today we photographed Matt & Maurnen at The Grove In Los Angeles. This is an outdoor South Coast Plaza, and has an amazing vibe. With the same light and water jet show as the Bellagio in Vegas , the grove is sure to be a great time. Matt manages the Grove and was able to get us access to anywhere. Which was nice. We had such a great time and photograhed for hours, then had dinner at Maggios "little italy". Rachel an I had a great time getting to know Matt & his fiance better and shared some great stories over dinner. Thanks guys for a great sesson!

A city with many sides...

Today we spent the day with an amazing couple, and we roamed all over Upper Manhattan and Tribeca. Finishing up at The Odeon Restaurant. Even though it was 30 degrees with a wind chill that felt like 18, they had a great time, and the photos here show the results. Thanks to my friends Ali, Gregg, and Jennifer Davis, an up and coming photographer here in the city. We photographed them with Glenn's Digital Hasselblad H3d . What an amazing camera.

When your with friends, your at home...

New York can be a cold place, it can be a place where you can be all alone, it can also be a place where you are with friends and having a great time. Its such a blessing to meet friends when you travel. While traveling it's always fun to get out of the hotel room and meet new people, rather than stay in the hotel and only come out when you got your work to do. My friends in NYC - Glenn & Ali, are a great couple and so generous to let me stay at their place. here is a view from their balcony. We had a great day.

Times Square Shoot

WOW, I have been to the city before, but a winter wonderland in NYC is really a site to see. the snow kind of tones things down and makes the city eerily quiet. Definitely a sight to see. Well our E session went immaculate today. Jason & Lauren who are locals from here in NY had me fly out to shoot their session, some of the highlights included Times Square , which almost feels as much of a tourist spot as disneyland. We also hit up many of the side streets covered in snow, Bryant park on 42nd, where they had one of their first dates, and Grand Central Station. Wrapping it up with dinner at Central Cafe, it was a great night, with thick snow falling all day. It was really really beautiful. When your with friends in the city, its really a warm and fun place. Thanks to my photographer assistant Lowell Swartley, we were able to pull off this amazing 3.5 hour session. See our "best of'" selection below.

One very interesting part of this couple is that their relationship was strenghened by a story when Jason was here last year in NY and was hanging out with friends at a home. An armed robber came in and Jason and another brave brother from another mother tackled this guy, who was quite a bit larger than they were. One grabbed him from the back and tried to take him down, Jason went for the gun, and when they had almost got the guy pinned, he strong armed the gun and shot Jason in the abdomen. As the police came in, they found the guy pinned by Jason and his friend. Not realizing any casualties, Jason got up and then walked around and fainted, it was then that the cops saw the blood on him, and realized he was shot. God was watching out for him though, the injury took only part of his intestines. No damage to his spine, liver, or lungs, nothing! The next day his girlfriend flew out from LA and came to his rescue and stayed with him for a week or two as he recovered. His faith in God kept his strength alive and his now fiance took care of him for better or for worse, even before her vows. I wanted to share this story as you see these images, This man could have died, but is getting married to the woman of his dreams. After a great Dinner with the couple at Central Cafe in New York, and hearing about this story, and the relationship, I am excited to take part in documenting it. They are going to have a great life.

3/15 New York City

11:30pm Thursday night, its raining and LOUD! Life never sleeps in the Big Apple, they are right! After flying in to LaGuardia, taking care of some missing baggage, my prized & dear california sunbounce, United is telling me they will deliver it. It hasnt shown up yet. Its raining tonight, but there is a huge winter storm and they are calling for up to 8 inches of snow tomorrow. thats great for our e-session in Manhattan. Stay tuned for more details, but its going to be a great weekend here meeting with 6 other photographers in our mentor sessions and doing a bunch of Pre-wedding shoots, or e-sessions as we call them.

3/11 San Francisco

What an amazing day in California , and the city, and we had a session to day for am amazingly fun couple from the city, Brett & Fran. Brett's fiance Fran was in a photo class that I had at Monte Vista High School, way back in the late ninetes. Now her and Brett have an amazing relationship and are getting married in a couple of months. Here are some snapshots of how much fun they have together.

Beautiful Napa County Wedding

It has been an honor to be asked to photograph an amazing couples' wedding in Napa Valley California . Julie and Sam are really a great couple. Its really great to be able to work with a bride and groom that have a style all of their own. The process of our meetings, e-sessions and dinner to get to know them have been a blessing to us, and we are so excited to capture them and produce a work of art they would be proud of. Its the start of the their family legacy, Documented as Art. During the Service, they had this cute dog carry the rings down the isle. He was trained and on good behavior, well until he saw Sam, and since he (Ali) had not seen him all day, she jumped up on him during the ceremony. Well, After their amazing ceremony, They had a delicious Reception at The Culinary Institute of America. Thanks to Molly the head Planner at the CIA and Mary and John Ross, who own the amazing 5 Star Events of Northern California, they did a fantastic job with the Reception.

3/9/07 Rangefinder Profile Article

Rangefinder Magazine, thanks to author Lynne Eodice, interviewed me a couple of months ago and I am honored to have a profile article in that magazine. To see the link to the article click here

3/3 Robert Hall Winery, Paso Robles

What a great couple, Rob & Jen, the couple who just got married last saturday the 3rd out at Robert Hall Winery They had so much style and I loved their wedding. It was such an honor to have them ask me to work with them. Not only was their pre-wedding shoot amazing, click here to see the slideshow Here are some of my favorite images from that day. I was able to shoot most of this wedding without a flash, which enabled me to capture the atmosphere of the day, especially at the amazing reception. Thanks guys...

Thirst Relief International

Thirst Relief International is auctioning off a private mentoring session with me at WPPI. 100% of the proceeds will pay for water filters for families in need all over the world. It is an honor and a blessing to be a part of this movement. In my travels around the world, I have seen this problem first hand, and while out there for a short time, one could give them a bottle of water for a day, but how about a water filter for a lifetime! If was my village, I would be so thankful and appreciative.

To up the ante, i am going to offer one of my 2 day, One on One Sessions™ (a $2,000.00 value) to the photographer who bids for this cause. Click on the above Thirst Relief logo to bid.

Hawaii...

Just got back from my favorite hang out place again, which is such a blessing to be able to visit. Every trip to hawaii, I get a re-check on my lifestyle habits, lots of surfing, running, swimming, spearfishing, eating healthy and well, drinking lots of water, very little tv email and office time, lots of outside time, more quiet times soaking up my favorite book, 1 James. And also lots of great times with friends, I always visit my local buddies, Kent Matsui who runs the Campus Crusade org at Hawaii Pacific University, and Jim Russi, the amazing surf photog, who has this rental we stay at, Hua'ana House, at Rocky Point. And thanks to Mike Colon (pro wedding photographer turned surf photographer) who shot this shot of me surfing the other day, and introduced me to his friend Ben, as well as hanging out with Steve from Alluring grace This last shot was from the evening shot in the water, Hawaii is a magical place and always a home and a haven to me.