The situation couldn’t have been any more tragic — a car accident in the middle of the nigh leading to a young and vibrant college student’s funeral visitation, and the pain of a family close to ours. After many tears and much pain, this was the news that propelled Tracy and I to the decision to fly back to Georgia for a day only.
A little over a year ago I started running “11QuickQ’s” series of interviews with fellow photographers, and lately I’ve been wanting to do something similar with other talents in the fashion/media industry. With that in mind I had the chance to sit down for a quick cup of Starbucks Coffee with model, personal trainer, and actor Charles Justo in South Beach, FL.
About five months ago I had the opportunity to have dinner with my rep from The Pros, Grace Albion, and as a branch we discussed the possibilities of covering weddings at the ultra cool and modes B Ocean Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Well, this became a reality this past week when I had the pleasure to cover the wedding of Itzel and Thatcher!
Where do I start? Lynn and Sean are one of those few couples that you feel as if you have known them for years, even though it has only been a few months! If you’ve been following this blog you might remember their Engagement Shoot a couple of months ago, and this time around we are here for the BIG day.
Description of the Trip
This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to participate on an ‘urban trip exegesis’ exercise in Hollywood, CA. This trip was part of a class in which we, the students, are encouraged and educated to see the environments around us with a different set of eyes. We were expected to see past the obvious urban complexion with its complexities, structures and traffic and to focus on the stories those neighborhoods tell through its peoples, signs, smells, rhythms, sounds and the built environment as a whole.
Welcome to our October Video Newsletter! First of all thank you SO much for your comments on our last Vlog and your involvement in our mission towards walking God’s call in our lives.
Speaking of this last Vlog, the September one, a few of you had some issues opening the password-protected video embedded in the post, and asked me to put in writing the contents of future videos. While I’ll do my best to fulfill this request, the truth is that I’m much better with visuals than letters, but I’ll do my best. This month’s Vlog is probably my favorite… ever! For this one we have included our five daughters and have asked them to respond three questions only: Name, Age and Why Do You Want to Go to Italy.
This evening wasn’t much different than the usual Monday evening at home. Tracy getting ready for BSF, Abigail playing by herself, and Jillian dressing up her little sisters as princesses. As I sit down and start fiddling with the computer, I see Stella coming to me with a cute brown dress, a crown on her head and a pair of tap shoes in her hand. As she approaches me, she lets me know right away she needs help putting on these special tapping shoes (dress shoes).
In the beginning of September I got an email from a bride requesting a quote for her wedding taking place in a couple of weeks. Time wasn’t on our side,and to make matters worse we played phone tag, emailed back and forth, tweaked the contract, and in the end we were able to meet Beatriz and Augusto for their most important day as a couple!
August was gone before we knew it, and with the end of September moments away we didn’t want to miss another month without sharing what’s happening with us. In our last update we shared how God has confirmed His call upon us to move to Italy. As we continue to trust in God, and yield to the Holy Spirit’s guidance we are becoming more aware of how this time is one of preparation.
I first met Lynn while shooting Katy and Ryan’s wedding back in May. Lynn and Sean were doing the music, and Chelo and I were doing photography. After the wedding was over, I wrote Lynn and made sure she knew that she’s one of the best DJs I’ve ever worked with. I truly meant that. Not only was she professional in her service, but she was also personable (and flexible!) with guests and vendors. Usually DJ’s are really good in one area, and not so great in the other, but not Lynn, or “DJMo” as her business card reads. As you can imagine we became friends on facebook and somewhat kept up with each other. Months later I received a message from Lynn letting me know that she’s getting married, and she’d like for us to cover her wedding. I couldn’t be happier, since not only do I love photography but I also REALLY like this couple!
I could have sworn Mario was from the Dominican Republic. Not only did he have a Dominican look (wherever that is) but he was also extremely nice, sociable, happy and, most important, an outstanding dancer! Turns out Mario was born and raised in Mexico City, and needless to say we hit it off from the very beginning.
This wedding was very different from any other wedding I’ve had the privilege to document. How? Simple, almost 90% of my time prior to the ceremony was spent with the groom instead of the bride.
I’m not making this up. Hold your breath and take a seat… Ready? Okay, here it goes: I did not bring my camera with me to this week-long retreat!!! My dearest Canon 5Dm2 and her sister Canon 60D stayed at home for the first time in years. It was rough departing from them, but I had to. Why? Because this week was not about me.
The leader was looking for volunteers across the room. As I try to avoid making eye-contact with this person, this other one looks right at me and says: “And you’ll be blind for the next hour. You’ll be blind through this meeting, through lunch and until we meet again.” Just like that he handed me a funny blind thingy in order for me to wear.
For some odd reason my thinking seems to be b r o k e n down in s e n t e n c e s. This afternoon I’ll be flying out. To North Carolina to serve as a Short-Term Missionary at a Joni and Friends Bonclarken Retreat. Joni and Friends is a Christian organization that ministers to people with disabilities and their families. I am SUPER nervous.
By now if you know anything about me, you’d probably agree I’m what’s called ‘an Apple guy’. I first got the Apple bug while still living in the DR, back in 2004, when a couple of my computers kept just failing on me (at the worst possible times ever), customer service was not only a maze but also expensive, and I was just ready for a change. I remember I didn’t have enough funds to pull the PC cord and switch over to the Mac camp, so my good friends and ministry partners Katie Vasquez and O.J Aldrich came through with generous donations and just like that I was on my way to order my first Mac experience.
