Temecula Wedding Photographer Goes GREEN!

I love the outdoors; hiking, biking, surfing, and of course photographing outdoor weddings. As a Wedding Photographer in Temecula there are a lot of ways to minimize the negative impact on the environment. Since almost everyone owns a camera and computer these days I thought these tips might help someone else out, even if they aren’t a Temecula Wedding Photographer.

GREEN Tip #1 ~ Recycle your electronics! Best Buy has made this easier than ever, just bring in your unwanted electronics and drop them off with their Geek Squad. Other retailers charge a fee, but Best Buy is the only one right now (11/28/09) that doesn’t. Another great way I recycle old photo equipment is by selling or giving it away on Craigslist.

GREEN TIP #2 ~ When I grew up, back in the film days, after an eventful day of photos the roll was dropped off at the lab and doubles were ordered of every shot. Instead, you can go green by shooting digital and then proofing and sharing your photos on the computer. Proofing your photos on the computer first, before going to the lab, allows you to print only your favorites, and saves money, paper, and chemicals. Why print photos that will just be thrown away? As a wedding photographer I do not offer a proof book or 4x6 prints of every shot, instead I include a free online gallery where clients and their families can enjoy the photos and order the ones that they would like to display in their homes.

GREEN Tip #3 ~ Minimize the energy your computer uses. This one is easy, if your not using your computer then turn it off! You can program this to happen automatically in Windows pretty easily. Another way of going green is by purchasing efficient computers. For example, Western Digital the hard-drive manufacturer, is now selling smart hard-drives. What makes them smart is that the rate at which they are spinning spins faster or slower depending on the current use. So when they arent being used they slow down, but when they are they can speed up to 7200 rpm.

If you have other ideas of how to make Photography GREENER, Id love to hear it. As a Temecula Wedding Photographer I am always looking for more GREEN ideas, so leave a comment or write on my Facebook wall.

San Diego Engagement Session at the Beach

Rebecca and Matt love the beach and so we decided that would be a fun place to capture their San Diego engagement photographs. I've known both Matt and Rebecca since High School and have lots share lots of great valley center sports memories together. You can tell from the photo where they are jumping that they are both very athletic.

They will be getting married in Valley Center next summer and are very excited. I was so stoked when I heard the news, wooohoo! Yeah, I love getting to shoot friends weddings, its so much fun! The engagement session was also a blast. We had fun in the sand and even saw a few sea lions.

Matt and Rebecca were fun, happy, and very in love, which made my job as an engagement photographer easy-peasy! They were very open to my suggestions and weren't afraid of getting a little sandy or wet! Enough words about this San Diego beach engagement, how about some photos!

Country Style Wedding Venue in San Diego

Looking for a beautiful, natural, country style, outdoor wedding venue in San Diego? There is a great wedding venue located on Palomar Mountain in North County of San Diego called The Palomar Mountain Ranch.

If you are looking for a manufactured wedding where every detail is already predetermined, then this is not the place for you. However, if you want to make your wedding day unique, plan every detail, and design a wedding to fit your own style, then look no further.

The Palomar Mountain Ranch owners are very flexible and ready to help make your dream wedding come true. They have multiple locations on their 1000+ acre ranch that would be perfect for a wedding. My favorite was the open meadow next to the lake that had the gorgeous forest hills background (see photo below). The number of guests allowed is practically unlimited, as there is tons of room for everyone. And there are lodges close by if you want to stay the night before and/or after the wedding.

The natural beauty of this place is amazing, God’s handiwork in this place is clearly evident. As a wedding photographer, this location would be so fun to shoot a wedding. The creative opportunities are endless.

This is Wes! He’s a great guy and would be happy to help make your wedding day everything you dreamed it to be. He is happily married to a beautiful woman named Sarah and knows what kinds of things are important when planning a wedding.These photos were shot in Nov of 2009. This place looks incredible every season of the year, however also very different each season. You gotta love the fall colors in these shots though, right! Spring and Summer are the most popular times for weddings here though, so make sure to book your date in advance.

Talk to Wes or Dutch if you are interested in using their beautiful wedding venue. They would love to hear from you! If you would like to have an engagement session in this setting just let me know. I am looking for any excuse I can to go back up the mountain and get to practice some photography.

Outdoor Wedding Style // Cor + Christine

I'm really blessed to be photographing weddings in Temecula, San Diego county, and throughout Riverside county. Christine and Cor's wedding was one that helped me to step back, sigh, and praise the Lord for the good in the world! The genuine kindness and joy I witnessed throughout the entire wedding was amazing.

You might remember Christine and Cor from one of my San Diego Beach Engagement Session's I shot back in Summer. They both grew up in great families in Hemet and decided to get married there too, the Hidden Hacienda! The warmth and style of this wedding venue was so unique. The aged bricks, vine covered fences, and overgrown greenery were just some of the elements that complemented the style of this wedding.

From the getting ready photos through the reception, Christine was all-smiles! This was especially true as she walked down the aisle and saw Cor waiting for her. With over 100 guests and the venue

NOTES: Photographing this wedding I believed help me take another step towards developing a signature photographic style. 90% of my images are shot outdoors using natural light. Im really inspired by natural elements and earthy tones, and believe this was conveyed through how I processed these wedding images from Christine and Cor’s Wedding. Will I process all photos like this, no, probably not. But hey, I think it worked great for this set of wedding photographs! What so you think?

And heres a photograph of a photographer taking a photograph!!! Thanks for grabbing this shot Talia, I love it!

Destination Wedding Photographer

Chelsi and Eric planned a beautiful destination wedding on the border of California and Arizona. It was held at a new resort out in the desert. This was my first destination wedding, and I cant wait to do another. It was a real blast and kind of turned into a semi-vacation.

My wife Rachael was my copilot and we had a great time together. Blasting music, telling jokes, talking about hair, etc… Oh yeah she really likes hair, and once she’s out of Paul Mitchell Hair School she wants to team up with me at weddings. Not shooting photos but styling awesome hair, as updos are her fav.

Back to the wedding story… Eric and Chelsi were a pleasure to photograph, and their happiness made it real easy to tell their story with photographs. Eric looked like the proudest guy in the world after the “I do”. And I could tell Chelsi had been looking forward to this day for sometime. The family, colors, weather, food, and everything came together for a perfect destination wedding.

And here is Eric, the groom, getting ready below!!! Well, mentally at least, its important have a clear head when you get up to that alter!!! This last shot was requested by the resort, as this was there first wedding. So after being escorted by security onto the roof, I leaned over the edge until Rachael’s grip on my shirt wouldn't let me out any farther, and I took the shot. I don't know what she was worried about, it was only 4 stories high!!!

USD Wedding Photography

A local San Diego Wedding Photographer and close friend, Al Wilson, asked if I would be the second shooter at Joel and Heather’s wedding. Excited to have this opportunity to shoot a wedding at USD, I jumped at it. It was a traditional Catholic Wedding Ceremony. My job was to capture images from a different vantage point and focus on the groom’s side of the wedding story.

Ever heard of a grooms-women (see photo above)? Its a new wedding fad!!! j/k It was just one of those details that made this traditional wedding unique.

Having a wedding at USD, need a USD Wedding Photographer? Hire a photographer who has shot their before, like me!!! I discovered the balcony is great for a wide angle shots and the side entrances towards the front are also very useful. Oh yeah, and the spot behind the altar that is invisible to the guests, but great for close ups of the couple during the ceremony.

Yosemite Valley Camping Trip

Our trip to Yosemite this year was a blast! We tent camped in Upper Pines with some of our friends and family. Our favorites of the week were rock climbing, rafting, hiking, and just hanging around the campfire singing worship songs.

One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world was there… 4 year old Izzy! We actually have a lot in common… we both love getting dirty, playing hide and seek, and most of all marshmallows! In fact he loves marshmallows so much that, he took the special smelling markers, specifically the one that smells like marshmallows and coated his finger real good. The rest of the day he could smell marshmallows when ever he wanted! One night, the whole campfire deal didnt happen, but that didn't stop Izzy. he went and found a bag and then sat next to me and shared. I think I had two… he had seven, and we are talking the large mallows!!!

Can you see the marshmallow scented marker painted on his right hand!!! Pretty creative kid if you ask me! Baby Claire was also a lot of fun! And of course we couldn’t leave without going into the Ansel Adams gallery. The photos in there are spectacular and inspiring. Definitely one of my favorite photographers of all time.

I got to go fishing with the guys one day… Ok, I didnt fish, I brought my camera and tripod instead! ;)

This is Claire enjoying the dirt in Yosemite!!! And then we have Beacher, heck who uses a spoon when your camping, besides its yogurt, just use your hands!!!

That’s me on the left and Rach way up there on the right. Yep she made it to the top too, no problem. I think this route was a 5-9 and went about 100ft high. Getting to the top was cool cause you could see above the tree line, and man what a view! Thanks again Naomi!

What do you think this deer is saying? Please leave a funny comment below!!!