The Coffee Table Wedding Album

I'm stoked about this new photobook, its absolutely gorgeous. Great as a wedding photobook or as in this case an engagement photobook. First of all the leather used is cream of the crop, the pages are extra thick, and most importantly the prints are of the highest quality. The pages have great resolution, beautiful color, and are coated with an invisible protective lacquer. The team over at Prestige Albums are going to be getting a lot more future orders from me!

For you future brides interested in this style book, it is equivalent to the "Flush Album" that I offer. It's included in the "Platinum Photo Package" or can be added to any other package as ale carte. Enough said, here are some quick shots I grabbed before I delivered it to Christan, the beautiful bride to be.(Yes, this is our living room in Temecula. Home sweet home!!!)
If you would like to check see all of the pages in the book, surf over to the Photobook Layout Design webpage here.

If you are a professional photographer, Prestige Albums come with my highest recommendation. They are a small new company in California. So the books take a little longer to make than normal 2-3 weeks. Shoot me an email and I will gladly return their contact info.

Jenn Trashes the Dress!

Ive been looking for an opportunity for a "Trash the Dress" session. Knowing how much Jen and Derek love to play with their desert toys, I thought we might be able to incorporate that into a trash the dress photoshoot. They jumped at the idea, and busted out the dirt-bikes and Polaris Ranger! Derek led us out to a secluded preserve near their home in Peris, California where we captured some unique shots.

Jen was brave and wore her very white wedding dress, knowing she was surrounded by dirt! We rode around for about 3.5 hours, stopping at locations with unique features, good light, and great backgrounds. It was a lot of fun and I think we got some great ttd photographs.
What can you do with that beautiful wedding dress? Well it's already dirty; and you are going to have it cleaned anyways. Why not use it for a "Trash the Dress" photoshoot! It shows your hubby your committed, since it may be able to be used again, and plus you've got some really unique photographs in your favorite dress! Id love to shoot another trash the dress session soon. If you are brave enough just let me know. Id love to try the beach, a pond or lake, a junk yard, sand dunes, or a farm.

Ian + Chandra: San Diego Engagement Session

Photographs should be memorable. Choosing a location that is already close to your heart is a great first step. Add in two amazing people that are truly in love... well you will see what I am getting at below. In short, you really cant go wrong with these ingredients!

This San Diego Engagement Session took place at Adam's Park in Valley Center. Wheres that? Good question!!! Its a small town in North County that I grew up in. Anywho, the park is very small so I think Ian and Chandra were really trusting that there was a method to my madness. And it just so happened that the local Boy Scouts were having an awards ceremony in the park, which made our photographic playing field even smaller! Ian and Chandra were great sports though and didn't mind at all. In fact, apparently this was the same troop Ian was apart of as a kid!
There wedding is taking place at another paradise of a different type, somewhere that is also very close to my heart, Quail Gardens! If you haven't been there, please head to Encinitas this weekend. It costs a few bucks to get in, but it is absolutely amazing, words just cant describe. My wedding was also here, so I am very excited about being a San Diego Wedding Photographer at Quail Gardens this summer!!!

Mariachi Band Photo Shoot

I specialize in weddings, but that doesnt mean I cant help people needing photographs of other subjects! As a photographer who can be found through Google search, its understanable to get random calls for unique opportunities, such as this case. A local mariachi band, Duetos 2 Los Compas, callled needing cover photo for their new CD they wanted to release in a few days.

The request was for a white background, at night, with good portait light and instant viewing. Well, I usually shoot on location, with a photojournalistic style, with months of planning, and a couple of weeks to deliver. But sure; umm ya, I guess I can figure something out... famous last words right?!!!

So at 10pm at night we opened my garage, isolated a white wall and setup for the shoot. While they were cleaned up by the hair and makeup artist, I played around with my off camera speedlight and a make-shift background light. Ill admit I was improvising a bit but I was able to deliver the images the client wanted. And apparently, my name is on the back of their cd!!!

Im not going to lie, I love experiencing different cultures and I enjoy all kinds of music. These guys were fun loving and enjoying life. I hope one day to get to see them in action. From the looks of their calendar they are completely booked, playing more than 6 shows per month. I hope to get to shoot their next album's cover photo!

Wedding Vow Renewal in Valley Center

Time is the ultimate test of truth. For 25 and 30 years of marriage these two amazing couples have shown what true love is.

I was honored to get to capture them renew their wedding vows in my hometown of Valley Center. The ceremony took place adjacent to my old high school at Saint Stevens Catholic Church. As you can the inside of it is absolutely gorgeous.

After the ceremony and some family photos we were of to the shrimp boil to celebrate. Yeah, these shrimp were almost the size of small lobsters and they were delicious. Ill have to get Jim's recipe somehow because they were amazing! As the night grew on the photos became more and more comical. In the end the best part was getting to reminisce with old friends, talking about little league home runs and high school football... good times, good times indeed!Heres a link to view the slideshow of all of the photos from the event: http://anibaldi.zenfolio.com/crawshaw/slideshow#h25cfdd5f.

Jen+Derek's Palm Springs Wedding

I had a great time shooting Jenn and Derek's Wedding this weekend in Palm Springs. The Mission Hills Golf Resort was a perfect venue for sharing their special day with some of their friends and family. The day was filled with anticipation and excitement, and it was a pleasure capturing it. From the moment I got there Jen and Derek treated me like family (thanks guys)!

Here are a couple of my favorite wedding photographs from the day.
With photos from two shooters Ive got a lot of photo editing ahead of me. But I really want to thank Talia my 2nd shooter for all of her help. Her photographic intuition was spot on and she was great at anticipating and being ready for the next shot. Thanks Talia!