Jenny + Goutam

Yesterday I got to photograph a really sweet and intimate ceremony in Santa Fe at the Gerald Peter's Gallery. Jenny and Goutam met at their jobs as scientists at Los Alamos National Labs (where the atomic bomb was invented), and with their guests from the lab I'm guessing I photographed more PhD's than I ever have before. Getting ready was a real highlight for me, as I got to watch Jenny's mom and friends hilariously tie on the wedding dress corset. The photo above came after forgetting to iron the ribbon before putting the corset on. The ceremony got moved inside because it was snowing, but the gallery has beautiful low light which I love. And their son Soumyo gave me endless photo-ops all day long. I wish there was a kid like Soumyo at all my weddings.

I've been in LA the last couple of days for the engagement session of MJ and Mike. Yesterday we explored Orange County. We started at Cal Poly Pamona, where they met 13 years ago while going to school, then swung by Huntington Beach where we all got completely soaked in the ocean (thanks Mike for the spare pair of jeans), hit up some street shooting and ended up at an awesome Ramen noodle restaurant around midnight. After saying goodbye to MJ and Mike, I flew back across the city to hang out with one of my best friends Eric, and we jumped back in the car and went out to eat tacos at 2 am. It was an awesome day all around. While I've been here, I've also gotten to hang out with my buddies Josef Isayo and Ray and Erwin from Apertura Photo, three incredibly talented wedding photographers. Thanks everyone for the good times and see you in a month and a half.

The upcoming Summer edition of Destination I Do magazine features the wedding of Kim and Neil, which I photographed last summer in Lake Tahoe, California at the Fitzhaven Estate. So many cool things have come as a result of Kim and Neil's wedding, I couldn't even count them all.

Here's the outside of the magazine just so you know what it looks like (the couple on the cover is not Kim and Neil):And here is the article, which features the incredibly talented wedding coordinator Merrily Rocco of Merrilywed.com.

My second engagement session of last weekend was with Sarah and Shane, who are in Paris, France right now on vacation. I hope they can see these photos while sipping on some hot chocolate on a beautiful cobblestone street. Have a great time guys and I'll see you soon.

Yesterday I went walking around San Francisco with Erica and Brad for their engagement session. We started in The Mission, then went up to Alamo Square Park and ended up in Union Square looking for gritty alleys and moody light. I couldn't have asked for a better time.

This weekend I got to photograph a wedding for one of my best friends, Craig Robinson. I met Craig when we both worked as newspaper photographers in New Mexico, and soon his fascination for aliens, shopping carts and Polaroid cameras became a part of my life as well. His images of shopping carts (www.happycarts.com) will one day make him famous. But for now, he has a lovely new wife Terri and an amazing family. Congratulations Craig!

I'm back home now after spending a month in Oaxaca, Mexico working on my Spanish at a foreign language school. I guess as a welcome-home present, the WPJA gave me four awards in their Winter contest, which was announced over the weekend. I thought the judges this time were a little crazy, but I'm always proud of any images that place in the international contest. And thanks to Tony, Melissa, Amber, Adam, Jena, Eddie and Amanda for giving me the shots in the first place. You are all my super models.

Yesterday I said goodbye to my friends Cofi, Aaron and Amy, who left Oaxaca to go to Mexico City to catch their flights home. Aaron and Cofi (above) met here in Mexico the day before Christmas, and have been traveling together ever since. I've had a great time photographing their relationship since my first night here on Super Bowl Sunday. On Thursday, they have to finally say goodbye to each other and go home to Nova Scotia (Cofi) and Oregon (Aaron). I wish I could be there to see it, but I'm counting on Amy to take some pictures for me. I'm sure there will be tears. Hasta luego, mis amigos.

Amy, her boyfriend Chel and a little girl from France:
Cofi and Aaron in San Agustinillo:
La playa de San Agustinillo:
On the way home:
My friend Jorg, who is a musician from Germany:
Rob and Jessica, two insane, freight-train riding travelers from Vancouver, Canada:
La playa, tambien.