Archive for September, 2007

It was exactly a week ago that I attended Jesh De Rox Experiential Workshop out in Brooklyn, NY. A group of 10 talented photographers from all across the country got together and had an incredible experience. I wanted quickly recap this awesome time I had with this wonderful group of people. Jesh’s workshop is quite different than the other ones that I’ve attended. It really felt like a photographer’s spiritual revival. If you are interested, I’d love to tell you more about it in person. I would write here but I don’t have the time to do it right now.

The last day of our workshop, we went around and shared about what we had learned in class. Some of them, as they were sharing, could not stop the tears (I held mine back) from coming out as they were so touched by this workshop. We were all able to connect with each other and became instant friends.

Meet some of the attendees (sorry I could not get all of you guys!)

Here are photos to recap the event:

All I can say is, I look nasty with braces. Yuck.

The workshop was held in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn and few days later I got to shoot an eSession (Engagement Session) at the same location. I will post more photos of Andrew & Olivia later. But here’s one to wet your appetite:

They are such a fun/hip couple. When I saw Andrew sporting his converse shoes, I knew we were going to get along. Look forward to shooting their wedding in NY/NJ in May of 2008.

On a final note, I haven’t seen many of my friends in awhile and I miss you guys. I miss the community at CFC. Please drop a note and say hello. September was a busy month but October is going to crazier!

Francisco & Elvia were my first hispanic (and hopefully many more) couple that I was able to shoot for. When I met them for an interview session, the first question that they asked me was: “So what was it like shooting Andrea Bocelli?” We ended up talking about that experience for most of the interview and by the end of the conversation, I could already tell that I was going to love this couple. It was a blast to capture their special event as they were surrounded by a mariachi band, friends and family (some even all the way from Guatamala). Duncan came along to assist me that day. The ceremony and reception was held at the White Pines Golf Course in Bensenville, IL. So Duncan and I got to test ride the golf cart around the course for fun before the event. It was fun because Duncan never drove a golf cart before so he was a bit nervous at first but got the hang of it really soon.

Any ways, here are some moments from that day. I know many of you guys might not know the couple but hopefully through some of these photos, you can connect with the emotion that they felt that day. Muchas Gracias!

I just got done attending Jesh De Rox’s Experiential Workshop in Brooklyn, NY and I am speechless. I can’t wait to implement and share with all of you what I’ve learned here. It’s so mind-blowing. But you’ll have to wait. I promise it will be good. I will definitely write more about this later on but since I’m crunched with time, I will leave you with this:

Here are some photos from the concert this past friday night. Bethany Dillon opened up the night, followed by hard-rocking Santus Real. Then Steven took over the night put on a show. He made me a believer that you can never be too old to party like an animal for Jesus.

This is just a quick update as I have another wedding to shoot this afternoon. Friday night I was asked to photograph Steven Curtis Chapman’s concert here in Chicago. I was really excited about this as Steven Curtis Chapman is one of my personal heroes. He’s a guy that lives out what he preaches. I respect him because he uses his gifts and talents to touch other’s lives rather than bringing glory to himself. It has been awhile since I seen him in concert and I wasn’t sure if he will still be able to perform at the level that he used to. But boy was I wrong. He put on a show friday night and it was awesome to shoot him in action. By the way what was also neat about him is that his 2 sons are part of his band now (drummer and guitarist). How cool is that?

I will post the images from the concert as soon as I can catch up with work (who knows when that will be). After today’s wedding shoot, I’m heading out to NYC for a workshop and an engagement shoot. But I wanted to posted these two photos:

I really wanted to take a photo with Steven as he’s one of my heroes. Notice anything different about me? Yes, I’m sporting metal braces. I got them on the same day as the concert and I’m still getting used to them. Ouch.

I was able to invite some of my friends to the show. I was glad to see them have a great time!

Steven’s new album comes out this month. Go check it out!

By the way, I am really sad that I missed out on all the fun at our church’s MINI-O’s this year. This was the first mini-o’s I ever missed since it first started back in the early 90′s! Can people send me some links to the photos from the event? I love my job but on the downside, I miss seeing all my friends back at my home church (CFC). Hope everyone is doing well.

This wedding will go down as one of my memorable weddings I’ve ever shot. Why? I got stung 5 times by a mob of angry bees during the photoshoot. I guess a lesson to be learned here is to “look before you shoot.” But this wasn’t going to ruin the fun I was having with this couple. Susie and I have been friends since college so when she asked me to photograph her wedding, I was so honored and stoked about it. This wedding had many familiar faces so it was good to catch up briefly with everyone there. The groom, being the tough guy that he is refused to show any signs of smile. But once I got him warmed up, he couldn’t help but to show me his pearly white teeth. Thank you guys for opening up yourselves to me. Look forward to many years of friendship.

Here are some images from that day (91 total):

By the way, I am completely booked every weekend for the rest of this year. I do have couple of slots open in December but besides that my availability will not begin until January 2008. If I am booked, please feel free to still contact me. I have list of recommendations that I would be happy to share with you. I really believe that getting a good photographer is one of the best investment you’ll make in planning your wedding.