Jamie & Eric

Time to catch up again...

Last weekend I shot Jamie and Eric's engagement pictures. Jamie says that she's afraid of the camera but it definitely doesn't show. They were awesome!!
We went down to Heritage Square by the science center and Pizzeria Bianco. I've driven by this part of downtown a few times and have always wanted to shoot there. I'm so glad we did because it was a great location. We went down there right before sunset and had some stellar lighting! I also love how this square block has such a drastic mix of architecture.

Check out their slideshow linked below.

Check out the slideshow here ---> Jamie & Eric

Kari and Kevin Engagement

What a blessing they are!!

Kari and Kevin were referred to me by Jennifer Stein, the publisher of Destination I Do Magazine and I'm so glad! I love just sitting down with them and hearing about the amazing things that are happening in their lives. They love the Lord and He is truly blessing them.

We had their engagement session scheduled for Sunday and wouldn't you know it. It rained!! This was the second time that it had rained in the last 150 or so days here in Arizona. How frustrating!! We still met up for a cup of coffee (see previous post) and after a while we decided that we better make a go at it or else it probably wasn't going to get done before their wedding on April 29th. We jumped in the cars and decided to go to the Phoenician Resort for some indoor shots.

As soon as we arrived the sky broke and we went running outside. On my way to the coffee shop I had prayed for a break in the rain and God was happy enough to oblige. We didn't have too long before it would start raining again so we sped through some of the garden areas. I wish we had more time because it is just so beautiful around there.









Right as we were finishing our round-about through the gardens, it began to rain and we finished up our session in a lobby area.



Props really have to go to Kari and Kevin for being willing to jump into the cool weather and to continue with the shoot from the very beginning!! Thank so much guys!!

And I'm already praying for a blue sky on your wedding day!!

GoldBar Espresso...

...is AMAZING!!!
I LOVE this place!!!



I am a big fan of coffee for those of you that didn't yet know it. I don't usually go a day without at least some kind of coffee drink. I'm kind of a snob about it too. I used to be a coffee barista myself and I'm pretty picking about my drinks.

All of this to say that I do know what I'm talking about when I say that this place is AMAZING!! I already said that didn't I. Well, I love this place so much that I actually consider it part of my office and often spend part of my week here working on photos.

The owners, Karen and Dennis are great and most of the time they let me make my own drinks. Dennis also used to be a daily customer of mine at my former coffee shop before they bought this shop, so I have a little pull here.



The other great part of this place is that they fully support the ARTS!! Don't expect a CD of music playing when you come in. They don't have one! But if plan your trip correctly you'll be enjoying either some wonderful live jazz music by the house band or soothing classical guitar by another regular customer named Scott. You'll also find an art wall that changes each month. The jazz band is usually playing on weekend nights and Scott plays guitar every Sunday morning. I'm lucky enough to be enjoying their music right now!!



This month on the art wall we have some drawings from Nick Ruppert. Nick was involved in a hit-and-run accident last year that left him with brain damage. The doctors didn't expect Nick to be able to do hardly anything at all, let alone start drawing. His display shows artwork from before, right after and a year after his accident. Nick is still currently in a wheel chair although he did walk for the first time this month!! That's a HUGE accomplishment for him and it's definitely encouraging for all of us. Thanks for inspiring all of us at GoldBar Nick!!

Ok, so I don't have my camera with me right now, so I can't post any pictures of Nick's work, so you'll just have to come down here and see it all for yourself.

GoldBar is located in the NE corner of McClintock and Southern Ave in Tempe, AZ.
1707 E Southern Ave. Tempe, Arizona
480.839.3082

Oh, make sure to grab either a cup of the Bistro brew or a hot or iced vanilla latte. Those are my favorites at least!!
And make sure to mention that JT told you about the place!!

Shooting with Charlie

Last week I received a brand new camera and couldn't sit still and wait for one of my own shoots. My friend Charlie recently started his wedding photography business and had a wedding booked last Saturday and was happy to allow me to come along. I had the privilege of following the guys the entire day.
The wedding was for Betty and James.









I love following people wherever they go and whatever they do (well, not everywhere) but I do love chasing people around in public places. It's great!! You get all of these people thinking that this person is a celebrity and they totally are...at least for the day!!
James decided to have the limo driver make a stop at a local drug store so he could grab a few things....and of course I followed!!





We finally showed up at the location and jumped into the ceremony!



Thanks so much for a great night!! And some amazing food!! Betty's brother is an amazing cook and catered the entire reception.

Let it Snow...in AZ!!!

Well we've finally received some moisture in the Phoenix area. It only took a 142 day wait.
It also dropped some wonderful snow in the high country and on the beautiful Four Peaks mountain range.

Last night I went out with some photography friends and took some pictures of Four Peaks covered in snow. It was so great to see.

Kim and Mark

On Sunday I had the pleasure of being able shoot with my friend Bruce Steffine again.

It had rained the entire day before, which was awesome because it hadn't rained in the Phoenix area in over 142 days!!! But we were definitely worried that it was going to be raining on Sunday, but it was clear by morning and was an amazing day to shoot!!!

Here are a few of my pics from the day.











Thanks Bruce, Kim and Mark!!

Reaching back

Well I've finally made some time to post some more about my trip to Cali in February.

I had such a great time!!
After spending a few days in Santa Barbara with David Jay, Tim Halberg, Sara France, Amy Nave, Chris Humphreys, Dane Sanders and Michael and Anna Costa and so many other amazing wedding photographers who are lucky to live in such a beautiful place!!

I was lucky enough to join them in launching their own Santa Barbara Pictage User Group. Sara France was there to launch the group which will be lead by David.
Here's the group from the night of the launch! It was so funny see so many of you again and meeting so many others!


I next headed down to Laguna Beach to hangout with a whole group of wedding photographers from OSP. Its amazing that so many of these people are the leaders of their local industries.

Here's a shot of us nerdy blackberry users!!

(L to R) David Jay, Becker, Mike Colon, Sara France and Me!!

I posted earlier about the beach session with Mike and Ann, so be sure to read that post as well.

The next week I had the privilege of being able to speak at the Orange County Pictage User Group in Irvine. Pepper Nix, the leader of the group, was AWESOME!!! It was so much fun finally being able to give her a big hug and thank her for inviting me. And a big shout out to Sara France again, who was gracious enough to bring her projector for me to use during the presentation.


After the PUG we headed to a great italian restaurant that I can't remember the name of, but I had some wonderful pasta!
And I totally forgot to have a picture taken earlier at the PUG, so we took one after dinner. This was probably a third of the group. Thanks for sticking around!!!


I'm sure I'm forgetting so much, but this will have to do for now!

Newsletter Signup

Well I just got back home in AZ after a 10 day trip to southern California. I'll be sending out my February recap newsletter soon, so if you haven't signed up for my newsletter make sure to do so. Just click the link below!
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