Good evening from Huntington Beach everyone!  Have I got some yumminess to share with you.  When I was up in Big Bear over the holidays for my “Workation” – I had the terrific opportunity to meet up with Ashley & Chaz for their Engagement Shoot in the mountains.  But quite honestly I’m thinking I should refer to their Engagement Shoot more like a romantic portrait session stolen out of a movie!

Their Engagement Shoot was a total blast!  We started off Starbucks next to Village Pizza where all of us were able to lay out our plan for the locations that I was taking them to around Big Bear Lake.  Once we had our plan of attack down and I had one of my favourite Christmas coffee drinks from Starbucks – we headed out.

But I’ll have to say that words really can’t describe how amazing their Engagement Shoot was.  From the snow angels they did next to my favourite building on the lake (what I refer to as the new EPHQ/French Chateau) to being adventurous in the hills and getting crazy in the middle of the street – I can definitely tell you that they took it to the HNL!  Both Ashley & Chaz braved the pre-blizzard conditions that were beginning to fall upon us with the snow and they seriously rocked it.

So I’ll pretty much wrap it up & say that if you’re an Bride or Groom that wants to not only have a blast like we did for their Engagement Shoot up in Big Bear – but also be able to share with your family and friends some of my Signature Romantic, Playful and Dreamy portraits – feel free to get in touch with me anytime.

I’m available just about 24/7 via TwitterFacebook, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.

Also, the latest episode of my online TV program; How To Make The Most Of Your Wedding Day is live with super awesome guest; Mr. Stephen Arnold from F & C Creations.  Be sure to check it out, he’s amazing!

Without further ado, here is a delicious treat of a few of my favourite portraits from their Engagement Shoot.   You can also see the rest of their collection on Pictage – cheers!

Share on FacebookTweet this PostPin Images to PinterestBack to Top

WELCOME to the next episode of “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day!”

Thank you so much for joining me on “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day!”  Every other week this online program is here to help Brides and Grooms be introduced to some of the best wedding vendors in the industry.  We’ll be sharing tips & tricks, along with features & benefits of why hiring professional vendors on your wedding day will not only save you time, but money & your sanity.

For this week’s program episode I am joined with an incredible master jeweler; Mr. Stephen Arnold from F & C Creations on a sweltering hot day at Disneyland.  I have had the honour of working with Stephen on many pieces of jewelry and loved his work so much that I commissioned Stephen to create a new and more modern version of my family ring.

Stephen has created original works of art for brides and grooms all over from Orange County to Los Angeles, San Diego and beyond.  So for Stephen to be interested in being on my program was perfect for couples that just got engaged and may be interested in hiring a master jeweler for their wedding rings.

If you don’t know much about Stephen just yet, check out his bio, it’s totally impressive.

“All his life, Stephen has had a passion for art and jewelry.  With a strong art background in oil painting and illustration, jewelry design came naturally to him.  He started training as a silver smith when he was just 16 years old, learning how to solder, cast, finish, and wax carve over the next two years.

Stephen continued to work on jewelry (mainly as a silver smith) until he enrolled into the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad California.  He enrolled and excelled in the Graduate Jeweler and jewelry design programs.  While still enrolled, Stephen worked full time as bench jeweler in Pacific Beach as the ‘custom design jeweler’.

Immediately after GIA, Stephen took on a very rigorous and difficult apprenticeship at San Diego’s premier retailer Charles Koll Jewelers.  It is there that Stephen learned the true meaning of quality craftsmanship, combining old world techniques with the latest in jewelry manufacturing technology under the strict observation of a master jeweler whose view of craftsmanship went only two ways; it was ‘bad’ or it was ‘perfect’.

Stephen would later voluntarily leave his apprenticeship to work for Niessing, a German jewelry designer and manufacturer and a pioneer in modern, minimalist European design.  Stephen found himself sitting side by side with German goldsmiths and stone setters as part of his ongoing training to be able to work on the unique and high quality designs.   As Niessing’s goldsmith for their North American operation, he executed all repairs and stone setting for their retail accounts.  While working there, Stephen spent his free time experimenting with his own designs.

The influence of and European modern design inspired Stephen to create a jewelry company that could bridge this influence with traditional American glamour.  Steering away from traditional American over load of pave stones, frills, and lace as well as adding more dimensions to the hard architectural designs of European Modern, Stephen has created F and C creations, a true American contemporary artist.  Art combined with simple shapes, art you can wear.”

So sit back with a pad of paper & pen and be ready for some great information on “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day” with Stephen Arnold from F & C Creations.

If you have any questions or are a vendor that would like to be on the program, feel free to contact me anytime.  I’m available just about 24/7 via TwitterFacebook, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.  Cheers!

PS, Stephen recently opened his new showroom in Upland and it’s awesome.  It’s set up more like an art gallery instead of an every day jewelry store.  You’ll love it!

PSS, I hope we don’t disappoint, but Stephen & I were able to record his episode straight through without any outtakes.  Even though were thought we were being cooked in the 100+ heat at Disneyland that day.  When we were done, we both were like; “HEY! We taped that straight through & didn’t have any outtakes. Crazy!”

Share on FacebookTweet this PostPin Images to PinterestBack to Top

Malibu Wedding Photography At Malibu West Beach ClubGood Afternoon Everyone!  I’m in Phoenix, Arizona working with Activities So Cal to shoot video & photos of some athletes and have a very special treat for you.  This week’s Wedding Tip of the Week is brought to you by my good friends at Elegala.com.  This Wedding Tip is totally awesome as it should help shed some insight on how to juggle planing a wedding while maintaining stability your career.

I’ll cut to the chase & get straight on to the article, but let’s say you’re an Orange County bride and you’re finding yourself bogged down planning your wedding & it’s really starting to take it’s toll on you.  Having planned my own wedding while keeping Esquire Photography runnig as smoothly as possible, I think that this article is really creative and will help you relieve yourself of some of the stress or at least help you deal with the wedding planning.

But before I present you with this week’s wedding tip and you’re thinking…  Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Huntington Beach Wedding Photographer in Orange County that wants to help brides and grooms enjoy planning their wedding to the fullest, feel free to get in touch with me anytime.

I’m available just about 24/7 via TwitterFacebook, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.

And without further ado, here is the awesome article from Elegala.com.   Have a terrific weekend – cheers!

How to Juggle Wedding Planning with Your Career

Ensure your professional life doesn’t suffer while you’re in wedding-planning mode…

You don’t need to be told twice that life as a bride-to-be is punishing on the day planner. Every decision, from the flowers to the favors, is in your newly banded hand. Planning a wedding is essentially a full-time job, and if you’re already a busy professional, guess what? Your work week doubled the moment you said yes, and the delicate balance between your professional and personal lives is in danger of collapsing. So how can you juggle your career and your wedding without losing your sanity?

Get a Grip

This advice may sound obvious, but getting organized is the best way to avoid missteps and their accompanying headaches. Pre-think everything. Appointment books or electronic planners are literally the bottom line when it comes to organizing your work and personal life. There it is, right in front of you, a complete visualization of your day, week or month. Take control of your wedding checklist with an organizational system you can stick to – even an old fashioned three-ring binder will work. Use the same method of organization to stay on top of your work day. Get the latest piece of desktop organizational equipment, or surf your computer program to find the most efficient daily or weekly planner.

Divide and Conquer

Surfing the ’net for bouquet ideas while on the phone with an important client is generally a bad idea. Instead, segment your day into times when you are solely focused on work and solely focused on the wedding; letting one intrude on the other can slow you down. If you must accomplish some wedding-related tasks during the workday, set aside a specific time for wedding planning. Designate your lunch hour for calling vendors or 30 minutes in the afternoon to look for dress ideas. If you’re taking time out of your workday, plan ahead to arrive early or stay late to make up for any lost productivity.

Maximize Free Time

You’ve got a lot on your plate, so what was once “free time” may now have to be used more productively. Try to swipe some items from your to-do list after hours. Instead of vegging on the couch during Grey’s Anatomy, use this time to multitask. An easy chore like addressing save-the-dates or clipping photos can safely be done in your pjs without missing any of the action on TV.

Get Some Help

Don’t be afraid to delegate. Your fiancé is your greatest untapped resource; divide wedding planning tasks evenly between the two of you. (It’s his wedding too, you know.) Then delegate even further. Accept help from anyone who offers. Give small tasks to immediate family members or bridal attendants (key word is small – don’t turn former friends into resentful full-time wedding planners). And if that’s still not enough, consider enlisting the help of a professional.

Take a Break

Kicking up your heels as your task list exponentially expands may sound a tad indulgent, but allowing yourself some time to rejuvenate is essential to avoid burnout. Some downtime will even make you more efficient. Have you ever tried going for a morning run without a good night’s sleep the night before? The same applies here. What activities comprised your freetime before the career versus wedding juggling act seized your soul? Reading? Hiking? Painting? Don’t let those activities slip; take that time to yourself and enjoy the relaxation that comes with doing something that you enjoy.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

So you’ve organized, compartmentalized, multitasked, delegated, and rejuvenated, but you still find that there just aren’t enough hours in the day, and your work is suffering. Don’t ignore the problem and hope it goes unnoticed. Schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your situation. Avoid blanket complaints about being too busy and unfounded requests for time off. Instead, present the problem and possible solutions. Explain the job duties that are suffering, and share with your boss ideas for how you can accomplish them more efficiently.

Share on FacebookTweet this PostPin Images to PinterestBack to Top

Good morning from Huntington Beach everyone and Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a terrific holiday season, perhaps scored a great present or two and celebrated ringing in the new year with friends and family.

I’m back in Orange County after being up in Big Bear for just over a week for a “workation” with Katherine for Ashley & Chaz’s Engagement Shoot in the mountains (which was ahhhmayyyzeeeng and I’m super excited to share with you!), an impromptu visit with my good friend, amazing DJ and future resident DJ at Disneyland for ElecTRONica; DJ Neko and his awesome fiance; Rachel, and working with my brother Tony and his wife that flew in to go over some things with his new Warship! clothing line.  Oh… and celebrate Katherine’s birthday, ring in the new year with Tony & Annie and then get stranded on a cliff on the mountain for 5 hours trying to get home.  That’s a whole chapter that I need to share with you for sure!

As I’m sitting here thinking of all the amazing artists that I want to share with you while I have Totally 80’s music videos on – on VH1 Classic, I kept thinking of one artist that I recently shared with you.  She is top of the charts in Sweden, known all around Europe & is making smash hit after smash hit right now while breaking onto the charts here in the US.

If you’ve guessed Robyn, you’re totally correct!  I think what I love about her style, music, videos, and fashion is that it is similar to things that I really enjoy to focus on.  Here’s a simple bulleted list;

  • Energetic
  • Colourful
  • Barrier Breaking
  • Original
  • Thought Provoking
  • Pushing The Limits
  • Doesn’t Settle For Mediocrity
  • Embraces Uniqueness

I could go on & on, but I have a feeling that you’re picking up what I’m throwing down. Hee hee hee!

But before you check out this week’s West Coast Wednesday Video Of The Week and you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Huntington Beach Wedding Photographer that loves the 80′s music, fashion, photography and art, feel free to contact me anytime.

I’m available just about 24/7 via TwitterFacebook, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.

So without further ado, I give you Robyn with “Cobrastyle.”  So feel free to sit back with your favourite morning beverage, enjoy the video of incredible music, vocals and awesome cinematography.

Have an awesome first West Coast Wednesday of 2011 and also remember to make it a totally positive one for someone else too – cheers!

PS, the next episode of How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day is next week and I have a terrific guest to share with you.  This guest has some great insight that will help Brides & Grooms all over save some time, some money & their sanity.

PSS, if you could send out some good thoughts, a prayer or two for my upcoming dental surgery – I would totally appreciate it.  I almost had an emergency procedure last night, but there are some medical/medicine complications that have to be gone over first before I go under.  Plus!  I’m now supposed to go to Arizona tomorrow night to do a shoot on Friday, so I’m  hoping that the medicine and pain killers get things calmed down and I don’t look like a chipmunk anymore.  I may look like a silly little chipmunk, but it feels like my face is like the elephant man.  Crazy I tell ya!

Share on FacebookTweet this PostPin Images to PinterestBack to Top

WELCOME to the next episode of “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day!”

Thank you so much for joining me on “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day!”  Every other week this online program is here to help Brides and Grooms be introduced to some of the best wedding vendors in the industry.  We’ll be sharing tips & tricks, along with features & benefits of why hiring professional vendors on your wedding day will not only save you time, but money & your sanity.

For this week’s program episode I am joined with the a fantastic wedding videographer; Mr. Michael Bauch from Wedding Video Pro.  I have had the honour of working with Michael on many weddings over the years.  We’ve worked together all over from Orange County to the Firestone Vineyard in Los Olivos for Anna Marie & Lee’s Wedding to Monterey for my guest writer; Ashley & David’s Wedding.  So for Michael to be interested in being on my program was the perfect gift for this holiday season.

If you don’t know much about Michael just yet, check out his bio, it’s totally impressive.

“As a kid Michael began making short films with his neighborhood friends using an old super 8 movie camera.  They would tell action adventure stories and use simple movie making technique and in camera editing, but it would form the basis for his love of story telling.  In high school he bugged his parents to pitch in and help him get his first video camera.  And once in college, he began working doing live educational programming to local high schools and he formed his own production company, A Pro-Vision Production and started filming weddings and events.

Bauch’s dossier also includes on-location television production for the History Channel in New York, Washington D.C., London & Paris and grant-funded documentaries filmed in remote villages of Alaska and the boroughs of New York. Bauch has produced several promotional pieces for non-profits such as the American Film Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.  In 2010 he filmed his own independent documentary, Riding Bikes with the Dutch, which is used by the government in Amsterdam to introduce Americans to the incredible biking lifestyle of the Dutch.

Throughout this time Michael also continued to create documentary-style wedding videos, looking at weddings as another way to hone his skills and tell a great story.  He has covered hundreds of weddings throughout his 16 year career, including on-location in Puerto Vallarta Mexico and in the middle of Dodger Stadium, complete guest of honor, Tommy Lasorda.  His work has also been featured on Lifetime TV’s Weddings of a Lifetime.

“A good wedding videographer has to be able to predict the future…you always have to be one step ahead of the game in order to catch those magic moments that will never happen again.”

So sit back with a pad of paper & pen and be ready for some great information on “How To Make The Most Out Of Your Wedding Day” with Michael Bauch.

If you have any questions or are a vendor that would like to be on the program, feel free to contact me anytime.  I’m available just about 24/7 via TwitterFacebook, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.  Cheers!

PS, Michael recently had his documentary movie premier at the Art Theatre; “Riding Bikes With The Dutch.”  Totally check that out – I love that he’s helping make the planet a better place!

And Because “Pobody’s Nerfect” – enjoy some of our fun outtakes!

Share on FacebookTweet this PostPin Images to PinterestBack to Top