A Tiny Bulgarian Town
August 10, 2011 by Brad
A tiny Bulgarian town, as seen from a huge castle on a high hill. I had to climb up on one of the battlements to get this view (and don't think I was supposed to be up there). We saw lots of historic monasteries, museums, chapels, and historical markers during my recent European destination wedding trip.
Sneak Peek – Mexico Destination Wedding
June 2, 2011 by Brad
Traditions abounded at my most recent wedding. With the bride and her family from Bulgaria, and the groom and his family originally from Mexico, it was not only an international wedding extravaganza, but also an impressive and entertaining union of wedding traditions.
To avoid any confusion from getting married outside of the U.S., Mira & Jose chose to have a short civil ceremony at the courthouse in downtown Phoenix. For me it was fantastic to have such a cool 60′s inspired wedding dress to photograph! I think that having more than one ceremony is a supremely cool way to justify having more than one wedding dress – it gives a bride the freedom to be a little more unique and daring with one of the choices. I think Mira hit a home run with this stylish retro dress!
The rehearsal the evening before the wedding was capped off with this beautiful sunset over the beach left exposed by the low tide. Look through the watermark and you’ll spy some buoys that I can only imagine belong to either a fisherman with traps out in the water, or possible a mooring for a jellyfish net.
Mira was a stunningly beautiful bride in the wedding dress she chose for the beach ceremony. I was honored to be able accompany her during her preparations in the amazing suite that overlooked the ceremony site at the Las Palomas Resort in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Mexico.
Jose prepared in another part of the vast suite, and then exited without being seen by his bride-to-be. Jose is one of those grooms who just makes clothes look good. He is one of those few men today who can rightly be called “debonair”. And it’s all capped off by his big heart and wonderful willingness to share with people how much they mean to him – truly a joy to be around.
The storybook wedding ceremony on the beach was interrupted by a jokester in an ultralight who could not resist buzzing by, as close as possible, to wave his well-wishes to the bride & groom.
One of the most fascinating things about photographing this wedding was that the reception featured dancing that was so much more than what I’m used to seeing in the states. Both the Mexican and the Bulgarian traditions played out on the dance floor well into the night.
The next morning, well more like the next day around lunch time, Mira and Jose went way beyond the original plan of just getting their feet wet in a beach photo session. It turned into a full-on “trash the dress shoot” and we had a blast!
I can’t wait to be able to show you more, but I want to have the bride and groom over for a full presentation of all of their photographs on a big projection display first. And that will have to wait. Why? Well, because this wedding just wouldn’t be complete without a third ceremony – in Bulgaria, of course! I’ll post photos of that adventure when we return…
·More VOS 2011 Stages 1 & 2
February 12, 2011 by Brad
“Wait, where are the photos?” Well, it’s late and I have to be up early to work at the 3rd stage criterium downtown. So, I’ll just provide the links to two Facebook albums that I uploaded tonight. The TT one will probably have a few more of my favorites added in the next day or two. But I’ve gots-ta get to bed.
“Wait, isn’t Facebook’s handling of photos an abomination?” Well, yes, it is. But there are networking reasons and the old clock on the wall told me to get the FB albums started first, and then hit the hay.
“Will you add better versions of those images here on your blog or in a gallery?” Heavens above, I hope I do. Staying regular about blogging has been nowhere near as easy as I had expected. But I’m thankful to be busy with great clients.
“You know your galleries are hopelessly outdated and don’t show the vast improvements in your more recent portrait and wedding work, right?” Don’t remind me!
·First Photo from VOS 2011
February 11, 2011 by Brad
Photographed some today at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race time trial with an experimental flash rig and makeshift harnesses for me and the camera. This is Eric Marcotte of Scottsdale, AZ. While listed as riding for team SMS PRO, it looks like he’s representing team Pista Palace on this beautiful day in sunny Arizona.
·Festival of Cheer photos POSTED!
December 20, 2010 by Brad
Images from the 2010 Festival of Cheer are up on my secondary site. Don’t miss out on watching the day unfold by using the Slideshow feature. There is also a corresponding Facebook album up already, so you can tag yourself silly.
This year’s Festival of Cheer in Peoria was a classic of Arizona’s December perfection. While the weather was great, the groups that graced the main stage were AMAZING this year! So many of the performers really stepped up their game this time around. Photographing them at this event was truly an honor. And getting to photograph the kids at the event was a joy.
Thanks for coming out and supporting the community. I can’t wait to bring the camera gear and photograph next year’s Festival of Cheer.
-Brad
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