I had the absolute pleasure of traveling to Waikiki a few weeks ago to be a part of a joyous celebration of Jinny and Dan's union in marriage. And when I say joyous, I really mean it because everyone was so happy! It was an intimate and beautiful wedding held on the balcony of the Sheraton Waikiki overlooking the ocean with a gentle cool breeze beneath the warm sun and blue sky. What more can you ask for?

Working alongside the wedding photographers of L'amour Photography, I would have to say that the wedding was planned perfectly by Katy Castillo of Katy Castillo Weddings. Throughout the entire day, you just couldn't wipe the smile off the groom's face. From the first look moment when he yelled "Oh my God!" to the crazy dancing he performed into the night, he was simply a very happy man. Thank you for letting us be a part of your special moment.

Here is the wedding highlight of Jinny and Dan's wedding.

For those technical geeks, I used 2 Canon 7Ds, 1 slider, 1 Glidecam 4000pro, 1 Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, 1 Canon EF 50mm f1.4, 1 Canon EF 70-200 f2.8, a few sticks, and a lot of energy. Thanks to my 2nd shooter, George.

I didn't know dentists could have so much fun. :)

Rosana and Mike were married on 10/10/09 and I had the privilege of partaking in their joyous union and celebration. The day started off at the Bellevue Hyatt, where the bride and groom were getting ready separately. As I was visiting the bride and groom, it struck me how the environment of the guys' and gals' rooms were. The ladies room was filled with excitement and anticipation as the bride was preparing her hair, her make-up (waterproof mascara a must!), putting on the wedding dress and so forth. The guys's room, on the other hand, was a lot more relaxed as the groom was putting on his tux and the groomsmen were sprawled over the bed watching ESPN. But still, I could tell Mike was eager to see his beautiful bride as his hands were shuffling back and forth and his feet were pacing across the room.

The wedding was held at the beautiful St. James Cathedral near downtown Seattle and although they had to find a last second replacement for the cross bearer, all went well without a hitch. The reception was in the new Evergreen Ballroom of the Bellevue Hyatt. As the bride and groom walked into the reception alongside Egyption folkloric dancers and band, you could tell immediately it was going to be a fun night.

It was a pleasure to work with Craig of Chic Sound Productions and Jane Lee Photography. Thanks to George for helping with the shoot and most of all, thank to Rosana & Mike for a wonderful day. Congratulations to you both!!

So I had the opportunity to shoot a destination wedding in Ithaca, NY with the photography / cinema crew from Digs Studio. Jason, the cinematographer, was one of the people I had the chance to meet at the Stillmotion Evolution workshop I attended earlier this year. Digs Studio is a boutique wedding photography / cinema studio based in Las Vegas and is an industry leader in that area. I had a totally awesome time working with Digs and I cannot wait for the chance to work with them again in the future.

Rhiannon and Mike were the photographers and it was really cool to see professionals working at their trade. But not only were they good at their jobs, they are good people, too, and just fun to hang out. I could tell immediately Mike was a card when the first thing he asked me to do after I met him for the first time was hold his coffee. Rhiannon, Mike and Jason were all awesome and thanks to Digs for making my experience a good one that weekend.

But the wedding made it even better. The love Abby and DJ had for each other and the love they received from their family and friends were clearly evident in the speeches, hugs, smiles, laughter and warmth. Although the rain made things a bit inconvenient, it was not enough to bring down the mood of the day. And Abby's Italian heritage of celebration was on full display as everyone at the reception joined together in one voice and sang and danced to "That's Amore!" It was a sight to behold. A special performance by two of the bridesmaids and a duet sang by Abby and her Uncle Tony added more flair to the night. And speaking of Uncle Tony, I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of speaking with him at length the previous night at the rehearsal dinner. His stories of his childhood and his Italian father running a pizzeria in NY were totally hilarious and Seinfeld-esque. Straight out of a sit-com. Without a doubt, one of my highlights of the wedding was getting a burly hug and a big-'ol kiss on the cheek by Tony. I now have a place to stay in Ithaca anytime I visit.

Here is a quick highlight of the wedding day. I was the 2nd shooter and the footage is all handheld with the GH1. Enjoy.

I first stumbled across Stillmotion on the internet when I was researching wedding videos back in Sept. 2008. I was wowed. I couldn't believe that wedding videos, I mean, wedding films, could ever look that good. Upon further research I stumbled upon one of their old blog entries that talked about their first ever training session appropriately called the Evolution Experience. But alas, the blog entry was months old and thus the training was fully booked. So I emailed SM and asked when the next Evolution would take place. A few days later, to my pleasant surprise, Patrick sent out an email to several people who were interested stating that somebody had cancelled and one spot had opened. BAM! Faster than you can say evolution, I replied back and told him I was interested .And what do you know? I was the first to respond and got the spot.

At that time, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Twas a bit intimidating but the Stillmotion guys were so friendly and welcoming (or can it be that all Canadians are just like that?). I stayed at a separate hotel all by myself because I booked late and everyone but me had a demo DVD to review. So needless to say, I felt a bit misplaced. But I did learn a lot and what's more, I got to network and meet a whole lot of awesome people. Here is a short video edited by SM highlighting the Evolution Experience.