Mandy & Alan - The Brazilian Room & Claremont Hotel

Last Sunday I ventured back up to the Berkeley Hills to shoot for Mandy & Alan as they got married at the Brazilian Room. This wedding featured my buddy George (lovingly nicknamed "The Lion" by the wedding party) as my assistant. You'll see why if you scroll down...

Sooo much fun! The couple is lovely, their families were warm and inviting, and everyone (including us) just danced and laughed all night.

In case you were wondering, my style of shooting weddings involves suits & ties, some wine, and a lot of dancing and making people laugh. I am not the type of photographer to wear all black and stay creepily in the background... and my couples prefer the way I do things. I sometimes wonder if it's not terribly "professional", but I honestly believe it adds a level of comfort and fun for the couples' special day.

Not to mention I've had wedding guests seek me out to tell me how comfortable they were in front of the lens. I've also had guests take pictures of me for their own entertainment, and I often stay friends with the couples I shoot.

Anyway! Enjoy a few samples!

Bride & Groom at the Brazilian Room

Bride & Groom at the Brazilian Room

Bride & Groom at the Brazilian Room

("The Lion")

Brazilian Room & Claremont Hotel Wedding - Berkeley

This past 4th, I trekked up into the hills of Berkeley, CA to Tilden Park and shot Zaina & Lucian's wedding at the much-coveted Brazilian Room, with getting-ready photos at the Claremont Hotel.

It was a new experience, as most of the guests were from an Indian background. The wedding itself was not "traditional" per se, but there were a number of cultural staples (types of dress and dancing, namely).

Although I was a bit bummed to miss the fireworks show for the first time since I can remember, I still had loads of fun helping Zaina & Lucian celebrate their day. Here are a few samples:

Bride-to-be getting ready at the Claremont Hotel, Berkeley. 

Bride-to-be at the Claremont Hotel, Berkeley. 

Indian henna designs for bridesmaids.

Bride and Groom at the Brazilian Room, Berkeley.

Happy Body Slow Brain: Post-Taking Back Sunday

Now that Matt Fazzi (as well as Matt Rubano and Isaac Bolivar) have left Taking Back Sunday, Fazzi & Isaac have assembled with Gavin Castleton drummer Eduardo Torres to push Happy Body Slow Brain into full motion.

They begin recording their debut record in a few days in Michigan with producer Marc Hudson (Taking Back Sunday, Saves the Day), but not before taking time with me to shoot some more promo stuff (both stills and video).

Check out www.happybodyslowbrain.com to see the work I've done for them.

Weddings! Weddings! Weddings!

My my we're booking up quickly this year! Please contact me soon if you're even thinking about a date... I'd hate to have to turn down an event.

Hope 2010 is going well for everyone :)

MuteMath (San Francisco, CA)

MuteMath performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco

Friday night (October 9th) I was fortunate enough to shoot one of my favorite bands, MuteMath, at the Fillmore in San Francisco. I knew vaguely what I was up against (they're known for having some of the most intense lighting shows and stage antics), but there were a few things that I did not expect:

1) 4 drum pads up against the back of the stage, on which Darren played "No Response" while standing with his back to the crowd.

2) Darren floating his kick drum up on the crowd, then proceeding to climb up on top and stand on it while the crowd held him

3) Darren jumping from said kick drum all the way back to the stage

4) Almost getting decapitated by a stray cymbal that was not fastened to the stand.

The show was amazing and needless to say, I got a lot of killer shots. Enjoy!

MuteMath performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco

MuteMath performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco

Paul Meany of MuteMath performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco

Darren King of MuteMath performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco

Darren King of MuteMath performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco

Happy Body, Slow Brain

As I edit through thousands of wedding photos from the last month or so, I've taken a few gigs lately for promotional use (as you may have noticed). I enjoy these because It lets me be super creative.

If you travel in the rock music circles, you may have heard of the band Taking Back Sunday. In fact, if you view my posts from last month, you'll see that I shot for them twice during their tour with Weezer and Blink 182.

Before they headed to Hawaii, we had organized a shoot to happen upon their return. Not for TBS, but for a side project called Happy Body, Slow Brain which consists of TBS members Matt Fazzi and Isaac Bolivar.

I picked Isaac up yesterday and we headed to Fazzi's house about an hour away. On the freeway, a red gas can was sliding across the lanes, having just been dropped from a vehicle. I wasn't able to swerve safely, and the car in front of me went over the tank without any problems. So I decided to do the same.

Without speaking, Isaac and I watched the can slide under my car, followed by a loud 'thud', and then prolonged scraping on the asphalt. All I could do was laugh and say "Dammit", to which Isaac says "I hope it was empty." Right on cue, we start smelling gasoline.

Obviously we made it out alive. But it was an interesting start to the day.

After a morning/afternoon of playing with Mac software, eating breakfast food, and listening to the band Self on an iPod connected to a stereo, we decided "hey, maybe we should get pictures done" before Matt's red-eye flight back to NYC.

Here are some of those from yesterday:

New Montgomery Photo Shoot

My good friends in the band New Montgomery have just wrapped up a new EP, so I took them to San Jose to do some promo shots in a studio there. You can hear their music here:

www.newmontgomery.net