 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It was a true pleasure to document Leah & Ramin’s wedding up in Beverly Hills a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful experience of tradition, love, and a whole lot of PARTY :) We love a good party… and enjoyed every second of this day! Leah and Ramin, thank you for choosing us to tell your story through these images. We love your photos a lot, and hope you enjoy them half as much as we enjoyed taking them and editing them. Best wishes on your new life together. Much love to you both, G&C
We met up with April & Corey at the San Diego Zoo to shoot some ultra colorful and very fun engagement photos. They’ll be gettin’ hitched up in Santa Barbara this fall, cannot wait!!!
by Gary
show 3 comments
Found this BEAUTIFUL video by Devan Graham… I wanna go there SO BADLY! New goal: shoot a destination wedding in Tahiti :)
by Gary
show 2 comments
Linda and Mark legally got married in a court house over two years ago, but due to the fact that Linda is from Singapore and a few family issues they were unable to have the church wedding they wanted, photos of their day or even start their life together. Since then, they have been dealing with visas, paperwork and all the make-you-wanna-rip-your-hair-out logistics of moving Linda from Singapore to the States. She finally arrived three weeks ago and to celebrate they decided to have legit wedding photos taken…tux and dress included. They flew us up to San Francisco for the evening and despite gale force winds we were able to capture some lovely images of their “wedding”. Congrats on starting your life together guys! It was a pleasure meeting, hanging out and capturing the two of you together.
by Courtney
show 12 comments
The Collup Family :) Great job Andrew & Michelle on making the cutest little boy (Rowan) ever!!!
by Gary
show 5 comments
Here’s a quick update on Team Christenson (and a fun hillside shot of our growing family). Joelle is 2 1/2 and Charlotte is nearly 5 months (can’t believe it). We’re definitely done having kids (two is where we wanna be) so now it’s just party-time with our crazy little girls for the next few decades! We’re 3000% satisfied living here in southern California… we frequent the beach, love our little home, and are gearing up for a nice busy season of shooting and traveling. We honestly couldn’t be much happier (or crazier, or more sleep deprived, etc). A HUGE shout-out to all our friends and family for your encouragement, love and support in this crazy time in life with raising small children. We are very grateful, and feel blessed to be “doing life” with such giving people! – G&C
by Gary
show 3 comments
Gary and I have a special place in our hearts for couples who have short love stories. Couples who meet and fall in love so fast that they just can’t wait the usual 9-12 months to start their life together. Rachel and Thomas are one of those couples and it makes us so excited for them. We shot their engagement photos last weekend and had a great time frolicking in a field of wildflowers and playing with lighting in a fantastically deserted parking garage. They forged their way through chest hight flowers to get these shots…and it was SO worth it! Thanks for being troopers you guys! You two are clearly in love and obviously right for each other. Makes us SO stoked for June! Congratulations again!
.
by Courtney
show 6 comments
Kids will be [flying] kids (Christenson & Woodard offspring). Below: Charlotte eating her first Makena Beach sand, a family tradition.
Spent some time surfing and photographing “The Bay” during some pretty epic swell… sadly though, I (Gary) wasn’t able to get pics of myself shredding gnar, or should I say catching A FEW perfect little bombs and then spending 20 minutes getting pounded inside :( The surf beat me up, stole some man-flesh and even yoinked my wedding ring… what a jerk. But the waves were legit, and I was all smiles, all day, everyday. Oh, randomly got to hang, surf and chat it up with the crazy shredder and awesome musician Jon Foreman (lead singer of the band Switchfoot). It was great to connect with him and share in some perfect waves together. I really appreciate Jon’s attitude about life and the words and passion that he has always put into his music. Hope to see more of Jon and the boys back in San Diego when we get back. I love running into people like that who are such movers & shakers in this world and live with such purpose, it’s inspiring.
Had some shave ice, swam in the warm waters, hung out in the sand and played in the backyard kiddy pool… like a lot.
We also got to do a little SCUBA diving, just the two of us. Hung out in some caves, with a shark, no big deal (NBD).
Also took a little sailin’ trip to the island of Lanai.
High fives!!! WE’RE ON A BOAT!!!!!!!!!! Below: Courtney is SUPER MOM!!!
The pics below are of Captain Chris – he and his wife Jill did our premarital counseling back when we lived on Maui… they are an awesome inspiration for our marriage. Capt’n even let me take just Courtney out on one of his boats (5 years ago) during a beautiful sunset to ask her to marry me :) Seriously, if you are ever in Maui you should 3000 percent hookup with Trilogy for some sailing. Ask for Capt’n Chris, he’ll treat ya right! We had such a blast on their Lanai trip… would highly recommend it.
We even got to swim some wild spinner dolphins off of Lanai (view video) :) :) :)
Such a solid trip this year. Learned A LOT about the good and the bad of traveling with two wee little ones, it was kinda crazy and mostly out of control, but still totally a party ;) We know no other way than to bring the party wherever we go… here’s to next time, Aloha.
by Gary
show 14 comments
Here’s a few of our images from our workshop get-together we had here in Maui a few days ago. A huge THANKS to Greg & Sarah for modeling for us!!! You two are way more awesome than you even know! Location: Ho’okipa Lookout, sunset.
And here’s a few behind the scenes shots from our time shooting and speaking with some awesome Maui folk. THANKS SO MUCH everyone for shooting with us and connecting over dinner. It was a true joy to be together with you all.
ABOVE: Scouting: Off-camera light testing with Courtney
ABOVE & BELOW: A few group shots, shooting and talking through our session (how we approach a basic photo-shoot: scouting, posing, lighting, gear, blah blah blah).
BELOW: Some images from the wonderful Jenna Strubhar of us doing what we do :)
by Gary
show 3 comments
We LOVE charity: water and LOVE this video they created. We’ve traveled all over the globe trying to learn about various non-profit organization, the needs that are present, and ways we can help… and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that water effects EVERYTHING and EVERYONE!!! There really isn’t a greater need for suffereing people on this planet than having access to clean water. We’re currently trying to get enough friends and family together to sponsor a well. Join us by spreading the word and making a donation to charity: water
by Gary
no comments
Billie & Scott are bringin’ the party all the way to Vermont this fall for their wedding. Can. Not. Wait. We had way too much fun with these two down in San Diego last weekend during their e-session. Enjoy the images :)
by Gary
show 5 comments
It’s crazy how two people can look through a camera at the same people in the same location and see two COMPLETELY different things. Fortunately for us (and our clients) Gary and I see things extremely differently. Almost opposite perspectives actually, but when brought together, they compliment eachother and complete the story that we tell with our photography.
HERE’S COURTNEY’S “EYE”:
Here’s Gary’s perspective on some of the same shoots:
by Courtney
show 4 comments
Meet Leah & Ramin, courtesy of a gorgeous sunset in Laguna Beach, CA… LOVE California’s “winters” and our clients :)
by Gary
show 5 comments
Gary and I are fairly obsessed with life having forward motion… of striving towards something and moving our life along a path towards a greater goal. We’re really good at getting things from point A to point B. And once we get to point B we’re always at a loss for what to do next. We can’t just hang out there. There’s gotta be a point C for us to start working towards.
For many (even most) people the goal of their business is to make as much money as possible and they have some set amount of money that becomes their Point B. Gary and I are not that way. Don’t get me wrong, one of our goals for our business is to keep us afloat and make enough money to feed us, clothe us and save for the future… but we are not money motivated people. We are motivated by freedom, fun and something we commonly refer to as “the party factor” :)
Our Point B is the ability to spend as much time as possible with our family and friends doing fun and meaningful things that feed our passions and fulfill the callings we feel on our lives. And the great part about that goal is that it can morph and change as our family changes… you can always create a new Point for which to reach… another trip, a new adventure, an exciting memory to make, another way to make a difference.
We are extremely fortunate and feel incredibly blessed to have jobs that we adore and that allow us so much freedom. But we are constantly re-evaluating our businesses and our lives to figure out what we could do to have more fun and spend more time with our kids, family and friends doing things that matter. Often it’s booking weddings in locations where we love to visit, other times it’s partnering in business with good friends, and sometimes it’s jumping on board with deserving non-profit organizations doing wonderful things around the world.
We believe that life is for the living and we work HARD to give ourselves as much time and freedom as humanly possible in which to live our life. Freedom, Purpose and Fun. That’s our Point B. And C. And D….
by Courtney
show 5 comments
A massively huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who entered our giveaway. We’re so grateful for your “LIKE” on our Facebook Page that we’re giving each and everyone of you (who were appropriately tagged and ‘liked’ our page before the deadline (and aren’t in the “winners circle)) a $ONE HUNDRED$ DOLLAR credit* towards any of our photography services!!! Congrats to EVERYONE :) Alright, lets get to it then…
Give us a call or shoot us an e-mail to book your session or use your credit!
*Fine print: Credits can be used towards any new photography service (portrait/engagement/trash the dress sessions/boudoir, a wedding or even our consulting options for photographers). Credits [unfortunately] cannot be used towards services already contracted or rendered, and cannot be used towards photography products (albums, prints, etc). One credit limit per couple/family. Have a great weekend everybody, thanks again.
by Gary
show 1 comment
Merry Valentines & Happy Love Day everyone!!! To celebrate LOVE, we’re giving away a FREE photoshoot (a $500 value) to one lucky couple… could be an engagement session, a trash the dress shoot, an anniversary session or just a random (no reason necessary) photoshoot to celebrate the love you share with your significant other. All you have to do to enter is complete 2 simple steps:
… and that’s it. Contest will be running until Thur (Feb 17th) at midnight. We’ll randomly select our tagged winner on Friday.
*FINEPRINT: One entry per person (two per couple) please :) Photo session will only be for two people (sorry, no children or pets this time around). It’ll be a 1 hour photoshoot, with the disc of images included as well as an online gallery of images for friends and family to view. Session must be used by Oct 1st 2011. Travel fees to destinations outside of the greater San Diego area are not included (however we will be in Hawaii, Mexico, all over the place in California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest and the East Coast in the near future, so EVERYONE is encouraged to enter…we’ll do our very best to make it work for you).
by Gary
show 4 comments
Well, it’s that time of year again… in one month we’re heading back to the islands for some warmth, sun and fun. We’re doing things a little different this trip: Courtney is training to run a race on Maui, we’re going to do a lot more scuba diving, we’ll be taking way more photos (if that’s even humanly possible), as well as speaking, shooting & hanging out with a bunch of photographers on the island. So we thought we’d fill you in.
We’re very much looking forward to hearing from you and connecting with you on Maui. Whether it’s for a photo session or a consultation, you know it’s gonna be a PARTY!!! :) You can contact us through our website, or through the “Contact Us” button located at the top of this blog (up on the black navigation bar).
Keep it classy Maui, see you soon.
G&C
Links to last years Maui trips: Maui Oh’10 Round Two (August) | Maui Oh-10 (March)
by Gary
show 1 comment
One of our favorite organizations, UNIFEM, has launched a new campaign called Stop Rape Now. This campaign is striving to end rape in general, but is focusing on trying to end rape being used as a weapon of war. There are millions of women around the world that live with rape as a daily reality and it is being used increasingly as a weapon of war. It’s a horror that words cannot describe.
What can you do? Stop Rape Now is asking people to send in a picture of themselves with their arms crosses as a symbol of their support for the campaign. It’s like a cooler way of signing a petition. Take a photo with the timer function on your camera or have your spouse or an older child take a photo on your phone and upload it. It will take less than 5 minutes. It’d also be awesome to get a picture of your husband, your older children, your friends, your sister, your dad, your mom…whoever!
Be a voice for women whose daily life involves the horror of rape. Stop Rape Now.
by Courtney
no comments
by Gary
show hide 9 comments