Aloha from Maui!!

Wow, its hard to believe that it has been 3 1/2 weeks since we left San Diego. Our trip has come to a close, and this will be the last post that i do from the islands.........but it wont be the last i do about our vacation. So this was the 1st time that we have been on Maui and my emotions about it are definitely mixed. The is land certainly has its charm and beauty but it is defitnitely very "touristy". I found myself really kind of frustrated with the mix of people here on the island and how there are resorts EVERYWHERE!! Still, there are some very beautiful places to see the Aiao Valley is gorgeous, the north side of the island has some spectacular views, Honolua Bay offered some INCREDIBLE snorkeling, the Road to Hana was an incredibly windy drive but also very beautiful. The 1st time on the island is always the most difficult for us as it takes a lot of time to figure out what you want to see and do and you quickly realize that there just isnt enough time to see it all. On top of it all this was our last stop on our trip, and after over 2 weeks of nonstop driving and shooting you eventually hit a wall and its hard to find the energy to do anything. Overall Maui has a lot to offer but you have to like all the touristy type stuff and everything here is incredibly overpriced, Jen and i are used to going to farmers markets and buying tons of local fruit and finding lots of hole in the wall places with cheap good food. Maui had very little to offer of both, we still had an amazing time though and this island i went a little panorama crazy. This is the 1st time that i have really tried to do any serious panoramas and while i think i came away with some good ones its still a process that i am definitely refining and i still have a lot to learn. Stay tuned for more from our trip.......Aloha for now!!

Aloha from the Big Island!!!

We are currently enjoying our final night here on the Big Island, right now we are in Kona quietly enjoying some coffee at Lava Java (mmmmmm). Our time has come and gone and as always there is SO MUCH that we were not able to see and yet we leave with a very satisfying feeling know that we saw some incredible things. Here we enjoyed visiting the north shore (kona has been covered by vog) driving on the Hilo side of the island (talk about green!), eating tons of delicious fruits including guavas picked right off of the tree, farmers markets (weird i know but they are kinda fun) offroading (so glad we got a jeep)........waterfalls, snorkeling, going to the southern most point in the U.S., food food food!!! The list could go on and on, suffice it to say we have had an absolute blast, the Big Island is a daunting task not only to see but to even try to photograph in 9 day. It is absolutely gorgeous here, the diversity in climate and wildlife is just staggering at times. We hope to coma back someday soon, for now here are some of my favorites from this leg of our trip, there is a significantly lower number of photos on this post compared to the last, this is not due to lack of content but because i have not been spending to much time in front of the computer editing. Now we are off to Maui for the final leg of our journey. Aloha for now.......

The Adventure Continues....

Well our week on Kauai has now come and gone, while it is always very sad to leave we look forward to the next time that we can come and visit. Our trip this year was absolutely fantastic! We got to enjoy driving the island in a convertible, explored some new beaches and areas of the island that we had not been to before, eat fresh food, chat it up with the locals and met a new friend! I was a little bummed though since i was really looking forward to hanging out with my buddy Thad but it just never happened. The Lord blesses though and HE blessed us with a new friend on the island, her name is Maya and she is such a wonderful and giving person. Just being around her makes life contagious, you just cant help but smile and enjoy life hanging out with her. Anywho, we had man many experiences and memories that we will treasure for years to come, we are now on the Big Island with Jens family and are looking forward to exploring this island some more and having some sweet adventures. Stay tuned as i now have wifi and will try to keep you updated regularly. Theres tons of pitures to work on but heres some of my faves so far......Enjoy!!

Who could ask for more?!

I sure cant!!! Well our adventure has officially began, we are now in Hawaii for 3/12 weeks. Its incredible to even think about and humbling to see how much God has blessed us with just being able to do this. So we have had our 1st full day in Kauai, the scenery is beautiful as always, and our time here has been awesome. Seems like theres a couple storms passing through here so the water is a little choppy and murky, snorkeling today was kind of a bust as far as shooting turtles or fish goes. So i shifted to shooting water instead, sounds weird but youll see in a minute. I did manage to get a few turtle shots when we 1st arrived though! Today i went out and shot some sunset stuff which was as always incredible fun! Well thats all for now and i know youre just here for pictures plus were getting up in a few hours to catch sunrise at the North Shore. So here you go....Enjoy!!

Congrats to Natalie and Jake!!

On Sunday we had Jake and Natalies wedding, this was our second wedding of our long weekend. Im not sure if ill ever do that again cus at the end of the night my back was hurting really bad........getting older sucks. Most likely its more because im out of shape and need to work out........anwyho yes the wedding. SO MUCH FUN!!! Jake and Natalie got married in carlsbad, on the bluff overlooking the lagoon and a nice ocean view. The day was super fun and i really enjoyed my time shooting the guys and the girls, they were such a blast to be around. Shot a lot of stuff at the beach and at Jakes Grandmothers house in Carlsbad where the girls got ready. The house was pretty sweet and had a lot of really cool areas where we could shoot. We had tons of time throughout the day to shoot photos which made it really easy to get some sweet shots. Both Jake and Natalie were so fun and easy to work with to, super laid back really just let me do whatever i wanted. Ive know both of them for a long long time and it was so cool to be there capturing the day. Truth be told Jake is one of those people that i have always admired, as long as i have known him hes has always been so positive about EVERYTHING!! Such a nice guy to everyone with a HUGE heart for ministry and for people, hes always willing to go out of his way to help people in need. Truly a blessing to a lot of people in this world, Natalie i dont know as well but she is a sweet heart and like Jake has a heart for ministry. I will say this though, im glad that there are girls like her who are humble and modest to be an example to younger girls and to show them what it means to be a Godly woman. Thank you both for all that you do!!! We are so happy for you both!! I also want to give a shout out to Katrina Hodson who was the wedding coordinator, she did a fantastic job getting things going and keeping things moving all day long. All day i felt like i was well informed and taken care of. Katrina you did awesome!!!! Heres some pics. Enjoy!!!!

Congrats to Liz and Kerry!!

Well our incredibly busy and crazy weekend is now over and here i am yet again, recovering and working on more images. As crazy as it was it really was a lot of fun to be there and share in our friends big day and such a blessing to be chosen to capture it in photographs. So 1st up is Liz and Kerry, they got married on Saturday at the Vista Optimist Club, the day was hot but gorgeous. Absolutely perfect weather for a wedding,this one was especially fun for me as i have known kerry and liz since they were in the HS group at church and all the way through college group when i was there as a leader and doing sound. I have been able to see their relationship from the very beginning and its growth to this inevitable moment. The wedding was awesome, lots of fun and so cool to see the whole day unfold. I better stop before i get all sentimental and this blog goes on for eternity, i will end with this though. Liz and Kerry, this may sound weird coming from me as i am not that much older than you guys but i dont know if i could ever truly express how truly proud i am of you both. Seeing you both grow in the Lord and seeing your relationship grow stronger everyday has been a true privilege. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your lives and for letting us share in your big day. Heres a few photos from Saturday. Enjoy!!

Let the craziness begin!

On wednesday i did a senior portrait session for a lovely girl named Sofia. It was so much fun and a surprise too, before the shoot Sofia had told me that she might be a little "lost" in front of the camera since this was the 1st actual photo shoot she had done. To my surprise she did incredibly well, it all went so smoothly and felt like it was so little effort, her mom came a long and it was nice to have her there as she provided some candid moment for me to capture. We shot at the Bonsall Bridge ( i seem to be shooting a lot there lately), no complaints here though as i have enjoyed the challenge of trying to pull something fresh and new from the area. Sofia you did awesome!! Thanks for being such a great sport, im not going to write much more as i have to wake up early in the morning for a wedding and then we have a nother wedding on Sunday. Then more portrait work coming up and some stuff for the magazine and soon ill be in Hawaii for 3 1/2 weeks of time with my lovely wife and non stop shooting............life is sooooo good! Heres a few photos from Wednesday, ill post some more after this crazy weekend is over. Enjoy!