“We live near the beach… and we can go any time. So we decided to get married somewhere different.”

Michelle explained to me that both her and Eric had put a lot of thought into location ideas for their wedding. And that after considering several typical locations/settings they ended up deciding on Yosemite for their ceremony. Rather than do a rushed ceremony in the main valley, the Boyko’s selected Evergreen Lodge for a much more relaxed and intimate weekend with their closest friends and family.
I had met Eric and Michelle a year ago, through the car community which both Eric and I are active in. I remember during that evening that Michelle stood and talked to me for quite a while about wedding photography and some of the various traveling I had done with my work. And as things turned out, I ended up being asked to shoot for them later on in their finalization of their wedding plans!

The weekend at Evergreen was awesome. Eric and Michelle kept their wedding very small – only their oldest and closest friends and family members were in attendance. And Evergreen keeps their weddings to a one-per-weekend setup. This is incredibly rare and also quite amazing because it allows the Lodge to be available and tend to their wedding party’s needs throughout those couple days. Michelle said that was actually a major factor in their decision – that it avoided the assembly-line feel of getting married in a location with two weddings per day or more.

So Eric and Michelle were married in a meadow. It was beautiful, and the weather that day was perfect. Actually, the weather the whole weekend was pretty amazing. Everyone arrived on Friday afternoon and checked in. After a short rehearsal and walk-through of the ceremony we all joined the rest of the wedding guests for a barbeque at the John Muir House. The lodge-chef had prepared some pretty awesome food options, and had previously told Michelle that he believes if you serve amazing food at your facility that guests will remember that and come back again.
That night there were drinks to be had, smores to be made, and plenty of stories shared around the campfire after “the adults” had all gone back to their cabins, hahaha!

The wedding day started slowly as many guests tried to figure out where they would go hiking that morning. As usual, I tagged along with Michelle and chatted with her and her family members getting to know everyone a bit better throughout the early afternoon. As the ceremony time approached, I headed over to meet up with the guys and get a few shots of them as well. As I arrived at the Muir House where everyone was staying, I found most of them scrambling a bit to finish getting ready. It seemed as though they misjudged just how long the hiking would take! Uh-oh!

But the ceremony started without issue, went beautifully, and the reception was a blast. I’ll save most of what I have to say for the captions on the images below. I had a great time though, and was thrilled to be part of the Boyko wedding so unexpectedly.

Click past the break for 130 images from my weekend with the Boyko and Cronin families

Checkin in Friday afternoon

The walk to the Muir House was through the woods… granted, everything there is through the woods… but it was still a nice walk

Walking out the to meadow where Eric and Michelle will be married tomorrow!

Figuring out what would be the best location to set up

This little tiny photo reallllly doesn’t do the meadow justice

BBQ that night with the guests for the rehearsal dinner. I’m told the grilled Caesar salad that’s being handed out in this shot was amazing. I didn’t try because I’m personally not a fan of Caesar… but, again, I was told “it was the best Caesar I ever had”

The fire is started up for everyone wanting to make smores!

Night sets in and as several members of the family call it a night, those that remain start to gather by the fire

Meanwhile there is still plenty of story telling and catching up going on indoors

At 11pm only a portion of the friends remain as we laugh and argue about everything from TV shows and movie trailers, to me – the photographer – trying to explain how I do both wedding photography AND model photography as my job. Haha!

The next morning, before many people have rolled out of their cabin to get breakfast, the crew is already starting to prepare decorations for the wedding reception that night.

They were just beginning to build the dance floor as I stopped by, too

Michelle goes over seating arrangements

Hanging with some of the family after breakfast

Time to start getting ready!

Michelle had a gorgeous dress, wait til you see her in it!

This is always one of the best parts of the day because everyone shares stories about proposals, etc.

See! The team at Evergreen was on top of everything. Michelle is asked to recheck a few last minute changes that were made on things

Eric starting to get ready after finishing a hike that morning with a few friends

All the guys workin on their full Windsor knots…

The part of dressing up that no bride ever likes… having the family and friends help you into the dress.

Michelle is already looking amazing and she’s not even completely ready!

Time for accessories..

After several portraits of Michelle, I actually liked this one when she was listening to her mom say something the best

One of the most important photos of the afternoon, clearly.

Some last minute notes-reading before things get started

Eric is all smiles as he waits up front for his bride

Eric did a great job of holding it together in every photo I shot. He was definitely teary eyed as Michelle turned the corner down the aisle..

Michelle, being given away by her brother

Awee!

Michelle, reading her vows to Eric

Eric’s dad was even a bit emotional during the vows despite being busy recording

Best man Daniel

Exchanging of rings

Husband and Wife!

We did a quick group shot with everyone right after the ceremony since it was a small group and there was a ladder available for us to use!

Matron of Honor Meagan was busy wrangling her son most of the weekend!

Mr. and Mrs. Boyko!

This shot with Daniel is probably my favorite shot from the portraits we did after the ceremony

I really loved this little moment while Michelle and Eric were walking together and we did additional photos after everyone left

If you wait around long enough and don’t say much, couples tend to be cute all on their own. Especially after something like their wedding ceremony

You really have to be ready because all the best moments happen in between the posed shots. Eric turned to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. Michelle’s reaction is totally pure rather than if we tried to pose this moment.

I don’t remember who misunderstood who… but either Michelle or Eric thought the other said something about “get closer” and responded with “is this close enoughhhhh???”

Make sure to have several people around to adjust your dress…

Eric and Michelle being introduced to the guests at the reception

Anish and Des, two of my old friends, were at the wedding as well.

Me and Desiree!

Anish and I

The rings

All the guests are seated and speeches are about to get started

Daniel is up first

Sharing stories of college together

Meagan, matron of honor, spoke next of memories and her friendship with Michelle

Michelle’s mom said a few words as well

Eric’s stepdad was a riot. He was yelling and cheering and making people do the wave during part of his speech!

And as soon as he was done he ran over to make Eric’s dad give up the video camera so he could say something as well

Mr. Boyko sharing some thoughts and a short toast to his son and new daughter in law.

After the family all spoke the mic was passed around and a few friends shared some stories and well-wishes, too

College friend Brandon laughing as he tells stories of his memories of Eric wrecking cars through college!

As soon as their first dance started Michelle and Eric did the “awkward school dance” dance. Haha! They’ve been dating since high school, so it seemed so appropriate that they make a joke about dancing during their own wedding.

And several times Michelle’s nephew ran on to the dance floor, danced for a moment, then scampered off again.

Breakin it down with Eric’s stepdad for the Father-Daughter dance!

Seriously, these two were laughing and having the greatest time on the dance floor it looked like

Mr. Boyko jumped in to share a dance as well!

In this shot my flash didn’t fire since it hadn’t recycled yet… however I liked the moment because of both Eric’s mom’s expression and because of Michelle smiling in the background as she watched.

I believe the best time to see how much love parents have for their children is during the moments shared on the dance floor with them during a wedding. During the Mother-Son dance, if you watch, you’ll see a mother’s love for her son her eyes. It’s so very touching

And then everyone comes out to the dance floor to break it down!

So for cake choices Michelle and Eric had three different types of ice cream cakes! How unique is that?!

Ok, this is a little more difficult than we thought…

Never mind looking good doing it… it’s just going to take some muscle!
And Michelle is all over it!

Since it’s ice cream cake, there really wasn’t any chance for smashing it in each others faces

Not bad… going back for a second bite!

Eric’s younger brothers had a slightly different method of dealing with the very very cold cake..

Another of the most important photos at the wedding! I always make sure to get a with my bride and groom!

Eric is sexy and he knows it..

He seriously did the whole dance. His brothers jumped in and joined him too!

Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle!

And at the end of the night, those who were still there, all gave Eric and Michelle a big group hug!

Michelle and Eric didn’t let go though!

One last shot of Anish, Des and me.

That evening, when we were all hanging out at the Muir House, Eric and Michelle looked through most of my photos from the wedding day on one of my cameras. This was actually kind of cool for me because I NEVER get to see peoples expressions when they see my photos from their wedding day.

The next day there was a buffet breakfast for everyone. Everyone passed through at different times before getting on the road home that Sunday morning.

“John, don’t take a photo of me..” -Anish. Haha! Sorry man…
I had got a slight flat Friday on my way into the valley. It turned out to be a leak in my valve stem. Unfortunately I also unknowingly lost my lug key. So I couldn’t simply put my spare tire on. Anish helped me wrap the the valve stem with some strong electrical tape the best we could so I could make it home.

Again, I had a great time last weekend with both families. Hopefully you readers made it this far and enjoyed the images. In less than a week I’ll be leaving for Baltimore where I’ll be shooting the Ripp wedding at the Baltimore Harbor! Can’t wait to see Kevin and Angela again for their big day next weekend!

Rain. Lots of it. And honestly, I wish it lasted all weekend.
Don’t get me wrong – shooting in the rain can be a pain in the ass. We had FOUR cameras go down among our team this past weekend. BUT THINK OF THE PHOTOS!! Personally I would have been ok with rain all weekend and would have suffered through it for the sake of incredible photo opportunities. But (un)fortunately the sun came out on race day and it was a typical SoCal race event. Oh well. Haha!

Last weekend was the second race of the 2012 American Le Mans season – and this time we were in Long Beach, California. I was brought back on board again with Falken Tire for Round 2 of the series – and I was thrilled to be there. They’re an amazing team, and the second time shooting anyone is always easier because it’s more of a “oh, it’s John” reaction to me walking around and not “who’s that guy… should he be here?” Haha!

And I know I promised you readers photos of the Budweiser girls in my last blog. And I know I haven’t posted a new blog since Sebring and the ALMS event there. I’m sorry. But I AM shooting seven more of the Bud girls tomorrow – til then you can see lots of their photos of my Facebook Fan page here.

But anyway, back to that bad weather I was talking about…

(click the break to read on)

I arrived to meet the team Thursday afternoon. Several of them had already been in town for a day or two setting up the rig and getting things ready for the race. After the usual media check-in meeting and vest assignments we all went to meet up with the crew and see how things were going. I say “team” because there were several of us at this race. Falken’s staff photographer Jesse was there, and they had four of their video guys attending and shooting the race as well. We were well staffed, clearly.
Thursday evening was the Thunder in the Streets event – at least I think that’s what it’s called. I can’t seem to find my media kit to double check. Basically all the race cars are brought out onto to streets so fans can see the cars up close and meet some of the drivers.

Friday morning is when things really got interesting. We all knew that rain was coming… but I’m not sure any of us expected it to be as bad as it was. Or maybe it’s just been a while since I shot in pouring rain (models don’t usually like to shoot in the rain).
As soon as practice started that morning the rain started with it. I was at Turn 6 since that’s a spot that I like shooting at. Jesse selected Turn 11 which was a great choice on his part because that section of the track was flooding and he got some awesome reflection shots.
I was excited to see Wolf Henzler drive in the rain since I know it’s something he’s great at; and that our team is known to handle wet conditions very well. Unfortunately practice was called off about halfway through – which was fine since it was about that time that three of the video guys had their cameras fail due to moisture.

The rest of the day was fairly slow going. The Grand Prix had so many events going on that weekend that the practice day only had two ALMS blocks set aside for it; one practice in the morning and one qualifying round that evening.
By the time qualifying rolled around the sun had come out and most of the track was dry (surprisingly). A dry-race was officially called and things got started. It took MAYBE three laps before the rain started back up again. From where I stood in the photographer areas you saw the photographers just laugh and put on their rain gear while behind us the stands quickly emptied and people left.
The biggest disappointment was that qualifying was called off WHILE WOLF WAS IN FIRST PLACE! Can you believe that?! First in our class and qualifying was called off. What a bummer! I can’t imagine how frustrated the team must have felt. Starting positions were then determined by points standing.. points based on the only other race, Sebring.. Sebring, where we started the race late because of a blown engine. We started in 8th place the next day.

Saturday was a normal race day in many ways – and I say that only because the rainy-Friday was the more interesting thing to talk about. Haha!
Started off like most any other, a little later start for us creative staff because there was no ALMS events that morning.  I shot a bit of the Indy practice and qualifying, but spent most of my time around the race rig watching the guys work on the RSR and get things prepared for the day’s main event. When possible I would try and ask questions about what they were doing – they’re all great and happy to explain things to me if they have time, I just always feel like I’m bothering them.
That afternoon as the Le Mans main event was getting started we broke off into our various teams that we planned out and headed to different points on the track. Falken’s very own Olivia Korte would be singing the national anthem at the start of the race – and she did an incredible job! How many of you guys saw her perform?

The race went well – but I heard that Bryan Sellers was getting frustrated at the traffic on the track and not being able to pass and gain some ground. I’m no professional driver, but from what I understand the Long Beach course is a tight track  versus something like Sebring that’s twice as long.
We ended up finishing in 6th place. Imagine if we had had that first place start instead of eighth!

My weekend was a blast. It was tiring, as all race weekends tend to be, but it was a lot of fun being out there with several other team members this time around. I got to see and joke with several people from Falken that I got to know in Sebring, laugh and hang out with Falken’s creative staff, and add some rainy race photos to my portfolio, too!
I was going to stay on Sunday to shoot Indy but decided against it since I knew I’d have so much to go through for Falken on Sunday morning – we had to a selection of images out on the Falken Facebook page.

As for me, personally, I’m not sure the next race I’ll be at for Falken. Hopefully something this summer but I’m not sure yet. In the mean time I have a lot of travel coming up between Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and the SF Bay Area.  and I’ll post up some of the Budweiser stuff in it’s own blog soon. Til then, enjoy a large selection of images from my weekend at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Heading to the race rig to check in with the crew

The crew is already busy getting things prepared.

Standing in line getting our media vests. This was the wait with only 40 or so people. The next more there would be well over 100 checking in.

The team waiting for their police escort onto the streets of Long Beach

Here are @FalkenALMS and @FalkenTire updating the twitter accounts… otherwise known as Kelly and Jesse

Bryan and Wolf meeting the fans and signing autographs

There was also a stunt show that evening

Things actually continued to get busier as the night went on

It was PACKED as we finally headed out to grab a bite to eat

Shortly after the team took the RSR back home to tuck it in for the night

Geared up for an early start the next morning. Heading down to meet up with the team.

After figuring out plans and who’s shooting where, we all split up to head to the corners of the track we selected.

Those clouds don’t look too promising…

It didn’t take long for the rain to start up and the little bit of sun we had to go away

It started really coming down in a matter of about 20 minutes or so

Water started pooling up a bit on Turn 6 where I was at

I was really digging the splash shots though

And just when you thought it was slowing down, it starting raining harder

At this point the team was called back in. Four cameras where malfunctioning, which meant half the gear was down in the span of about an hour.

Had to get a rainy day shot with Randyl and Olivia!

As the weather clears up a bit more people make their way outside

Olivia’s a goofball, and you have to love her for it

The ladies

Alex Zaric, Brad Perry and Mike Zaric hard at work. This crew never stops.
Mike is measuring out specs on the camber of the car while Alex takes notes. I don’t recall what Brad was working on

Pretty sure you don’t get options like this at the factory…

Have to get a cute shot of Randyl and Olivia, usually I just shoot candids while they talk with fans

About 20 minutes later the skies clouded up again and the rain started coming down harder than before

All the teams on lunch break… or really, “escape the rain” break.

On our way to a meet-n-greet for some young fans. Bryan running ahead (not sure to where though since it was a quarter mile walk), Wolf caught me taking a photo of us though!

This might be my new favorite photo of me and Olivia. I assumed we were doing something goofy cuz of the pouring rain, she smiled and was sweet about it… whoops, my mistake

Since there wasn’t too much going on for the media team, I decided to tag along with Wolf, Kelly and Bryan who were headed to meet some of their youngest fans

Bryan and Wolf laughing and talking about how amazing it is to be a race car driver. They had a whole room full of kids listening to what it’s like to do what they do; many of them had questions about it too. Sadly there was very little time allotted to talk – Bryan pointed out after that he would have liked to stay and talk longer.

What does the team do when we have to wait out pouring rain? Hide inside, check emails, and laugh about youtube videos. Haha!

Things are STILL pretty wet out. Going to be interesting if it stays that way for qualifying

Dan Hare and Lee Marks working on measuring out and adjusting the wing. I watched these guys do this several times and finally had to ask exactly what they were doing. Among other things that have to be to spec, the wing  is checked to make sure it’s within half a millimeter by the team. They said the last thing they want is it to be visibly incorrect when checked by IMSA.

Not sure what Alex is working on here…

These devices are pretty cool. This is what the guys use to measure out and check camber on the RSR. It’s incredibly simple when you watch them do it.

See! See! Double checking the wing again..

The schedule is soaking wet, along with everything else that day…

Team Members Only… even I get nervous anytime that I have to go through that door..

Wolf came out and was walking around the RSR quietly looking at the car and running his hand along it. I thought it was interesting to watch and then he stopped when he got to a new decal. Black stripes were added to all the Porsches running in the Grand Prix in memory of Ferdinad A. Porsche, the designer of the original 911 who recently died.

Checking the wing one last time! See, they’re not joking about that…

The sun was out and everyone was getting ready to start qualifying

The team, on their way to the pits

Racing is just getting started and Wolf is in third place! Check out the lights on the door! Things are looking great for the team but the weather is already overcast..

Wolf makes another lap and he’s hot on the heels of the Patron Ferrari!

It’s near impossible to see in this photo, but there is only one light turned on on the RSR’s door… Wolf was in FIRST place when they called off qualifying due to rain. By the time the cars returned to their rigs the sky broke, and sun came back out.

Dan drains out the remaining fuel from the Porsche. After each race the tank is drained and remaining fuel measured to see how much was used and then calculated into everything else that’s recorded and calculated for records, etc.

The video team preparing Wolf for his interview about the race and weekend so far.

Audio is recorded completely separate from video

Team Manager Derek was interviewed with his thoughts on everything as well. He joked “it MUST be a slow day if you have to talk to me, too!”.

Had to get a team photo with the rest of the crew. How many people does it take to shoot the Falken team? Seven… it takes seven.

The paddocks are cleared out and everyone has headed out for dinner.

The day is already lookin gorgeous as I headed out from our hotel

The tires crew already has plenty of wheels ready for the day’s event.

Marion’s! This is the team break area. Marion is pretty cool, I sat and talked with her during lunch one of the days. She’s been running the all-you-can-eat style dining area for the teams for years.

Right outside Marion’s is a great view of the awesome weather for the day

As the place fills up it makes getting anywhere quickly pretty difficult.

I think that these guys that were doing ride-alongs were VP’s and such for the companies… whoever they were I was totally jealous. I want to do a ride along in an Indy car!

Back in the paddocks the team had the entire RSR torn apart! It’s impressive  to see how easily these guys can take apart and put together a car

The cockpit

Serious stopping power with these Brembo’s

Lee Marks, working on swapping the brake pads. He’s notching the pads which create similar marks the the corresponding rotors. This way when they take it apart the next time they know which pieces go to which corners.

I’m pretttttty sure the “Oil Refill” button is for one of those oil slicks that gets sprayed behind the car like in spy movies.

FIRE!
And I thought my Engine Start button in my car was cool. Nope.

One of the members of IMSA comes by to download data from the RSR. I talked with him briefly and he was saying that, to keep the playing field level, all teams have various specs they’re required to meet. As part of that, data is collected and checked by IMSA at every race. Rick Mahurin of team Falken goes over some of that data with him.

No smoking! hahaha. Navigating the paddock was tricky, lots very expensive car pieces to the car all around.

A pretty common site at the rig

Randyl and Olivia looks amazing as usual, meeting and taking photographs for and with fans

Blown out shot of Randyl…. I just thought it was pretty and wanted to share. lol

Falken auctioned off several items that afternoon and raised nearly $5,000 for charity.

I thought this was pretty cute. Wolf signs a pinewood derby car for one young fan who was among the first in line for the autograph session

Me and Kelly that afternoon! Hard to find a moment that she’s not busy running the drivers around or updating the team’s Twitter, haha!

See! Told you! Jesse and Kelly updating @FalkenTire and @FalkenALMS

This was pretty cool. One fan had a helmet that she was getting all the different drivers to sign

Olivia, being timed by the IMSA staff for the national anthem later that afternoon

One quick shot with the girls before making my way out to the track for the main event in a couple hours

The tire rig is completely empty as the crew is already down at the pits

The starting line is quiet as things get closer to the opening ceremony. Soon it will be packed with people

A couple of us just hanging out… waiting for things to get started

Opening ceremonies

All eyes were on Olivia as she prepared to sing

Randyl was just down the track a bit with the RSR

I texted Kelly to say I’ll take her photo, she started laughing as soon as she saw me a couple minutes later

Bryan Sellers crosses the start line on his third lap around the track. The race has started and the cars are already spaced pretty far out

The famous Turn 1 at Long Beach. This turn is so fast and dangerous that not even the photographers are allowed very close to it. It’s a hard, ninety-degree, left turn

Catch me if you can

Wolf is on the run and trying to make up some ground

Wolf, rounding out one of his last laps on the track. The team finished in 6th place.

Check out how sticky these tires are! This is post-race after the RSR was back in the paddock.

Beautiful sunset on Saturday after the race was done. Honestly, I would have loved some night, or even dusk, racing. So much more potential for great shots in lower light. Then again, I really like color and lighting in my images in general.

Well that about wraps up my (long) break down of my weekend at the Grand Prix. Thank you to those of you still reading, haha. I’ve been working on this most of the afternoon between photo selection, editing, and finally uploading and captioning. Whew!

As I said earlier, tomorrow I’m photographing a bunch of the Budweiser girls. So I’ll have images to share from that in the following days. And next week I’ll be out in Yosemite shooting, too.

Hope you enjoyed everything!

I love Florida. I used to live there… years ago. And I don’t get back nearly as much as I would like to.
But last weekend I was back out in the Sunshine State for the 12 Hours of Sebring – the kickoff to the 2012 American Le Mans racing season. I was shooting for Falken Tire.

It’s been a month since I’ve posted a new blog. I’m so incredibly behind on updates, and I feel terrible about it. I know there are quite a few people out there who do read my blogs and are genuinely interested in my stories. Over the last month, in addition to shooting more Supercross for Falken, I have also worked with several models on different shoots as well as a full shoot with the Budweiser Girls in Orange County. I should probably create blogs with those photos for everyone, too.

But, anyway, I know thousands of people follow my work between Twitter and Facebook, and knew I was out in Sebring for a little race photography.

Ok. Let’s be real. It was a LOT of race photography. I was there to make sure that Falken had plenty of images from the race of their brand new 2012 Porsche on the track. I spent about four days with the Falken crew between traveling and shooting. I always enjoy the chances I have to work with their team. They’re amazing people. I was particularly interested in meeting their ALMS race team. I had been in loose contact with someone who handles their @FalkenALMS twitter feed. Whoever it was was someone that was very interactive – a trait you RARELY see from industry people. Turned out it was their PR Rep, Kelly. She’s awesome if you ever meet her.

I also got the chance to see two of their models again; Brittney and Melanie were both their to support the team this past weekend. I hadn’t had a chance to see Melanie since our shoot in Malibu several months ago – and this was the first opportunity I would have to get her to sign my poster. Haha! Brittney and I saw each other at Supercross. So now, after this trip, I have my poster complete! Silly things like getting signatures from models on pieces of my work mean a lot to me.

Most of my weekend was spent on foot though. I was walking around the track numerous times trying to get an idea of the corners and locations. I had never been to Sebring so I wasn’t familiar with the layout. The downside to all the walking was the 30+ pounds of gear I was carrying. On the one hand I could have left most of it in the rig at the paddocks. On the other hand I was out at two or three hours at a time and rather have all my stuff with me so I wouldn’t have to keep leaving the track.

I had an amazing time out at Sebring. I took a bit of video, too. I was hoping to do some behind the scenes type clips to show everyone what it’s like to see the race how I see it. However with all the gear I was already carrying it was too much to also try and get video and I didn’t come home with as many clips as I would have liked.

I shot over 2,500 photos over the weekend. I threw out 500 or so yesterday. And from the remaining I made a selection of about 60 to share with you guys below. So, click past the break… check out my weekend at the races.

Oh, and I promise I’ll get back on top of my blogs in the next week and have an update for you guys with other recent work of mine.

Let’s just go chronologically, yes?

The day we arrived in Orlando we picked up our car, drove straight to the track, got our credentials and headed out to meet up with the team. Afterward we went and caught a little bit of the night practice that was going on.

The Falken team only made a couple passes before going in, but I was able to capture this shot on their last lap around the track!

Friday morning was an early one… we had to be there at the crack of dark for the media meeting and get our photography vests. As the photographer representing Falken Tire, I was actually given an orange vest – which designates photographers who are allowed to shoot in the pits over those who are not.

This photo was actually taken on Saturday, but I’m sharing it here instead. This is me, geared up and walking the track. I’m also wearing my backpack with about 20 more lbs of stuff in it. And it’s 85 and humid out. Yuck.

Ok, let’s jump back to Friday. Practice day. The morning was starting with the tire rig prepping all the tires for the day.

You HAVE  to respect these guys. They are doing this ALL DAY to support the rest of the team out on the track.

Meanwhile a quarter mile away on the other side of the paddocks the drivers are looking over the car as it’s prepped and readied for practice later that morning.

You can never have enough tools

The team swaps out wheels and checks all aspects of the suspension

While their support team continues to work on the car, the drivers meet the fans to sign autographs and take photos

Melanie and Brittney are all smiles

The crowds were pretty consistent the whole time and didn’t slow down much

They’re silly, haha. We always have fun

Next up it was the girls turn to meet fans and sign posters

About the same time the girls started their meet-n-greet, the team had wrapped up the car and it was time to head to the pits for practice.

As I left to head toward the pits the line to meet the girls was still pretty long considering how many people had left for the track.

The car is ready and it’s getting close to warmup time!

Wolf gloves up and preparation to race

Wolf climbs into the car ready to drive. And man, can this guy drive the crap out of that car. It’s incredible.

The Falken Porsche cockpit… they even have air conditioning!

I had one very specific task to make sure I completed this race… that was to get at least one super-sharp front-to-back panning shot of the new race car. I was told it needed to be crisp all the way through, with nice motion blur in the wheels and smooth panning for the background. I nailed this shot at Turn 1 on the second practice lap (and got many more throughout the weekend).

Ripping through turns 5 and 6. You can see the heat pouring off the car’s rear engine.

Martin, heading out a quick pit stop

I really love this shot of the Audi team. It’s gorgeous high-res. I wish I could post it large, but I just don’t trust the internet and image theft unfortunately. You can see a slightly larger version in my portfolio linked at the top of this page.

Martin fighting for position during the final practice round of the day.

I was able to get one last sharp shot of the car before practice was done. Going to be a long day tomorrow though…

Just one of the racks of monitors the team uses to monitor the race and the vehicle.

Back in the paddocks you’ll find all Falken employees lend and hand and meet the guests to talk tires or just BS about the day.

Me and Ed, pretty much done for the day!

All is quiet at 7am on pit row

The media tower is lit up. And various crews are arriving to prep their pit area for the day.

Falken’s pit

And just like us, their pit crew was already there and working

Me and Ed, on about 5 hours of sleep and ready for a very, very long day.

During the morning warmup/practice Falken blew an engine. I’m not positive which part… they weren’t even completely sure. However they completely swapped the engine for another one IN NINETY MINUTES. That’s just incredible.

The backup engine that you hope you never need.

We headed over to the other rig to see how they were doing that morning before the races started… I found Melanie and Brittney goofing around

Had to get a group shot of all of us that day

And I needed a shot with just the ladies, of course! Haha. It’s one of the harder parts of my job… clearly.

We stopped back by the paddocks and the team was still working hard to get the new engine in. There was also nearly every manager standing there looking concerned. No pressure at all for that team… none…

And right after the opening ceremonies are done the Falken team rolls out of the paddocks to head to the track!! So exciting!

Wolf waits (probably impatiently) to get the go-ahead to join the rest of the cars on the track and try to regain some ground on everyone that had already started.

Wolf had some serious time to make up as he takes off through turn 2.

Yellow flags were no-good if you’re stuck in the pack and want to regain some time.

Many cars came out of Turn 5 way too hot and would under steer and hit the dirt before entering Turn 6.

Catchin a bit of air off the bump at Turn 5.

There is a small cutout at Turn 6 for photographers to stand. There is only about 6 feet or so between us and the cars as they shoot past us.

After a brief dinner break the sun finally begins to go down. This is the the 30 minutes or so we have to create some really cool looking photos.

As night falls the sky becomes a really incredible shade of blue.

The sun has completely set and now it’s just dark. Photos during this time are very hit and miss. You’ll find your AF going crazy with the headlights. Plus you can’t even tell which car is coming at you. So you have to shoot every single one or just hope you can tell him time to catch the vehicle you want to shoot before you miss the shot.

I really enjoy night photos though. It goes back to my love for lighting and color. Except these are extremely fast moving vehicles and not models. haha!

The crowds were still packing the viewing areas. Turn 7 still had just as many people at night as during the day!

The Falken Tire Porsche’s Brembo brake rotors glow bright read as it comes shooting through the turns.

And it wasn’t just the Porsches that were running hot on their rotors. Made some really cool looking photos though!

And that was pretty much it for me for the night. I had to return to the rig to get images out to Falken Headquarters for their Facebook updates, etc. Due to the amount of time lost because of the engine swap, Falken wasn’t close enough to the front to make the podium. But really, they did an amazing job dealing with all the issues that came up. I know everyone was incredibly impressed and proud of their performance.

Sunday, on the way home to California a bunch of us had a layover in Denver and had lunch before our last flight. Do we all look like we’re on just a few hours of sleep?? Yeah… probably do.

So that’s it. Hope you guys enjoyed seeing a slightly different side to the race weekend – one that’s not just action shots.
I hope to have my video clips cut together soon to share with everyone. So check back… I promise I’m going to be back on top  of these updates from now on.

Ok, so this is clearly just me and the Falken girls… but still.

This year I’ve been contracting with Falken Tire for the 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series! It’s actually pretty great to once again be out on the track working with a major brand such as Falken. Several months ago I worked with them putting together the 2012 Falken Girls poster and promotional images of the girls. Three of them, Brittney Leigh, Julie Galindo, and Mayra Tinajero in the photo above with me. Now I’m handling a small part of their racing photography as well.
And most of you know that off road race photography is nothing new to me – I used to do a ton of it when I worked for K&N Filters. Working with Falken is very different though. I’m actually just as much a photojournalist for the day as I am a race photographer.

During the race day I spend a lot of my time with the Falken team photographing their fans and guests that come by the trailer to meet the models, enter the prize drawings and get more information about Falken products. I’ll typically make my way out to the track several times during practice to photograph Ryan Villopoto – not only the top racer in the series right now, but also Falken’s sponsored racer.

I’ll save all the rambling I could post and just put up some images… they’re more interesting anyway. haha!

Let’s start with the San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium race for Round 6..

Ryan Villopoto easily ripping through the course during practice

Olivia and Randyl signing posters

Randyl, Olivia, and me before the opening ceremonies start

We work very, very hard.

One quick shot on the field before heading back up..
Some random dude was like “Why does HE get the girls to himself…?” I just kinda laughed. Cuz I work with them.. that a good enough reason? Hahaha

Vaughn Gittin Jr’s Mustang tucked into the truck and ready to head to Dallas!

This is why I don’t rush to the opening ceremony… we’re all basically cattle in this entryway.

Ryan waiting to be introduced

Dean Wilson tearing through the course. He finished in second place in the main event

James Stewart flying through the track

It’s very hard to argue with the view that I have during these events..

I was working on getting a great motion/landing shot that night. I was able to nail this one of Dean Wilson during the main event

Ryan was hauling ass during the main event, seriously. He eventually caught up and lapped people that were all the way in the back of the pack.

Only a couple laps remaining

Ryan throws a “Number 1″ with his finger as he flies over the last jump and through the finish line!

Media frenzy down in the dirt as awards and interviews are given

The major upside to being tall is that I don’t have to worry about too many other people obstructing my shots. haha!

Thank you Qualcomm for an amazing race and great day!

I also have a ton of photos from Supercross Los Angeles, Round 3 at Dodger Stadium… I’ll share a small selection..

Me and the gorgeous Brittney Leigh – my hair is ridiculously wind blown from the weather that day

Me and Mayra! Such a sweetheart

Deebo!

Practice getting started up for the evening

Ryan tearing through his practice lap

I love motion shots, seriously. Can you tell?

That’s all for now I think…

I don’t want to upload a ton and bore everyone. I’ll be heading to Atlanta in a week with everyone to photograph Round 8 of the series! Looking forward to getting more great images to share with everyone. Sorry I’ve been so behind on updating. Haha. Whoops.

“I got a jump photo and a dip photo… I’m happy John. I’m not worried about anything else now.” -Amanda, right after this photo on her wedding day. Ha!

Last weekend I had the privilege of shooting  the wedding of Tim and Amanda Lordan. I first met both Tim and Amanda nearly two years ago at another Lordan wedding – Amy and Michael Lordan, one of Tim’s older brothers. And then last winter I received an email from Amanda titled simply “Game for another Lordan wedding?”. Shortly after Tim proposed and she started her wedding planning she reached out to me to check on availability, details, etc on me as their potential photographer. Long story short, we worked out the details and I was scheduled to shoot for them this January.

Amanda was a bride that was certainly on top of planning everything, too. She quickly worked out all the details with me as she gathered them. As soon as something was added, changed, or whatever else I was pretty quickly updated with an email on the plans. I could definitely understand that part of the reason was that their wedding was right after New Years, which is also right after Christmas – times that everyone is busy with their families and other things.

As the wedding weekend approached I could tell by Amanda’s emails that her excitement was growing. I myself was looking forward to seeing the Lordan family again and getting to know the Gayle family a little bit as well. I attended the rehearsal, as I always try to do, to get an idea of the venue and some of the rules. It was a new church to me and their are always new rules. This one was definitely going to be a bit tricky. I’m used to a no-flash rule (just crank that ISO up to a thousand or two and you’re all set!). But their church had a “line” that I was not allowed to cross. For those of you that don’t do many weddings, it’s typical to not be allowed on the marble, or steps, etc. But in this situation I had to remain a minimum of 30 feet away from the front of the church. VERY different than I’m used to. My photojournalism background means I prefer to be closer to my subjects. I stay low and out of the way, but I like photos that are a bit more intimate you could say. So, this would definitely bit a challenge – but never let this be a hurdle for you photographers out there. This is why we have telephoto lenses and image stabilization at weddings, too. haha!

The morning of the wedding started VERY early for me. I was up at 4am to double check my gear and give myself plenty of time to get on the road to meet the bridal party at 6am. A typical hair-and-makeup morning hanging out with Amanda and her girls and they prepared for their morning wedding. It’s always fun hanging out with the bridal party before weddings because you get to hear stories about how they met, or the engagement, or random girl-talk stories. LOL!
I broke off briefly to go meet up with the guys at the hotel as they finished getting ready and then it was on to the church! There ceremony went off without any problems, and we even finished our portraits ahead of schedule.

We arrived to the reception early as well; we got there right in the middle of cocktail hour. I had the chance to meet several family friends of the Gayle family since I was seated at what we later joked was “the creative table” since the florist, cake maker, and me the photographer were all seated together.

I’ll leave much more details about the day in the captions of the photos after the break. But I will say I had a wonderful time shooting for Tim and Amanda. The Gayle family and friends were a riot to joke with and get to know. And, as always, the Lordans were so welcoming with me being part of everything throughout the day.

So Thank You to the Gayles and the Lordans! I hope you enjoy this brief preview of what I shot throughout the day. I had so much fun!

Shooting around during the rehearsal gave me a bit of time to practice with location limitations and no-flash policy

Amanda was joking that this was the part of the ceremony where they make a break for it since they’re done!

Early morning prep time with the ladies

Getting a few quick shots of the dress before Amanda put it on. It worked out with timing that I was able to get a few additional images before heading out to meet the guys.

A little help from Mom with her necklace for the ceremony.

Tim and the boys finishing up their prep right as I arrived.

A quick celebration toast before heading the church

I was definitely laughing  as Amanda tried her best to get out of the car with as little trouble as possible. Clearly it was no problem at all… none…

Amanda opted to shorten her dress a dress I guess, haha! A little last minute modification in the car maybe?

Mrs. Lordan making sure her youngest son is looking sharp for his wedding. All of us guys know this moment when Mom comes over to adjust something that we’re wearing!

All the Lordan men waiting for things to get started. Tim, Michael, Mr. Lordan, and Joe.

Anddd, then there’s Amanda making faces at her sister Becky (middle left) who doesn’t seem too amused.

Mr. Gayle, ready to walk his little girl down the aisle!

Tim’s first look at his bride

A quick hug from Mom before Amanda is given away.

Family friend Derek gave on of the readings

One of Tim’s good friends Sarice gave the other

And of course Father Michael was leading the prayers and ceremony

He had a lot of very sweet things to say to Amanda and Tim.

Exchanging of vows

Best man Andrew holding the rings for the blessing

It’s funny this little guy was watching me most of the time that I was walking back and forth during the ceremony.

One final prayer… anddddd…

Man and Wife!

Hugs from Mom!

And her new mother in law!

Congrats from Dad as well

Mrs. Lordan looked so happy as she leaned in for a hug from her oldest son, Joe.

Amanda and her dad

Tim being congratulated by his oldest brother.

During photos we shot a whole bunch of family shots, and even a couple posed images that I wasn’t allowed to be up close for.

The reception was at The Grand Newport Plaza. Really beautiful place, and was completely new to me. We arrived earlier than planned and had plenty of time to take a bunch of photos.

This was actually Amanda and Tim laughing at something one of the bridesmaids was joking about. Turned out to be a cute little moment though.

And of course a dip shot as well. Amanda said the two things she wanted was this and the jump shot at the top of this blog, haha!

Amanda was just leaning against this pillar chillin while everyone was hanging out.

…which of course meant it was a great time for a silly photo of all of us!

A quick little moment with Tim and Amanda being silly and he pulled her in a quick kiss. Really sweet moments happen away from all the guests and family members.

We had plenty of time to goof off and do photos in the courtyard after the guests went inside, as well.

Everyone pile into the elevator!

The wedding cake they ordered was from a bakery owned by a family friend – “Not Just Cheesecakes” in the Bay Area.
It was amazing. I would highly recommend them to any of you.

Awe man! I always remember to photograph the guestbook, but I also always forget to sign it! Bummer!

Figuring out the bustle

I thought this was pretty funny… Amanda and Tim were practicing their moves for when they entered as everyone else was standing pretty calmly

Everyone danced their way across the floor and to their seat!

Mr. Gayle said a few words and thanked everyone for being part of the day. Shortly after Mrs. Gayle led everyone in a prayer before dinner.

Maid of Honor Briana gives her speech

I just wanted to share this because I thought it was funny with Amanda ducking down out of the way

Best Man Andrew had Tim laughing while sharing some stories from school together.

First dance as husband and wife

Tim dipped Amanda right at the end of their dance. I wasn’t expecting it so I had to slide over reallllly quickly to try and get a shot. I ended up with this image from a combination of motion blur on my part and a rear-curtain shutter-sync.

The Daddy-Daughter dance is always my favorite dance to watch. The expressions are always the best part. Mr. Gayle looked so happy.

Tim and his Mom dancing for the Mother-Son dance.

Mrs. Lordan’s three sons are now all married!

Seeing older couples dancing and having a great time at weddings is always so sweet.

Both Amy and Jessie’s husbands were groomsman, so they simply danced with each other! haha!

Amanda pulled this girl onto the dance floor at one point and made her break it down, too!

This cake was delicious… like I said. And Tim and Amanda didn’t seem to have much trouble with the cutting as most do

They were nice about it and didn’t smash it in each other’s faces

The girls definitely had a tug-of-war over the bouquet

Followed by a stare-down…

Tim and Amanda rockin out to AC/DC with a little air guitar!!

DON’T STOP! BELIEVIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!

Tim’s oldest brother Joe and his wife Jesse. I’ve known them for nearly 15 years. And as of recently have started to amass a collection of photos of them at weddings I’ve shot. hahaha!

Me and the newly married Lordans! Amanda and Tim

Me and the Lordans, too! Michael and Amy, whose wedding I photographed almost two years ago

Anddd, Me and the Lordans! Joe and Jessie I’ve known since Jr. High when we all ran track & field together.

And pose!

Last dance of the night…

And one last kiss before their wedding reception was officially over.

And Me and the Lordans… Mom and Dad Lordan, haha. They’re awesome to watch during the reception because they spend most of it dancing the time away with each other!

Me, after a long day with the Lordan and Gayle families, hanging out with some of the guests after when they went out for one last drink. I think Amy took this of me when I handed her my camera and said “Your turn to be photographer. I’m done.”

It was an early day with the Gayles and Lordans, and when things wrapped up in the in evening I was ready to just go to bed and call it a night…. at 6pm. Haha! But a great experience just as expected. It was so much fun getting to know Amanda better and meet her family. The Lordans have always been welcoming to me and it was fun to see them once more. Mrs. Lordan joked “Well, I’m out of kids” when I thanked them for having me back to photograph for them again.

I hope you all enjoyed this preview of the shots as much as I enjoyed making them last week. I still have quite a few to get through, but Tim and Amanda are still on their honeymoon and I have plenty of time.

Check back in a week and I’ll have some more images for everyone in a completely different field that I shoot… Supercross! I’ll be at Dodger Stadium shooting the Monster Energy AMA Supercross event for Falken Tire/Falken Racing… should be a blast!

The 2012 Falken Tire Promo Model poster has been released! And that means I’m allowed to share additional photos from the shoot with everyone that I created for Falken Tire and their 2012 season!

For those who read my previous blog about the Behind the Scenes from this shoot, you’ll recall that I mentioned the goal of the entire day was the image above. Basically we arrived first thing in the morning – before sunrise – and shot all day until sundown. And then, after 12 hours of shooting we created the image we came for – the poster shot. Seriously. The image we spent so much time planning for was created in the last five minutes of shooting. And was also one of the last 10 photos or so I made with the girls.

But it was worth it. The long day. The lack of food (on my part. I forgot to eat most of the day since I was so busy running around that TJ had to make me stop and take five minutes to eat something at the catering table). I look at photos of me at the end of the day and laugh because I look exhausted.
I did at least 17 shoots that day working with each of the models multiple times and in several locations with many different lighting setups. Everything worked out incredibly well. Falken had a very  aggressive set of goals to complete that day and I’m very proud to say that we met all of them! During the time we weren’t working on group shots the models were in hair/makeup and whoever was ready with their next look would be sent over to shoot individuals.

The individual shots we created are mainly for use on the models profile pages since they’re in no way related to tires or the automotive industry, haha! But part of the reason this location was selected for was for wide variety of looks that could be created around the property.
I had the oh-so-difficult assignment of poolside bikini and exercise photos. Wow. Rough location. Haha!
Throughout the middle of the day and afternoon the girls would be switched out with me to shoot around the infinity pool with all the mountains in the background. Gorgeous. I could easily see why so many magazine shoots are done at this location with this pool.

A second concept for the poster was a composite idea I was asked about. There was some question to the feasibility of doing this shot with six girls and making the shot work at the venue. The one thing there wasn’t much of was large open space and walls. We selected the three-car garage doors as the best spot to create a six-photo composite extra-wide style poster. I think it came out pretty damn good, actually.

Each girls was shot with the same style lighting and power adjusted according to the background, skin tone, or wardrobe. But overall it worked great. I may print a large version of this just for the sake of seeing how it looks. But, the version I’m looking at right now on my 27in screen looks pretty awesome!

Ultimately the pool shot was used for the poster – which is perfect since that was the original idea and goal anyway.

Click the break for a ton of additional photos of the girls… since I know that’s what you’re really here to see.

Oh, first, here’s a shot of the finished poster when I picked some up from Falken Tire Headquarters last week!
Came out great, and they look awesome. I’m gonna hang one on my wall until I see the girls at the races and can get a signed one from all of them to put up!

I can’t think of a better way to share these than to just do it chronologically… so here we go!

The first of the girls I worked with at the pool was Olivia Korte. We did a series of workout themed shots.

My friend Mac pointed out that I should make the skies much richer in post to really bring out colors with contrast. I agree it actually looks much better. This was the first one I changed when he mentioned it. You can see with some of the others I tried different amounts of darkening and saturation.

Randyl Dawn came out and joined us for about five minutes before Olivia had to go in to change to her next look.

Melanie Tillbrook was up next so we changed the angle we were shooting. She came out for her shoot and they started her in this mesh top thing. No one was really feeling it, so they had her switch up the look a little with some jean shorts instead.

We started with an attempt at shooting with the sun as our main light source. It was mid-day and anything we shot was going to be very very bright.

It didn’t take long before we went back to the same setup used previously. It just worked better with the location of the sun.

I loved this shot with her hair and smile

I also tried a shot that was bit more yellowed to reflect the time of day and actual feel on set.

Randyl came out to switch with Melanie and was rockin this awesome purple hawaiin-ish bikini and flowers in her hair. Totally cute.

Fierceeeee

Yep, I just posted six photos of similar poses. But I thought I’d share since I liked them all and everyone will have a different favorite. Only one will likely make it all the way to my portfolio anyway. Haha!

Mayra was WAY cute in her green bikini and playing around with this exercise ball. Definitely one of my favorite shots of her from the day.

Julie Galindo was up next
Some of you may recognize her from the Lingerie Bowl a couple years ago.

Julie was also the only girl who came out with additional props like sunglasses to play with

We tried few under the patio by the walls. I actually liked this serious shot more than I thought I would

The last model I worked with individually before getting back to the poster shoots (garage and pool) was Brittney Leigh. This particular photo was something I immediately thought of when she came out with that flowy shirt and I was asked to shoot her around the pillars.
It was very bright in the late afternoon sun, so I knew pretty much all my photos with Brittney would have that feel to them.

Brittney is stunning. She also just finished second place in Maxim Magazine’s Hometown Hotties for 2010 and is in the February 2011 issue right now.

We also hiked down into the vineyards to do some shots out there that afternoon

It was a really incredible day of shooting with all the girls and to have such an awesome location at our disposal.

I want to also give a huge THANK YOU to Falken Tire for the opportunity to be part of such a big project for them. I’m looking forward to the next few months where I’ll be doing additional projects with them for other various aspects of their business. But I’ll share more on those as the time comes!

Also, please check out the new section in my portfolio that I’ve created with images of the girls and this shoot with Falken Tire!

http://www.johnremus.com/photography/falkengirls/

The Falken Tire 2012 Promo Girls poster is near release and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share some of the Behind the Scenes photos from the project.
I had an incredible opportunity at the end of last year to work directly with Falken on this. I was contacted and asked about possibly tackling this large scale – and very important – photoshoot for the company. After everything was made official we started the planning phase for a quickly-approaching shoot date.

The ultimate goal for the project was to create their 2012 Promo Model Poster with all six girls. We took the girls away from the track/race scene for something different, stylish and sexy. After budget discussion, location selection, and dates solidified it was time to really crack down and get things moving. Our shoot was right after Thanksgiving and there was plenty to get working on.
I was required to bring two assistants – it would be better to have too much help than not enough for a project of this size. And I’m sure all of you are thinking “Yeah, cuz it would be terrible to hang out on set with a bunch of models all day”. But I needed two experienced people on hand that I knew would be great. I brought TJ down from San Francisco. He has 10 years experience with lighting and set work and who has also helped me on multiple shoots over the last few years and understands my style and how I shoot. David came up from Orange County as my other assistant. I met David working on weddings and he has an incredible knowledge of photography and wealth of experience to bring to this setting.

Our shoot day started early.. EARLY. A 430am call time is never fun, but it’s part of the job. Overall the entire day went great. There were a few hiccups along the way as could always be expected, but we still made sure to get everything taken care of that we hoped to complete. I was able to create a ton of amazing images with all the models. And both myself and my team had an awesome time working with Falken and their crew. The models, Julie Galindo, Mayra Tinajero, Olivia Korte, Melanie Tillbrook, Brittney Leigh, and Randyl Dawn were all awesome. And thank you all for putting up with me having trouble with your names all day… having six new models with a new hairstyle/outfit every time I saw them throughout the day definitely screwed with my head. Haha!

Ok, so… on to the photos! I’ll stop rambling and simply post captions…

Pre-shoot-day prep. Going through some of the gear with TJ.

One thing we have a lot of at home is cars. So, I used the Cayenne instead of my little S2000. TJ snapped this while we were loading up. Still had to go pick up additional rental gear, too.

Packed up and ready to head out. When we were at the mansion the next morning I commented about an Escalade parked in the garage saying “I guess you have to have a baller car for a location like this….” Falken’s Art Director just looked at me and said “You showed up in a Porsche.”
Touche.

Stopped by the shoot location briefly to see where the sun was setting and get and idea of light/fog layer at that time of day. It was gorgeous with the yellowed vineyard, and there was no noticeable marine layer to worry about.

Look how comfy that bed looks! And I only get to sleep there for about four hours – IF I fall asleep fast enough.
What was funny was hearing the models talk about how tall the beds were and how they had to jump up onto them. TJ and I just looked at each other and realized “Oh, yeah… they (the models) are like a foot shorter than we are…” haha!

430am Call Time… yuck

Starting to unload the gear

All the girls doing a quick test to make sure there is enough space in the location we want the final image.

Sunrise in Malibu

For $50 million you can have this view every morning…

I keep telling my roommate we need a driveway like this. The Lambo, Rolls, Ferrari and all the other cars we have here at home would look AWESOME parked by this house.

TJ starting to get lights set up

Hair and Makeup!

This pool was incredible

The pool changes colors throughout the day with it’s colored lighting.

TJ and I have most of the lights set up. Now just time to wait on some models to be ready for light tests

TJ, hiding from the sun as we wait on the girls.

Assisting on my shoots means you will, at some point, be required to be a stand-in so I can see if I like the location while the model is with the MUA’s.

photo from Mayra

Me, on the job! I stole about a half dozen shots from Mayra that she posted on Facebook. I never had photos of me working!

photo from Mayra

Me shooting with Randyl – who looked incredible in this Hawaii/flower themed suit

photo from Mayra

Working with Olivia. She had huge energy that she brought to her exercise/fitness style photos.

I’d switch off occasionally with the video guys so they could get footage for their reels. Plus I could get quick BTS photo, too!
Those umbrellas were an afterthought on my part. I have several that I keep in my car for shoots. We almost didn’t bring them; good thing we did though because it was HOT out that afternoon.

Mayra rockin flowers in her hair with her green bikini

photo from Mayra

photo from Mayra

Howard Leight, owner of the house and of Howard Leight hearing products, flew in that afternoon on his helicopter.

Haha! It destroyed part of the dried vineyard!

David Esquire, of Esquire Photography…. and part time model for John Remus Photography. hahaha!

David, again my stand-in… and big fan of Monster Energy

Me and Brittney staying out of the sun while we wait on make up.

Walking down this was pretty much certain death it felt like. David and James didn’t even bother trying to come down all the way.

photo from James

Sadly this photo gives no perspective on how steep an angle we were at

photo from TJ

Me and TJ getting set up at the garage again for additional images

photo from TJ

Me, working hard! Haha. Tough life, huh?

photo from TJ

photo from TJ

Shooting the beautiful Julie Galindo

photo from TJ

Boom, wrapped. Seven minutes with each model for these images.

photo from TJ

Next up was Olivia! David was on “don’t let this huge PLM blow over in the wind” duty…

photo from TJ

Sometimes it’s still easier to jump up and adjust setting myself.

photo from TJ

I don’t remember what I was laughing about, but each of my shoots with Olivia had laughter

Had to get a quick group shot with the house in the background!

An end to a very long, and extremely successful day for John Remus Photography!
Huge thank you to David Esquire and TJ Lauters who were my rockin assistants all day running around takin care of things when I was busy shooting and dealing with stuff.

My crew with the remaining guys from the Falken crew as we were packing up that night and getting ready to head out.

I had an amazing time working with Falken and being part of such a huge project with them. I’m looking forward to seeing the final results of the poster, too!
Falken Tire was amazing enough to give me creative freedom to edit the individual photos of the girls how I saw fit – which I’m very excited to show you all soon! The final poster should be amazing. I finished probably 90% of it and Falken did the last touches on it. For those of you at Supercross this weekend in Anaheim you’ll get to see the printed product when you go meet the models for autographs!

Check back soon and I should be able to share the finished photos of the 17 different shoots I did with all the models through the entire day!

Check out more of the Falken girls on their website here: http://www.falkentire.com/wegetyougoing/Models

Oh, and the night after the shoot was the massive wind storm that destroy a bunch of stuff in Socal… this was my yard the next morning. That’s my car under part of the tree!

Twenty twelveeeeeeeeee!!!!
The world is gonna end! Oh nooooooo!

I have a feeling that this will be the running joke throughout the year for me. However, in my annual end of the year open letter as I take some time to look back at 2011 I find myself at a bit of a loss for words.
This year seemed to go by much quicker than last. Sure, we all say that at the end of each year, don’t we?

But this year was such a mix of running around SoCal working on personal projects with various clients mixed in between that I’m finding it difficult to find key points to talk about as I reflect on my year.

Growth. Let’s just go with a cliche choice on this one, shall we?

I could support this two ways…
The first is that I watched many of my close friends, family, and even past client’s lives grow as people had children and added to their families. I became an Uncle this year when my little sister had a daughter mid-summer. Later in in the Fall my oldest and best friend had a son, too. So I’m an Uncle twice this year. Maternity photos I shot last year were now baby photos this year. I was booked by past families to do new rounds of family portraits as kids were older and new images were needed.

I took my work a new direction with a portrait series that I started work on in the Spring. I began creating images of people in and around my daily life. Some images were planned out in detail prior to the shoot, while others were created right there on the street with people I had met only moments before. This series proved extremely popular. I showcased the series during an art show in Hollywood – my first time every displaying my work publicly in a gallery setting.

I continued to travel all over the US for weddings. I kept my self-promise of always extending my trips to see local friends in the areas that work would take me.

I gained several new, major clients as my business grew and projects that I worked on became bigger and more important. My biggest of which are actually continuing into the new year and I will finally be able to share them in the upcoming weeks.

Twenty Eleven was a great year. And although I could go on and on about each detail and event that made it great I won’t.
My life grew with new members of families around me. My clients grew as I expanded my business. And my work grew as I developed my own style and took my photography to a level far beyond where I was just 12 months ago.

Let’s get going with 2012! I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.

Ryan and Jen Moody – on their surprisingly chilly and snowy wedding day in Virginia!

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of shooting for Ryan, one of my old roommates from when I lived in Florida. He asked me nearly a year ago to keep the date open for his and Jen’s wedding weekend on the East Coast. I was paid an amazing compliment when he said “Two things we knew we wanted were the church, and your photography.”
How awesome.
And personally, this photo of the two of them while it was snowing outside made for a wonderfully unique shot.

So, a bit of history about me, Ryan, and best-man Mike. We all used to live together in Florida. We were all roommates while doing the Walt Disney World College Program in 2003. Basically it’s a work program that allows you to earn college internship credits while working for the Mouse. I, personally, was a lifeguard and lifeguard trainer for Blizzard Beach water park. And that was one of the best years of my life so far. Ryan and Mike (his best man) were two of the other six guys I lived with out in Orlando. I have so many great memories with them from our time living together that it was awesome to share such an important day with Ryan.

Ryan is originally from Texas, and now lives in Virginia where both him and Jen work in government. Originally when planning my trip out to shoot for them I was expecting one of those stereotypical New England falls with lots of colors in the trees and bright blue skies. And, to be fair, it was like that the day before the wedding for the rehearsal when we all were arriving in town and running various errands.
The weather reports quickly shifted from Sunny, to Chance of Rain, to Rain, to Chance of Snow, to Blizzard. Well, it definitely did start snowing in the middle of the night and continued the rest of the day and through the wedding ceremony. Good thing we were indoors!!

Since I’ve lived with Ryan in the past, and it was just like living with him again while I was there, the morning of the wedding when he was out shoveling snow I was able to run out to take photos and laugh without feeling bad. Actually, I ran out, took a few photos, teased Ryan about how that’s how he got to spend his wedding morning, sent out a photo with my phone to our other old roommates from Florida, and then ran back inside where it was warm.
Lift with your legs, Ryan!

Unfortunately, due to the unexpected weather, it caused a few small issues with the morning. I wasn’t able to get out to the girls while they had their hair done and the usual wedding-morning stuff. There were also a handful of guests that couldn’t make it due to the road conditions. But it also made for a few fun things, like snowboots and photos with falling snowflakes.

Both Ryan and Jen are pretty chill and laid back about things. Which as I’ve said before almost makes things tricky for me because they’re going to be ok with almost anything I tell them or ask them. “Do you want A or B” “That sounds great John! Up to you.” “Wait, no, which do you want!?” Haha, kinda like that…
But we all had a great time. Their ceremony was smaller and made up of their closest family and friends. The reception was at the George Washington Hotel – and many people were able to make it there that may have missed the ceremony earlier that afternoon.

I’ll save the rest of my comments for the captions, as usual. But again, I had a great time meeting both Ryan and Jen’s families. It was awesome to see Mike again, too, who I hadn’t seen in five years since he was still living in Oregon (and we were at another old rooomate’s wedding!).

Click the break for more..

Waiting to start the rehearsal. Still missing a couple key family members.

The Saint Bridget of Ireland Catholic Church

Ryan chattin with Father Krempa. Ryan’s dad and brother on the right.

Best man Mike and Maid of Honor Susan lining up.

Later that night at dinner, Mr. Chasteen opening his Father of the Bride gift.

Mike’s been a golfer since before Ryan and I met him, so Ryan has some custom balls made for him.

Ryan shoveling the driveway the morning of the wedding. Haha!

This was actually the first time he’d lived somewhere where it snows this much. He missed last snow season when he moved to Virginia.

Jen’s dress

Makeup time! Both Susan and Karen had to deal with their aunt standing there to make sure they put on some makeup for the day. Neither are used to wearing much at all, they laughed.

I found Jen hiding in one of the bathrooms doing her makeup… farrrr from me and my camera. Ha!

I really love this shot of her shoes. Very simple. Done with window light, too.

No heels right now though! A little help with her snow boots from her sister Susan.

I really liked this moment because they’re laughing, trying to walk, trying to not get too much snow on them because it was actually blowing pretty hard right then, and also trying not to slip.

Jen and her father hiding out in the entry way before things get going.

Mr. Chasteen and his twin girls. They were all joking and laughing about something.
And fortunately they had different hair and outfits today. Had you seen them the day before when they were both wearing sweaters you’d have trouble telling them apart.

Me and Mike, right before things get started.

Ryan’s first look at his bride!

Lot of prayers and kneeling for those of you who haven’t been to a full-mass wedding.

Exchanging of vows

She does! Woo hoo!!!

Andddd I’m officially the last un-married roommate from all us Florida roommates now. Hahaha!

Ryan and Jennifer sneaking secrets during some of the activities! Caught youuuu!

Mr. and Mrs. Moody!

Hiding out upstairs while people clear out so we can do the family portraits

Mike, Ryan and Me. First time we’ve all been together since ’03 I think. Although I’ve seen both of them at different points since then.

I wanted to get portraits outside while it was snowing. These look great high res. And I’m thrilled that the Moody’s are going to have some beautiful white wedding photos for their album.

Once the family disappeared their playful sides came out more when Ryan started making snowballs. Jen ran. I got hit with one. Haha!

On our way to the reception.

31 degrees out!

Bustling the dress.

Ryan and Jen had very elegant, simple rings. And Jen’s bouquet was a beautiful contrast of bright vibrant colors to the snowy day.

The George Washington Hotel

The October themed cake!

Ryan and Jen did their guest book a bit differently. You simply pressed your finger to stamp a print on their tree of friends and family instead of signing a book.

All of us hanging out waiting for the introductions

Montana and Karen

Mike and Susan

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Moody!

First dance as husband and wife.

If you watched close enough, you can see how much they love each other… even if they were shy in front of their families the rest of the day ;)

Ryan’s Uncle Pat giving the blessing before dinner

Uncle Pat also gave a shout out to Mr. Chasteen for hosting everyone for his daughter’s wedding!

I don’t remember what he was saying here. But I’m sure it was a silly story of some kind.

Mike gave a really amazing Best Man speech to Ryan and Jennifer. I actually also got a shout out, too, when he mentioned us all meeting in Orlando.

Daddy-daughter dance!

Ryan’s aunt and uncle danced the whole night away. You want to see two people who really love each other… just watch these two interact as they tell you stories about their life. It was wonderful.

Mike, breaking it down with all the ladies to the cha-cha slide.

There were a few cheers to smash the cake on each other

They were sweet about it though

The DJ asked everyone to do a jump photo. Not my thing, but it made for a silly shot. He was trying to get everyone active on out on the dance floor a bit more. It did work a bit, actually.

Mike, always dancing. I have tons of video clips from when we all lived together of him dancing, too.
His wife Lauren is right behind him. I teased and said “How could you marry this guy?!” She laughed, smiled, and said “How could I not?!!”

Still dancing… some of the only ones left on the dance floor

Me and the Moodys!

Had to do one dis shot out in the chilly night air!

Last dance of the evening.

…and this is the face they both made when I was taking photos of them at the end of the night!

That about wraps up my trip to Virginia for Ryan and Jennifer’s wedding. Again, I had a great time getting to know their families and also seeing Ryan and Mike again. It’s wild to stop and think how fast time has gone since we all lived together so long ago.
From Virginia I went on to Baltimore and Boston – if you didn’t see my previous blog on the cranberry bogs I would recommend checking it out.

I’ve been swamped with work since returning to California, which is why this blog update is a bit delayed. I’ll hopefully have more posts up soon with some of the work I’ve been doing the last month.
Also, later this week I will be competing the RAW Photographer of the Year awards showcase. I’m a nominee for Photographer of the Year. So please go check that out and if you’re in LA/Hollywood area this Thursday come vote for me!

http://www.rawartists.org/hollywood/rawards2011

And to the Moody and Chasteen families, Thank You! I had a great time out east with you all!

Mike Wainio, owner of the Wainio Bogs in Carver, Massachusetts.

Last week I was way out in Massachusetts wrapping up the last part of a two week trip around New England areas – a mix of work and leisure travel. For those not familiar, Carver is right outside Boston, and home to my friend Merri and her family. Well, it turns out that Carver is a MASSIVE cranberry producer – at one point in the mid 1900s being the largest producer in the US.
I had ALWAYS wanted to see the cranberry bogs and flooded fields in person. And while visiting one of the Wainio bogs I was invited to come back and see them flood the fields in person!

You don’t realize how excited I was. Hell. Yes.

Honestly I tried my best to not be pushy with my friends about coming back right on time the next day. But this chance was going to make my whole trip that much more awesome. Seriously. We’ve all seen the Ocean Spray commercials with the fields full of floating cranberries. I was about to see that in real life. Sweet.

Well that Saturday I returned to the bogs with my friend Brittany. I chatted with Tony, who runs the Berry Guys Farm Stand on location there where you can buy all sorts of fresh fruit and vegetables. It was Tony who had first invited me out to see the flooding the day before and also said I could come back watch the harvesting. I then spoke briefly with Mike and Brandon who were going to be farming the field and doing the actual harvesting. They said come back in an hour or so and they’d be out there.

No problem. To the coffee shop!

An hour later Brittany dropped me off so I could shoot – she had a couple errands to run.

I wandered out to the bog where Mike and Brandon were starting their laps on the threshers. I waved hello and pointed to my camera and threw a thumbs-up… basically non-verbally asking if it was cool to take photos of them. Mike yelled back “Wanna come out here with us?” “Uh… YEAH!” was my response.

I walked around to the ramps. Mike picked up on his thresher, and soon I was out on the water with them harvesting cranberries! SO.DAMN.COOL. I’m sure to a degree I seemed “so Californian” to think this was as great as it was, but who gets a chance like this out of the blue?

I spent the next hour and a half with Mike chatting about everything from cranberries to motocross – Mike used to race motocross and I used to handle all photography for K&N, so he was completely familiar with my old employer.
There was so much I never knew about cranberry bogging that I learned.. here are a few things…

There are two types of harvesting. Wet harvest and Dry harvest. Wet harvest is what people all know due to photos and Ocean Spray commercials, the flooded fields. These berries are immediately brought to the plant for processing since they will spoil within about 48 hours. Wet harvest berries are used in jams, sauce, juice, etc. Dry pick berries are harvested with a different type of thresher and used for everything else.

Below are 40 more images I shot while at the bogs. I encourage everyone to read on. The experience was really amazing, and I’ll share more in the captions as usual.

Click the break for the rest of the images:

Mike and Brandon starting their first lap around the bog.

The trail left from the first lap. This was “cut” right through the middle of the bog. They would only be doing half this afternoon. The other half would be done tomorrow.

Mike said the question he gets asked the most is “How do you know where you’re driving out there?” This is how. You can clearly see the area that was already been passed over with the thresher versus the part that wasn’t.
Unfortunately I didn’t have a polarizing filter with me, but the berries show up bright red through the water.

As you pass over with the thresher all the berries float to the top.

These thresher wheels/arms shake the vines underwater from what I understand. They don’t damage them at all.

Brandon follows Mike, slightly offset from Mike’s path. You can see the edge of his threshing machine follow the “line” of Mike’s tire.

Me, riding along with Mike and Brandon in the background out on the bogs!

It was cool just seeing the water all around us full of cranberries

This is after the second lap.

All the berries blow with the wind. So, depending on the direction it will determine which side of the bog fills up.

Churn, churn, churn!
I’m really surprised this doesn’t crush any berries.

As we come around on the third lap there are millions of berries floating in the water already. Visibility is getting tricky. Also, note the size of the bog here. This shows about 2/3 of the width of this particular bog. Mike said that once they’ve finished the whole bog over half the water will be covered in berries!

To make sure they’re still on the correct course Mike runs the thresher, then quickly goes in reverse to get a look at the vines below and make sure he’s still lined up properly.

But the berries quickly cover the area he just cleared.

“Let’s try that one more time…”

Leaning over for a better look below

It’s pretty bright. No sunglasses for me since I was shooting.

Back to a clear area where you can see the full vines below

Out in the middle of the bog Mike laughs that this section is hard because we’re driving into the sun… and the reflection hides a lot of color from showing through to the surface.

Making sure we’re still on course. Mike said typically to pass the time he’d have on his noise cancelling headphones and iPod so it’s just him and the music.

Here’s an idea of what we were driving into… bright sun and a completely covered section of the bog.
In the background on the shore you see my friend Merri holding her daughter (right) and her sister Brittany (left).

Wrapping up lap number 4. You can see how many more berries are on now the surface after just those few laps.

Since my friends were back to pick me up I asked Mike to drop me off. Thanked him for his time and the experience… and I took his portrait which was at the top of this blog post. haha. I promised it’d be good, so I hope he digs it. LOL

Brandon stayed in place so Mike could easily line back up after taking me back to shore.

I had to do at least one lots-of-cranberries photo

As we were leaving I noticed Mike got in the water for something. I’m not sure what. Possibly moving some of the marker flags. Those little white flags you see are placed to help them navigate around the bog. Or he was adjusting the thresher, again I’m not really sure.

Back on course and back to work. When I left I would guess they were half done for the afternoon.

Again, I had an awesome time getting to chat with Mike and learn about cranberry farming. I didn’t find out til afterward that Mike is actually the owner. They own 350 acres of farmland and bogs. This particular bog that we were on that day was originally planted in the late 1800s – that’s OLD!
Also, in the winter time, to protect the vines, they flood the fields. Once there is a thick layer of ice on the water, they drain the bogs again creating a pocket of air underneath that keeps the vines safe and dry all winter. Cool, huh?

Truly an amazing experience. I learned a ton about cranberry farming and what goes into getting those berries from the vine to your kitchen.
HUGE Thank You to Mike and the Wainio bogs, and also Tony and the Berry Guys Farm Stand!

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