Two wedding, Two States, Four days apart.

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What a crazy two weeks! The amount of work and travel was ridiculous – but a lot of fun.

I recently returned from a whirlwind trip that spanned THREE different states (not including California, where I live). My travels started off heading back out to Michigan. I was in Detroit-area again, this time to shoot the D’Orazio wedding.
For those who don’t remember, Mike booked me for his wedding nearly a year and a half ago. I was also able to shoot their engagement photos while out in Michigan last July shooting the DeLand wedding. Check out the last image on this page.
Mike and Christina make such a wonderful couple. They were a pleasure to photograph during their engagement session, and their wedding weekend was just as exciting. I have so many great photos from the day and a half I spent with their families. But rather than make everyone wait I wanted to upload a single preview for now to hold you over.

Also, Mike and Christina had this to say after my return home:

“John, we can’t thank you enough for everything! We know the photos are amazing! You are a true professional and we are proud to say you were part of the best day of our lives! Thank you again.”
-Mike D’Orazio

“I couldn’t of said it better myself!
I cannot wait to see the photos! I know how wonderful your work is, and it makes me so excited to see the final product :) You were very professional and did 110%. Thanks again!!!”
-Christina D’Orazio

After returning from Michigan I was home in California for about 15 hours before boarding a plane to Portland for my friend Theresa’s wedding. I was attending purely as a guest – however when a friend with gorgeous blue eyes gets married, I’m going to take some pictures regardless…

This is why you throw down a couple grand and buy an 85mm f/1.2
Yep, you read that correctly… couple grand… f/1.2 – this lens will be worth every penny.

I’ve known Theresa for seven years, we used to work together in Florida where I trained lifeguards and lifeguarded for the Disney Water Parks in 2003. So, when I heard she was engaged, I knew the exact photo I wanted to take on her wedding day… this image above.

I have a lot of photos from my trip north to attend the wedding; most of my photos are actually shots of me and our friends all hanging out laughing catching up on the last five years since we some of us last saw each other. But I also have some shots I took at the ceremony. Those will be coming in later weeks after finishing work for other clients.

Check back soon for an update on D’Orazio wedding!

New Sports Portraits, and some bikes.

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This week’s post is going to be a mix of a few things. I’ve been without internet (part of our city was out for three days) and am just getting back into the swing of things before leaving for Michigan on business Wednesday morning.
One of the shoots I did last week was with a model, and friend, named Chris Franklin. I met Chris two years ago doing fashion shows in Hollywood. He’s part of a small group of people from that time frame that I keep in touch with. Most of all of us from that group have gone on and climbed further and further up within our various careers (ie: photography, modeling, make up artistry, etc).
Chris has recently wrapped various projects with Nike and Adidas – so we talked about putting together some more sports images that could help his portfolio with different looks and style.

“Highest production value, John…” is what Chris said when I asked what he was wanting this shoot to look like. I’ll be honest, this shoot was a lot of laughs and story telling catching up on the last year. I had a few ideas in mind of things I wanted to try with lighting. Some of the shots hit, some of them missed. The running image above is close to what I was going for, but, I will likely try and bring Chris out again to reshoot it… I’m not completely happy with it.

The hardest part of our day was finding empty athletic fields to use, or ones that had public access for that matter. Overall I’m very happy with the images that Chris and I came back with.
I am, however, about to expand my gear (again) and purchase a lot of new lighting equipment… So I’ll be doing a lot more athlete and sports themed photoshoots in the near future.

Below I’m going to share some of the other basketball images of Chris. Please feel free to comment on which of them you like.

Before I did this shoot with Chris, I did some test shooting… with Beau.

Beau is one of my best friends, and old roommate. He is currently a working actor out on the east coast, but returns here to California from time to time as he prepares to move back west.
While in town last week though, I made him stand in as my test subject for the lighting style I wanted to do with Chris. I was pretty happy with how it turned out for a first attempt. I may go in and re-edit slighly; they’re a bit too contrasty right now. We’ll see.

Beau even needed a quick, updated, headshot while he was here… which was definitely easy to do outside that afternoon.

Lastly, I went riding yesterday with my friends Crazy Mike and Lyla Dee. You guys will remember Mike and Lyla from their shoot on Venice beach at night in the sand and water.
Well, it’s been months since seeing these two so yesterday I met up went riding with them. This shot was taken, by me, one-handed while riding alongside Mike on a R1 myself, haha.

Shot this image the same way. This is done with my 5DII (not my 1D) and a 16-35mm. Yes, I do put my gear in harm’s way from time to time. But, I get some really cool photos that way… Risk is just part of the job.

Mike also wanted a burnout shot… That smell takes me right back to shooting Formula Drift! Hahaha.

That’s it for this update, hope you guys hung around and checked out everything.
Wednesday I’m leaving for Detroit where I will spend the rest of the week for the D’Orazio wedding. Mike and Christina are a really amazing couple. I had a great time with them last July when I shot their engagement photos during another trip to Michigan. Their wedding will definitely be a blast – and with over 300 guests I even hired my friend (and photographer) Casey Shortt to assist me with all the madness.

Following the D’Orazio wedding I will be heading to Portland to attend my friend Theresa’s wedding in Vancouver. I may even be able to do some shooting while up there. We’ll see what happens.

Check back around the beginning of next week though! I’ll try and have a few previews up from the wedding! And I’ll definitely have some shots from the new 85mm f/1.2 lens I ordered!!

Cazz and Marissa – LA Apartment shoot

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Last week I had the opportunity to shoot with Cazz and Marissa here in Hollywood.

Cazz is someone I’ve been in touch with a couple of months. He was a fan of my work with Crazy Mike and Lyla Dee on the beach in Venice and wanted to do a couples-shoot working with me. I wanted to try something a bit different than another beach shoot though. Cazz pitched the idea of a black/white CK-style shoot.

Having access to an empty Hollywood apartment was definitely a plus. We went with the LA lifestyle feel, and for those of you who did what I did and packed up and moved somewhere to pursue your dreams, you know what it’s like to live in an empty apartment without much, or any, furniture.

One of the funniest moments in the day was when Cazz and I realized we have mutual friends in a completely different industry – Automotive. Many of you are aware that during 2009 I handled K&N and AEM’s photography for racing and am very active in the import car community.

Cazz was great to work with, as I said. This is one of my favorite shots of him from that afternoon. It needs maybe one or two more tweaks before posting to my portfolio… we’ll see.

So, after the break I’m going to be sharing just under 20 additional images from this shoot. I would LOVE to have any feedback from you guys about which ones you like. I’ll be sharing similar looking images, and want to know what you guys feel fits the theme and story best.
Also because I rarely do shoots that are soley black and white – so I’m anxious to hear your thoughts.

In other news, I will be shooting soon with a stunning model named Caitlin Kelly whose work I have liked for quite a while. I’m also trying to put together another shoot for this week, so we’ll see what happens there.

But please, read after the break, check out the images, and let me know what you think.

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Rosa’s Corset shoot

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Rosa and I finally shot again a few nights back – after months of trying to time our schedules and put a shoot together.
The inspiration for this shoot came from a portfolio of a photographer in England. That particular gentleman does all black and white work – it’s gorgeous stuff, all studio work, too.

Well, Rosa recently did a fashion show with a designer who makes her own corset line. That particular designer, whose name I need to get, was kind enough to loan Rosa an outfit for us to do some shooting. The original plan was to do all black and white images. But, as usual with me, I’m going with the color versions for the rest of the shots I want to share.

Also, I’m moving this week, so expect my next update to be delayed as well. I should be doing some extreme sports photos here shortly. I also have another shoot with Megan in the works – you’ll remember her from some of my beach work in the past.

But, for now, enjoy this brief update tonight!

Check back later this weekend for another update with another shoot.

A new month, a few updates.

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Happy May everyone!
Well, it’s nearly a week into this month already and I’m finally posting a new blog. I’ve been swamped editing the last couple weddings I shot. I wanted to get them completed, out to clients, and out of the way. I have some big things coming up that I wanted my plate clear for.
But first, I finished the Niles wedding and sent the images out to the client today. So, that means I pulled a two week turn around on both weddings I shot in April – which is pretty fast for the amount of photos and everything I did. The image above was from the Niles wedding. Jessica was waiting and watching Tara get ready and then turned to watch me just long enough to make two images, this one was my favorite.

This is another image from the Niles wedding that I really liked. There’s just enough uneasy/awkwardness between the two boys, Isaac and Jacob to contrast the uniformity and seriousness of the groomsmen behind them.

Now some of you may remember me mentioning that after I got off the plane from Portland I was called into Hollywood to do some headshots for an actor out there. Michael was a lot of fun to spend the afternoon with doing some new shots for him. The image above was towards the end when he asked to do some fun ones that he can use for comedy events and hosting (if I recall correctly). I really liked this one of him goofing off.

One of the more serious images we created. Michael opted to have all the shots cropped in tighter to better frame his face. I’m sharing this one wide because I like the feeling added by his hand placement.

A lot of you guys remember the night shoot that I did with Crazy Mike and Lyla Dee, right? Well this image was one that I took the next day in Long Beach. The shoot wasn’t really a shoot for me though, it was a mock shoot to get some video footage. So, I didn’t really have time to bother focusing my lights. I like this image, but wish there just a tad more light on Mike. Last I heard, these two started dating… so I could probably recreate this pretty easily if I want, hahaha!

Also, Mike has relaunched his website WePlayCrazy.com and it features a number of images by me! Woo hoo! Haha! So, check out the “About” section. You will find my images of Crazy Mike, Sean Logan (under Action Sports), and even photos of DJ Drizzle (under Production Crew) from our shoots a few months back.

And lastly on a personal note:
This is Paul Flores and his son at the beach. Many of you guys know how active I am in the car community beyond just photographing professional racing. Well, Paul was a friend of mine through the import community I’m involved with. He died in a tragic accident while working on his car last weekend. He leaves behind his son, girlfriend and family.
Paul was a wonderfully caring person who always helped everyone without expectation of anything in return, he was never mean, and never stopped smiling.
We all knew Paul and his Laguna Blue Honda S2000 as “Smirf”, and his death was both a huge shock and very upsetting to all of us. Please keep his family in your thoughts as they deal with the loss of a wonderful person.

Tonight, Friday, I’ll be shooting with Rosa. We haven’t shot anything together in a long time – mostly due to my crazy schedule. But check back soon for images from the shoot!
And it’s becoming more and more solid that I will be leaving overseas for an opportunity abroad to work on a short film in Morocco. More details on that to come… but if anyone wants to sponsor some high capacity CF cards or Lacie drives… I’ll gladly accept ;)

Tara & Michael Niles – (Sunny!?!) Portland, OR

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Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending a (surprisingly) sunny weekend in Portland, Oregon for the wedding of Tara Matthews and Michael Niles!
I have indirectly known Tara for a number of years. Seven years ago I lived in Orlando, Florida while doing an internship with Walt Disney World. Tara’s brother Ryan was one of my roommates while I was out there. I actually also shot images at Ryan’s wedding four years ago. So, this is now the second brother-then-sister wedding client family! It’s such a compliment to be able to do photography twice for a family.. especially when those people are in completely different states!

Well, Tara has apparently followed my work for quite a while. And as I heard this weekend, it wasn’t a question in her mind about getting me to shoot her wedding. What an amazing compliment to hear from anyone!
Michael, like many grooms, wasn’t too familiar with my work, but took his fiance’s word about me. Haha! Thanks Michael! Hope I don’t disappoint!

After knowing the Matthew’s for such a long period of time, I’m considered family and was treated as such while in Oregon. I crashed at their home, hung out with everyone, and laughed and joked about old stories and new.
Don’t get me wrong, I had my camera with me pretty much at all times. I won’t be including photos from all the prep, the nails, the hair, and everything else I attended though. I have plenty from the wedding day that I’d like to share.

So, ahead are 70 images or so from the Niles’ wedding. I hope you guys spend the time and check them all out. I really had an amazing time with these families last weekend. I even got to see the Grant family from Ryan and Jenna’s wedding four years ago. I was shocked they remembered me that well!

Enjoy! And please feel free to post or send me a message if you have any thoughts!

I LOVE this shot. How cute is this, seriously?
This is easily one of my new favorite portfolio images. I hope both of these two love it as much as I do(in about 15 years when they can appreciate it).

continue reading below…

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Adam’s CBR 600RR Rig Shoot

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Rig mounted motion remote shots.

That’s what I told Adam a week ago that I wanted to try with him on his motorcycle once my new gear arrived. I recently added a 5DII to my camera bag as my backup camera to my 1D that I’ve shot with the last couple years. So, as with any new gear, I was anxious to do some field testing try some different things that I haven’t shot before.

The trick with rig mounted shots is getting nice smooth motion blur while also keeping your subject sharp. I’m very good at this at the track, I’ll be blunt. Take a look at my Formula Drift and my Superbike photos in my portfolio and you’ll see what I mean. But, with rig mounts, I don’t have that aspect of control.
The shutter, aperture, and all the settings are up to me – even the timing is, too, via remote. But, balance and steadiness is up to my subject.

Fortunately Adam is a very talented rider, so asking him to remain motionless while maintaining a specific speed the entire time wasn’t too terribly tricky for him. The image above is one of my favorites. Helmet blur is completely expected in photos, so that doesn’t bother me. I was hoping to get a bit more of an angle on this shot – something we’ll need to try next time out. But, I’m pretty confident that this will still make an awesome print.

Another favorite of mine. I’ve never really seen many shots from this angle… or any shots from this angle actually. As I mentioned above, mounting points were tricky to find on Adam’s 600RR. But, something like this, shot next time around, on an open road in the hills, on a sunny day, will take the whole shot up another notch or two.
Yo Alpinestars, we should do some boot ads…. call me up, I’m available..

Here’s a slight variation on the previous shot. Much lower angle and a bit more aggressive. Still not a bad shot, I didn’t go through the trouble of editing out the clamp because the other shot will be the one that makes my portfolio in the final cut.

Here’s a shot by Steph as we were setting up the last angle to try for the day. Thanks Steph! You’re the best!

Overall the shoot went pretty well. The weather didn’t cooperate much though. The grey sky is due to it being terribly overcast out. It also started raining right as we packed up to leave.
I was very happy with the images we captured while there, and for a first attempt at this style photography and setup, I think it went great. I know Adam is excited to see the images too – and I’m hoping he’ll be equally pleased.
I’m also looking forward to next time out. We know a bit more now about what works and what didn’t. And, Adam is an engineer… and can totally design new mounts and things to try. So I’m looking forward to that and having another option or two!

Next up for rig photos will be TJ’s Subaru WRX.
Check back soon..

Preview of a busy week…

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That’s me and best friend TJ, rollin in his ’08 Subaru WRX. My first car rig test shoot.

I’ve been in the Bay Area nearly a week, again. I came back into town here to photograph the Lordan wedding in San Jose (more on that shortly). But, I spent all of Friday with my oldest friend TJ, doing some shooting of his car while testing both my brand new 5DII, and his new camera mounts.
It took a little while to find settings that I liked, get the feel of the lense/mount/remote setups… And I’m sure even for TJ to find a speed at which his car was smooth and steady. We also tried a few garages and outdoor locations.

The main reason I was in town though, was the wedding of Amy and Michael Lordan!
Their ceremony was gorgeous. It was at the same location I shot at last time I was here in town, however, this wedding was outdoors since the weather cooperated for just one day this whole week!
Amy and Michael are both really amazing people with really incredible families. I’m looking forward to editing more photos to share with you all as I begin to sort them in the week ahead. Please check back in a few days for more on their wedding!

As I said above, TJ and I tried a number of different locations both indoor and out.
The rig we used was actually TJ’s new video rig, which, held my 5DII great. These shots were all done with the Canon 15mm Fisheye lens, too.
I’m currently working with a fabricator back home in Socal to develop a completely custom rig for myself and my work. Hopefully that will be done in the near future since I’m really excited to continue to experiment with various shots.

Speaking of experimenting with angles, gear, and rigs… check out this shot of Adam.
Also coming up this week I’ll post a few more images of Adam that I shot today – yep, we went out on Easter morning. I wanted to try some rig-mounted motorcycle images of him since he’s one of the most experienced riders I know. We tried a number of different things before the weather turned foul. Also, now we have some more ideas for next time of what worked and what didn’t.
So, next time around, they’ll be even better.

And lastly, I want to leave you all with this little gem…

This was the first image I shot with my new 5DII this week the day after it arrived.
Keepin’ it classy.

Derek Jameson’s new promo shots

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Derek Jameson, singer/songwriter and musician in Hollywood, is a very old friend of mine.
And, being old friends, Derek has called me up a couple times when he’s been in a pinch for photos. Two weeks ago was one of those times.

It’s frustrating for anyone who pays for any service and there is a delay on that product. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have photos delayed being delivered to you. Well, that’s exactly what Derek was dealing with… a photographer was late getting images to him, and Derek needed them that weekend for new promo material for upcoming shows.

So Derek called me up for a last minute shoot…

We went to downtown Huntington Beach for a quick shoot on the streets. I originally planned to do a daylight shoot… so I didn’t bring my light kit to work with. Fortunately I still had all my strobes with me or else we wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

The shoot went great. We kept it simple, and Derek made sure that things moved pretty quick and we were in and out.

Images were sent to the graphic designer the next morning and promo material was created by the next afternoon. I’m glad that I was able to help him out on such short notice. I’m sure it’s not the last time I’ll be shooting Derek either. If you do a search on my blogs, you’ll find many of the other shoots we’ve done in the past for his cd covers and magazine features.

Been a busy March…

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Wow, March is flying by already!
I started off the month up in San Francisco with some of the members of our car club, TOPDOWN. We attended Wekfest 2010 in Japantown and took home Third Place overall. Also, one of our members and really great friend of mine, Alex Doan took home a first place award for his Spoon S2000. For those of you familiar with the import community and have heard of Spoon’s black Honda S2000, that’s owned by Alex.. and he drove it up to the Bay Area from here in Socal to compete/show.

One handed shot with my Mark III while driving North on 5 in the rain and wind. Haha. Skills…

Also, this month was my birthday, nearly a week ago…

So, I got to celebrate (a bit early) with a couple friends at Disneyland! Haha! TJ, me, and Laura spent the day running around the parks riding rides and taking photos. My old friend Phil signed us in (Thanks Phil!) so we could enjoy the sunny weather and Laura could see Disneyland for the first time ever. TJ came along since he hadn’t been since he was a kid. Had a great time though!

Now like I said, this month has been crazy running around and taking care of a lot of things at a more personal level. I’m relocating/moving soon – still based in Socal though. I’m planning some upcoming trips to the Bay Area, Oregon, and possibly to Sacramento, too. All are work related trips and involve logistical planning with clients/etc. And, my birthday weekend lasted about five days… I won’t lie. Hahaha!

On a professional note though…
I’ve been notified recently of various images of mine being used by clients for many different things…

Jesse got ahold of me this morning, from Brazil, to let me know that one of my shots of him is being used on a press release there in Sao Paulo where he is currently doing shows.
So, I’ve been published in Brazil now! Woo hoo!

Jesse’s also running the image on his promotional material, and his new cd cover.

I recently did a shoot with Derek Jameson. I’ve worked with Derek many times on promotional material, album covers, and his magazine feature that was published last summer. Derek called me up needing a last minute shoot for some upcoming shows. We did a very quick shoot in Huntington Beach – I’ll post more from that shoot on my next update.

This promo poster uses an image of Derek from the shoot we did for his magazine feature in Unzipped, published July 2009.

I may have shared this before now that I’m thinking of it… But, Rick Thorne uses my images on lots of his promo material. And, this image for his Grindz and Rhymez tour features my image of him on Monster Energy’s website.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Not many new images to share with everyone just yet. I’ll have some new stuff up shortly, including another shoot with Derek Jameson (that I mentioned above). Hope everyone is having a great month! As busy as I am right now I’m still having a great time.