One of the shoots up there was an Engagement session for William & Amor. Both of them went to Cal for school…and that is where they first met. Same dorm. So its only made sense that they had their engagement session on campus. [Must be a sports thing. Cal has a great sports program...and everyone there seems to love the school. UCLA has a great sports program, and Stef loves UCLA. UCSD has no sports program...and UCSD gets zero love from me. hahah]

We decided to take bart up to Berkeley…I must be getting old because I don’t remember it being this loud.

Finally on campus

So anyways, couple weeks back I was in the bay area for an engagement shoot. Maureen [Mo for short] is actually the younger sister of  Daphne.  Daphne’s was the one who first got me into wedding photography….and the first wedding I ever photographed. [For that, I'm eternally grateful.]  Fast forward to the present, I’ll be photographing Maureen’s wedding later this year. Crazy how things work out.

I remember Mo when we were both kids. She was always the loud one. And always fought for what she wanted. After getting every degree possible, Mo realized she enjoyed arguing. So why not get paid for it. Hence, Law school. Victor is also in law school. Power couple in the making?

For our engagement shoot, we decided on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz CA 95060

I haven’t been there since I was a kid. It was like a blast from the past. Retro. California Cool. And lots of deep fried foods/sweets. It’s like the Del Mar Fair, but all the time! We laughed, did silly stuff, took awesome pictures and consumed goods that Jillian Michaels would definitly not approve of. Worth it!

These two are super duper cute. I can’t wait to photograph their wedding later this year!

windy

My favorite . Victor is lookin like a stud.

Katy’s initial impression of Alan is not a pleasant one. You see, Alan has a thing for working out. And in college, you try to squeeze in work outs whenever you can. Schedules are all over the place…if you don’t squeeze it in, it won’t happen. So on this day of destiny, Alan rolls into class right after a workout. And little does Alan know that his future wife is secretly judging him. Judging by his muscles, she puts him in the “Jock” category. Jocks are a big no-no

Strike one.

And perhaps worse that that, he’s sweaty. EWww. Gross.

Strike two and three.

And if that perception had not changed, I wouldn’t be writing about them today. But as in all good stories, fate intervened. After graduation, these two were reconnected and Alan had a do-over card. This time I believe he made a much better impression. The rest is history   . I can’t wait to shoot their wedding in a couple of months!!

The holidays are right around the corner…and the finish line is in sight.

To be honest, I’ve been looking forward to this break since August. The last couple of months have been  hectic [As you can see from this  poor, neglected blog], but at the same time, extremely rewarding. And while adverse situations are unavoidable, they bring about growth and progress. In the coming weeks, I finally have time to show what I’ve been up to . Stay tuned!

So I wanted to introduce you, my 2 blog readers, to Sonny and Christie. I’m so blessed to have wonderful, loving clients.  Sonny & Christie were referred to me by a friend from High School [Its seriously a small world]. After a couple of email exchanges, we decided to set up a meeting. Now I’ll let you in on a little secret. I take my coffee seriously. I once received a coffee gift card from a client with a note that said “don’t stay up too late”. I teared up. Its THAT important. So when they decided to meet up at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf [because of their similar love for black gold], I knew we were going to get right along.

We ended up chatting the afternoon away. Sonny had the most amusing story about his ordeal in getting the ring. Shipping Difficulties. We’ll leave it at that. It involves many conversations with the Services Reps, heated “discussion” culminating in Sonny asking the Service Rep “Are you married? Do you remember your engagement? Inside that package is an engagement ring.  I need it.” You’d be surprised how far people are willing to bend when they know than an engagement ring is involved.

The rest is history. Here are some of the images from their engagement session. We shot around the downtown San Diego area. Such a fun area. Enjoy!

David says I am a hippie.

I say he’s a slacker.

I’m a perfectionist.

He is OCD and dyslexic. LOL. I just laughed thinking about that.

He’s a pastor.

I’m a scientist.

Leah & David met during college. They attended the same fellowship. And their first first meeting was anything but smooth. David called her to set up some rides. She thought he was a different David and chatted him up. awkward . Nothing really developed though. But then as fate would have it, they got together right before David came out to California to study seminary. Timing is everything. So after countless flights back and forth, David decided to take the plunge. Leah had once made a surprise flight out to SD to visit David…and for that, he promised that he would get her back.

David is kind of a stud on the guitar so he made a recording of himself playing some songs for her. Then he used some trickery. He went to the post office to get the package stamped and “post-dated”. To give the appearance that it had been mailed. Then he jumped on a flight and coordinated this feat of deception with Leah’s family. David dropped off the package at Leah’s house…and Leah’s family had convinced her to come home that weekend. When she arrived at home, she was given the package from David. In went the disc, out came the tears. In the middle of the waterworks, the door bell rings. Who could that be? Later that night, under the twinkling stars, David asked her to be his boss wife. and I think she said yes.

on to the pictures!

I asked Leah if she was jealous that her husband-to-be was getting so much attention. [See him in the right corner? ]

“my name is charlie and I will BITE you!”

This is a mean looking bird. don’t mess.

Boys will be boys.

I love this one. David has this look of joy on his face.

Yay sun!

This is kind of a concept shot. Initially the idea behind it was that “this space” was pointing to their hearts. Which they give to each other. That is the sweet explanation. Then I was looking at it more and realized it could also be seen as David’s single days expiring. =P HAHAHA.

One of my favorites.

oh sexy time.

I love how David holds her.

Perfect way to end the set

much love,

Jonathan

much love,

Jonathan

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado # 1, San Diego, CA‎ – (619) 239-0512

I’m doing their wedding this weekend!

much love,

Jonathan

These pics are from my good friends Alex & Betty’s Engagement session. I miss you guys!

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado # 1, San Diego, CA‎ – (619) 239-0512

much love,

-J