1824 days ago, just outside of Tibet, I laid my eyes on something that would forever shift the course of my life.  Her name was Felicia and although it wasn’t exactly love at first sight (I believe she referred to me as a “crass American” to her friends online), after a few days trapped in a Land Rover with my charms, she changed her mind and it had truly began.  Over the course of the next couple months we traveled through Tibet, China and Mongolia together before a tearful parting at the Beijing airport where we never expected to see each other again. We lived 9000 miles apart and both of us had life plans other than falling in love.

Now, very close to 5 years later our entire lives have shifted, we live on the other side of the globe from Asia, own a company together and get to spend the better part of everyday together. Never in my life did I think I would find someone as astounding as Felicia – everyday she encourages, loves and challenges me. For that I thank her with all my mind.

So Happy Birthday babe! Here’s to another 28,116 days together!

I love you, always.

After 4 years living abroad in Japan serving in the Air Force, Britany and Robert had a whirlwind two weeks in California. A few days after they landed they had their engagement session with us, then spent the next week driving all over California to visit friends and have a pre-honeymoon, then got back to So. Cal. got their wedding all put together, then had a beautifully intimate wedding day with about 30 of their closest family and friends. Two days after the wedding, the newlyweds pack their dog and cat into their car and are currently driving across the country to their new home in New Jersey.  An insane amount of travel (even by my standards), but I was thrilled to be able to be part of their big day!

Absolutely awesome was the fact that instead of favors, Britany and Roberto donated a hundred trees to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest (and you all know how much I love the outdoors)

Congrats again to you both and enjoy your new lives together!

We get a lot of question from photographers about our gear. From what we use, to why we use it and why it works for us as wedding photographers.  So I decided to compile a list of all the cameras, lenses, gear and tools Felicia and I take along on a wedding day.  This is by no means the definitive wedding kit, each photographer has a different style of shooting, has different needs and thus different tools.  While Felicia and I prefer to stick with all prime lenses because they give us the capability to work in a very photojournalistic way, always ready to capture the moments as they unfurl, other photographers might prefer various zoom lenses or a combo of zooms and primes.   Other photographers aside, after years of testing all kinds of gear and using almost every lens Canon has to offer, this is what we find works best for us and our style of wedding photography.

Throughout the day, Felicia and I carry two camera bodies each, usually one with a wide/normal angle lens, and the other equipped with something with more reach. Our wide/normal focal length lenses start with the Canon 24mm f/1.4 which is about as wide as I like to get for wedding photography. Super wide lenses are fun, but our images are about emotion and we try not to draw attention to the camera or lens it was captured on – we like to keep the subject of the image paramount.

The next step up is my current “stuck on a desert island” lens: the Canon 35mm f/1.4. It is amazing wide open, creates creamy backgrounds, and lets the images it captures have the feeling that you are in the room with the subjects. I have used this lens so much, I can completely visualize what an image will look like before ever reaching for my camera.

Then there’s the Canon 50mm f/1.2, yes that’s f/1.2 – amazingly able to shoot images in extremely low light and create the bokeh that photographers have been ranting about for decades.  It’s extremely versatile throughout the wedding day – able to capture everything from family portraits to the wedding reception with equal ease. Many other pros out there talk about hanging out with this piece of glass throughout an entire day and I could see how it could be done.

Next up is the longer side of our lens choices. Starting with the Canon 85mm f/1.8 (Felicia’s favorite focal length, although she still loves the f/1.2 version more), which can pull the action right to us and throws the out of focus area into dreamland – even though it’s the least expensive lens we own, it easily keeps up in terms of quality with the other L Series lenses (and as a bonus, it doesn’t weigh 3 lbs like the Canon 85 f/1.2) which my back and shoulders love.

After that we have the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, which is essentially for ring shots and detail shots. It comes out of the bag once a day, does what it’s made to do (amazingly well) then gets put away.

Finally we have my second favorite piece of glass, the Canon 135mm f/2.0. When I travel, the 35mm/135mm combo always goes with me and if I needed to I could easily and happily shoot a wedding with just these two lenses.   If you check my cameras throughout a wedding day, 90% of the time you’ll find this combo hanging from my shoulders while Felicia lives around the 24/50/85 range. That said, she kicks ass with the 135mm, creating artful images like scenes straight out of a movie.

As I said before, Felicia and I always shoot with two cameras each so we always have a back up body on hand and have a choice of focal lengths dangling from our sore shoulders. We each carry a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 5D with plenty of pixels, and when editing, the files flow together seamlessly. The 5D’s are equipped with my favorite strap of all time by Lowepro, which has since been discontinued, and the Mk II’s with my second favorite camera strap, the OP/TECH Super Classic. The two straps would be a tie in comfort if only the OP/TECH straps had swivels to keep the twists out of the strap. I know I am bitching about a minute detail, but when you have a camera in your hand 20+ hours a week, even the little things can be bothersome.

Next we move on to our lighting. We use three Canon 430 EX II’s all equipped with Honl Speed Straps - I know many people will ask why we’re not using the bigger 580EX II’s and the answer is a combination of things.  We use Pocket Wizard TT5′s to trigger our lighting and the 580′s put off some sort of weird radio mojo that funks with our triggers. The 430′s are only about 1 stop less powerful (which I rarely miss) but they weigh significantly less than the 580′s (and as a bonus, cost less too).  Also in the bag are a pair of Honl-friendly customized Gary Fong Lightspheres for smooth, even reception lighting, a small foldable Lumiquest Softbox III (for lighting in sensitive locations where permits/security might be an issue), and a Honl 1/4″ Speed Grid and a Honl 8″ Snoot/Reflector to cut the spill of our lights when needed.

As I said before, we trigger our off camera lighting with Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 and two Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 units, as well as a AC3 Zone Controller to adjust the power levels manually from the camera.  Since the Flex units can also work as master units, even if we lose any one of the units to slippery fingers, the other two pieces can still function in full TTL mode or manual mode.  If you Google around about these guys, you’ll find mixed reviews, but honestly I have been using them since they came out in 2009 and have had very little of the supposed issues since the last firmware updates.  They make life and off camera flash extremely easy during the rush of a wedding day when you simply don’t have the time to work the strobes manually.

Next up, is our primary off camera lighting source, our light on a stick. Named such because it is simply a small  Photoflex XS 15″ Octodome, mounted on a Manfrotto 680B Monopod using a Manfrotto Bracket then we mount one of the 430′s on a Pocket Wizard and we’re in business.   The monopod is a little beefier than needs be, but I already owned this model when building this rig, so that’s what we have.  Not having this on a stand saves us in MANY engagement session locations that don’t allow light stands of any sort – we skirt the rule and either Felicia or I will act as the voice activated light stand.

When we do need a simple light stand we carry the 7′ Manfrotto 5001B Compact Lightstand, and if I want to attach the soft box, all I have to do is remove the Monopod and slip the light stand into the bracket – takes all of 10 seconds and our light on a stick becomes a light on a stand. This stand is also quite often as a backlight that is hidden behind our subjects. I also have a bigger 11′ light stand that lives in the trunk for when we have receptions in a giant venue and need a high altitude background kicker light.

From here on out this post will diverge into the less sexy , but no less needed, side of camera gear. Like our giant wad of 200+ GB of Sandisk CF cards, or piles of  extra rechargeable flash batteries (in cases I found on Amazon) and lots of extra camera batteries along with a little Lowepro Volta 20 case. The case is carried on my belt with full CF cards just in case our camera gear gets stolen I won’t lose our clients’ wedding day images. I might be being overly paranoid, but we can never be too safe with the pictures.

In all the assorted pockets and pouches of the camera bag we always carry along extra business cards (by moo.com), Assorted filters (Neutral Density, Polorizers and an FLD for turning the skies an epic magenta) a Leatherman, a two sided Sharpie, Sunblock (for my uber-whiteness), a lens cleaning cloth and an assortment of customized gels to change the color temperature of our flashes.

And finally the pile of stuff that is always in the trunk of the car just in case we need something special. The Canon Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3, a Manfrotto Justin Clamp, a Manfrotto Super Clamp, a Rocket Blower in case of emergency sensor cleaning, a regular Home Depot spring clamp, more assorted gels, more fresh AA batteries, a roll of 1″ Gaff Tape, a roll of electrical tape, a couple little bungees, extra camera body cap, another speed strap (the Lumiquest brand that I don’t like as well as the Honl ones on my flashes) and finally the most important piece of gear on those really long, hot summer days – a small bottle of Gold Bond powder….

Yes, at times, someone even as cool as me might need a little powder.

It’s almost the season for college graduation, and yesterday Felicia and I spent a lovely spring day morning at Malibu Creek State Park with Jill, a graduating film school student. We had a great time photographing and getting to know this vivacious, confident young woman, as we talked about the movie/TV industry (Felicia and I have done a few independent movies on the side). We are quite impressed by her great attitude, wit and charm, so if anyone out there in LA who knows of an entry-level film/TV role to fill, let us know and we’ll send Jill your way!

Congrats, Jill, and all the best!

Last weekend, Felicia and I kicked off Wedding Season 2012 with Paty & Orlando‘s travel-themed nuptials in Long Beach. We arrived at the Westin to find the place crawling with sniffer dogs and scores of guys who look like they were with the Secret Service: I guess the Dalai Lama was staying there before his lecture at the Long Beach Convention center! Thankfully we had no issues, and made our way to Paty’s suite where she was surrounded by her closest friends and family.

Orlando wasn’t shy in making sure he got enough kisses on his wedding day. Good job!

Paty’s 100-year-old grandma congratulates her new grandson-in-law. She not only made it to the wedding, she stayed throughout the reception!

Congratulations, Paty & Orlando! May your life together be full of travel adventures, for many, many years to come!

—
Ceremony Venue: Grace Brethren Church. Long Beach, CA.
Reception Venue: The Sky Room. Long Beach, CA.  

Britany contacted me a few months back from Japan about photographing her and Roberto’s wedding day. Amazingly, Britany was planning the whole thing from overseas and they just arrived in town a couple days ago, and about 2 weeks before their big day.  Still jet lagged from the transpacific flight, Roberto and Britany met us for an overcast afternoon of engagement pictures at El Matador State Beach in Malibu.  They are a completely awesome couple and totally game for scampering up on the rocks and hiking down to the beach in 4 inch heels.  See you both soon!

Congrats again Britany + Roberto! We’ll see you in a couple weeks for your wedding!

Happy Friday everyone!

As you may have noticed, I have been pretty quiet on the blogging front for the past week. It was a deliberate silence as I took time to unwind, finding joy and inspiration in other forms of photography.

Tomorrow is our first wedding of the year and from there out, we will be kept very busy between wedding photography and editing until November.  Needless to say, I think we deserved the last week we took off – just relaxing around Los Angeles, taking a photos for fun, visiting museums, doing yoga, hiking, and eating too much.  Here are a few images we captured this week and now it’s time to pack all our gear and get ready for Orlando and Paty‘s big day tomorrow!

Wedding season, here we come!

Darren and Simrit came down from Canada for a Los Angeles vacation last week and the figured what better way to commemorate their trip than to have their engagement photos done here.  They are getting married in Mexico next month, but we were thrilled to get a chance to meet them and create some epic images before they head off to those humid beaches.  We wandered about the Disney Concert Hall and the Bunker Hill area before the skies went black and we drove down Wilshire to grab a few more images in front of LACMA at the urban art installation.

Congrats again to you both! Have a great Wedding Day!

Fiona & Jeffry found us through a double recommendation: We photographed their friends Yenny & Anthony in 2010, as well as Michelle & Endy last year. We started off their shoot at UCLA, since both of them were students there, before braving rush hour traffic to make it to downtown LA for twilight.

Congrats Fiona & Jeffry! See you soon at your wedding in June!

It seems like in a blink of an eye, we’re already in April, and for Felicia and I, that means we are on the cusp of wedding season, where we will plunge into week after week of non-stop shooting & editing. In the past couple of weeks, we’ve deliberately made some room in our schedule for much-needed social interactions, catching up with friends & family whom we would undoubtedly neglect come summer.

The previous weekend, while it was dreary gray and pouring in Los Angeles, we drove up to Santa Barbara to picnic with Felicia’s Singaporean friend Danielle and her wonderful French husband M who drove down from the Bay Area. I brought the Paetz hospitality and plied them endlessly with all manner of cheeses, cured meats and artisan breads.

A few days after, Felicia and I took my 78-year-old grandfather (my other grandpa, not Robert Senior) on a photography outing. He has always had a great interest in photography, going as far as building himself a darkroom in his house, and even shot a few weddings here and there. Ever since I bought my first Canon 5D (Mark I) back in 2005, Grandpa had spoke fondly of wanting a full frame camera and a 50mm f/1.4 lens. Well, we happened to recently retire one of our Mark I’s, so Grandpa is now the proud owner of a not-so-gently-used full frame camera and the lens of his choice.

It made me really happy when, a few days later, I received an enthusiastic email from Grandpa about how this was one of his most memorable days of the year, and he’s already looking forward to our next little photography adventure.

Grandpa also has a sweet panoramic film camera that shoots two-and-a-half frames of 35mm film, giving a 120 degree panorama. Since it needed manual metering, he shot while I metered. That’s teamwork.