Day 30...Part two

Okay, it's actually day 31. I don't know if I can part with this challenge. :(

If you stopped by yesterday, you would have seen that I miscalculated day 30 and was thinking that it was going to be today. I thought that it came at a perfect time because I was going to attend Mike Colón's workshop...which I did. :)

I don't want to get into too much detail (as I'll save that for another post), but I'm SOOOOO glad that I went! It's fun and awesome getting to learn from a veteran photographer, especially in person, but it's freaking outstanding when that photographer has shot celebrity weddings all around the world and is such a laid back awesome guy. Definitely invested my money in the right place.

Here's a sneak peek of what I got...

Day 29...Almost done + Another sneak peek

Wow...30 days almost done. Whew! Where has the time gone? Doesn't it seem like the days go by quicker as we get older? Ugh...

Anyhow... I'm soooooo in LOVE with my photos from Lorena and Alex's Stow Lake engagement session that I'd like to post another sneak peek :)

Watch out....here comes the cutest story EVER!!!! The brick above...that's how Alex proposed to Lorena. They both LOVE the Dallas Cowboys. A few years ago when the Cowboys built a new stadium, he bought a brick and had the above engraved. As they traveled to Texas to attend a game, Alex was staring at the ground trying to find the brick while Lorena suffered from the heat. Lol! I feel ya Lorena, I hate the heat!

Anyhow, he found it and proposed to her. :) Isn't that SOOOOO sweet?? He thought engraving a brick at the Cowboys stadium would be great for their future kids and grand kids to visit. Ugh...Alex, you're such a romantic! :)

And because Alex is the cutest...

It was supposed to be a "serious" photo, but he couldn't stop laughing. It's okay though because I LOVE laughing photos :)

Day 26...A Stow Lake Engagement Sneak Peek

As promised from yesterday's post, here's a sneak peek of today's engagement session with Lorena and Alex at Stow Lake, using the lenses I rented.

This first photo I REALLY LOVE!! The fog started to roll in and they wanted to change outfits because it was getting chilly. Thank goodness I asked if we could do one more pose because this is what I got. This was shot with the Tamron 24-70mm at 46mm, ISO 1000 @ 2.8, 1/2500 sec.

Lorena and Alex stepped out on the dock in their second outfit which I shot with the Canon 70-200mm at 70mm, ISO 1000 @ 4.0, 1/1250 sec.

It was such a great session today. I'll definitely post more! Stay tuned :)

Day 25...My faves #2

As I prepare for tomorrow's engagement session (YAY!) I had to stop and take a photo of another one of my faves...renting gear from Borrowlenses.com.

Borrowlenses is great! They have pretty much EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that you would need for a photo shoot. I've been renting from them for the past two years and LOVE them!! Their customer service is awesome. Whenever I have a question, I email their support team and always get an answer. They'll even link me to the best option for whatever gear I need.

Oh....AND another reason their customer service is awesome, if you request something in the notes section of your order, you definitely get it. For example, lots of people (including myself) have been asking them to draw something on the boxes of their orders. At the time of my order it was my birthday. I asked them to draw me something for my birthday and they drew this :)

Anyhow....here's what I rented this time...

They recently got a new batch of Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II, which I really wanted to try. Unfortunately, they were all taken and I wouldn't have it in time for my engagement session. So I decided to go with the Tamron version and I must say, I'm impressed! I did some test shots, in my room where the light isn't the greatest. I had my camera all the way at 6400 ISO and the widest aperture, 2.8. I was a bit worried because my shutter was at 1/30 of a second. When I snapped the picture, I was surprised to see that the photo was sharp! And when the shutter released, it didn't even sound slow! I can't wait to see what it does in the daylight!

I also rented the Canon 70-200mm f/4. I normally use the f/2.8 version, but I didn't really need it to go down that much in aperture.

Thank you Borrowlenses for always supplying me with great gear :)

Come back tomorrow and I'll post a sneak peek of my engagement session using both these lenses. 

Day 24...Sittin' on top of the world

I love that song by Brandy and Mase :)

We (me and the boys) had a fun-filled day with their Grandma in Brentwood. I'm sooooo tired.. I need to go to bed.

But first, I must post these photos. My favorites from today :)

Looks like we hiked up a mountain, huh? Nope...just a mini one at Grandma's park. :)

Day 22...My fave things

I've got 8 more days in this Thirty Day Photo/Blog Challenge, so let's play a game. It's called my fave things :)

Up first, I'm sure every woman loves this.

What's in your Vicky's bag? :)

Day 20...Night light

Um....here's another commercial :)

Just playing with some light. You can tell it's a heart, right?

Can you guess what the light source was?

It's the blue circle from the DirecTV box. :)

Day 19...Finally, a wedding

I have to admit that before this Thirty Day Photo/Blog Challenge, I was terrible at blogging my photos. Forreal!

Today my blog is about Jessica and Cristian's wedding. I met Jessica through a bride I shot last year, Adela (they are actually family). :) Jessica and Cristian met through mutual friends on Myspace. How cute huh?

Their wedding was held in the lovely, but hot, Brentwood, CA. I love going to Brentwood because I used to live there and still have family (in-laws) there. :)

I met Jessica at her parent's place. She was already getting her makeup done by the lovely Geraldine Centinaje from M.A.C.; hair by Chayo's Salon.

Jessica seemed so calm, but so excited about her big day.

 

Jessica's shoes: Lulu Townsend

Florist: Contra Costa Florist

Dress: Martina Liana, Flares Bridal + Formal

Cristian's tux from The Men's Wearhouse

Their ceremony was held at the beautiful Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. 

After the ceremony, we headed to their reception located at the new Brentwood Community Center. I've never been there before and was quite pleased at the many locations to take their formal photos.

The beautiful cake by Maria Vargas.

Mariachi from Mariachi Santa Maria. 

Here's their awesome wedding party. Don't you just love the Bridemaids dresses? Her Maid-of-Honor's dress was gorgeous too!

What I love about Mexican weddings are their traditions. Here's one where the guys pick up the groom and throw him in the air. Here's the shot I got. That's the groom's body heading out of the frame.

Here's what my assistant got. Look at the air he got! That's crazy!!

Another tradition (that I haven't seen before) is another one with the fellas. These boys and their games I tell ya.... In this tradition, the guys take the groom to the restroom, strip him of all his clothing (I don't know if they include undies, but I think Cristian was able to hold on to his), and one by one they head back to the bride and give her his clothes.

She then heads back to her man and gives him his clothes back. Cristian, you were such a great sport!

Jessica and Cristian, I wish you both many, many great years together filled with happiness, laughter and love. Thank you for including me in your special day. :)

A special thank you to the other vendors who helped made their day special:
Videographer: Matt Straus, Anthony Reyna and Ivan Narez
Band: Grupo Neblina
Bride's Jewelry: Cindy Louie
Bridesmaids Dresses: After Six, Flares Bridal + Formal
Groomsmens Tuxes: The Men's Wearhouse
Rings: Zales 
Caterer: Adan Gonzalez
Linens: Elia Sanchez (Jessica's mother)

Day 17...Some new reading materials

I picked up these new magazines the other day at Barnes & Noble. I love buying magazines. Actually, a couple of weeks ago I promised myself that I wouldn't buy a hardcopy version of a magazine because I have an iPad and can get the digital copies. It would also free up some space around my cluttered desk. :( I bought a digital version of the September Vogue and it does NOT work on my iPad. Argh!!!! So I had to purchase the hardcopy. Lol!

Anyhow, I can't wait to start flipping these pages for some great inspiration!

I posted this because tomorrow's post will be dedicated to a wedding I photographed a couple of months ago (that I have yet to blog...). Stay tuned!

Day 16...Happy Birthday

Today, or yesterday as you're reading this, is my sister's birthday. Happy birthday, again, Sissy!

Her mocha roll cake from Goldilocks. It was good!

See y'all tomorrow!

Day 15...Why I feel you should always print your photos

As I was flipping through old albums to search for photos of my sister and I when we were little (for her birthday collage to post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram [find me @veronicahudley]), I came across photos of my parents when they got married. And this is why, internet peeps, you should print your photos- it's just plain fun to flip through albums to relive the memories.

Yes, the photo may fade because of the chemicals and age, but that's one of the best parts! It's vintage! :) Just holding the photo in your hands, passing it around asking 'who is this person?' and 'where were you?' is why I love printed photos.

Here's my parents on that one February day in Hawaii.

Getting ready shots...

Not quite sure if they had a first look because this was the first photo in the album.

First kiss :)

My mom's dress was pretty! Simple, yet classic.

Cake time...

First dance. My mom still makes that face :)

I love you mom and dad. :)