So everything was set for South Coast Winery in Temecula when I was informed by Summer that plans fell apart and that they would instead be having the ceremony at a location called Bay View Park on Coronado Island. Bay View Park is a small and intimate location, making it the perfect setting for such a event. Therefore, the ceremony site move from Temecula to Coronado wasn’t a bad thing at all. Below are my photos of Ron Burgandy’s turf, and of course Summer and Jay’s vow renewal extravaganza! Let’s go!

Summer and Jay are both transplants from far away distant galaxies known as South Carolina and Texas.  I don’t recall the specifics on exactly how they arrived in Southern California, but I heard them speak frequently about something called the “shake weight” so I can only assume they had some sort of partnership or investment in the fitness product that literally vibrates uncontrollably in a person’s hand. The device sounded pretty exciting.

I absolutely love it when I get to spend extended time with my clients because it allows me to be a little more creative with some shots. For example, the above images that were taken in the middle of the day in Summer and Jay’s backyard. I used some off-camera lighting to blast a a white curtain that created the silhouette shots. However, I think the best photograph is the one below. A simple note written on a kitchen white board that says it all.

After the vow renewal, some friends and family gathered at Summer and Jay’s pad to cook up some crawfish, shrimp, and all the fixings. This was the first time I ever ate crawfish so it was a pretty big event in my life. I felt like John Wayne. He probably ate crawfish for breakfast before he killed Indians.

Although this Temecula wedding photographer had to be a Coronado wedding photographer for the day, I could not have been happier getting to spend my day with such friendly people full of life. Hopefully, my new friends will give me the opportunity to shoot their next vow renewal ceremony. Congrats Jay & Summer! Continue being strong like the lion, smart like the beaver and wild like the might grizzly during a salmon run!

For those who aren’t familiar with photo-booths, basically a backdrop is set-up, different props such as cowboy hats, goofy glasses and wrestling masks are available for people to wear, and the photographer just snaps away at people as they walk in for a little fun. Photo-booths are always entertaining, and get wedding guests into the mood to party. Old, young, tall, short, drunk or sober, everyone rocks while in the photo-booth! Although this Temecula wedding photographer was not able to rock the photos of the ceremony, I was still able to bring the heat in the photo-booth baby! Here are some of the photos I shot while rocking the photo-booth at Lorimar Winery this past Saturday night! Let’s go!

In all serious now, I had a rad time shooting with Anthony, and in just the one day shooting with him I felt my wedding photography skills improved. He is a very talented young photographer with the type of facial hair that would make any man jealous. I look forward to working with him again sometime in the future.

The first question you might be asking is why do I have so many photos of the groomsmen? Well the answer is simple: because I was the second shooter. That means I shoot the guys. The wedding day is all about the bride, therefore, the primary photographer is the one who captures the bride and her bridesmaids getting dolled up and all of that stuff. Trust me I am not complaining, taking photos of guys is pretty simple. Essentially, all I was required to do was take photos of them knocking back cold ones. I will say I was a little jealous though because the groomsmen were drinking one of my favorite beers (Stone, a local Escondido brewery). Disappointed nobody offered the wedding photographer a cold one (insert sad face).

Scott, the groom, is a pilot, and a damn good pilot if you ask me! Why is it that I am providing this information you ask? Well because during the ceremony he had some of his Top Gun buddies do a fly over, leaving white trails in the sky (Hopefully, they were not evil pilots taking part of a government conspiracy to spray chemicals on the public *Google “Chemtrails“). Some how I missed getting this shot… photographer fail.

My favorite photograph of the day is in the photo section above (the silhouette shot of the couple as we were walking back from the back side of the Escondido winery). #winning Well I think that pretty much sums up how I documented the story of Scott and Fawn’s glorious wedding day at Orfila Winery. Momma always said if you smell something burning, something is probably a’burning, and that is what the tag team duo of Anthony Carbajal and Rock This Moment did, set the wedding of Scott & Fawn on FIRE!

After Taco Tuesday at Guadalajara’s, Corissa was kind enough to let me take some photos of her so I could practice using my new tilt-shift lens. I really love my new tilt-shift lens, but at this point in the game I am struggling pretty hard with it (as you can tell by the above photos that were basically all shot with my 50mm). It probably did not help that I was trying to figure the darn thing out after two margaritas, which I swear were made from pure gasoline. Any margarita-enthusiast must stop at Guadalajara’s in Temecula during their happy hour and drop the $3 for one of these margaritas of death. I am actually shocked people can even drive out of that parking lot after a couple of those drinks…Anyway, after getting sauced up, we went behind Wilson Creek Winery at a spot off Buck Road to do a real quick mini shoot (Buck Road also happens to be one of the party spots of my youth, so it was nice to go back and relive the glory days of dirt party shenanigans). The reason I selected this location is because it is absolutely gorgeous this time of year. The spot is remote, so there are no distractions, and the fields are a rolling green and gold color. It is a location I would highly recommend any Temecula photographer use for doing an engagement or family shoot.

I would like to send a big thank you to Corissa for being such a awesome, sexy, smoking hot model, and not complaining about the continuous farts I was ripping from the all the beans and tacos I grubbed down during dinner! You’re the best sugar face!

When we got to Las Vegas the booze once again began to flow like swallows to Capistrano during mating season. We shot craps, drank beers, hit the Marquee night club and pretty much tore it up. A little part of me died that weekend, but it was probably a weaker more pathetic part of me that was no longer required since I am clearly evolving into an animal. During our stay in Las Vegas, I talked with Corissa’s cousin Brandon and his lady friend Stephanie about doing a shoot while they were down in Southern California for the week, and they both said, “F***Yeah!”. Brandon and Stephanie both live in Iowa so obviously they are corn farmers who have never had there pictures taken ever. Here are the first photographs ever of the two. Enjoy!

As you can clearly tell, Brandon is wearing a purple shirt. When I mentioned this to him he snapped like a bottle rocket, exclaiming that it was a soft shade of lavender. After a second look, I noticed he was absolutely correct. I felt like an idiot. Another little tid-bit about this session is that when we were shooting, a couple on horseback came by and one of the ponies took a massive dump relatively close to where we were taking photographs. On this Thursday the winds were swirling in the Temecula Valley…I will leave it at that. No, actually I won’t. It smelled like s*** when we were shooting. Like horse s***!

In all seriousness now, Brandon and Stephanie were awesome during this shoot. They went wine tasting beforehand so they really made a day out of it, which is something every couple should do if they plan on taking photos in the Temecula wine country, or pretty much anywhere for that matter. They were in a time crunch that day that resulted in us having to shoot a little after high noon (the kryptonite all wedding photographers dread), but other than that I was pleased with how many good photos turned out.

The groomsmen for the wedding were really pretty cool. They were knocking back whiskey in the limo ride, and were ready to rock right out the gate.

These are some sharp dressed men, and we all know that every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man. Thank you ZZ Top.

Unfortunately, I only had a brief few moments to get some shots of the ladies. This is because they probably lagged doing their hair, make-up and whatever else it is that girls do that requires 2 hours in the bathroom. However, I was still pretty happy with the photographs I was able to capture.

Below is a photograph of the father during the ceremony, and one of my favorite photographs in the entire set. Although it is cool to set up shots to make epic photographs, there is something even more captivating about genuine raw emotion that no other staged shot can compete with.

The wedding was movie themed, but all the movie names designating each table for guests were romantic films. I would have preferred Rambo themed movies, but I guess I will have to save that idea for my own wedding. Maybe I can just do a Rambo-themed wedding? Have the guests dress like Vietnamese soldiers, and I can wear a sleeve of bullets instead of the traditional tuxedo. I will speak to my lady about this one.

As you can probably tell from the photographs above, when the booze starts flowing and the bass starts kicking, s*** gets wild! Party on guys. Party on….

I was pretty happy with the ring shot even though I tend to struggle a bit using the macro lens on manual focus at 2.8. All in all, this Murrieta Wedding Photographer had a blast rocking in Anaheim, and left feeling good overall about the photos that were able to make the cut onto the Rock This Moment blog. The only thing that sucks about shooting with the dynamic duo at Your Inner Song is that when I see their photos of the wedding I am going to hate mine. Hopefully, they lag a bit sorting and editing them so I can enjoy mine for a few more weeks.

As hard as it is to do with all the stress of wedding planning, I really believe that people should soak up and enjoy every moment of the wedding process they possibly can, especially during the engagement sessions. This is exactly what Tenaya and Chad did. They not only got dressed up for the shoot, but they brought a good attitude and champagne! This kept the whole atmosphere loose and more natural. Later that night, we even did some rad action night shots where Chad busted out the wife-beater. Those were captured on Justin’s camera so they will be coming soon!

With wedding season just around the corner, many of us “wedding photographers” have had some holes in our schedules that allow us to shoot other stuff like maternity photos, family photos, engagement photos and personal photos. Since I myself also had some flexibility in my schedule recently, I was more than willing to hang out and photograph a family hanging out during a casual gathering at their home this past Friday. Below are some random shots I took at their house off Temecula Parkway near Butterfield Stage Road. Although the setting was nothing more than a simple backyard of a track home, and inside the house, I was really happy with some of the photographs I captured. Not to mention, the simplicity of the shoot made me feel comfortable enough using some Visual Supply Actions created by a local Temecula wedding photographer. The actions are actually pretty cool, and have been endorsed by a number of reputable (and stupid expensive) wedding photographers in Southern California such as Bobby Earle and The Image Is Found.

This series of photographs is basically what made me decide to blog about this photo-shoot in Temecula. The family took down this irie looking hammock in hope that the kid in the pictures below would sit and chill out on it so I could get some photos. Unfortunately, the hammock only added fuel to his fire, as he began folding the hammock and playing inside of it. I was able to play some peek-a-boo-ish, large loud guy with a camera games to get some photos. Total crap shoot, but I was pretty happy with what I came across. Typically, I do not prefer photographs where the sun is harsh and fragmented on the skin (especially the face), but the colors and feel of these shots were absolute gold in the mind of this Murrieta weddding photographer.

One of the coolest parts about this shoot was that it was real simple. The parents were not interested in putting Gabrielle in a bucket or some laundry basket to make the photos appear “cool”. Instead, they wanted simple photos of her hanging out like she normally does everyday, while playing with Tigger and some of her other favorite toys. They were not interested in making this some crazy photo-shooting session, and I have to say I respect that.

I have to admit that this little baby photography session was actually pretty fun, and a nice break from the normal Murrieta wedding photography sessions I am used to dealing with. Another special part of the day that boosted my ego was seeing my wedding photos in Tim and Danielle’s living room. There is no better feeling than seeing someone appreciate and enjoy your art!

Also, after talking with Tim and Danielle, they assured me that a babies’ butt was indeed smoother than any ice cold beer on any Summer day. Knowledge is power people. Knowledge is power…

The wedding at the Condor’s Nest Ranch featured a couple named Dan & Lauren who basically looked like the all American couple. I would not be surprised if in the future Dan saves a elderly women from a burning building, Lauren discovers the cure for hiccups and together they have a child who becomes President of the United States. Seriously… Anyway, here are some of the photos I was able to capture with my Canon 5d Mark ii. Enjoy!

If you are sitting in your office chair wondering why there are no pictures of the bridesmaids and the ladies getting ready that would be because I did not shoot the chicks getting dolled up. DUH! Jessica from YIS was designated with the assignment of taking photos of the ladies getting dressed. Typically, bridesmaids and soon-to-be brides prefer girl photographers shooting in the dressing room because of the high probability of a nude breast making an appearance. Therefore, I instead decided to solely shoot the men of the groom (groomsmen) for the day.

Thank you for reading my blog post. I understand there is a lot of other stuff online you could be involved with like watching YouTube videos of Justin Bieber, or looking at photos of what your friends had for lunch on Facebook, so I appreciate your time!

And remember kids, Dreams Really DO Come True!