Raquel & Mike's Prewedding Shoot.

We got together this past Sunday after squeezing some time from their busy travel schedules. Raquel and Mike are old friends of and referrals from uber-clients Michelle and Bob Barlesi who's wedding I photographed last year.

Raquel and Mike have friends with property in Napa and we were lucky enough to photograph there. The setting was incredible as Sciandri Vineyards is situated near the top of a hill overlooking acres of vines. Much of the property has seemingly been sculpted with photography in mind. We spent hours there! After wrapping up we talked with the Sciandri's for a bit who said their first bottling was probably going to be released in 2008.

After a short drive up the road and through a private gated entry we were at the Caldwell Vineyard. The land in this area is very hilly with terrific western exposure and packed with row after row of grapevines. It is late Spring so they are not bearing fruit just yet, but the vines themselves are very picturesque as they wind along the hillsides. Views of the Napa Valley were awesome too. We made certain to hang around for some late afternoon shooting just prior to sunset.

Veronica & Allen's Prewedding Shoot.

Back-to-back shoots on Sunday and Monday. It was another outstanding day to be at the beach again because it was another 80+ degree day, a rarity in San Francisco. Veronica and Allen wanted the theme to be San Francisco landmarks. We started in the Nob Hill area, went to the Palace of Fine Arts, and ended at Baker Beach.

Nob Hill has great views in nearly all directions given its location. In addition, all three cable car lines traverse the hill making for an interesting backdrop alongside the Transamerica Pyramid. For those interested, Powell and California is the one intersection where all three routes cross.

As we walked the Palace of Fine Arts, Allen told me that it was a location in the movie So I Married an Axe Murderer. Well, that got me interested so after a little Google I found a page with movie stills. We were running a bit late but we made it to the beach after driving briskly through the Presidio. Gotta get that 20 minutes of warm light. The sand was crowded with people taking advantage of the temperature. I wonder how many people skipped out of work early? Kind of like Hawaii when work or school interfers with the tide schedule ;)

Theresa & Toan's Prewedding Shoot.

It was so hot in the Bay Area this past weekend you could pretty much cook your dinner outside on the blacktop. Luckily, we decided to go to Santa Cruz for the afternoon where it was a cool 80+ degrees at the beach. The world famous Mystery Spot was our starting point. There is no question it was "world famous" because we saw people from all over the world fill the parking lots on this Sunday afternoon. We concluded that the Mystery Spot is definitely in the Santa Cruz tour guides as a must-see.

Back when they were in school, Toan asked Theresa out to lunch in between classes. This was a stop on their first date! He swore that they would be back in time for her next class later in the afternoon. I forget now if she said they made it but as everyone knows the highlight of this stop is the coveted yellow Mystery Spot bumper sticker and Toan made sure to get his. ;) Don't forget your oooo's and aaahhhh's when seeing all the oddities during the tour.

We then drove along West Cliff past the Lighthouse and stopped at Natural Bridges State Beach located at the edge of town. Everyone went sans chaussures as we strolled along the water's edge and up to the worn cliffs at the south end of the beach. Can you tell I like shooting sunsets? Must be the landscape photographer in me. Can't wait for this Blazing 7's wedding (07/07/07) because it will be huge and may have some very interesting accessories.

Michele & Joaquin's Prewedding Shoot.

We got together this past Monday afternoon to shoot in Half Moon Bay. You may recognize the building in the background of the first image - its the Ritz Carlton which appeared in American Wedding (aka American Pie 3). The setting is idyllic and we spent the rest of the day on paths around the adjoining golf course and the beach below the hotel. They claimed to be not very PDA-ish but I have photos that prove otherwise ;) Joaquin lamented not being to work out earlier in the day so Michele help out with some drills on the beach.

Michele and Joaquin grew up in the Bay Area and met through friends while in high school. They were engaged in 2006 and are getting married in June. Woohoo! This fun couple was referred by Michelle and Bob, some great clients whose wedding I photographed last year in August of 2006. Check back mid June for pictures from the wedding.

The famous HMB fog was fixin' to roll in all afternoon but it dissipated just before sunset. The cold ocean air was starting to raise some goosebumps but waiting out the sunset was totally worth it. Wrapping up just after 8pm we all raced home in time to watch Heroes and, later, The Riches.