Last week I went to Vancouver, Canada for Image Explorations as the opening speaker where I discussed a number of business strategies for wedding photographers.
Afterwards, Julie and I hopped onto a Princess Cruise to see the Alaskan glaciers before they all melt. What a sight! I have never seen anything so majestic. After uploading it to facebook, a number of friends asked for a copy as a wallpaper. So here it is!
It’s all set for 1920×1200 resolution (so even for HD monitors) and HDR.
Julie and I made a trip to Jamaica for Helen and Matt’s wedding. Prior to the actual wedding date, we took some mini excursions on catamaran and treks to town.
Since I am experimenting with fusion movies (especially recently with Taryne and Nishan’s wedding), I decided to do it with my own vacation videos and photos. Enjoy!
Day 1
Day 2
Like Jamaica? Me too. If you’re getting married in the Caribbean Islands, let me know!
Lawrence Chan
P.S. Bring bug repellant. No joke. Or is this something normal and I was the only silly one who thought not to?
Let me preface with this fusion movie – watch in full screen and in HD!
I remember Taryne’s first email to me. It started with, “From one Chipotle fan to another…” I had a gut feeling it would be a good match.
We first met in Rhode Island. I was working at Grace Ormonde’s office and Taryne and Nishan were kind enough to meet me there. We chatted for about two hours and looked through a number of weddings. Still having my Europe pictures in storage, I decided to share those too.
That’s when I got a bit embarrassed…then we all did.
The Europe folder contained lots and lots of pictures of food…probably half the folder. They were of delicious European appetizers, cuisines, pastas, desserts…oh the desserts, beverages and more. I tried with all my might to stifle a low growl from my stomach, but the sound ripped through the chatter like a hot blade through butter.
Seriously, what do you do in those situations?
Tee hee was my response. Maybe they were trying to console me, so they let their stomachs growl too. Laughter ensued and…the wedding day.
They had a traditional church ceremony (First Congregational Church of Los Angeles) followed by a Sri Lankan Buddhist Ceremony held at the beautiful Beverly Wilshire (Four Seasons) in Beverly Hills.
Right after the ceremonies, we had roughly 10 minutes to take some private portraits. My original plan was to photograph it on the rooftop of Beverly Wilshire, but there wasn’t enough time. So we trekked over to the pool and used a cabana as our backdrop.
Since I know Taryne is super cool, I am going to post some cute candid moments
Awwwwwwwww…
Some mouthwatering cocktail and hors d’oeuvres…
And the reception was breathtaking! It had black chandeliers, gi-normous black dance floor, wispy drapes, beautiful lights…
I later learned from Taryne that Sri Lankan people liked to dance a lot. My first impression was – dang that is a HUGE dance floor. Conversely, Taryne’s first impression was – oh no, I hope it’s big enough. It barely contained everyone per the end of the video.
While everyone was dancing, Julie, Aaron Dieppa and I were in the back frantically editing photos / video and sampling some out-of-the-world-yummy-miniature-donuts-dipped-in-cinnamon. After licking our fingers clean, we put the photos and video onto an iPad for sharing.
After being incubated in the house for weeks because of work, I decided to go out tonight and take some pictures of the fireworks. I heard that Pasadena’s Rose Bowl was going to display a pyrotechnics’s dream world at 9pm.
I positioned myself in the neighboring hills so that I would have a view of Rose Bowl itself. The following is an HDR image, but it’s really not so HDR by definition.
It’s been about a week and I already feel the tension building up again. In fact, as I compose this post, I am on Virgin Airlines due for Boston to work with Grace Ormonde. The stress free days of “No problem, mon” seem to be a distant past. And being sandwiched in the coach section with a guy who has absolutely no understanding of personal space and drops food on my lap as he wolfs down sunflower seeds do not help…I might as well have him lay on me. (Early P.S. I seriously hope he doesn’t read this).
Last week, Julie assisted me in shooting a wedding in Jamaica at Couples Negril Resort! Couples was nothing like conventional resorts with plush white beds and chairs, but they had a lot more color and culture. It was over a year ago when Helen contacted me about photography services. She’s based in Houston and I in Los Angeles, so we just exchanged emails. I knew that she was going to be a fun bride when she admittedly called herself a dork for packing two weeks in advance. To be frank, so did Julie and I mentally.
Matt – Helen’s fiancé and now husband – is a really tall guy. He even towers over me by quite a lot. He served in the Marine Corps and is now a teacher. Helen and Matt met while working together at a hospital. Their union can be called love at first sight if you believe in that…
One day at work, while Matt was on the phone with his best buddy, he told him, “Hey, got to go. My wife just walked through the door.”
Who knew? Three years later, Julie and I were standing at the altar shooting away. I love stories like these.
Anyway, below I have a “fusion” video where photos and video were combined. As many of you might know, I am a photographer and not normally a cinematographer, but I am fond of both mediums. The decision to make video on Helen’s wedding was actually not planned. It was for kicks.
With the Canon 1D MIV and 5D MII, “easy day” as Matt would put it. To be completely honest, it was not so easy if you’re trying to do both. My brain had to switch back and forth and from looking through the lens and at the LCD. I think Julie and I did a pretty swell job.
Watch in Full Screen HD!
I must admit that the day unfolded rather smoothly, which helped with my new video work flow. Helen’s sleight of hand make-up application allowed me to allocate time to cover Matt’s preparation. During the process, I learned something new! All buttons for a Marine Corps’ uniform must be upright and if anything were to have a single scratch it’s discarded. Strict!
Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) Dunns River Falls
I particularly enjoyed this last section. The morning after the wedding, we thought it’d be cool to jump into the pool. So right before that, I took out my AlienBee800 strobe and took some photos while the sun was at its zenith. The colors are so dark and lovely.
The following image is of me working at Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) – Dunns River Falls – with Helen and Matt. Yeah, I got chops.
Helen and Matt – it was such an honor to have had this opportunity to photograph [and video] your wedding. Hope to see you again soon – perhaps in Houston!
Sincerely,
Lawrence Chan
P.S. Julie bought a lot of Jamaican spices and we barbecued jerk chicken yesterday. While eating, I had a flash of inspiration and took out two strobes and produced my new profile picture on Twitter.
One Ocean Trails Drive
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
Trump National Golf Course – so beautiful. I was recently there for a bridal shower that was hosted for one of my brides. While they were enjoying their tea party and sandwiches, I ventured out to take some HDR images. I normally don’t fancy golf, but the weather was so perfect, I was tempted to leave my camera behind to hit a few holes.
There’s a trail beyond the golf course where I saw lots of people hiking. It snakes down to the ocean bluff, which is very scenic. Pets welcome by the way. This scenery makes it ideal for a wedding. Contact me below if interested!
Sincerely,
Lawrence Chan
P.S. I want a dog so that I could walk it at Trump Golf Course. However, I prefer cats more. Is it unorthodox to walk cats?
Beachy air, fantastic weather, loud music = good wedding.
So Michelle and Chirag got married at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. By the way, gorgeous wedding venue. Just a side note, they wanted unconventional wedding portraits. Me – no problem. You’ll see below
The primary photographer was David Tosti – awesomely chic guy!
Love the Heroes pose? I thought that would be fun.
Lawrence Chan
P.S. I did have some “traditional” ones for the parents, so don’t worry.
Marilou and Jed had an unconventional wedding. First, they did not don proper wedding attire – no dress, no tux, no anything.
What was cool was that it was super relaxed. Our portraits took place at Disney Concert Hall followed by some graffiti stomping grounds prior to the wedding reception. I loved their reception introduction – James Bond theme song electric violin! I want that for my own wedding in the future.
The reception was full of drinks, white decorations, white furniture, fancy neon lights, and FIRE DANCERS! Fire Groove is probably the best that I know of! They were recently on “Man vs. Food” cable television show! Check out the pictures!
I don’t know about you, but I think Kiyoko looks like an actress. She is gorgeous! And Chris is equally dapper with his ensemble. They shared their gorgeous wedding at Malibu’s Adamson House.
What was amazing was that the portrait session took place on the beach where lots of surfers were trying to catch waves. I was not the only photographer with a long lens there. In fact, the surf photographers had 300mm+ lenses, which made mine look like a speck.
P.S. I tried surfing once in Atlantic City, NJ. Didn’t quite catch a wave, but it was super fun. One day, I will try it in Hawaii. Who’s having a wedding there?
I am a wedding photographer, but I do not limit myself to only that craft.
I am a foodie, gym junkie, love of tofu, Chipotle and Starbucks Iced Americano.
While this website constitutes my wedding photography services, I should add that I am Grace Ormonde of Wedding Style magazine’s acting Chief Marketing Officer. You should check out her beautiful new book!
Want to know a little more about myself? Read my “about” page.
