A Look at the Beginning

This past weekend, I shot the 200th wedding of my photography career. It's pretty crazy to see how fast time has flown by over the past five years since I started shooting weddings in July of 2009 with my good friend, David. Back then, I had one camera (Nikon D200), didn't believe in RAW, loved SOOC (straight out of camera) JPGs, was clueless about editing, and had a strong desire to get my feet wet in the wedding industry. I shot the image above of Crystal and Keola at my very first wedding over at a private estate in Hawaii Kai with David. It's interesting how clear that day stays in my memory, even though it happened years ago. The emotions, the colors, the people, the excitement, it was something I had never seen together in one event before.

I've been asked by people if it gets boring shooting so many weddings. My answer is of course not. Every wedding is different, in every way you can imagine. Every wedding has a different story to tell, a different vibe to capture. Each couple has a different vision for their big day, and how it unfolds is always something that keeps things fresh. Weddings have taken me to faraway places, from Palau in the South Pacific, to Montana in the Pacific Northwest. I've had the opportunity to shoot couples in a helicopter and on a private yacht. I've done weddings for high school friends and not realizing they were getting married until they began walking down the wedding aisle. I've worked with couples who've been together for 10 months, and those who have been together for 16 years. I've shot weddings on days that were threatened by hurricanes, and days that were blessed with perfect weather. I've experienced the cultural vibrance of Indian weddings, and the quiet intimacy of couple-only weddings. 

Today, I'm fortunate enough to work with an amazing team of artists from Isle Media who make shooting weddings a seamless experience. Sharing the memories, peaceful and crazy, good and bad, with them have made weddings more dynamic than ever for me. Every week is a new adventure, and I'm very lucky that I found this path in my life. Stoked for what's to come in 2015!