Beautiful Day Photography’s Weblog

I met Courtney through her father Glen who worked with me on a fashion shoot a while back.  He was SO cool and fun to work with and his daughter is NO different. I could tell right away when we met that we would be a great fit.  I JUST had the privilege of meeting Jason and I LOVE these two as a couple.  They are so adorable and have a lot of fun with each other.  Although we had the super unpredictable beach weather as of late, it was a gorgeous shoot and we had fun romping around before they had to bolt for their Yom Kippur feast…What a great way to start the holiday by taking romantic, silly photos:)  I can’t wait for their wedding in Indian Wells at the Toscana Country Club in November.  I am SURE it will be magazine worthy, not just because they are such a hot couple , but because Linda Howard is their wedding coordinator extraordinaire!  I have been waiting for a long time to have the opportunity to work with her.  She truly is amazing at what she does!

OK, so my FIRST Saturday off of the season, you would think I would chill out and go to the beach, but instead I went to one of the most fun and random events EVER!  The Redbull Soapbox Races.  Next year my boyfrirend Rob and I want to enter and build a soapbox car, but basically people create these elaborate costumes and vehicles and race them down the hill Downtown over jumps, curves and through hay bales….Basically, the lucky few that actually make it to the end without completely wiping out or destroying their vehicle compete for a prize.  The fastest one wins a trip to the REAL Nascar races with Redbull.  My girlfriend, Summer, and I attended and had a HUGE kick out of the people and creative costumes…I LOVE LA and its randomness! Check it out!

So Rachel and Charles are a referral of a great friend/previous bride of mine Nish Fuchs…and I am THRILLED to be shooting their wedding at Rachel’s Dad’s amazing $13million estate this weekend in Trancas Canyon.  We decided to do a last minute “pre-shoot” on the property just to get a feel for the property and lighting.  I will DEFINITELY be getting a work out on this hillside 10-acre property! It is perched on a high hilltop with 360 views of oceans and mountans…Breathtaking! Rachel has a HUGE fear of the camera, but I take that as a challenge and I LOVE proving people wrong when they think they can’t take cute photos:)  Both of them are SUPER creative easy-going people and I LOVE the vibe…and not to mention the funky Architecture of her famous Architect/Photographer Dad who designed and built the house they are having the wedding at.  It will be perfect!…and I LOVE what I took from this shoot.  Afterwards, we all went and had a little family Chinese dinner together in Malibu.  I opened up not one, but TWO fortune cookies after dinner that were EMPTY!  At first I thought it was a bad omen of my impending doom, but then the little old Chinese Waiter told me, “No that mean your life so lucky, you no need fortune!”….I’m sticking with THAT one:)

So I am SURE most of you must recognize the famous Leslie Sarna from all of the fabulous Bali wedding photos I have blasted all over my website and blog.  Through our journey together shooting both of her weddings across the globe and back, we have become GREAT friends and I LOVE Leslie and Sim.  They are SUCH great people and then to find out that Leslie is an AMAZING chef as well…I’m like, “Some people just have it all!”  LOL…I mean I can’t even boil water correctly!  So here is where we decided we have a GREAT bartering opportunity on our hands…Leslie needs photos for her cooking blog…I HAPPEN to know someone who can take professional photos:); Leslie LOVES to cook, I LOVE to Eat; She’s tall, hot and blonde and, well…I’m not:) So I think we’re a perfect pair!  In all seriousness, I think this is the start of a beautiful blogging relationship, where I get to come over to Leslie’s and eat her cooking after photographing it..I mean YET another reason to say….”I LOVE MY JOB!”:)  Check out some cute shots from our shoot and DEFINITELY check out Leslie’s Blog at www.lesliesarna.com (also on my blogroll).

Thanks to Shawna from Maharani Weddings for yet another gorgeous posting! 

Nital loves Kristopher, Finale!

Heather Kincaid, one of my favorite associate photographers, shot Sam and Justin’s wedding for me and she ROCKED it!  They were a referral from Lindsay Ravage, a former bride of mine, and although I was truly BUMMED to not be available to shoot it, Heather rocked it!:)

Sam & Justin’s Wedding! – The Regency Club – Westwood, CA 

A HUGE Thanks to Heather at LA Style Unveiled for giving me SUCH a beautiful posting about one of my weddings.  Thanks Heather!

My cousin, Baldomero Fernandez, or whom I call “Merito” is my Cuban Cousin that is a famous fashion photographer in Manhattan.  I remember looking at his college portfolio when I was 12 and realizing that I too could go to school for photography, something I never had even thought was an option.  He not only helped me choose which colleges in NY to apply to, but he was my inspiration for my entry essay and has brought me along on some of his shoots as an assistant over the years. I always thought I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but leaned towards weddings years ago and have never looked back.  You MUST check him out on America’s Next Top Model, Episode 2 “The Early Bird Gets a  Makeover” and DEFINITELY check out his website.  Here are his final shots for each girl from that episode…

www.baldomero.com

SO I have to thank the ULTIMATE host and hostess, Eric and Cheryl with AGR (Amusement Game Rentals) in Vegas, for not only housing and feeding me, but taking me out on Lake Mead for some grilling and fishing.  I went to Vegas for a few days and all I did was lounge around…well, minus my spa treatment and Rehab at the Hard Rock Casino:) I noticed when I woke up Labor Day morning, that Eric was in the kitchen furiously trying to upload some photos of his new business venture AGR Outdoor to the printer to make posters.  When I saw what he was sending I freaked!  “You can’t send that!  Let me clean it up for you”.  So here is the before and after (thanks to Photoshop and Lightroom).  I mean SERIOUSLY people.  ALL media and advertising needs to be retouched.  Remember that!

So I was put to work for a couple hours, then I retreated to the pool.  It was well worth it though.  He had posters made and a booth set-up for their convention two days later!  Go Eric!

Here are some photos from our long, epic adventure to cross Lake Mead and go where no man has gone before:)  The Carp in this lake are RIDICULOUSLY huge and plentiful.  I think I had one hooked at first, but after a long struggle where he candy-caned my pole, the damn fish BROKE my hook in two!  I have never had that happen before, but then again the pole was from Rite Aid:)  That didn’t stop me though.  I was determined to catch a fish, so after an hour of trying, I caught a catfish.  Check it out!..Oh, and thanks for letting me drive the boat.  The whole getting lost thing and almost running out of gas thing? …that was ALL you Eric!:)

These two are getting married in only one month’s time! Their wedding is going to be at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown LA and then their reception is going to be at the Sheraton in Universal City. We definitely waited till the last minute to do this engagement shoot, but it was a lot of fun!  The weather was overcast and cool, but to me that’s PERFECT lighting.  We stopped by the new Terranea Resort, then the field next door to Wayfarers Chapel (which they MOWED because they are so weird about me shooting there, but that didn’t stop us:), and then finally to my new favorite, bizarre spot, the Korean Friendship Bell.  They are such a cute couple and I can’t wait to see them on their wedding day!