What made you want to be a photographer?

 

I’ve always loved pictures. Plus I was from Los Angeles and everyone there dreams of getting into show business somehow. Choosing photography was my way of compromising between the absolute fake Hollywood nothingness and doing something meaningful with my life. Photography allowed me to have a creative outlet while at the same time letting me have control over what I created which often is not what happens in show business.

 

In 1994 I bought my first camera and started shooting pictures of my then girlfriend, Christina, and learned a little about light. It whet my appetite and in 1999 I attended Southern Oregon University majoring in photojournalism. Right out of college I was hired by a newspaper as a staff photographer. It was a great experience but I soon found myself longing for more creative control over what I shot and soon opened my own studio to shoot weddings, portraits and commercial. I found that I had an amazing aptitude for making people look good in pictures; even people who were convinced that they would think otherwise.

 

In 2006 our family moved to Austin, TX and where we began shooting weddings and senior portraits. I love what I do and know that you will too. Give us a call about your professional photography needs at (512) 377-6169 or contact us and lets chat about your wedding, portraits or commercial photography needs.

 

What kind of gear do you use?

 

Canon EOS 5Ds and a big pile of stuff that plugs into those bodies. There are some amazing new cameras from Red, a digital cinema camera company looking to make it’s mark in the professional DSLR market, but they’re not quite ready for the intense action of a wedding. But where they are going is incredible!

 

Why do you shoot weddings?

 

I’m one of those guys who really felt something special when I was able to marry my childhood sweetheart in 1998. I remember so vividly what she looked like and so many amazing things from that day that I was inspired in 2003 while working as a journalist to start shooting weddings on the side for some friends for church. More and more people began requesting me to shoot their wedding and I left the newspaper to pursue weddings full time which was actually rather wonderful because the news business started to become stagnant and constraining to me.

 

There is also something very special about a beautiful bride. What a vision of loveliness Christina was on our wedding day and looking back on the pictures is something I have treasure. Every once in a while I enjoy sitting down with the kids and showing them what mommy and daddy looked like at their wedding. It’s pretty amazing to be a part of capturing those pictures for other people’s weddings. Wow, what a feeling!

 

 

How do you shoot a wedding?

 

The bride and groom are the primary subjects. Their interactions, their tears during the ceremony, the quick whispers upon meeting for the first time on the wedding day, the quiet glances as they exchange their rings. So many small moments that I can capture. I shoot the details and nuances of a wedding which is a passageway to the heart of the event.

 

I also capture the moments after the ceremony with just the bride and groom in what I consider to be the most important pictures of the day: the romantics. Just the couple and nothing else.

 

Family immediately follows and then on to the reception where hugs and kisses are exchanged and dancing and the wonderful traditions of the wedding begin. At this point I become more of a patient observer catching the twinkling occasions as they pass by.

I email a punchlist about a month in advance to get all of the details of your wedding in order: unexpected things that might happen, events or people to note and what formal photographs we shoot. I try to limit what is posed as to not keep guests waiting but pictures of the couple, the wedding party and the family are important. We do make it as quick as possible as not to miss important events during the reception.

 

How do we meet?

 

We usually meet at a coffee shop. I love chatting with new people about their wedding photography needs in Austin. If you’d like to make an appointment give us a call at (512) 377-6169 or contact us so we can get you into the calendar.

 

How do I book you?

 

Once you have decided to book us we have a contract for you sign to secure your day. A deposit of $750 is required to secure your wedding photography services for the day. We also offer a 10% discount on packages 01, 02 and 03 if you book at our first meeting.

 

What’s your favorite location to shoot a wedding?

 

I love The Austin Club, Green Pastures, The Driskill, Barr Mansion and Kindred Oaks. These are great place for Austin Weddings that have plenty of places for beautiful pictures. I always enjoy all of the new places that we get to photograph too.

 

Do you travel for a wedding?

 

Yes, I regularly travel for weddings. I add a $250 travel fee to Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (and anywhere else between 50 to 250 miles outside of Austin) plus a night at a hotel. There is no travel fee for a location within 50 miles of Austin. We also have custom travel quotes for those who are out of the area but desire our services. contact us if you have questions about specific destinations. Our passports are current and we are available for international wedding destinations.

 

Do you shoot bridal portraits and engagements?

 

I shoot more engagement portraits in Austin than anything else and that could be because they make the couple look like they should be in a magazine. I have honed my talent for drawing something out of people that they didn’t even know that they had inside. My engagements are evocative and rather than there being just a picture of of a couple, it makes you yearn to feel in love as much as those in the picture. There’s a certain passion that I can capture that makes my engagements fairly revolutionary in their style. You don’t need to be a model. You just need to be you, and I’ll do the rest. You’ll be astounded at the results.

Bridal portraits in Austin are so much fun. I was flustered when I saw Christina for the first time on our wedding day. It was an astounding event to see her that day coming down the aisle and I love being a part of being able to preserve the vision of loveliness that is a bride. I work hard to create something beautiful but compelling as well which may not always happen in a grassy field. I love to contrast the beauty of a bride with the ugliness of the world in a way that emotes something more. But I always want the bridal portrait to be truly an expression of the bride.

 

Do you shoot anything other than weddings and couples?

 

Seniors! High school graduates are rocking the world of our new studio in Austin and seeing just how much the walls can take! Click here to go to the Austin senior photographs section of the website and take a look.

 

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever shot?

 

I was assigned to photograph the President once. It was fun. I was stuck on a press stage about 100 feet away with all of the other media. I stood in the same spot for three hours. I got a lot of fun expressions during the 90 minute speech.

 

Have you won any awards?

 

In 2002 I won an Associated Press award for my photographs from the Biscuit Fire in Oregon while employed at a paper there.

 

Do you teach any classes on photography?

 

I have been approached by the Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts to teach at their private school. I enjoy helping budding photographers unleash what they really want to do in photography and enjoy teaching about technique, technology, and how to create something original while working within the constraints of those two.

 

Do you have a photographic hero?

 

I really enjoy the work of Ansel Adams, Jerry Avenaim, Douglas Kirkland, Annie Leibovitz, and Australian wedding photographer Yervant comes to mind as some one whose work has captured my attention.

 

What’s best compliment you’ve ever gotten?

 

“You’re the Elvis of wedding photographers!” I don’t know how drunk the guy who said that was but have always held that comment close to my heart because it made me laugh so hard. I’m not sure what it means. Should I take it as the young attractive Elvis who was the heart throb, the bigger than life musician who set the world on fire with a style not seen before, or the old, crazy Elvis wearing jumpsuits, shooting TVs, eating fried chicken and sweating grease?

 

Who is your second photographer?

 

My second shooter is my amazingly talented wife, Christina, whose artistic eye is fabulous! She typically accompanies me to all photo shoots and weddings and pays attention to details that I might not be able to catch or even notice. You can check out her family portrait work and the “softer side” of Rebel with a Camera at Sparklefine Photography.

 

Why do you live in Austin, Texas?

 

The music and the food! Austin is the best place to live in the world! My wife and I are both originally from Los Angeles. During the eighties our parents decided to move to Southern Oregon when we were kids and live a quiet life in a quite town. Southern Oregon is no place to be an artist, have a career, make money, or have a life! After we got married and started our business, we decided we wanted to live SOMEWHERE! Going back to LA wasn’t an option. Who wants the traffic, the smog, the 10+ million people, and the $500K 1 bedroom houses? But to where? My wife’s grandmother was born and raised in San Antonio, but had moved to the West Coast 50 years ago. Christina wanted to rediscover her Texas roots and to reconnect with her long lost relatives. We knew Austin was a haven for artists and musicians, so we packed up our family and went East. It has been the best move in our lives. Being a wedding photographer in Austin is wonderful.

 

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

 

Shooting a new wedding with the love of my life by my side trying to capture the best pictures ever. That is until the next wedding.