we're winners!




check out this cool site, the wedding photography project, dedicated to "creating better wedding photographers," created by seattle-based photographer, cory parris. this is a great place to learn more about photography, especially for those who contact us with lots of questions about how to improve their craft. we're actually featured in the latest post as the winners of the
"cool photo" contest, with an entry from joy & john's e-session. check it out below!

We have a winner!

In the first ever Wedding Photography Project contest, we have a winner! And the winner is (drumroll please)…Ed Pingol!

Here is the winning entry:

ep-3.jpg

camera setting was 100iso 30th @ f19. this smooths out the water falling and also gives us enough ambient light to light the whole scenery. monica, my wife is hiding behind the falling water on the left side (notice i didn’t clone her out so you can see her head) holding a SB-24 triggered by a pocket wizard mounted on a monopod.

The reasons behind my choice are first that I thought it was a cool composition with the lines traveling around the frame, the way line of the groom’s head and neck echo the line of the rock above him, the slow shutter speed to let the water blend, the cool use of flash during the day, the educational value it has for the people that read here, and just because I liked it!

I know that contest judging is always controversial because everyone has different favorites, but I hope everyone will congratulate Ed!

A big “thank you” to Ed Pingol, all the other entrants (I learned a bit, so hopefully others did, too), and Jim Garner the owner of the Boda bag company for putting up the prize!

here's the contest entry rules/description:

The “Cool Photo” Contest!

This website is all about teaching each other cool tips, tricks, techniques and philosophies. So here is our first contest to convince people to send me some cool tips, tricks and techniques.

Send me a cool photo (c@coryparris.com) that you took at a wedding. Include with it a short paragraph about how you shot and processed it. If I like it, I’ll publish it. If it’s the best entry (judged solely by Cory Parris, no complaining), meaning that you have a really cool photograph and included some cool thoughts or ideas on how you did that could help another photographer, then you win a brand new Boda Bag!

To show you what I mean here is an entry from me (I’m not going to judge myself the winner - I already have a Boda).

wpp-sampleentry.jpg

I took this photograph at Hill’s Resort in Priest Lake Idaho. The couple loves the lake and mountains, so I had them go out on the dock and used a telephoto lens (85mm on a 30D) to compress the distance between the couple and the mountains in the background. I used a small aperture (f7.1) to have some detail and definition in the mountains. When I processed this, I used a neat trick that I just discovered. For the last few years, when I want the colors to really pop, I create a duplicate layer and change the blending mode to “Overlay”. This time I sandwiched a black and white layer in between the original layer and the Overlay. This created the high-contrast, desaturated and intense look.

Here’s the prize.

bodabag.jpg

I can’t wait to see your entries!

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com

we're winners!




check out this cool site, the wedding photography project, dedicated to "creating better wedding photographers," created by seattle-based photographer, cory parris. this is a great place to learn more about photography, especially for those who contact us with lots of questions about how to improve their craft. we're actually featured in the latest post as the winners of the
"cool photo" contest, with an entry from joy & john's e-session. check it out below!

We have a winner!

In the first ever Wedding Photography Project contest, we have a winner! And the winner is (drumroll please)…Ed Pingol!

Here is the winning entry:

ep-3.jpg

camera setting was 100iso 30th @ f19. this smooths out the water falling and also gives us enough ambient light to light the whole scenery. monica, my wife is hiding behind the falling water on the left side (notice i didn’t clone her out so you can see her head) holding a SB-24 triggered by a pocket wizard mounted on a monopod.

The reasons behind my choice are first that I thought it was a cool composition with the lines traveling around the frame, the way line of the groom’s head and neck echo the line of the rock above him, the slow shutter speed to let the water blend, the cool use of flash during the day, the educational value it has for the people that read here, and just because I liked it!

I know that contest judging is always controversial because everyone has different favorites, but I hope everyone will congratulate Ed!

A big “thank you” to Ed Pingol, all the other entrants (I learned a bit, so hopefully others did, too), and Jim Garner the owner of the Boda bag company for putting up the prize!

here's the contest entry rules/description:

The “Cool Photo” Contest!

This website is all about teaching each other cool tips, tricks, techniques and philosophies. So here is our first contest to convince people to send me some cool tips, tricks and techniques.

Send me a cool photo (c@coryparris.com) that you took at a wedding. Include with it a short paragraph about how you shot and processed it. If I like it, I’ll publish it. If it’s the best entry (judged solely by Cory Parris, no complaining), meaning that you have a really cool photograph and included some cool thoughts or ideas on how you did that could help another photographer, then you win a brand new Boda Bag!

To show you what I mean here is an entry from me (I’m not going to judge myself the winner - I already have a Boda).

wpp-sampleentry.jpg

I took this photograph at Hill’s Resort in Priest Lake Idaho. The couple loves the lake and mountains, so I had them go out on the dock and used a telephoto lens (85mm on a 30D) to compress the distance between the couple and the mountains in the background. I used a small aperture (f7.1) to have some detail and definition in the mountains. When I processed this, I used a neat trick that I just discovered. For the last few years, when I want the colors to really pop, I create a duplicate layer and change the blending mode to “Overlay”. This time I sandwiched a black and white layer in between the original layer and the Overlay. This created the high-contrast, desaturated and intense look.

Here’s the prize.

bodabag.jpg

I can’t wait to see your entries!

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com

happy 4th people!!! - fun with fireworks




fun with fireworks... the safe way. = ) monica and i got together with friends and family, hung out and ate some filipino food and once the sun went away we all headed to the park. the park was conveniently close to my uncle's house which was about 2 blocks away. to my surprise, the park was transformed into a mini fair... they had elephant ears, wall climb thingie and sugar free snow cones. anyways, once the sun went away we busted out the camera and started taking goofy fun pics. one of them is below, but if you'd like to see more... please feel free to visit the other blog.


//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com


vi and vince's "pre-shoot"




guest commentator: monica

denise and clarence, mutual friends of our's, decided to gift an e-session for vi and vince as their wedding gift. (they're such cool friends!) vi and vince are newlyweds, having recently had their civil ceremony, and will be on their way to cabo san lucas for their intimate destination wedding in a couple of weeks.

when they asked if they could bring their bridal attire, we assumed that vince had already seen vi in her wedding gown, though he had not! of course, we had to set up a a "first meeting" that we encourage all our couples to do just before the wedding ceremony, so they can have a few private moments to enjoy their "first glance" of one another and have it captured on camera.
so instead of a "trash the dress" session, i like to call this their "keep-the-dress-clean" pre-shoot.

baker beach was again the selected location and again, we were graced with awesome weather! (and several "full moons" of the nudists hanging out, enjoying the day.) the barracks provide a great backdrop, giving the scene a rustic, old-world spanish feel, a prelude to their destination wedding in mexico. and we couldn't help but take advantage of the platform with stairs, creating the illusion of a wedding cake tiers. this couple makes a beautiful cake topper!

congratulations, vi & vince! have a beautiful and fun wedding ceremony in mexico!


//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com


a little glimpse into their first dance in a couple of weeks

the wedding rings

stealing away into a secluded area of baker beach and the "wedding cake"

vi and vince's "pre-shoot"




guest commentator: monica

denise and clarence, mutual friends of our's, decided to gift an e-session for vi and vince as their wedding gift. (they're such cool friends!) vi and vince are newlyweds, having recently had their civil ceremony, and will be on their way to cabo san lucas for their intimate destination wedding in a couple of weeks.

when they asked if they could bring their bridal attire, we assumed that vince had already seen vi in her wedding gown, though he had not! of course, we had to set up a a "first meeting" that we encourage all our couples to do just before the wedding ceremony, so they can have a few private moments to enjoy their "first glance" of one another and have it captured on camera.
so instead of a "trash the dress" session, i like to call this their "keep-the-dress-clean" pre-shoot.

baker beach was again the selected location and again, we were graced with awesome weather! (and several "full moons" of the nudists hanging out, enjoying the day.) the barracks provide a great backdrop, giving the scene a rustic, old-world spanish feel, a prelude to their destination wedding in mexico. and we couldn't help but take advantage of the platform with stairs, creating the illusion of a wedding cake tiers. this couple makes a beautiful cake topper!

congratulations, vi & vince! have a beautiful and fun wedding ceremony in mexico!


//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com


a little glimpse into their first dance in a couple of weeks

the wedding rings

stealing away into a secluded area of baker beach and the "wedding cake"

emi and nicole's senior photo shoot




emi and nicole are high school students from hilo, hi, visiting california just before their senior year. stating that they're tired of seeing the same senior portraits from the same 3 different studios in hilo, they wanted something that would stand out from the other photos that will be in their yearbook this upcoming year. here are just a couple of photos from today's shoot.

enjoy the rest of your stay in "sunny" california and and early congratulations on your high school graduation, emi and nicole!


//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com



emi and nicole's senior photo shoot




emi and nicole are high school students from hilo, hi, visiting california just before their senior year. stating that they're tired of seeing the same senior portraits from the same 3 different studios in hilo, they wanted something that would stand out from the other photos that will be in their yearbook this upcoming year. here are just a couple of photos from today's shoot.

enjoy the rest of your stay in "sunny" california and and early congratulations on your high school graduation, emi and nicole!


//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com



jen & ryan's "trash-the-dress" aftershoot



guest commentator: monica

with an aftershoot scheduled with us, we were crossing our fingers hoping that jen & ryan would consider wearing bridal attire. so we were thrilled to find out that not only were they willing to do this but were willing to get near the water, climb onto a tree, hang over the edge of a platform, and essentially, "trash the dress!"

"what is that?" you might be asking. it's a relatively new trend in which recent brides (and grooms) are willing to don their wedding attire for a special photo session in locations/poses in which they don't worry about keeping the dress in pristine condition. some will walk through city streets for urban shots, along the water's edge or submerge themselves in lakes/beaches/swamps/fountains, and some have even set the dress on fire! it's freakin' crazy! now you may be asking, "WHY would anyone do that!?" it can be a metaphor that the couple has so much faith in their marriage that a wedding dress will never be needed again. or that because they spent so much money on the dress and it will almost 100% guaranteed never be worn again, not even by the daughter they are "saving" it for, why not put it on one last time and get some awesome photos. the term "trash the dress" has actually become a misnomer since many brides have been able to get the dress drycleaned and preserved in it's original condition. for more, check out trashthedress.com.

now back to jen & ryan... such a great couple to work with. they were willing to brave heights, tides, wind, sand, and dirt in their snazzy outfits and got some awesome images. congrats again, newlyweds!


//ed pingol
707.334.1468
edpingol@gmail.com
edpingol.blogspot.com

overlooking the bay

newly wed & just as gorgeous and in-love as the day they said "i do"