ging and glen's wedding - st. theresa, kihei, maui, hawaii - maui prince hotel, makena ,hawaii

ed June 23, 2008

commentator: monica

"maui no ka oi!" maui certainly is the best! this blog entry about ging & gle n's fantabulous wedding is long overdue. this beautiful couple planned what was a "destination wedding" for some but more of a a "homecoming wedding" for these two high school sweethearts, who now live in the o.c.

both the bride and groom prepared for their big day at maui prince hotel in makena. we had to assure our couple not to fret over the rain since we knew these storm clouds would make for some stellar images. even with the intermittent showers, we were able to hold their "first glance" meeting to take advantage of the beautiful waterfall, ponds, and lush foliage of the resort.

their ceremony was held at saint theresa in kihei, which is a gorgeous church surrounded by stained glass windows, depicting the ocean. once back at the maui prince, we had a bit more time to photograph the entire bridal party and just as we had "willed," the sky began to clear up for their outdoor reception. the food was delectable, full of traditional luau "grindz," which was enough to satisfy all 500+ guests. (yes, that's right! this is our largest wedding yet.) the live band, super dub 5, entertained all! and there were still plenty of clouds to create a stunning island sunset.

congratulations, ging & glen! we hope you were able to eat the best saimin ever at hamura's during your kaua'i honeymoon. sooo jealous! =)

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

rain on your wedding day is good luck

the dress and rings on a "honu" sculpture from the hotel suite

the ladies getting dolled up

one of the maids of honor rehearsing her speech; a hilarious bachelorette party favor!

a moment to collect herself before the festivities begin

our very first groomsmen group with all white tuxes

sssssmokin' hot!

the bridal party

individual portraits of their good-lookin' entourage

the church

a hawaiian-style "peace be with you" gesture

they weren't kidding when they said they would "high-5" once their new status was announced!

husband and wife

maui prince

hooray!

sunset

the reception

party hardy

aloooooha!

individual images
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if you want to see individual images of this session, simply click here!
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awesome church + hdr = unreal

ed June 19, 2008

commentator: ed

so i'm sitting here processing thousands of images from our recent wedding images, and lately... i've been doing a ton of reading about HDR images on the side. it's crazy how complicated this technique is and even harder to master and incorporate into my current workflow. as of now, it's taking up a pretty big chunk of time, but i'm confident that i'll find a way to make it work cause i think images like these are worth it.

below are just 2 of what will i hope to be our standard church shots for our clients.

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

maui, day 4 - pigging out

ed June 18, 2008

commentator: monica

as much as i love paradise for it's seclusion from the rest of the harried life of the mainland, there's a small price to pay in that most of the local places are closed on sundays. waking up early to drive to hana, we traveled well over an hour in the hopes we'd be able to pack a picnic lunch of maui delicacies. we were sorely disappointed and had to wait 'til day four, which was our last half day on the island before our flight. we packed quite a few places in a matter of a few hours. tons of fun and plenty of yummy grindz!!!

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

t. komoda's freshly baked cream puffs and malasadas in makawao

the freshest poke EVER at eskimo candy in kihei. they deliver much of the fresh fish to the nearby fine dining establishments.

tasaka guri guri in kahalui. guri guri is a frozen dessert - a hybrid between shave ice and sherbet.

a beach we passed by in kehei

until next time, maui...

maui, day 3 - road to hana

ed June 17, 2008

commentator: monica

"the road to hana is a must see!" that's what we were told by numerous people when they found out we'd be headed to maui. we had visited the island a couple of years before but weren't able to make the trek during our a day and a half stay so we wanted to be sure to make the drive this time. it's called the "highway to heaven" and we now understand why. although the town of hana is a little anti-climactic, the journey is spectacular - full of hairpin turns, one way bridges, taro patches, beautiful waterfalls, fragrant flora, and coastal views of the pacific. and the homemade coconut candy, or what our friends chrissy & joey call "happy candy," was certainly "food of the gods!" as many beaches as we had passed during this trip, we really didn't find any suitable for sunning/bathing so we ended up getting back to our kihei hotel in time for a quick swim before sunset.

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

nothin' like experiencing hana highway in a convertible!

we stopped for a "picnic" lunch

honomanu bay

not really by myself

plumerias are my fave

a beautiful hawaiian sunset

stolen images

ed June 17, 2008

commentator: ed

over the weekend, several respected photographers emailed us about MP (*name edited and link removed).

our images were stolen along with other photographers we know and network with.

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

UPDATE: 6.17.08: we've since received an email, which is included as a comment by the owner of the company. here is the owner's comment and our response to his/her message:

---

Hi,

I am boss of the MP(*company name edited).
those photo is provided by one of our photographers,
I have been find the source photo in the web.
This photographer has be fire out. I so angry & humiliated about this disguised.

I have been changed it.

I would like to thanks Ms. SS to let me know this issue.

Thanks all.

---

Hello,

Thanks for your attention to this matter. We are pleased that you have decided to remove our images from your website, along with DC's images and very disappointed for you that your employee had submitted stolen images for your site. We also want to bring your attention to the fact that the maternity photos, contact page photos, as well as testimonials appear to also have been stolen from other photographers' websites and we strongly encourage you to remove these, as well, and be sure that ALL your images are actually created by your photographers.

We will go ahead remove your identity from the blog post "stolen identity." Good luck to you in your business!

---

we tried to replace an edited version of the image below, to remove the company's identity, from the screen shot but wad-aya-know, our image server is down!!! that's what we call the bank of karma in full-force. we'll get to it as soon as the server is up again. =)

thanks to all of you folks who were so kind enough to notify us about this ordeal. you guys and gals rock!

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maui, hawaii - day 1 - makena - iao valley - honolua-mokuleia - paia

ed June 15, 2008

commentator: monica

ahhhhhhhhh... paradise... that's where we've been these last couple few days to photograph a wedding on maui. (photos of ging & glen's awesome wedding to come soon!) we arrived on thursday night and went immediately to bed, after catching a late supper in kihei. when we woke up, we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise right outside our balcony at the mana kai resort. we spent the first part of day one scouting out the locations of our wedding for the next day, before we headed out to sight-see and snorkel. first off, we drove to iao valley to visit the famous landmark "needle," which is such a lush area of the island. afterwards, we found our way to a fairly secluded beach at honolua bay, which has some great "fishwatching." with a tip from michelle & paul, who just went to maui for their honeymoon a few weeks ago, we made reservations at mama's fish house for a window seat at sunset. oh man, they weren't kidding when they said this was the best place to have the freshest fish ever!!! thanks for the fantabulous recommendation, guys! of course, we couldn't go wrong listening to advice from an executive chef!

the view from our room

off to maui prince hotel to scout! check out their ginormous koi aplenty!

the palm trees outside the prince hotel

134 steps to the overlook of the needle

a breathtaking view of the valley

trees

makes you wanna swing from a vine and scream "ahahahahahahahaha!!!"

enjoying some yummy mai tai's and gourmet grindz at mama's fish house

silly photographers!!! glad we don't look like them at a restaurant! =)

sunset view of the north shore

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

connie and berto's wedding - st. vincent ferrer, vallejo - crowne plaza hotel, concord, california

ed June 11, 2008

commentator: monica

yowza! what a fun wedding!!! this lovely couple introduced us to a few firsts: the bride and groom serving wine during the eucharist, shooting a pet bird, a "bridesman" catching the bouquet, a photo session at the pleasant hill city hall, and justin timberlake's snl skit...

we met up with connie at superimage salon in benicia in the morning, where the ladies were getting glammed up, before heading to connie's parents' place where they got dressed. at st. vincent, we met up with the guys for photos of them just before the ceremony. post-ceremony, connie & berto wanted to take a quick detour to take a few photos at berto's family's home, where his dad's rose garden was in full bloom. it's things like this that may seem "disruptive" to the wedding day schedule but are so important to the couple and their family. when asked what location might be a good one for photos in between the church and hotel, we decided on the pleasant hill city hall, which we've been wanting to shoot at for months now.

the reception at the crowne plaza hotel was such a rockin' good time! we can't recommend their live band, keith johnson all stars enough, enough as they had the dance floor full the entire night.

congratulations, connie & berto! we're so honored to have captured such a special day in your new life together.

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

announcing the new husband & wife!

getting ready

seems like everyone was texting that morning. and no, mom wasn't in pain, she was just a little scared of the curling iron. =)

the shoes and the dress. flowers by: arlene's floral accent.

the flasks and the ring

berto and his boys

the ceremony

the hilarious bridal party

if you're wondering what those "gifts" are, then you haven't seen the skit "d*ck-in-a-box" (cue opening up another browser and youtube-ing the terms right now!) and yes they actually sell these! i'm still chuckling...

the happy couple

reception details. cake by: margaret's french bakery

their first dance started off with a ballad and ended with the crowd on it's feet!

the amazing keith johnson all stars

the tosses

party time! this was like a reunion for their high school class.

dancing shoe shot, a la apertura.

more dancing...

can't leave without a photo with at least the bride. looks like my index finger was out-of-service that night. videography by: c3 videography

individual images
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if you want to see individual images of this session, simply click here!
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venisa and jason's engagement session - stow lake, golden gate park - san francisco

ed June 10, 2008

commentator: monica

venisa & jason love their doggie so much they decided to bring her along to their e-session. we love it when our couples bring along their "animal kids" to their sessions! zoey was an excellent photo subject, as were her lovely parents. venisa had even had a chance to have her make-up artist do a trial run so she was lookin' especially pretty that afternoon.

since the two love the outdoors, especially jason, we met up at stow lake in golden gate park in the late afternoon. this is an awesome time for photos since it allows you to have that great warm pre-sunset glow. we even had a chance to photograph them just after sunset at one of the wooden piers along the embarcadero, which allowed for the beautiful colors of dusk.

congratulations on your engagement, venisa & jason. wish zoey would be able to come along to your wedding in september! =)

//ed pingol
707.334.1468
info@edpingolphotography.com
edpingolphotography.com

the waterfall