Wow, yesterdays wedding of Andi & Ryan was really wonderful. Set on the private residence of Andi’s parents home both Mindy and I were quite impressed by how beautiful the landscape was both natural and man created. The weather held up as earlier in the week we saw temperatures in the range of 106 degrees and then rain threatening on Saturday but all went well. The relaxed theme was perfect for the personalities of both Andi & Ryan. Having met while both serving in the United States Armed Forces we certainly appreciate their duty to our country and now to each other as husband and wife. Below are a few digitally captured images, I have seven rolls of film to send off to Richard Photo lab in Hollywood in the morning.

Harpist performs for the guests at the Wedding of Andi & Ryan in Applegate California.

Countdown timer displays how minutes are left before Andi & Ryan become Husband and Wife.

The Father of the Bride waits to see his daughter in her wedding dress.

A Father's love for his daughter is more than evident.

Ryan & Andrea "Andi" Gislason. Photo by Mindy

The Polynesian theme made for a relaxed and calm atmosphere.

Photo Booth made the guests come out of their shells.

Absolutely great weather for a family portrait session in Sacramento today at McKinley Park. The two little girls who we were lucky enough to spend some time with were adorable. One with great big eyes like a Disney character and the other little lady with red hair and beautiful freckles, so darn cute.

Sacramento Portrait Session

Being married for seven years puts you into a certain frame of mind. No, it’s not that frame of mind, it’s more about realizing what you have. Mindy has received so many compliments on her wedding & engagement rings over the years and to this day absolutely loves them. After a recommendation from Molly Padilla of Rogers Jewelry in Roseville whom we had recently met, Mindy had her rings professionally serviced. Now after only seven years I was thinking how much better could the rings possibly look, we have them cleaned once a year. Molly suggested getting the prongs touched up and having the rings completely gone over by their jeweler. Well to be honest I wasn’t expecting anything extraordinary and to my surprise as well as Mindy’s her rings were amazingly like new again. A nice set of rings like wedding photography is an investment, you need to know in the future that what you do today will be timeless and of great value. After seven years Mindy’s rings are as beautiful as ever and she still looks pretty good to me too. Thanks to the fine folks at Rogers Jewelers for providing such a great service.

Mindy's wedding ring set after being professionally serviced by Rogers Jewelers of Roseville, CA.

Today we participated in the Engaged Wedding Library Vendor Showcase event held in Granite Bay at Quarry Ponds. It is always a pleasure to meet with newly engaged couples and have a chance to discuss our wedding photography services with them. Another benefit of attending these sorts of events is getting to meet other vendors. We met Molly Padilla of Rogers Jewelry who had some wonderful information regarding jewelry and the other services they have to offer. Rogers Jewelry has a variety of fine watches available such as TAG Heuer my particular favorite brand. Rogers Jewelry is located at 9217 Sierra College Blvd. #120 in Roseville, CA. Molly can be areached by dialing 916-782-1505.

Another vendor we spoke with was David Paige of Cake and Candy Specialties. David had a couple of wedding cakes to taste and an assortment of cake designs. Since we have a Bride being married in March of 2011 we made a point to thoroughly taste their offerings and both Mindy and I were quite impressed.

Our display table at the Engaged Wedding Library event at Quarry Ponds.

The lovely Molly Padilla of Rogers Jewelry located in Roseville, CA 916-782-1505

Mindy with David Paige of Cake and Candy Specialties located in Citrus Heights, CA 916-723-5531

One of the recent weddings we photographed was that of Meghan & Randy at the Croatian Center in Sacramento. My assistant Paul and I had long and hot day due to the temperature being 94 degrees but we each came away with some very nice images. This particular image was captured shortly after the ceremony, the light was reflecting off of the concrete walk way that had a color tone to it, it came out quite nice.

Sacramento Croatian Center Wedding of Meghan & Randy.

O.K., So you say what? Camera strap? Yes, a camera strap. Back in November of 2009 I took my little friend Bree to the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco to see the Richard Avedon exhibit. Now the Avedon exhibit was great but I could not forget the guy who had a mint condition Pentax Spotmatic around his neck supported by a Kodak Film camera strap. Oh that strap, I thought what are the odds I could ever find one…Well.

As is known well by Mrs. G-Photo Design I am quite the little ebay shopper looking for camera equipment that is, let’s say, past its prime. Who shoots film anyways? I do. While searching for Kodachrome film I find this Kodak Film strap and think what? I wonder how beat up it is? I toss out a generous bid and don’t even come close to my maximum bid (good for me) and get it. It was delivered today in its original promotion box from Eastman Kodak Company with the original letter that accompanied it 30 years a go. Yes, the promotion was for the Spring/Summer of 1980 so I feel lucky to have one of these camera straps and a perfect one at that, very lucky.

Vintage Kodak Film Camera Strap from 1980 in pristine original condition with letter from Eastman Kodak Company.

We got out of town for the Fourth of July holiday weekend and headed up towards the Redwoods and Northern California coast. On our way out we stopped for lunch at Bottega in Yountville, Mindy had a chance to see Michael Chiarello again while we were dining. I must say it is very refreshing to see a Food Network T.V. personality & Chef actually working in his own restaurant. We have seen Michael on more than one occasion in the kitchen preparing food for guests. Making a run up through Calistoga we took in some beautiful vineyard scenery, we did some horseback riding at Ross Ranch, nice that it was us and the guide and no one else.

While we were in Fort Bragg we visited the Glass Beach and over the years most of the glass has been taken by visitors so there is not much left in the way of Blue, Red or other rare glass. We took in a meal at Mendocino Brewery’s restaurant and we also had a chance to eat at Egg Heads. Since we are talking food we stopped by Guy Fieri’s place in Windsor for lunch with my two girls. Overall it was nice to see some trees and the ocean, stopping at B.R. Cohn Winery for a little taste of excellence and even load up a vintage Kodak X-15 126 instamatic camera with a fresh roll of very old Kodak film.

Mindy with Michael Chiarello,wonderful foods from Bottega, Egg Heads and Johnny Garlics. B.R. Cohn Winery, a cool Kodak X-15 & some guy at the beach.

Rarely do I post very many images from any one session or wedding however in the case of the trip with my Dad I am going to go more heavy on the image content. Since my Dad was diagnosed with Cancer back in January while we were away at Imaging USA in Nashville and also had major surgery of which I was not informed about until we returned (Dad did not want to spoil our trip away on business) I figured we should get in a road trip. After a few months of  seeing Doctors and having more tests, things went from pretty good to uh oh, it’s now in the Liver. The road trip was now getting more and more consideration by Pops. Literally we never really know how much time we have while on this earth and you have to maximize what time you have. Since I love being on the road and love the Southwest I suggested the road trip encompass California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

Our first stop was Las Vegas, then Zion National Park followed by Bryce Canyon and the Kodachrome Basin. We ventured down through Glen Canyon after stopping in Hanksville, UT (It is a really tiny town and too small for Pops) and we spent the night in Blanding Utah. Monument Valley was next and then the Grand Canyon. We tooled around Palm Strings and Los Angeles for a few days hitting up the Palm Springs Art Museum and the Getty in L.A. and my Dad really enjoyed it. As far as natural wonders go we loved Bryce Canyon and the trip through Glen Canyon the most, spectacular hardly describes how awesome that drive really is.

I am proud of the fact that my Dad was walking around and hiking for a bit and getting up early to enjoy the day and of course resting too. He commented how he enjoyed setting up the cameras at Joshua Tree National Monument and capturing star trail images. Even when you are old you can do things that you would have done when you were young, you just have to do them, simple. I look at life as though I need to live right now because I know every day I am actually dying just a little bit. No one knows exactly when their time is up on this earth so if there is something you really want to do, why are you not doing it? What is required so you can do it? Now, go do it.

Equipment used was Nikon F5 and F100 35mm film cameras as well as a Yashica MAT 124-G twin lens reflex medium format camera. Film included Kodak TMAX 100, Ektar 100 and Portra 160VC & 400VC. Digital camera was a Nikon D300 using a Delkin CF Pro card. Nikon lenses used were, 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm & 80-200mm, Yashica camera is a fixed 80mm. Hope you enjoy seeing some of my Dad’s trip because we really had a blast.

Bryce Canyon National Park. Nikon F100 using a 20mm lens captured on Kodak Ektar100 film.

Bryce Canyon National Park. Yashica MAT 124-G using 80mm lens captured on Kodak Portra 400VC film

Bryce Canyon National Park. My Dad takes a picture of me off in the distance. Nikon D300 using a 20mm lens.

Enlarged image portion of previous image of me on ledge/cliff. Falling off would have made for a less than pleasant trip for me and my Dad.

Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah. Yes, it is named after Kodak Kodachrome film. Nikon F100 using 20mm lens captured on Kodak Ektar 100 film.

Pops looking at the view while at Zion National Park. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens captured on Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Pops on a hike around the Mossy Cave near Bryce Utah. Nikon F5 camera with 24mm lens captured on Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Capitol Reef National Park. Nikon F100 using a 20mm lens captured on Kodak Ektar 100 film.

Capitol Reef National Park. Nikon F100 using 20mm lens captured on Kodak Ektar 100 film.

Utah wide open space. Nikon F5 camera using 24mm lens with Yellow filter captured on Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Utah road side open space. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens captured on Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Utah, trees near the road side. One of my favorites of the trip. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens captured on Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Grand Canyon South Rim. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens captured using Kodak Portra 400VC film.

Star Trails at Joshua Tree. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens set at f5.6 for 55 minutes between 9:30pm & 10:30pm 06-20-2010. Captured on Kodak Ektar 100 film.

Williams Arizona road side diner. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens f8 for 1 minute. Captured on Kodak Portra 400VC film.

Palm Springs Art Museum outdoor sculpture garden area. Yashica MAT-124-G 80mm lens Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Palm Springs Cancer Survivor Park. Pops is a survivor, without surgery he would have died. Tough road ahead but he is living while he can. Yashica MAT-124 G Kodak Portra 400VC film.

Pops at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, he loved it there. Yashica MAT 124-G using Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Getty Museum Bench. I love this photo, shadow is perfect. Yashica MAT 124-G 80mm lens using Kodak TMAX 100 film.

Pops and me while at Bryce Canyon's Sunrise Point. It was a great trip. Nikon D300 using 20mm lens.

My father and I met Randy & Diana down at the State Capitol this afternoon for their Engagement Session. My Dad wanted to spend a little bit of time with me on the job you could say seeing how he is battling Cancer and he wants to try and make the most of each day so I appreciated his support. Randy & Diana are a really nice couple who selected the Capitol grounds because thier wedding will take place in the Rose Garden in August. The weather was a bit warm but quite beautiful, I want to thank Randy & Diana for being good sports and making my Dad feel welcomed.

Sacramento State Capitol Engagement Session of Randy & Diana.

Just following up my previous post of some MX photos from Hangtown that were captured on film. Each of these was recorded on Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film using a Nikon F5 camera, wide angle lens was a 20mm, telephoto was a 300mm and an 80-200mm zoom..

Penni Cyrus of Queen Creek, AZ skies her Kawasaki KX250F over the Big Hangtown jump.

A beautiful sky over the Hangtown course, absolutely perfect weather.

Factory KTM 250cc class racer Tommy Searle.

Rockstar Energy Drink, Canidae, One Industries sponsored Hunter Hewitt in action.

The exciting Mike Alessi aboard his new Factory KTM 350cc 4-stroke in 450cc race action.

Pro Circuit sponsored Canadian racer Dean Wilson in 250cc class action at Hangtown 2010.

The super likable Andrew Short launches his Factory Red Bull racing Honda into the Hangtown sky.