Last weekend, Debbie, Jason, and I took a little road trip outside of Fresno for an adventure to places unknown. Despite no real plan on what or where we were going to shoot I would say that things couldn’t have turned out much better.  Started off at an old barn just off the road and wrapped things up in somebody’s front yard. thank you to the landscaper for keeping things pretty and to the homeowner for not telling us to leave and only looking at us with a strange look of why two people were gettin’ all hot and steamy in front of their house ;) good times indeed!  here’s a few of my favorites from their engagement session, InJoy.

We found an awesome little spot with some buttery backlight golden goodness to go along with it.  Jason and Debbie kicked up the heat with these next few shots!

We ended the day with a killer sunset, couldn’t be a happier photographer.  Their wedding will kick things off in January, can’t wait!

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contact derek | facebook fan page | subscribe by email | view more engagement pics

I ventured into all new territory with Nina and Vinnie’s wedding and loved it! You may remember them from their Engagement Session a few months back where we shot on top of a heli-pad, so we went underground for their wedding pics to even things out a little.  Here’s a couple of my favorite shots throughout the day i wanted to share.

Nina, looking amazing!

How fabulous are these shoes!?

…and the green dresses to match.

If anybody could make a bowtie look awesome, Vinnie is the man for the job.

St. John’s Cathedral

We had a few minutes to shoot some portraits downtown and found an old barn. Yep, an old barn smack in the middle of downtown Fresno and we rocked it. Nina and Vinnie didn’t mind getting close, even though it was over 100 degrees that day!

The reception was held in the ballroom of the Security Bank Building in downtown Fresno which has a very cool bank vault in the basement that we got to go and have some fun shooting in!

Thank you Nina and Vinnie for allowing me to share in such a wonderful day with you and your families from all over the world. I had a blast creating these images with you and can’t wait to show you your wedding album :)

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Tiffany and Kraig came all the way from Alaska JUST so we could shoot their engagement session!!  OK… not really JUST for me, but they are from Alaska :)  Now I need to talk them into getting me up there to shoot another session.  Any takers on wanting to shoot in Alaska?

We had such a blast on this shoot.  The first shot that you see above was straight out of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean music video (at least that’s what it seemed like).  We were walking down the dark, scary ally’s of Clovis, when we see this cloud of smoke and hear a motorcycle revving in the distance. So we hurry up, track the guy down ask for a few minutes of his time and voila! the kick-ass picture is complete.  Thank you random motorcycle guy!

Enough talking for now, here’s a few more of their pics…

LOVE Tiffany’s laugh in this next picture… and Kraig’s shiny bald head in the picture above, hehe.

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Photography has taken me many places and has opened my eyes to an entirely new world of beauty, not only in physical locations but the love and respect between two people. Ashley and Jeremy is exactly that kind of couple.

We took a nice little drive all the way through Sequoia National Park from Exeter around to Sanger. Needless to say we didn’t get to the location we wanted to shoot at until the sun was already down, but we made the best of it and still had an awesome experience!

Their wedding is just around the corner so you will see more of them soon!

Exeter is full of these awesome murals all over town.  Be sure to stop by and check it out if you’re in the area!

Last but not least, we got a few shots in Sequoia National Park.

What happens when you run out of light to shoot in… you make it!

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Sara and Brandon have some awesome chemistry together and were such a blast to work with and get to know on a more intimate level. Brandon and I actually work together at Provost & Pritchard Engineering but it was the first time I really got to see Sara’s great personality. They have some fun and unique stuff planned for their wedding next year in at The Victorian Gardens in Kingsburg that I can’t wait to see the images we can create. For now, InJoy their engagement sesh.

This may be a scene straight out of 8 Seconds, you tell me.

Soo HOT!

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For now, here’s my Project 365 images for June and July.

InJoy

June:

July:

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These two gorgeous people finally tied the knot at The Meridian Vineyard in Paso Robles, CA. You may remember Tara and Ty from awhile back when we hiked to the peak of Sierra Summit for their Engagement Pictures.  The wedding was perfect and thanks to the fantastic Laura Robertson of Touch of Style Events it all went down without a flaw.  Tara and Ty, I had such a great time and I can’t wait to see you soon.

InJoy for now.

The ladies looking fantastic as always!

After walking around in downtown Paso Robles, we came upon Rendition Interior and thanks to the awesome manager Sheila, we got to setup a few shots using their storefront, YES!

Not sure what it is about this shot, but I LOVE IT!

Too cute.

We had a nice, clean sunset that made for a great canvas to work with!

Kramer DJ’s did an absolute rockin’ job with the lighting and keeping the party going all night long on the dance floor.  This was by far one of the coolest receptions to shoot, so unique and beautifully lit… not to mention the booze was flowin’ and the grub was deelicious ;)

Yes, those are stars on the ceiling!

Out of town weddings seem to have the rowdiest parties and Paso Robles was no exception.  I just love this shot of Tara and the lil’ flower girl dancing down the tunnel.

Last but not least, we end the wedding reception with some photobooth action from Shutter Booth!

P.S. I would also like to give a huge thanks to Andrew Hunter for coming along for the party and helping out!

P.P.S. I have a bunch of new stuff coming up on the blog that I have yet to get around to but stay tuned for some awesomeness to follow :)

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You may remember Talia and Ryan from their engagement session awhile ago and well… they’re back, this time as husband and wife!  I had such an awesome time during their wedding at Sunnyside Country Club, right here in Fresno.  Here’s just a few of their wedding images that i enjoyed so i thought i would share.

Ladies, all drama.

Gentlemen, lookin’ all GQ.

Talia and Ryan’s wedding party is going to be hard to beat, they were pretty much awesome the entire day, especially when the bar opened up!

I had me a good laugh at this one…

This may be one of my favorite images from the day… mmmmm, i love me some buttery backlight :)

This about sums up the wedding reception, it was one hell of a rockin’ party!

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contact derek | facebook fan page | subscribe by email | view more wedding pics