Los Angeles photographer » jenberry photo blog

Tag Archives: Los Angeles photographer

Sep 23 2009

anne & edgar | wedding

Sometimes I wonder how I got here. Here, next to encouraging creative people. Here, next to people who are making a promise that last a lifetime. Here, next to Love. I am amazed by the generosity of photographers that allow lil ‘ol me to ‘compliment’ (used with hesitation & lightly) their professional work (built from lots of dedication and innate talent). Equally so, I am unequivocally impressed with bride & grooms that, without a blink of an eye, allow us into one of their more intimate and treasured journeys in life.

As a second shooter, duties most often involve assisting a main wedding photographer (no need to elaborate Jasmine Star sorts it all out here). Often there is little or no contact with the bride and groom, especially prior to the big day. The main shooter has built the relationship and most often we are there to help cover the many festivities, fluff a dress, catch a stray hair or carry a bag. So, when a bride & groom are kind, amidst their hectic day, and take a moment to recognize the photographers (and especially the lowly 2nd shooter) it is really something (yes i’m corny). Anne and Edgar were so kind and gracious. Instantly welcoming. Instantly fun. (I know I wasn’t so calm and friendly moments before my wedding). Thank you for having us. Thank you for being so kind. Thank you for beautiful a evening.

You let me share in your story and I hope I’ve done it justice.

Photographer: Jenny Liu

Hotel/Getting Ready: O Hotel

Venue: Union Station – Downtown L.A.

Bride & Groom: Anne & Edgar

The Dress: Nicole Miller

The Planner: Kelly Demaray

These photos: ME

There are the details

mac-make-up-gold-jewelry-card

There is the dress, go Nicole Miller

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0073

There are the socks

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0061

There are the little moments of solitude and perfection

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0241

There is the getting ready and deep thought

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0421

There are the plans and the time

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0121

There are the moments of calm simple happiness

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0181

There are those that mean so much

cc_anne_edgar_20090905_0171

There is the first look

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_048bw1

There are the stylish fashionable awesome bridal portraits crafted by Jenny Liu
(look closely and see her in action)

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0541

There is the place

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0761

There are the special friends who share in the moment and speak volumes

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_1281

There are proud moments

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_1381

There is the excitement shared by the ones that know you oh so well

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_1431

There is the leaving of childhood and entering of a new chapter of life

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_149bw3

There are the intimate words that mean so much more shared with each other

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_1621

There are the tears of joy

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_167bw1

There are symbols

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_173bw1

There are the smiles of joy blog_anne_edgar_20090905_1701

There are the looks blog_anne_edgar_20090905_190bw1

Finally, there is the man and wife blog_anne_edgar_20090905_195bw1

We have little touches…

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0921

…and grandiose love

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_097

We have the fruit of much hard work and planning (via the bride & groom and Kelly Demaray)

cactus-union-station-desert-theme

cactus-place-settings

We have light

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_0621

The first as man and wife blog_anne_edgar_20090905_233t_bw1

There is respect

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_238bw1

There are words spoken that had been saved a lifetime blog_anne_edgar_20090905_242bw1

With Cheers…

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_2441

and more cheers

blog_anne_edgar_20090905_2601

and finally we have celebration (& plan ‘ol fancy moves)

untitled-11

Last but never least, Jenny. Who has been nothing but nurturing and encouraging to all… brides/grooms/guests and lil ol me

See what i mean…. blog_anne_edgar_20090905_060bw1

View full post »

wedding

Sep 20 2009

Can’t resist | lil one

I couldn’t resist, even without words (you know how wordy I can be… oh yes me)
More will be posted soon.

For now, as my grandpa would say, “I speak lil but good”

I just fell in love with her eyes and I had to get these up. 20090913_matilda_02

20090913_matilda_31

20090913_matilda_40panoramic

20090913_matilda_51

20090913_matilda_21tbw1

20090913_matilda_62

View full post »

babies

Aug 08 2009

In three’s | The workshop

There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.

–Benjamin Franklin

Three is the magic number that it takes for the human mind to establish a pattern. In science, DNA has a triplet codon system. In geology we have the 3 basic planes: Above- Surfaced- Beneath. In astronomy we find the 3 types of galaxies: ellipticals – spirals – irregulars. Freud proposed that the psyche was divided into three parts: Ego- Superego – Id. In Christianity there is the trinity. In Taoism, the Three Pure Ones. There are three main Abrahamic religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

Some three’s are not so great: 3 strikes and you’re out; In Vietnam, it is bad luck to take a photo with three people in it; Luck, especially bad luck, is often said to “come in threes”; It’s been 3 weeks since my last blog (bad bad bad)

Some three’s just are: The Three Stooges & not to be forgotten The 3 Amigos; Three dimensions to an object: height, width & depth; In Bowling, 3 strikes in a row = a turkey; Life is in three, past-present-future.

Some three’s are good: 3 scoops of ice cream; it’s 3pm and I’m in my pajamas (I’m kidding, maybe); 3 is a magic number; Steve just finished cycle 3 of chemo, off to 4, 5 & 6.

Now you may ask yourself, why I am talking about 3′s (mostly it’s because I like to talk)

I’m sure most of you have heard of Jasmine Star. Well if not, you have now. She recently put on her 3rd workshop (yes i used the number three again). And yes, I tried THREE times to get in. And, as luck would have it, the 3rd time was a charm. And, let me tell you it WAS a charm. But, if I’m being honest (uh oh you say, here she goes…), I was a bit torn about attending due to recent events and my lackluster for pretending to be happy. Consequently, I was scared. Yes, me, I was scared. The Chicken in me knew that Jasmine had such an upbeat personality and massive amounts of energy. How was I going to put a happy face on ALL day. (Luckily she doesn’t offer refunds for wimps.) I woke up that morning, slapped myself in the face a few times and Wahla/Viola, I made that mental flip in my head. I promised myself to practice my own words of seize the day. It helped when I remembered that I’m not the only one. Who better to have as a mentor than someone that has been through a similar (hers definitely a different degree of scary) obstacle.

Even though I only have a couple of workshops to compare, I have to say the Jasmine Star Workshop was worth the wait, the time, the money and the mental energy. It was an all encompassing day, taught by an all encompassing woman. We covered branding and blogging, shooting and processing, client relations and networking. Professionally, I was, yet again, inspired by her work. Personally, I was inspired by just the very presence of her mother (thanks “mom” – you said I could call you that). Romantically, I was inspired by the way she and J.D. care for each other – he constantly made sure she was hydrated. Nothing says true love like hydration. (J.D. thank you for lunch, ice cold water and your kind smile).

I was inspired. I am motivated. (I swear there are photos on this post somewhere, not just ramblings). I am thankful that there are those who not only teach for financial reward, but they pay it forward with 100% of their heart and soul. And even though it was hard for me to get up and go, I think I left knowing a little more of myself.

The Teacher: Jasmine Star

Venue: The Club at Woodbury

The Models: Melinda & Vern

The Flowers: Carissa of JL Designs – seriously see for yourself…

The Beauty: Vivian Tran of All Made Up – i have never seen anything like this before & she gave the girls a lil makeup gift!!!

The Dress: Monique Lhuillier

jstarworkshop_20090804_01t1

Seriously, Jasmine has a way of motivating the masses, all the while maintaining a wicked fashion sensibility.

jstarworkshop_20090804_05bw2

Melinda and Vern. Yep you can see they are still in love after almost 2 years of marriage. (and they are hot hot hot)

jstarworkshop_20090804_09

She graciously shared her settings while shooting, nurturing “the talent” and motivating the masses. I’d say easy contender for top 10 multi-tasker.

jstarworkshop_20090804_13bw jstarworkshop_20090804_112

Between the moustache and the sunglasses, need I say more about S*T*Y*L*E*

jstarworkshop_20090804_14

I don’t think I have even seen a dress this stunning. Yikes!

jstarworkshop_20090804_19bw2

Melinda (who came to us via my ever so awesome friend Carlie, Go tell Carlie how beautiful she is) was stunning jstarworkshop_20090804_152 jstarworkshop_20090804_29 jstarworkshop_20090804_35-skin jstarworkshop_20090804_50 jstarworkshop_20090804_57cone

I really don’t know how to express the simple elegance and amazingness (yes i made that word up) of both the flowers (check out the matching boutonniere) and hair (Vivian, can you come over everyday please and make me look whimsical!??!). I truly and honestly have Never seen such creativity. If you are a bride, these 2 ladies are your golden ticket. If you are a photographer, surround your clients and yourself with greatness, like these… jstarworkshop_20090804_591 Jasmine, J.D. & Mom thank you again. Even though I was quiet, I had much contemplation, joy and gratitude.

View full post »

photographers •wedding

Jul 07 2009

photograph ideology | inspiration

If you’re anything like me you have about 84 blogs in your RSS feeder. Besides all the fun shopping ones, I have photographers ranging from newborns to news coverage to newlyweds. I’ve never found myself to be a person narrowed down to one element in life. It’s hard enough for me to choose between restaurants, the color of my hair and what to wear for the day, but to lock down my photography to one area or type is difficult. I know there are experts out there that will call me naive or foolish, but I guess that’s part of my learning curve. Maybe one day I’ll look back on all this and “call me crazy” (which wouldn’t be out of the ordinary). There are those who preach that narrowing your focus or specialty is important to refining your talent and being clear with your clients. I totally see this point. But, my initial obsession with photography began with the the desire to capture a moment in time or the beauty of a person’s soul while telling a story of their life. To me this applies to all aspects of image capture, from weddings, to birth, to the daily perspective of a child, to my own family, to the beauty in a small tiny flower. It’s my connection with the subject that is (if you must put a name on it), my “style”. My relationship with my client comes across in the images my camera happens to freeze during the moment. While I am mostly a child & budding wedding photographer, I have a longing to travel the world and create social awareness for humanitarian causes as well.

The point of all this is to say, I think I really love photography. Well, I should revise and say I love photography. I love how powerful the medium is in conveying a story. Whether it is a story of love or famine or birth or death, it is a window into the souls of others. A medium that brings awareness to all and levels the playing field of life to reveal the humanity within all people, within in all places of this earth and within all belief and economic systems. It allows people to be seen as human beings. I know that I may excel in one particular area, but overall I love to take inspiration from everywhere, not just other people’s wedding photos (although I do stalk about 56 wedding blogs. i am guilty.)

One of my all time favorite photographers once said:

“ I don’t believe a person has a style. What people have is a way of photographing what is inside them. What is there comes out.” – Sebastiao Salgado

Here are a few photos that have had a huge impact on me. They are NOT my photographs (I wish they were):

2683817438_68efcdf919

by brett walker

salgado_giants_2 Salgado, “Genesis” Project, yet to be released

picture-3 Ira Lippke

picture-1 Ira Lippke

salgado Sebastiao Salgado

salgado_1 Sebastiao Salgado

211 Henri Cartier-Bresson

James Nachtwey

kenya060

Michael Norwood

3349351006_d5593e3e67_o The Parsons

3342086991_1e1ecfd10b_o The Parsons

3348512971_0c45d4a90c_o The Parsons

And Because they don’t all have to be heavy hearted (even though I see joy in some of the above):

3296243038_4c9404f8e7_o The Parsons

3410182115_a9f4794836_o

Saw this yesterday. Pretty much shows how photographs can tell a story, together:

http://www.world-of-pen.com/

View full post »

newborn •personal •photographers •travel

Jul 04 2009

love of a country

My mom is an immigrant, obviously making my grandma an immigrant. As much as they cherish their native country and miss their family, they made a sacrifice by leaving being behind loved ones and familiarity. They made their way to the United States with a dream. To many foreigners, the United States is considered the land of great opportunity, financial growth, political and social freedoms, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, diversity of lifestyle and peace. A prosperous and forgiving place of opportunity.

Now whether you’re Christian, Agnostic, Muslim or Jewish; capitalist or socialist, conservative or moderate, we live in a country that theoretically tolerates. We are fortunate that roadside bombs aren’t a daily way of life. We are fortunate to be able to love who we choose and wake up in the morning to a plethora of options. Many people have fought and sacrificed for today.

So celebrate those who have helped us get here today. Make a choice from your many options and enjoy the freedom of decision making. It’s fine if you decide to eat 4 hot dogs and 2 hamburgers and chips and dip and more chips and more dip and veggies (w/dip) – can you tell i like dip (the cheapy green onion powder dip with sour cream) – and then some strawberry shortcake. But, remember that we are fortunate because we just happen to be born at a certain time in a certain place in this big world that we all share. Don’t get me wrong, life in other countries is not all bad, we have our positives and negatives, as does everywhere. I’m just choosing to celebrate how fortunate I feel for my life and my freedoms.

Who doesn’t like peace and sparklers

2190916327_328317fc27_o