Erin and I decided at the last minute to go to the workshop and also check out the Photo Plus Expo at the Javits Center in Manhattan.  We got plane tickets and a hotel reservation just a couple days before we left. (!!) Jason recommended the Belvedere Hotel and it was perfect, just 3 blocks from Times Square, we walked to lots of cool sights.  Manhattan is another world, even the short buildings are 10 stories, the taxi drivers really are crazy, the sights, sounds and smells are intense!  We got in Monday afternoon and took a taxi into town from JFK - had dinner at an Italian place in Hells Kitchen and then headed to Jason’s studio for a pre-workshop meet and greet.

At the workshop on Tuesday we spent half the day talking business and then headed out to shoot.  Jason had lined up two sets of bridal models (they were great to work with!).  We did two shoots, one in the afternoon where I was carrying the cameras and Erin was working the lights and one after the sun went down in Times Square where we traded off and I worked the lights while Erin shot.  It’s always a little crazy shooting with a large group of photographers but we got some fun stuff - check it out:

These are from the night shoot with Erin shooting, the first one is down in the subway with one of the subway cops.

I love this one! Great job honey.

Here’s a shot of the instructors and the models - great job and a huge thanks from both of us!

We spent all day Wednesday seeing the sights and doing SO MUCH walking! It’s such an amazing city. We started with a bus tour through Times Square heading south, we got off at Macy’s and did some shopping (we both needed warm hats, it was cold on top of that bus!). Macy’s is more than 2 million square feet of shopping (ya, I said million)… Then we got back on the bus and rode it to Greenwich Village. We had lunch and walked through the campus of NYU and then walked 40+ blocks back up to Times Square for a drink at the Hard Rock Cafe. After that we walked to the Rockefeller Center, rode the elevator up the tower and took in the view from 68 stories up. After that we took a horse drawn buggy ride through Central Park and back to the hotel. After all that we headed to Jason’s famous yearly party. He had over 200 photographers from all over the country at his studio - it was packed - we got there a little late (about 10pm) so it wasn’t super crammed but there were still lots of people there - it was fun to catch up with people I’ve met before, meet new people and get to introduce Erin ( ).

Here are a few pictures from our sight seeing:

Times Square from the top of the bus

The Bus Tour Guide - a character for sure

It’s good to be home. But we didn’t even come close to seeing everything, we’ll just have to go back.

scroll down for the slideshow and gallery link

I’d like to thank my good friend Trevor Meeks, (Napa Ca wedding photographer) for referring Jon and Rina to me. He’s a long time friend of Jon’s and if he wasn’t already booked he would have flown up and taken their pictures (lucky for me he was!) Here’s the slideshow:

Wanna see more? Click here for the complete gallery The password is Jon’s last name, all lower case.

Jon and Rina, thank you very much for including me in your beautiful day! ~Bill

I was super excited that Jason (my cousin on my mom’s side) and his awesome bride Wendi wanted to fly me down for the wedding - and I’m really glad I went!

We had tons of fun - check out the photos and stay tuned for more.

Trees outside the John Wayne Airport in Orange County CA

Hanging out at the hotel the day before the wedding

Heading to the bar for a fun night with family and friends

Salon HQ in Huntington Beach - Girls having a morning Mimosa

Cresent Bay Point Park overlooking the beach at Laguna Beach - beautiful weather and an amazing place for a wedding!

The rocks straight out from the point of the park - there are seals and large birds on the rocks

Thanks again for including me in your wonderful wedding!!

More later - I’m starting to get caught up on my editing and posting!

~Enjoy the day~ ~ Bill

Thanks so much for including me - it was a fun and amazing day!!

~Bill

The girls started at the Eden salon and the boys started at the miniature golf course.

Thank you both for including me in your day — I really enjoyed it!

~Bill

Then we went up Queen Anne Hill to Highland Park for some family portraits. The park has a great view of the Seattle skyline - since everyone was from out of town, having the Seattle skyline as a backdrop is pretty dang cool.

The reception site, The Court in the Square, is a stunning 5 story glass enclosed courtyard between 2 historic buildings in Pioneer Square. Joe and Angie had a great party with family and friends from all over the country!

Thanks for including me. I really wish you two weren’t moving away!

Lots more to blog soon…

~Bill

Their wedding was tons of fun, I’ve never been to the Hidden Creek Community Church in West Olympia before - it’s a surprisingly beautiful sanctuary for a small community church. We did a fair amount of driving around, from the salon to the hotel, to the church and then to the fairgrounds for an amazing party. The food was provided by the Falls Terrace Restaurant in Tumwater - Both the groom’s mom Terri and Mary (the bride) work at the restaurant, so the whole staff was there - including the head chef to make sure everything was perfect! The MC/DJ was from Mr Lobo in Olympia, I wish I could remember the DJ’s name, I’ve worked with him a couple times and he’s a great guy!

Now what you’ve been waiting for - the pictures -

I love this reflection of me:

The lighting in the church sanctuary is beautiful:

I think this portrait of Mary is especially striking since it’s almost impossible to catch her without a big smile on her face:

The whole wedding party - a fun group!

Mary’s grandfather Ted walked her down the isle. He’s a wonderful man - I really enjoyed talking to him.

‘We did it!!’

These champagne glasses cracked me up - they’re from their Tumwater High School Prom, year 2000 - since when do Prom’s have Champagne????

And off they went!

Want some more? Here’s a slideshow :)

click here if the slideshow doesn’t show up correctly

Thanks for including me in your day - I’m looking forward to seeing you both again.

~Bill

Since it was a Mormon wedding there were no pictures allowed during the ceremony, but we still got plenty of pictures on the grounds of the beautiful Mormon Temple in Bellevue and at the home of Byron’s parents - they live on the ridge overlooking the Auburn valley - a stunning place!

Here are a few pictures:

Thanks guys!  I’ll have the rest ready soon.

~Bill

They drove down from Mukilteo to meet me in Tacoma for their engagement session - we hung out, had a nice dinner (although the restaurant was a little crazy, apparently it was $3 steak night!!).

The more I shoot in downtown Tacoma, the more I like it - it’s a beautiful area.

Here are a few of the pictures we captured - I can’t wait for the wedding!

Right after that last shot the train station security came to kick us out - very politely, but none the less…

See you both in a few weeks

~Bill

We stopped for snacks and drinks… twice.

As the sun went down we found a strangely deserted 5 lane city street in downtown Tacoma and took advantage of it….

What a good looking couple huh? Love you guys! See you Saturday at Erin’s.

~Bill