June 4, 2008

SAN to PDX - I’m off to shoot in Portland, OR

Filed under: Uncategorized — Philip DeFalco @ 9:10 pm

As much as I enjoy being a San Diego wedding photographer, it’s nice to get out of town once in a while for a change of scenery. Portland, Oregon is one of those places that has been on my list of places in America I’d like to visit, so I was more than happy to meet with Melissa and Brenton to talk about their wedding. They both live here, but Portland is their hometown, so all of their friends and family live up there. They were looking for a local photographer, not only because doing engagement pictures locally makes  a lot of sense, but also because choosing a photographer was an important decision and they wanted to be able to meet in person. I got to spend some time with Melissa and Brenton in La Jolla not too long ago for their engagement session, so I’ll post a few shots below. I’m looking forward to meeting up with them in Portland, and sharing some wedding images when I get back!  

la jolla photography
la jolla photography
la jolla photography
la jolla photography
la jolla photography

May 19, 2008

The Happiest Engagement Session on Earth

Filed under: Recent Work — Philip DeFalco @ 10:43 pm

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Michelle and Eric up at Disneyland for their engagement session. I still have plenty of images to sort through, but I thought it would be fun to post a sneak-peak of some favorites that I’ve picked out so far.

It was fun to walk the park with Michelle and Eric because they both have a long history with Disney and they’re privey to all sorts of fun behind the scenes facts about the park. Speaking as a photographer, it was like being a kid in a candy store and I am so glad they gave me the opportunity.

In honor of Indy:
indy - defalco photo

A place so exclusive, all we could do is hang out by the door:
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Don’t tell my insurance company I rode this with a camera!
big thunder defalco photo dumbo defalco photo
After dark, we made some of my favorite images…
tea cups defalco photo tea cups 2 carouselcastle at night defalco photo
And finally:last defalco photo 

May 12, 2008

Beverly….Hilton, that is.

Filed under: Recent Work — Philip DeFalco @ 8:46 pm

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of working for my friend John Riedy as a second photographer at the wedding of Julie & Paul up in Beverly Hills. It had been a while since I’d “second shot” with anybody and of course I’m always more than happy to shoot with John. Working with John over the last year has influenced the way I shoot to a large degree and plus he’s all kinds of fun to shoot with.

We made the drive up to the Beverly Hilton extra early, (you can never be too early to shoot a wedding) so we had time to check out the Good Shepard Church ahead of the ceremony, and have a late breakfast before getting started. When we arrived at the penthouse room where Julie was getting ready, we found her in the make up chair.

julia
 beverly hills wedding photography
It wasn’t long before she was ready for the dress:
beverly hills wedding photography  beverly hills wedding photography
I was up in the balcony for the ceremony at The Good Shepard, which was especially cool when the choir was there singing right next to me. I enjoyed being able to shoot from a different perspective, it’s definitely a change from being up front. The ceremony was perfect.
 beverly hills wedding photography
It was back to the Beverly Hilton for a  beautiful reception featuring an 8 piece band that kept the room dancing the night away.
beverly hills wedding photographybeverly hills wedding photography
I wish I could take credit for this idea! John decided to get a sort of end-of-the-night shot using this funky gold wall in the Beverly Hilton lobby. In ‘real-life’ you would see this wall, and the harshness of the spot lights, and think “No way is that romantic…” but that’s the great thing about working with creative people who see opportunities to do something unique… to borrow a phrase: the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
beverly hills wedding photography 

April 20, 2008

Jen & Sean at the Wedding Bowl

Filed under: Recent Work — Philip DeFalco @ 10:26 pm

On April 11, Jen & Sean ‘jumped the broom’ at the wedding bowl in La Jolla. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony at the beach - it was perfect. Jen wore a special necklace that was first worn on the wedding day of her great grandmother in April of 1908,  almost exactly 100 years ago. Her grandmother and mother made wearing the necklace a wedding day tradition, which Jen honored with grace.

The reception followed at the Prospect Bar and Lounge, with a wonderful view of downtown La Jolla and the cove from their second floor patio. Luckily, Jen & Sean made photography a priority on their wedding day. They made time to walk down to the cove between dinner and the rest of the reception festivities, and they were rewarded with a  picture postcard sunset on the water and some beautiful images to remember it by. If you’ve checked out my main site very recently, you’ll notice I’ve already updated the wedding section with some of my favorites from Jen & Sean’s wedding, but I could easily have posted twice as many. I owe a special thank you to Ed Taylor for shooting with me that day, as well as Holly Carlyle for her help. Here are just a few of my favorites:
A moment just after the ceremony:
jen  jen2jen2jen4
You can check out the slideshow below to see the whole story:

Welcome to the World, Baby Ryanna.

Filed under: Just For Fun! — Philip DeFalco @ 1:42 pm

Our longtime friends Ryella & Jeff welcomed their first baby into the world on April 9. Baby Ryanna wieghed in at a healthy 7lbs, 12 ounces, and she’s been doing just great. Kristie and I were super excited to visit them in the hospital up in Orange County a few days later, as they were just hours away from taking her home. I remember the feelings I had when they put my daughter Ruby into my arms and I had to put her in a car seat for the first time - it’s a momentous feeling mixed with elation, frayed nerves, and a million questions, all at once. We kind of knew what they were going through that day, wondering what it would be like to just be home.

Of course, I seldom travel anywhere without a camera, so I took a few shots for posterity. I know all babies are supposed to be cute, but some are definitely cuter than others….oh, and the smell of her little head! Why do babies have such an amazing scent to their hair? Ryanna’s fingers and toes will never be as tiny as they are now, so I was glad to be able to capture these images for Ryella and Jeff.

 ryanna1
Baby feet! Babies get “Lo-Jack” on their ankles nowadays.
 ryanna2 ryanna3 ryanna4 ryanna5 

April 10, 2008

Eryn & Dan, High Spirits.

Filed under: Recent Work — Philip DeFalco @ 11:10 pm

Eryn & Dan were married aboard the Hornblower High Spirits last Saturday, April 5. Eryn & Dan booked me a year in advance so I’d been looking forward to it for quite a while. When my wife Kristie and I got married, we hosted our reception abaord the High Spirits, so it was a treat for me to be back on board for the first time since my own wedding. 

Eryn was getting ready with her girls Lena and Rebecca in a tenth floor hotel room, facing the bay, while Dan and his guys Lee and Matt, donned their tuxes in a room in the next hotel over. Excitement about the wedding was buzzing in the air, but there was a strong underlying sense of calm reassurance, the kind that only people who’ve been together a long time can have. Friends and family where all familiar to one another, as Eryn and Dan have been together over 8 years now and everyone has known them as a couple for so long. The cruise went well; the ceremony was thoughtful and sweet, the food  was great, and the dancing was about as funky as it gets. Here’s a handful of images from the day. 

hornblower wedding 

hornblower wedding san diego

Eryn and Lena, Her Maid of Honor:

bannister3

Ed Taylor was kind enough to work with me for the day, and contribute a bunch of shots, including this one of the guys:

hornblower wedding

Eryn & Dan, the First Look:

hornblower wedding

hornblower wedding

hornblower wedding

hornblower wedding

“Uhm…Has anyone seen my yacht?”hornblower wedding

A Kiss Aboard the Yacht:

hornblower wedding

From the First Dance:

hornblower wedding

Getting Funky:

hornblower wedding

March 11, 2008

Wind and See

Filed under: Uncategorized — Philip DeFalco @ 1:26 pm

The third time turned out to be the charm for Sarah and Brad’s engagment session in La Jolla. Our first date was rained out, and the next time it looked like “Victory at Sea“ weather, so we decided to punt and see what the next Saturday would bring. It was worth the wait! Windansea looked like a postcard when we met at the stairs by Nautilus St.

I learned a few things on this shoot too. That green algae type stuff that grows on the rocks is slippery. Really, really slippery. I’m officially done wearing hiking sandals to beach sessions! The mud around the stairs is pretty slippery too, but you’d have to ask Brad about that. Despite the small comedy of errors, we actually had a terrific session.

 Sarah and Brad will be getting married at the La Jolla Country Club this June and I am psyched to be their photographer.

  harris1
 This is the proper way to get down to the sand. I went the hard way!
 harris2 harris3 harris4
 By special request….
 harris5 harris6   

Blowin’ in the Wind

Filed under: Uncategorized — Philip DeFalco @ 12:39 pm

I met up with Jennifer and Sean at the ferry landing park over in Coronado a about a week ago for their engagement session. Our first date got rained out, so we were all happy to see blue skies and puffy white clouds on the way over the bridge, but oh man, was it windy! There was a moment when we met where I thought we might have to call the session off, but Jennifer and Sean were both ready to get on with it and brave the wind. I’m really glad they did, because we had a great session. Jennifer and Sean were full of energy and smiles, which made my job easy. I’m looking forward to photographing their La Jolla wedding in April, it’s going to be beautiful! .

 coronado wedding photographycoronado wedding photography coronado wedding photography coronado wedding photographycoronado wedding photography    

February 24, 2008

Holly & Steve: Love is all you need.

Filed under: Recent Work — Philip DeFalco @ 9:44 pm

Love may be all you need, but it’s not bad to have perfect weather, crazy friends, and yacht for the night to celebrate it with. At long last I am sharing a small handful of images from the wedding of Holly & Steve. (You might recognize them from some of the engagement images on my site from Las Vegas.) I didn’t get to meet Holly & Steve in person until we met up in Las Vegas for their engagement shoot, but Holly did send me a link to a website she’d created for the wedding and I could tell right away that they were going to be super fun to shoot. I’m happy for them now because they finally have pictures of themselves where one of them isn’t having to hold the camera out at arms length.
 Everybody got ready at the W Hotel downtown, before heading over to harbor to board the Emerald Hornblower. The ceremony was perfect, with a beautiful view of the San Diego skyline at sunset. The cruise seemed to end way too soon, before it was time to retreat to the W for a small afterparty. Holly and Steve were both so gracious and generous, which makes me so happy to say that they love their pictures.

 rings hornblower wedding photography in san diego hornblower wedding photography in san diego
 Holly & Steve surprised Holly’s Mother with a birthday cake, since it was also her birthday! 
hornblower wedding photography in san diego
 Dancing under the Coronado Bay Bridge
 bridge hornblower wedding photography in san diego
 Back at the W Hotel - a closing image for the album.
hornblower wedding photography in san diego w hotel

February 15, 2008

Snow (Hey Oh)

Filed under: Just For Fun! — Philip DeFalco @ 9:54 pm

Last October I was taking pictures of fire coming over the hills at 5:00 am, and now on Valentines day I’m seeing Snow at 5:00 pm. I don’t remember every seeing snow this low on the mountains before, so I thought it would fun to share a snapshot. (Okay, Denver has mountains, these are more like hills) This is just the view from our back yard. snow