I recently had the pleasure of photographing Nithya and Matt’s wedding and let me just say that they were wonderful.  Not only that, their family and friends welcomed me as if I were a member of the family. 

The event was coordinated and decorated by my good friend Nalini at Decor to Remember who always keeps things running smoothly and looking great!  The amazingly delicious food was provided by Madras Pavilion and let me just say that I will definitely be making the long drive out to their Sugarland location for lunch one of these days.  Yes, you heard it right - a 35 mile drive each way for lunch but it will be well worth it!

The wedding started BRIGHT AND EARLY with a start time of 7:30 AM.

Nithya looked amazing.

And Matt made a grand entrance!

Then the ceremony started.

After the ceremony, it was time for the celebration at the beaufiful Sugar Creek Country Club.

We took a bit of time to get some nice portraits of the couple by themselves - even though we were rushed for time.  

Right after a cocktail hour that included some fantastic appetizers provided by Madras Pavilion as well as the Sugar Creek Country Club (I’ll admit it, the miniature quiche were out of this world!), the festivities started with speaches by the couples parents, Nithya’s sister (who helped organize it all!), and Matt’s borther.

Immediately following dinner and dessert, the party started.  I am a HUGE music collector and love great dance music - specially if it’s mixed right.  I’ve got to say that after working a couple of weddings with DJ Yogi, I am yet to see many who can get the dance floor going as easily as Yogi does.  The man is a MASTER and he is always live mixing.  So, here’s a tribute to DJ Yogi (he may look mean, but he’s not!)

Nithya and Matt enjoyed their first dance as husband and wife surrounded by their family and friends.

Then they all joined in and the PARTY (yes, all caps because it was a PARTY) started.  With DJ Yogi spinning and the lights going, the dance floor filled up immediately and didn’t ease up at all the rest of the night.

But at some point, even the best of parties comes to an end.

Nithya, Matt, I wish you the very best and I thank you for allowing me to share on your very special day.

I had the pleasure of helping one of my good friends, Humza Yasin of Humza Yasin Photography at an engagement session recently.  I’ve known Humza for a few years now and we’ve always wanted to shoot together but have never been able to coordinate schedules.  When he called to let me know he was shooting an engagement session here in Houston and wanted some help, I jumped at the opportunity.

We spent most of Saturday afternoon scouting locations based on Malisha’s desired look.  We enjoyed a great dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (Churrasco’s) and chatting for a while.  On Sunday, we did the shoot.  Since he was going to get the main shots, I decided I’d play around and experiment some with my infrared camera and a toy camera lens I’ve adopted to one of my Canon 5D camera bodies.

It’s not often you get to experiment so this was a great day for me.  Let me know what you think.

Some with the infrared camera:

A couple with the toy lens.  It gives the images a somewhat unpredictable focus and really softens the edges.  The result - a somewhat “old fashioned” look and feel.

And finally, a regular shot with my regular gear.

Thanks, Humza, for letting me tag along.  I hope the locations were suitable for Malisha and Bhavesh.  I can’t wait to see what you got and look forward to the next time we get to work together!

Oh, Malisha and Bhavesh were great.  We had a great dinner together at Cabo and then shot some more downtown in the evening.  Guys, I wish you the very best together!

It’s been a while since my last post.  Time flies they say and part of the reason for that “tempus fugit” is the new website.  Did you notice it?  If not, check it out.  It took me a bit longer than I expected - mostly because not only did I change the entire site but I also changed hosting company and I had to make sure I had no service interruptions.  I can do with the site being down for a short while, but e-mail communication is very important to me.

Anyway, its done and I hope you like it.  Let me know with comments here.

Now, the REALLY big news is that I had a couple of winning photos in a recent photo contest.  I never enter contests.  I don’t know why - I just don’t.  As a member of the Internatiional Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP), I decided I might as well enter a couple of images and if nothing else learn from the incredible talent represented there. 

Imagine my surprise when the results were announced this week and this photo from Saritha and Austin’s wedding took second place in the “First Dance” category!

Now, as if that wasn’t enough, I also had this image from Shelah’s “anti-bridal” place fourth in the “Bride Portrait” category.

I am very proud of this accomplishment and it has really energized me to do even better at the next contest.  See, it’s not just about the contest, it’s about seeking new and creative ways to capture images for you that just happen to be recognized as such by some of the best photographers in the world!

So, let me know what you think about the new website.