Posted in Photography | Tagged new blog, squarespace | Leave a Comment »
As my girlfriend quoted, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming….” When my sister told me she was having her wedding reception in an aquarium, I had to say, “Really? You can do that? SWEET!!!” I’ve never heard of an aquarium allowing this. What a great idea and what an amazing chance for cool photos. So my girlfriend Allison and I grabbed our bags and headed out to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Now first things first, I had to get lunch at Braums. If you know me, this is a must every time I’m in Oklahoma. Allison was amazed at the quality of the burgers and anxiously awaited the next time we would come back so she could get ice cream. With Cherry Limeades in hand, we headed off to freshen up at the Doubletree Hotel at Warren Place. Then off to Amy and Clark’s in Bixby for BBQ.
At Amy and Clarks, we got to see lots of friends and family that I hadn’t seen in a while. The Bill and June had come in from Wisconsin along with Bill Jr., Paula, and the kids. Oren was there minus Jennifer who was in Alaska en-route first thing Saturday morning. The Greenwoods happily arrived, again giving me the opportunity to explain how small of a world this is being that I met Mike and Julie in California before they moved back to Oklahoma 4 years ago. My aunts from Oregon and Australia braved the long drive in my parents car from Colorado, making this a BBQ from around the world. Even Karsten made a detour from his 1 month roadtrip on his way back to Colorado. It was great to see everyone again, introduce them to Allison, and eat some really good Oklahoma BBQ.
The day of the wedding reception, we all met up at the Oklahoma Aquarium, appropriately located on the only place in Tulsa I would expect an aquarium to be, on the riverside in Jenks. As the public were still leaving the facility, Amy and Clark were near the reception area walking around. What an great idea this was. The tables were surrounded by aquarium tanks. The florist had even decorated the kids tables with live hermit crab centerpieces. The DJ had his booth set up off to the side, the food was in the center, and the delicious wedding cake was in front of the shark tanks. This was perfect. As people arrived, we started to get photos. We got our family portraits quickly out of the way so that everyone could continue walking around and enjoy the aquarium.
After some amazing appetizers, more photos, and the cake cutting, we all sat down for a delicious Beef or Chicken meal. What no Fish?
The DJ rocked his beats to the dancing of all the kids, and even Amy and her friend Ron did a little two stepping as some country music jumped on the speakers. As guests left the event, a wishing tree sat at the front table where guests could write their best wishes and hang them on different branches. The night was over, and good times were had by all. It was my pleasure to photograph my sisters reception and I couldn’t have been happier to see all my friends and family again. It was a great idea and I wish the best to Amy and Clark for all the rest of their years. Cheers!!
Posted in Photography, Portraits, Travel, Weddings | Tagged aquarium, Dancing, family, friends, Oklahoma, reception, sharks, tulsa, wedding, wedding cake | 2 Comments »
The one thing I really enjoy about Engagement Sessions is all the different types of locations that one can go to in the Greater Los Angeles area. Long Beach (not too far away but not exactly right next door) is one of those places I rarely get to go to. Now granted I have been to a concert at the convention center, biked the Long Beach Marathon, and taken off on a cruise from their port, but I haven’t really taken a lot of photos down there.
Katie and Anthony suggested maybe going down there to look around the pier, The Pike, and lighthouse. Great idea, I thought, and it surely was. There were a lot of great photo opportunities, and some not so ideal. Note to self, The Pike will not allow “professional” photography as it is technically private property. Unfortunate, but we found other places to go.
Right down the street was a great park over near the large Wyland painted Long Beach Arena. Very nice colorful bridges surrounded by water made for a nice start to our 4 hour session. We continued walking around toward the Lighthouse and park in front of the aquarium. Being a Saturday, it was definitely a crowded day, so we strategically placed ourselves in locations without too many people. The weather was also amazing, sun shining, no clouds, and a slight breeze to keep us from completely sweating while walking around.
As the sun started to set, and the Queen Mary slowly fading off in the background, we moved onto our final outfit and Katie and Anthony were still toughing it out. They talked and laughed, while my assistant Ari and I continued to come up with interesting locations and backgrounds. My particular favorite shots are the silhouettes, as sometimes a simple looking photo, screams 1000 words. Hands held, faces pointed towards each other, still portray a strong feeling of love can be seen through the shadows.
Thanks again to Ari Zadok for helping out and thank you to Katie and Anthony for walking around to all the locations. I hope you both had a great time and I look forward to taking more photos later this year.
Posted in Engagement Session, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Bridge, California, couple, Engagement Session, Esession, fiancee, lighthouse, long beach, love, Photography, pier, silhouette, The Pike, Wyland | Leave a Comment »
Do I want to travel 3 hours away to a quaint little coastal town past Santa Barbara, past Solvang, and past Santa Maria near Pismo Beach? Definitely!!!
When Gina and Sky hired me for their wedding after seeing my ad on Facebook, I was excited to see this scenic little town about 3 hours north of LA. Situated off the 101 next to Pismo Beach, and with a population under 18,000, this little town was perfect for a romantic wedding location away from the hustle and bustle of LA. Growing up in Santa Maria, both Sky and Gina had some nostalgic connections with the area as we walked around town near a trickling stream taking photos on the bridge, in the park, and at their favorite Ice Cream store, Doc Burnstein’s. WOW!! Now that’s some good ice cream!!!!
We then headed shortly down the road past Pismo Beach and up to Shell Beach. Here, colorful cliffs fell to the Pacific while huge boulders of white rocks sat motionless in the water. This is what California coastline should look like! With a pathway down to the water, we quickly descended and took some fun photos on the beach and against the cliffs with shadows. As the sun started to set, we went back up to the cliffs and finished the day off with some romantic sunset photos. This is definitely the way to watch the day end as the yellows and oranges filled the sky with a silhouette of trees, rocks, and two people in love.
Afterwards, Allison and I had some tasty clam chowder in Pismo Beach at Splash Cafe. Definitely a must try if you’re in the area and want a huge bread bowl of some hot, soupy goodness.
Thanks for being such great tour guides and thanks again for the amazing ice cream, I think I’ll need to stop there every time I go up north now!!! :-)
Posted in Destination Wedding, Engagement Session, Photography, Portraits, Travel | Tagged arroyo grande, beach, California, cliffs, Destination Wedding, Doc Burnstein, e-session, Engagement Session, Ice Cream, love, marriage, old town, Photography, pismo beach, Portraits, romantic, shell beach, Splash Cafe | 1 Comment »
With a last minute call to do a Maternity portrait session with Toni and Jon, I jumped on the opportunity as I am new to Maternity Photography. Treating it like an Engagement Session, even though they are already married, I had a variety of poses in mind for them to show off their love as well as their soon-to-be plus one.
Toni suggested the Historic Library in Redondo Beach Veteran’s Park. I scoped out the location and found multiple spots that would be great for some photos. We walked around taking photos as they laughed and joked with each other. Even their cousin Chris came along and snagged a few shots on his cell phone making Toni feel like a celebrity. They were a great couple full of energy and life.
It was a fun session and I tried my hardest to get as many different poses and styles to combine this photo session into one. I would definitely do more of these and was very happy with the outcome.
Now that Toni and Jon will have some photos to show at their upcoming baby shower, I wish them the best for all of their future events. Thanks for everything!!
Posted in Engagement Session, Maternity, Photography, Portraits | Tagged California, e-session, Engagement Session, Historic Library, Los Angeles, love, marriage, Maternity photos, Photography, photos, Portraits, pregnant, Redondo Beach, romantic, Toni + Jon, Veterans Park | Leave a Comment »
Having been booked for this wedding almost a year ago, I was very anxious to photograph Eliross and Carlos’s special day.
With an early start, my assistant Karin Schulz and I headed over to Hair Conspiracy over on Anxa and Sepulveda where Eliross was getting her hair and makeup done. After a bunch of fun shots, we headed to their place to meet up with everyone else. As we found great lighting under the awning, I took a few quick shots of Eliross looking very elegant with her bouquet and wedding dress. Soon we were off in the Hummer limo arriving at the church just in time. At the Calvary Assembly of God, Eliross and Carlos’s guests had arrived and were seated in the church awaiting the wedding parties entrance.
It was grand day, with some great photos at the Korean Bell of Friendship in San Pedro and a reception back at the Calvary gym. Over 200 guests attended the day’s festivities full of chocolate covered strawberries, fajitas, and even personalized M&M candies. Thank you to Eliross and Carlos for letting me share their special day with them and I hope they had an excellent trip to Disneyland!
Please contact Nathan Nowack Photography for print ordering information.
Click on photos to enlarge.
Posted in Photography, Weddings | Tagged California, calvary assembly of god, Carlos Lira, ceremony, church wedding, Eliross Lopez, Karin Schulz, lomita, marriage, myfrozenring.com, Nathan Nowack Photography, reception, union, wedding, wedding photography, Weddingsbynathan.com | 1 Comment »

Today was an engagement session with Mike and Sarah. I was looking forward to this one as I have been getting a lot of inquires for weddings at Wayfarer’s Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes. As I drove up, this amazing glass chapel stood overlooking the Pacific Ocean with an amazing garden, water fountain, and grassy lawn. This was a nice location! I can see why it’s so popular.
Mike and Sarah were ready to go, as we started out long day of engagement photos. We moved around the chapel grounds quickly as a wedding was scheduled in an hour. We then headed down to Point Vicente Park, near the lighthouse. This was a great location as well, with amazing cliffs, nice green grass, low palm trees, and banquet hall area overlooking the water. This picturesque lighthouse was also a great location to search for whales, as a local marine group was doing so and had already spotted 3 whales that day.
We continued to take some fun photos, as both Sarah and Mike were very willing to do anything I suggested. They threw in their own little humorous faces, interesting poses, and even balanced on a pole like Karate Kid. Even with Sarah’s continuous smile and Mike’s determined stare, the love between these two could definitely be seen as they walked hand in hand. Their fun attitudes and array of natural poses gave me tons of different options to photograph.
We ended the day with a trip to Torrance Beach during sunset, where Mike and Sarah took a stroll on the beach, drew a heart in the sand, and climbed a lifeguard tower. The sunset was perfect with an romantic calmness as we all
watched it fill the sky with beautiful colors. It was a great session and I can’t wait for their wedding in October. Thank you to Mike and Sarah for being great in front of the camera and keeping the day fun like it should be!

Posted in Engagement Session, Photography, Portraits | Tagged California, Church, e-session, Engagement Session, journalistic style, marriage, Mike + Sarah, Nathan Nowack Photography, park, Photography, Point Vicente Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, romantic, Torrance Park, Wayfarer's Chapel, Wayfarers, wedding photography, Whales | Leave a Comment »
This weekend, Choon, Tessa, and my lovely assistant/gf Allison met up at Loyola Marymount University to start a fun filled Engagement Session. Although it was overcast day and a little windy, the two were happy to meet up and we jumped right into it by getting some great location shots on the beautiful campus in Playa Del Ray, California. As we continued to take photos, we got a pleasant surprise of live music being played in the eastern grassy quad. From reggae to electronic to rock, our background music was anything but romantic but humorous for our photos as we continued to snap away.
We finished up by heading to Playa Vista for some great shots in their park near the Promenade. Choon humored me for a few crazy photos and we finished up not going to the beach but possibly saving it for another day. We had fun, we had music, we got some great photos and I thank Choon and Tessa for a great session today and I can’t wait to photograph their wedding in August!! Cheers!!
Posted in Engagement Session, Photography, Portraits | Tagged California, college, couples, e-session, Engagement Session, fiancee, love, loyola marymount, Nathan Nowack, photo session, playa del ray, Playa Vista, Portraits, romantic, university | 1 Comment »












































































































































