Corina + Alex: June 17, 2009

A Wednesday wedding is not something you get to shoot every week.  Although last week, I was fortunate enough to be photographing Alex and Corina’s Wedding in Palos Verdes at the beautiful and popular location, Wayfarers Chapel. This magnificent glass chapel overlooking the water is even on my list of places to someday get married as the views and service here are excellent.  With a beautiful location and plenty of places to take photographs, I look forward to my next wedding there in October.

As I showed up, Corina was just getting ready.  Her custom made wedding dress hung on the wall as her bridesmaids excitedly prepared for the days events.  Alex was patiently waiting on the other side of the chapel taking in the views and getting ready for the grand event to begin.  For the next 2 hours, we took some fun photos on the property trying to keep the chapel in the background or taking advantage of the amazing views.  After a wonderful ceremony, photos were also taken in the chapel and outside the entrance.  As our time allotment came to an end, we decided to head to San Vicente Lighthouse down the street for more photos as Alex helped his lovely bride into their decorated car.

With a lot of the wedding party in tow, we took fun photos at the park and overlooking the cliffs.  Birds flew in the background and the sun was shining above.  Alex and Corina were even good sports in entertaining my crazy jumping poses or being held up by the groomsmen.  As tummies began to rumble, we headed to the Oh-So-Delicious Cheesecake Factory near Redondo Beach pier  as I started to smell my favorite dairy-cake delicacy.  

Boats were docked and guests were arriving, so we got to take some additional photos near the marina, and even some in a bamboo forest.  :-)  There was dancing, there was eating, there was texting on cell phones.  After dinner, a toast, and the cheesecake re-cutting, the blinds were pulled down and the evenings events began.  Dancing became the theme of the night as the wedding party, family and friends rocked it all night long.  Lee, of Hey Mister DJ services, spun his playlist of popular hits picked out by Alex and Corina as his companies slogan gave me some much needed comfort; ‘DJs that please without the cheese.”

Fun was had by all and I also have to thank Yelp! Who would have guessed my desire for good restaurant reviews would also lead me to a wonderful, fun couple and an amazing wedding.  Thank you to Alex and Corina for a perfect Wednesday!!

Location: Wayfarers Chapel

Reception: Cheesecake Factory

DJ: Hey Mister DJ

Photography Assistant: Tom Wright

Mannequins of Art

A friend contacted me last minute about a project that developed using photos of mannequins.  Sounds fun, unusual, and interesting so why not!  No problem!!  Not only were these mannequins photogenic, I love doing things I’ve never done before.  With a single flash in hand, some backlight from a door crack, I think I got some pretty interesting photos.  If you’re interested in finding out more or in commissioning me for similar jobs, please contact nathan@nathannowack.com.  Who knows, maybe these will end up in a gallery someday.  :-)  Thanks for stopping by.

Griffith Park and Hollywood sign hike. (Just don’t get the West Nile)

So lately in the news there have been reports that the West Nile Virus has been found in Griffith Park mosquitoes.  Not good.  For me, it seems that no matter where you go these days, you’ll either get West Nile from a mosquito, E-coli from Nestle toll house cookies, or swine flu from someone coughing next to you.  The world is slowly getting filled with more and more viruses, illnesses, and things to either kill you or slow you down.  I say, screw them all!!  I for one, will not be caught staying home, scared of what  I may get outside in the real world.  There are far too many beautiful things in the world to see, that I’ll just continue living my life, but be as prepared and aware as possible.

Now with that said, a few weeks ago, some friends and I took a hike up to the Hollywood sign.  It was a beautiful day and something I had never done before.   With a few detours and plenty of photos, we had a good time seeing the sign as wellas getting some exercise.  The next week, we choose to venture up to the Griffith Observatory and see the planetarium show, check out the city lights, and enjoy the stars.  It was equally as fun and I am happy to say, none of us got the West Nile.

Also, for a bit of trivia.  The nine letters of the Hollywood sign were replaced with steel for a small price of $27,777 per letter and was donated by the following people in 1978.

• H – Terrence Donnelly, publisher of the Hollywood Independent Newspaper
• O – Giovanni Mazza, Italian movie producer
• L – Les Kelley, originator of the Kelley Blue Book
• L – Gene Autry
• Y – Hugh Hefner
• W – Andy Williams
• O – Warner Bros. Records
• O – Alice Cooper, in memory of Groucho Marx
• D – Dennis Lidtke

Enjoy the photos!!

Visionartbook.com – Custom Books for everyone

For the first wedding that I shot with Henry Chen photography, I had noticed he had created a really amazing looking guest book that had all the engagement photos included in it.  This professional looking album lay flush to the table, had high quality paper, and was a perfect keepsake after guests had signed their best wishes and signed their names throughout.  I asked him the company, and Visionartbook.com was the company of his choice.   I finally got around to ordering my own studio sample as well as learning how to custom create these pages to fit inside their variety of sizes.  The process and ordering was simple, the Photoshop template straight forward, and the quality amazing.  I’ve been sold, and I hope you are too.  Please contact me for details on current wedding packages and options of including these amazing guestbook keepsakes.

Here are some photos of my studio sample with my most recent Engagement Session photos added.

Cheers!
Nathan Nowack Photography

Saryu Portrait Session

 

Here are some photos from last weeks Portrait session for Saryu.  It was a last minute session but even with the light disappearing and the cloudy overcast, we managed to get some nice photos of her wearing traditional Indian garments and some in her more casual clothes.  Thanks for the Google Saryu!

 

Executive Headshot Session with Thomas

I had a quick 1 hour Executive Headshot session on Wednesday.  I thought the photos turned out very professional. I also got to use my new Pocket Wizards which worked out great.

All the best on finding a new job Thomas!  If anyone is hiring a talented Sales Manager, please see Thomas.

Cheers.

Amy + Clark: An Underwater Reception

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!!

Katie + Anthony: Engagement Session in Long Beach

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.

Teaching and Learning, the OC way.

When my friend Sarah said she bought a Digital SLR and that she wanted me to teach her a few things, I got pretty excited.  I love sharing the art of photography with anyone willing to learn.  This is probably one of the main reasons I’m the photo editor of the Santa Monica College newspaper, because I love to see people grow.  I too love to learn, and of course just get out and shoot some great photos.

My girlfriend Allison, also decided to come, as she’s always had an interest in photography as well and borrowed my old Canon XT to play around with.  We got to Balboa Island, down in Orange County off the 55 and PCH.  This quaint little island has some truly amazing houses, a wonderful little main street with shops and restaurants, and a ferry that takes you over to Balboa Peninsula.  This was perfect, so many things to take photos of.

So we started walking around, taking photos, experimenting with the settings, and explaining the terms of photography.  Both Sarah and Allison got the basics pretty quickly, and started to take photos of fun flowers, signs, and even a boat taken over by pirate seal lions.  Sarah’s husband Justin showed up and we took the fairy across to Balboa Peninsula.  A ferris wheel greeted us no arrival with Balboa bars, a pier, and more fun things to see.

It was a fun day topped off with an excellent dinner at this little Italian place on the main street called Giorgio La Trattoria and then a Balboa Bar(Ice Cream Bar) or Frozen Banana coated in your choice of topping made fresh just for you.  Apparently, Dad’s Donut and Bakery was one of the original Balboa Bar providers.  These were so tasty, I would go back down there just for those.

Thank you Sarah and Justin, I had a great time and will come down for more ice cream whenever you want.  Hope your photos turned out great and I hope to see them on your Confessions of a Feminist Golddigger blog soon!

Pirate Seals

Gina + Sky E-Session: Destination Arroyo Grande

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!!!  :-)