Wedding at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, NV

I recently photographed a beautiful wedding at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Tahoe.  It was a casual event with a short ceremony and casual dinner and drinks on the lawn overlooking the gorgeous lake.  While the four piece string group played softly, we were causing quite a stir with the most successful photo booth yet.  For some reason the photo booth is hit or miss, either guests really embrace it or they don't participate at all.  For two solid hours we had a line going and everyone was having a blast.  

Groom and the Mother of the Bride.

Bride and one of her good friends

I feel like the booth is a great way to get everyone participating, and sometimes it is difficult to get meaningful pictures of all the guests.  This way everyone can come over in their own time and not worry about getting their picture taken while they are stuffing their face.  

The whole idea behind the booth is to get fun, engaging shots of wedding guests in a semi controlled situation.  This way, when a spontaneous moment happens, it can be captured and remembered as such.

Another cool thing about doing this set up is people really get to become creative, they can express who they are in front of the camera. 

Some get wacky, others just stare straight ahead.  When someone gets up to bat and they are stiff, or unimaginative, I provide a bit of creative inspiration. 

These guys were awesome, I love when they come back for more rounds!

 The most important thing is to show a different side of the many guests.  I try to make everyone comfortable enough to let loose.  

Squaw Valley Lake Tahoe, CA

I recently got up the hill and spent the day with some good riders at Squaw Valley.  They all happen to be good buddies and it was a great way to end the resort riding season. They are couple journalists, and a few shredders, check out the full write up on their blog here.

Drew lives in South Lake and was able to meet up with us at Squaw Valley.  I'm glad he did because he charges and we got some great shots.  

Wallner has been trying to get me up to Squaw all season and I'm bummed it took so long.  I have been fantasizing about terrain like that at a resort for a long time.  I can't wait for the next POW day.  Why it took me nearly five years living in Sacramento to finally go is a mystery. 

Snowboarding at Heavenly in Lake Tahoe

Finally got a chance to get out of town for some much needed recreation.  I ended up working, sort of. I have wanted to get some new action photos for a while now and have been dying to see what my new shooting rid is capable of with fast action.

 

I had some friends flying up from San Diego to ride in Tahoe for a few days and the timing was impeccable.  Conditions were pretty fun with about a foot of fresh snow and mild temps.

 

We rode Heavenly, which is one of the larger mountains in the area with a lot of tree riding.  I was hoping for big open runs with lake views but didn’t get any this time.  Again, lots of tree riding and a little bit in the terrain parks. 

 

The Canon 7D performed awesome. I enjoyed shooting bursts during the peak action then later choosing the very best one.  I kept it protected safely in a backpack wrapped in a waterproof shirt and a few puffy beanies. 

 

I’m looking forward to getting back up to Tahoe with some other athletes to get some different looks at the surrounding terrain and more importantly, ride some deep snow.