"Something about MARY!"

We are so excited we could hardly stand it! I received a call last week from Theresa Reynolds, one of our friends whose daughter we photographed along with a few other runway models, in our FIRST Trash the Prom Dress photo shoot. We're happy to report that Mary, the beautiful blond you see here, has just signed with The Ford Modeling Agency! Great news for all of us since mom told me YStudio Photography were her favorite photos!

We'll have to keep you posted once we have another shoot, because, as you can see, there is SOMETHING SPECIAL about Mary!

Congratulations Mary and a special hug goes out to Theresa for all of her hard work, dedication and for being one of the Bay Area's Best Makeup, Airbrush, and Hair Artists! Visit Theresa's site here: http://teresa-reynolds.com/

Stay tuned everybody! It IS going to get better......

The 2nd Annual Napa Aloha Festival

We would like to send the maximum amount of ALOHA possible to the Manaleo Hawaiian Cultural Foundation, Inc., who chose us to be this years official photographers for this fabulous event! Visit the organization here: http://www.manaleohcf.org/aloha%20festval.htm

The 2nd Annual Napa Aloha Festival event took place Saturday, September 19th at the Napa Valley Fairgrounds in Napa, California. We rose and shined early and arrived at the festival early and we were welcomed with loving hugs and ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOha! Plenty of vendors, volunteers, and performers! This years Special Guest, direct from Hawaii...Cyril Pahinui, see why so many patrons came to the festival.....we were blessed! Check out Cyril's page here http://www.cyrilpahinui.com/

If you look to the RIGHT of this page you will see our slideshow from some of our favorite shots from the festival. The staff was delighted with our work and have called us again for future events, one right around the corner, in October. We are blessed, see why........Mahalo and aloha!

Barbara & Wayne...... and please visit our NEW site at: http://ystudiophotography.com

Congratulations to Jacqueline & Alfredo!

We would like to extend a heartfelt congrats and shout out to our latest happy couple Jacqueline & Alfredo. Jacqueline, also of Cuban descent married Alfredo of Nicaraguan and Moroccan descent and had a HELLUVA celebration. Their ceremony was held at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, where Alfredo attended school as a child, and their reception and celebration was held at the Pacifica Beach Resort. Family flew in from Miami, Florida, Los Angeles, and other parts of the state to join in on this much awaited and fabulous wedding. John Calloway and his Latin Ensemble performed throughout the night and it could not have been more perfect, the bride and groom's first dance was to the song "Como Fue", and old traditional Latin standard chosen by the couple for their first dance.....and the song you hear on this post. The song made famous by great Cuban singer, Benny Moré. Cheers to the happy couple!!!

Congratulations to our son Angelo - Class of 2009!

I will never forget the visit I had to my doctor's office when she told me "yes in fact, you are pregnant!" The first thing I said was "it's a boy doctor!" She said she could not answer that and I had to remind her that I wasn't asking, I was telling her, "I just know it's a boy!"

I also remember having vivid dreams and seeing my little Angelo. The day he was born, August 10, 1990, and I saw him for the first time, he was exactly as I had imagined! Lots of hair, almost Asian looking and GORGEOUS! Angelo weighed a whopping 10.5 lbs and he was about 21 inches long! Although a c-section baby, thank GOD, he was the BEST thing that could have ever happened to me and my entire family! We are all so blessed that Angelo (which means first angel in Greek and angel in Spanish), was the next best thing to having God right at my side. Never have I forgotten that children do not really belong to us, they are created for us and we are here to nurture, teach and care for them with great love and care.

Another vivid memory is myself talking to a group of girlfriends and telling them how this experience of motherhood has finally revealed that I could be IN LOVE, and that I was FINALLY in LOVE, and yes with motherhood, but more so, with my son, Angelo. We are very proud of his achievements and congratulate him as he embarks to the City College of Berkeley, Ca.....hat's off to the grad and to the BEST kid a mom could ever dream of!


PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW THE ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL YEAR'S SHOOT! ENJOY!

Natalie & Kenneth - A "MATCH" made on Match.com!

When I first got the email from Kenneth that Weddings 9-1-1 was among their 3 choices for wedding photographers, I was ecstatic. We immediately arranged a meeting I was excited and anxious to meet the bride and groom-to-be as well as introducing Weddings 9-1-1's photography services.

I had no idea that after a nice conversation and presentation that the couple would make their decision on the spot, but, THEY DID!! Wow!! I can still remember Natalie, closing the sample wedding album I demonstrated and said "we've already made our decision, we want YOU to shoot our wedding!" I was humbled, to say the least.

We met with the couple a few months later and shot Natalie & Ken's Engagement Session, and wow, what a photogenic, fun and fabulous couple they were....read more on their E-session (scroll down). After the e-session, we were counting down the days before we would see them again, this time, Natalie would be in her bridal gown and Kenneth in a tux.

Their wedding day finally arrived, and the rest, well, we will leave it to you to see why we think this couple is blessed in so many ways! Congratulations to a couple who is not only generous in love, spirit and excitement, but they are truly a unique pair indeed! Major kudos to match.com, love arrives no matter how it's the "when" that matters.

Safia's Bridal Mendhi Party

We are so happy to share with you, our FIRST Bridal Mendhi Celebration, as you can see by some of my favorite shots, it is a culturally rich and beautiful part of the traditional Indian Weddings.... The wedding lasted three whole days and evenings and last night was the final reception. The reception took place at the Unity Center in Novato, California, it was a lovely venue with a lavish garden and lovely photo opportunities. Please stay tuned, we will be sharing more of this beautiful celebration. We congratulate the newlyweds and their families and we at Weddings 9-1-1 wish them a multitude of lifelong health, happiness and prosperity! A la sature!

Our FIRST Trash the Dress Session!

Congratulations to the winners of our Spring's Trash the Wedding Dress Photo shoot, Kate and Brian Bowyer!

We could not have been more lucky, Kate was so excited and ready to go! She then told me that her husband was excited too and that she had TWO dresses! Honoring her mother's request to only trash ONE dress, we decided to be on the "tame" side with the dress which was going to be preserved. We took it easy, pushing the envelope just a wee bit. Now, for the second dress, you be the judge, although I think we could have trashed it even more!

Kate and Brian were great sports, and great photo subjects as you will see here, Kate kept saying how much fun it was and it was an overall GREAT experience. Weddings 9-1-1 is happy to add Trash the Dress to our portfolio and to offer it to all of our clients. As cold as it was Kate and Brian got drenched by the Ocean and it was at some point very romantic! Thanks for reading, and remember, no matter how long that dress has been in the closet, bring it out, LET'S TRASH THAT DRESS!!!!!!!!

The Engagement of Natalie & Kenneth

We want to extend a "heartfelt" congratulations to Natalie & Kenneth whom will soon be saying their "I DO's." At Weddings 9-1-1 we have the fortune of meeting some amazing people, and this happy, lovely and bubbly couple is deserving of that title. Not only can they not keep their eyes off each other, Kenneth is so excited to be marrying Natalie he finds it difficult to contain himself and it is so wonderful to see and experience a couple with such impacting PDA's (public dispaly of affection). They are definitely meant for each other and we are excited for their up and coming wedding as much as they are! Stay tuned....I have a funny feeling that something VERY interesting will be happening at THIS wedding!

Jacqueline and Christofer Wedding

Weddings 9-1-1 would like to congratulate Jackie & Chris on their wedding. Jackie and Chris met through their church, got to know each other, fell in love and off they were! The happy couple tied the knot at the Embassy Suites in South San Francisco, CA and celebrated their reception at San Francisco's El Patio Español Restaurant in San Francisco. Their wedding party, and families put on a lovely event, and they all were a great source to the couple. We were pleased to have covered this milestone event, and would like to wish them a lifetime of love, health and happiness.

Salud! (Cheers)

Oh boy oh JOY!

We want to congratulate Joy who is the winner of our Spring Portraiture Giveaway, she was chosen to share her family and current pregnancy with the world. When I first notified Joy, it seemed her name was absolutely perfect for her, boy was she joyful! In speaking with Joy and getting to know a little bit about her, her husband how they met and their new forming family, I learned that they lived on San Francisco's Treasure Island in 2001 and how special it was to the couple. THIS information was like music to my ears and it was the birth of my canvas...I immediately envisioned Joy on top of the rocks with a fiery sunset, I told her about it and she thought it sounded like fun. Equipment used: Nikon D200 60m f2.8, Nikon SB800 and Canon 5d Mark II 70-200mm f2.8L lens and Canon 580EX II on and off camera strobes, as well as a Z-Ray Spotlight.

"Amazing Phil & Grace"

Here we are in our ninth month or so of business at Weddings 9-1-1 and today we receive a beautiful note from Grace Valdovinos, a gorgeous bride we photographed at the historic Rialto Theater in  Pasadena, Ca in 2008. We always like to think we work hard and we focus on the events that surround weddings, the bride, her family, the groom, his family, and all of their guests. It is so easy to be swept away on such a busy day and it's even easier to forget all the pertinent little details, until....the photographer shows the bride and groom their wedding day all over again, in imagery. Keeping this in mind, we capture what already exists and we focus on YOU! Here's Grace's much appreciated thank you note and review, Wayne and I were humbled once more.

"My wedding seemed like such a whirlwind that I missed so many events throughout the night. It was only after I received our photos from Barbara and Wayne that I was able to experience the details of my wedding through her camera lens. I will never forget the priceless snapshot of my new nine year-old cousin, Sofia, as she hugged me in congratulations. Her angelic face pressed against my pink wedding gown. What I saw in the photo almost made me fall over in my chair. As far as I could remember, sweet Sofia was dressed in an elegant white dress. The photo revealed a few more details, including the pair of black & white Converse she decided to wear to funk up her look for the evening! So many memories that I have now to keep...for this I am eternally grateful. Thank you so much Barbara and Wayne, for your eyes, for your skills, and for your romantic sentimentality, the combination of which has given Phillip and me a lifetime of memories". -- Grace Valdovinos, Los Angeles, CA

Our Mexico Trip

Hello everyone! We are back from Mexico! We have to say that we had a superb time and although it's always great to be back home, we were dreading getting off the ship! What fun! This was Wayne's FIRST cruise and he was just overwhelmed with the elegance, the finesse and the casual settings all over the ship. Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas, although cute and thank goodness a short port of call, it was not our favorite. We then left in the evening for Mazatlan. We arrived in Mazatlan the next morning and it seemed to have more progress than Cabo. Mazatlan reminded me of Cuba, with a resembling Malecón (Boardwalk), along the water, nice hotels, and restaurants and much better street pavements. The people are nice but the vendors on the street and on the beach can be challenging, so if you go, be ready! We returned to our ship after having a nice seafood dinner along the water at a place called La Puntilla, meanings The Point. Before sunset we were off to Puerto Vallarta. We arrived in Puerto Vallarta the very next morning and I could not believe my eyes! Across from where we docked, a HUGE Walmart, and a huge Shopping Mall!!! This place was gorgeous! After being swindled by the taxi and tour guides, we decided it was cheaper to rent a car, so we did!!!! We drove everywhere and even left Puerto Vallarta....to say the least, THIS was our favorite spot! We swam on the beach, ate good, walked around the Malecón (one there too), the shops and the breath taking Cathedral of Guadalupe. I will let the photos speak for themselves, we are still beat from the trip so and have lots to get caught up with ... enjoy the photos! Oh, and guess what? We met a family on board, whose daughter's beauty made us stare, we mentioned how photogenic she looked and her mother then said "I need a portfolio for my daughter!", and hired us on the spot! Good thing about this, we got to do what we love and more we met some great new friends we will most definitely stay in touch with. VIVA MEJICO!!

PS The last photo was a view from our balcony suite on the ship.....whewwwwww!

Jacqueline & Christofer "LOVE is in the air!"

Congratulations to Jackie and Christofer...yes that is how he spells it, they are tying the knot on Sunday, March 1st and we are thrilled that they chose Weddings 9-1-1 to document this very special day. Our clients come first so it is very important to encourage couples to engage in an e-session. I love getting to know my clients, learn how they met, where and how the proposal took place as it helps me to produce and deliver an intimate portraiture, after all it's all about the clients! We see weddings through our clients eyes, and capture what already exists. Jackie and Chris chose to shoot on location of their actual marriage proposal, Rockaway Beach, CA. One of the major benefits from choosing to go forth with an Engagement session, or as we say E-sessions, it allows for us to get to know each other, feel comfortable with each and this is what makes a shoot unique.....We engage in conversation and try to allow the couple interact while my hubby and I snap the photos. It truly is successful as Jackie commented on how much she loved their candids, because they felt real. Another benefit is that the couple can see how they interact through imagery and they can pick their favorite angles, and their not-so-favorite angles and/or poses. In the end this helps out immensely as we also get to see our clients best features and we bring it on....on the wedding day! Enjoy the photos.....and have a great week everybody! Jackie and Chris's weddings photos to follow in a few short weeks!

Happy New Life to the Rosales Family

We were fortunate enough to meet and photograph Gigi, her daughter Rosey and her son, Jayden, a wonderful family from San Francisco. We decided to shoot at Baker Beach after learning about their lifestyle, hobbies and interests, and they had a new addition to the family, Morena, a beautiful little Black Retriever Labrador. Morena means brown one but also dark one. It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco, and for starters, the beach was PACKED! So besides having to be very aware of composition and aperture, we were also struck by an overwhelming amount of shadows....so, it was all about light, and placement. I also brought some seaside props, left over from our own beach themed wedding, and those worked like a charm as I wanted to engage Jayden. The shoot went well, we had quite a workout on the sand and then it got COLD! A few things that helped us on this shoot, good battery power for fill flash, our 36 in. reflector, and of course our powerful and mighty Z-ray spotlight, and alas a lightsphere wasn' t needed since there weren't any walls to cast those ugly shadows. We also made a list of some ideas for posing, and this ALWAYS saves time. Here's a family starting out the new year on a big cheerful positive note...and boy do they deserve it!