Marian's Wedding Dress [Final Fitting]

Marian Dapaah is our second wedding for 2010 and we are loving every session that we have with her. Recently, we drove to Homestead to Ann Marie's bridal boutique and photographed and videotaped Marian's final fitting for her wedding gown. I knew Marian was funny and charming, but she has earned my title of "Ultimate Bride". Photographing her is as easy as pie.

Since I don't have a lot of time to write this blog before we catch a plane for her native home of St. Croix, I'm going to post just a few images that Dana took and give a link to the video that I captured.

Enjoy!
Willie

To view the HD video click on this link: http://vimeo.com/8794305

For best viewing (unless you have a super fast computer) allow
the video to start playing, pause it until a good portion of the
file has partially loaded, then select play again.

Ann Marie's: www.annmariesbridalboutique.com

St. Croix Bound

Well, our bags are packed and we're ready to fly to St. Croix for Marian Dapaah'S wedding. Because we're packing TONs of photographic equipment we're leaving the laptops behind. However, my youngest daughter, Christy, can't live without her Facebook connection, so we might be able to upload some images from this beautiful island.

Dana and I have made some definite plans for getting out and taking advantage of any photo opportunities we come across. We've also planned another "Love Story" session for Marian and Kenneal as well as a "Trash The Dress" session.

Yep, we've got tons of photographic fun scheduled for EVERYONE! See ya when we get back.

We're gonna enjoy it!

Enjoy!
Willie

John Patrick's 1st Birthday Party

John and Aniquia Gay have been client's of mine for years. I've photographed their engagement, wedding, and maternity sessions. Recently, I had the privilege of photographing their darling little son (John Patrick) 1st birthday party. What a blast! Not only is he cute, but he's equally adorable and EVERYONE loves him.

The event started off with a downpour, but amazingly as soon as I arrived to start my still & video work, it stopped raining a sunshine came out. Although we took lots of great shots, the following images are from John Patrick's birthday album that we specially designed for John and Aniquia. We're looking forward to family portraits and many more birthday parties with the Gays.

Enjoy!
Willie

Happy birthday, John Patrick!

Marian's & Kenneal's Love Story

There is so much that I want to tell you about Marian and Kenneal, but limited time and blog space prohibits me. Suffice it to say that I've dubbed Marian as my "Ultimate Bride". She's also a princess! In a few days Dana and I will travel to St. Croix to cover her destination wedding and we can wait. Already we've had a few portrait sessions with Marian (which included her final fitting of her wedding dress), and she's a pure joy to work with.

Anyway, we squeezed in the "Love Story" session that you see below although it was captured during the cold weather we've recently experienced here in South Florida. So, we all bundled up in warm clothing and give it shot. I know when we get to St. Croix that we've planned on capturing more pictures to add to this collection. Stay tuned. I know you're going to love seeing more pictures of this "hot couple" and the island of St. Croix.

A borrowed motorcycle in the parking lot was
a perfect prop for Kenneal's "bad boy" look.

Marian's and Kenneal's favorite image.

Although it was a chilly day,

warm laughter makes for romance.

As I found out, Marian can add humor to any situation.

I love shooting into the night just

because of the type image you see above.

I've always wanted to shoot a street light scene,
so I gave it a try and the results were nice.

Enjoy!
Willie

To see more of Marian's Love Story Session,
click the play button below:

Top Ten Photographers Awards

Dana and Willie with their "Top Ten Photographers" trophies

As members of the Professional Photographers Guild of Florida (PPGF), each year Dana and I compete against some of the best professional photographers in South Florida. At the end of each year, ten photographers receive awards for their accomplishments. Members must excel in the quality of their photographic work which is judged during three print competitions. In addition, members must also accumulate service points in order to reach the "Top Ten Photographers" level.

I'm proud to announced that during the PPGF Annual Awards Banquet, Dana came in 2nd Place, Top Ten Photographer (Richard "Pappy" Hinman Award) and I came in 3rd Place, Top Ten Photographer (Marcel & Silvia Moino Award). We are honored to have achieved this level of competence among our peers and believe the awards confirm the quality of our studio work as offered to our clients.

As recipients of these awards we want to thank all of our clients who allowed us to use their images during print competition. We could not have accomplished these levels of excellence without you.

Finally, this year Dana and I have moved our membership to the Professional Photographers Guild of Palm Beach. We look forward to making new professional friends while competing against some of the best photographers in Florida. We'll keep you posted on successes throughout the year.

Enjoy!
Willie & Dana

Mimes on My Mind

Several weeks ago while photographing a Christmas Party for Airbus at the Mayfair Hotel in Miami, I ran into an amazing dancer in the person of Kamila Cardenas. She and members from her production company were working another party at the hotel. I was intrigued by her amazing outfit and her performers' costumes, so I asked Kamila if she would let me take a few quick shots of her. She agreed and after viewing the images online a few days later she wholeheartedly agreed to us working together on future projects.

Just this week I had my first chance to photograph Kamila in action as she teamed up a mentor of hers, Bianka Gonzales (also a professional dancer). With Bianka's permission I was allowed to videotape a recent performance Bianka was contracted to produce. Although 99% of the imagery is in video format, I did created the shots below by using my handycam in portrait orientation and by using the photo feature build into the camcorder. I hope you like the ingenious costumes and makeup like I do.

Kamila is simply in
character ALL the time.

Carlos is striking in his outfit.

My favorite shot of Kamila

and Carlos. Great mimes!
Juan Carlos...the perfect mime.

Bianka in rare form. She's the
consummate professional dancer.

Yeah, that's Bianka being stretched
to the max! No broke bones, either.

One of my favorite shot.
Thanks Bianka and Juan Carlos.

If you have an event and want to impress the attendees, either Bianka's or Kamila's production companies will dazzle and leave your guest speechless.

Enjoy!
Willie

Bianka Gonzales: (954) 433-1969 or (305) 934-7134 cell
Kamila Cardenas: (305) 538-1689/www.kamileonproductions.com

Camera: Sony HDR-FX7