Personal · Light Through the Keyhole

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Made a quick trip down to Big Sur with my cousin, Don (@donmiguelluis), on a clear, breezy, sunny day in California. Typically, we'd check weather forecasts for evenings with more clouds in the sky, so that we could add a nice texture to our landscape photos (as opposed to just a clear and empty background), but we decided to make the two-and-a-half hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area anyways for one primary reason: it was nearing the winter solstice, which meant that during this time of the year, the sun sets in a certain position where on clear evenings, it lines up with the famous keyhole rock at Pfeiffer Beach and creates a surreal-looking ray of light that shines through the "keyhole" in the middle of the rock. We made sure to stop by the classic Bixby Bridge and McWay Falls before heading over to Pfeiffer Beach, and were definitely rewarded with an absolutely stunning sight. Photos don't do it justice compared to how the experience was in person-- definitely going to have to make it back, around this time again, next year!

Lifestyle · Morgan + Carlo

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Met up with my friends Morgan and Carlo on a somewhat cloudy San Francisco afternoon to take some couple photos! Being fresh USF graduates that don't currently live in the same area (Morgan is from Southern California, while Carlo is from Northern California), they wanted to get some photos with each other in the city they met each other in before Morgan moved back to SoCal for the time being. The clouds actually provided for a nice, diffused light that made location scouting very easy, with the sun even peaking out a little bit during the shoot!

Travel · Yosemite National Park · October 2015

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Despite a long prior day of shooting, the next morning I found myself back on the road, more excited and energized than most would be after shooting a wedding.. Why, might you ask? Because this time, I was on the road to Yosemite National Park, for my second time this year, this time with some of my closest friends that I had the pleasure of walking with during USF's Spring 2015 Graduation Ceremony. 

The best part about this short trip wasn't the fact that most of the friends I was with had never been (or had been when they were very little) to Yosemite, nor the fact that we were greeted by beautiful weather and ridiculous sunrises and sunsets each morning and evening. The best part, to me, were the laughs shared and bonds strengthened between everyone as a whole - the photos were just a mere bonus.

We also came up with the hashtag #FindingOSXYosemite to commemorate this trip -- if you're on Instagram, please feel free to search this hashtag & relive our fun, quirky moments from this awesome weekend!

Wedding · Jess + Jon

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On a warm Saturday evening in Napa, California, Jess and Jon celebrated their marriage. While many people have hopes of inviting a ton of people for their eventual wedding day, Jess and Jon took on a slightly different approach to their special day. Instead, they decided to keep the guest list short and sweet - inviting only their closest friends, family, and relatives - allowing for an incredibly intimate celebration. The overall simplicity highlighted throughout the day definitely stood out most for this wedding, with a "no surprises" type of mood incorporated throughout. Jon works in the professional lighting industry, where he was able to live his dream of doing the lighting setup for his wedding that would set the overall ambiance the autumn night came to a close. The custom string light setup was absolutely beautiful, and definitely added a bit of extra flare to the images captured, as well!

Congratulations, once again, Jess and Jon!