My experience has made me comfortable photographing all kinds of weddings, from formally orthodox to casually agnostic, candid and photojournalistic or composed and illuminated, dotcom millionaires in the most elegant hotels and barefoot hippies deep in ancient redwood groves. No matter the location or aesthetic, I embrace the unique qualities of each situation with a classical sensibility, and work to capture the essence of the wedding day by focusing on the moments of intimacy, humor, and celebration, while avoiding the stiffness of traditional wedding photography.

In  the  beginning  there  was  film...

I first became captivated by photography back before there were digital cameras. Drawn by the dynamic visuals of alternative lifestyles I started shooting skate punks and Dead shows on black & white film for that gritty documentary look. Enchanted by the alchemical mystery of the darkroom, I spent a major portion of my high school career conjuring images from baths of chemicals in the moody red glow of the safelights... part Artist, part Scientist, and part Sorcerer... 

Instead of attending college I loaded a backpack with hundreds of rolls of film and set off on extended excursions to exotic international destinations.  Along the way I had the opportunity to watch the sunset from atop Egyptian pyramids, to snorkel over coral reefs, ride camels through the desert, share yak-butter tea with Tibetan lamas, watch the sun rise over smoking volcanoes, and dance all night long under the palm trees in Goa, among many others... These experiences informed my mind and enriched my soul in ways too varied to properly recount here, but most profoundly effected was my artistic vision. A review of the images from my various trips shows a distinct progression of technique and maturing of my aesthetic capacities. Immersed in the dizzying spectacle of color that is India I found I was no longer seeing in black & white, and so, somewhat mystified by the transformation, I made a switch to shooting in color that has continued, almost exclusively, to this day.

The latest technological advances have always intrigued me, and now I primarily use top-of-the-line digital equipment for the many conveniences it allows. I continue to spend hours in my digital laboratory tweaking and adjusting to achieve the finest representation of my artistic vision. I also still shoot film for that subtle natural quality that it has, like listening to your favorite music on vinyl rather than MP3... and I can incorporate film into your wedding coverage if that appeals to you.

Technology is continuously evolving, but one thing that doesn’t change is my love for and devotion to the artistry and craftsmanship of photography. I honed my sense of composition, and my ability to press the shutter at just that decisive moment when personality peaks, at a time when each frame counted. I strive to recognize and respond to those magical moments of serendipity, when all the visual and soulful elements of a photo come together, and over the years I have learned how to create them sensitively and without invading the event: the art of carefully balancing the spontaneous with the orchestrated. This dynamic consciousness is the guiding principal of my images and of my working philosophy.

More Photos for Getty Images

Getty has recently selected another 64 of my images for inclusion in their library.  Once uploaded that will bring the total number of photos that I have available for licensing with them to a modest but not inconsequential 204.  In terms of stock photography this is a rather minor collection, but not bad considering that Getty is the "leading provider of digital media worldwide."  Most of the images they have chosen are of my daughter Tallulah, including this one of her swinging with her mama, which is one of the most-sold images so far.

This shot of Tallulah joyfully riding her trailer bike through the woods near Mendocino, California, has also sold multiple times, and has earned the most in commissions.  Although most of my collection was captured using professional cameras, many of them were shot with my Leica pocket digital (like these two), and even some using my iPhone!

Another exciting recent development has been the inclusion of my wedding photography with selected images of married couples, like this bride and groom from a wedding that I shot in Elk, California.

Click here to view the full spectrum of my Getty collection. 

* Getty Images Update *

This image of my friend Jeremiah contemplating the raging hydraulics of Rancheria Falls in the Yosemite backcountry has catapulted to the top of the sales heap at Getty after being licensed by Fiskars of Finland for use in their online advertising. This example show it on the Gerber website, which is a sub-division of Fiskars.

Images Featured on Utata.org

"Utata is a collective of photographers, writers, and like-minded people who share a compelling interest in the arts.  We began (and continue to exist) as a salon-style gathering of photographers who came together on Flickr.  As a group we are continuously evolving; Utata is more of a process than a final product."  - From the Utata.org website

I'm greatly honored to have my work recognized and included in such a high-quality compendium.  I was especially touched by the words that Pam Ullman wrote to accompany this photo of Tallulah with the camera over her face:

"She gets her freckles and her auburn locks, her preference for pink-striped t's and rose-tied pigtails, her adorable sense of style - from her mother. Her way of being in the world - easy, spirited, curious - from you both. Her way of seeing the world - through the lens of a camera - from you, alone. There is no one in the world quite like her. Which is why you named her Tallulah."

Here is what Jody Miller had to say when posting this image to the Utata website:

"Oh the many ways I love this photo. The old Dutch masters light, the sweet innocence of make-believe combined with that wordly expression. I have featured it on the front page of Utata in the Spotlight today. Cheers!"

(Click here to see this image larger)

My iPhone Images Selected for Inclusion at Aurora Photos

"Aurora Photos is excited to announce the launch of the myPhone Collection of stock photography, a collection of images taken with iPhones and other mobile devices by some of the world's top photographers and iPhoneographers, and now made available to pictures buyers for both editorial and commercial licensing."

My photos can be seen here.

One Photo Every Day For A Year

At the beginning of 2011 I initiated a new project (titled Project 365, aptly enough) in which I endeavored to make at least one photograph every day for a whole year. The edited images were subsequently uploaded to a collection on my Flickr stream. Some of the pictures were conceived in advance, planned and composed and lit to create a certain look and feel. Others were serendipitous "found" moments, often captured with my iPhone camera in the regular course of daily life. At times the process was stressful and agitating, the anxiety of having to produce something worthy, even when I didn't feel like it or was too busy, was the cause of some anguish. But most of the time it was inspiring and gratifying, pushing me to try new techniques, and giving me a sense of purpose that elicited some of my finest images yet.  I am now relishing the freedom of only making photos when I truly feel the desire to do so, without any outside compulsion, and have begun working on the design for a book of this collection.

My Photo Used in Grateful Dead Book

This photo, which I took at a Grateful Dead concert at the Silver Bowl in Las Vegas in 1991, has been published in a remarkable multi-media coffee table book "The Grateful Dead Scrapbook" by Ben Fong-Torres.  My photo can be seen here opposite the title page.

The concert was quite an experience... Santana opened, and we camped in the desert each night after the shows.  Classic.