One week ago I had my first engagement photo shoot of the year. We went to the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge where it’s a little more dry in early spring. It was raining days before and after so we lucked out with the perfect weather. Elena and Mike are very easy to be around so working with them was more than fun. I’m looking forward to the wedding day already. I have heard that hiking in high heels is a bad idea, Elena proved them otherwise. She was amazing, completely undaunted by her attire and the mission. We had to climb a few steep patches with big boulders. I was pretty impressed by her high heel climbing abilities.

A few weeks ago I photographed Kylie in Hood River. We ended up finishing the session in the studio after we lost the light and froze a little.

Here is a book I’ve just finished from one of our great wedding destinations in the Columbia Gorge: Gorge Crest Vineyards
click here to see the book

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that PhotoVlado has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means PhotoVlado is one of the very best in Photography.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

PhotoVlado would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

A couple of summers ago I caught these shots at Lisa’s wedding and you can see Tanah here jumping excitedly in the lineup of single gals to catch the bouquet. Well, as you can see in the next shot, she caught it. The moral of this story is that yesterday, I sat down with Tanah and her fiance to talk about her wedding photography needs for this coming August. Maybe it is true about catching the bouquet after all…I am looking forward to working with her because she has such great energy. We are going to do an engagement session early spring and I am sure it will be fun for us all. I love my job.

Last week I worked with local wedding hair and makeup stylist from Foils Salon. We had four models lined up that day. After hair and makeup we had a fun shoot for her advertizing campaign. One of the models was my daughter and when we got back to my home studio we took a few more shots in her street clothes. I’ve never seen her with curly hair and I certainly wouldn’t have recognized her from the back. She pretty much looks great all the time, but then, I am a little biased.

Happy New Year! January begins the season for planning that summer wedding for those newly engaged this winter. As an early booking bonus, I offer a free engagement photo shoot with any wedding package. Just call or email to inquire about your date.

My show at the Hood River library ended, and it went directly to a new show at the Centerpointe Bank on Cascade. Swing by and check it out, the happy colors will warm you right up in this freezing weather.

A few days ago, I was on a shoot with my wife doing a story for Rediviva magazine about local art talent. Nicole was a fun subject. She was adventurous and unafraid to try out some ideas (and get a little mud on her boots!) Now that my wife has some more time, I am excited she will be joining me on more shoots to help. She has been giving me input for years, and I always liked her perspective. I have been teaching her and she is now helping me with the clients and some camera work. As a team, we have even more to offer. Here, she caught me in action. I have put a before and after to demonstrate the difference the time spent in the lab (photoshop) can make a great shot from a good shot.

Right now my artistic photography is showing at the Hood River Library. I have large (up to 5 foot) canvas prints of horses, flowers, and a portrait. They are done using the Giclee method. Come on by and check it out.