blogs of photogs

The Apertura Photo blog is the blog of photographers Ray Soemarsono and Erwin Darmali, who work out of Southern California, but travel for wedding coverage as well. Ray and Erwin are extremely talented photographers who both have amazing artistic documentary styles, though each markedly different in their approaches. Most of the posts they blog cover weddings, but somehow they manage to never make one wedding look like another; they keep coming up with fresh inventive and imaginative shots of each couple and wedding. Their work so perfectly captures the gaiety and energy of the receptions, it makes me feel like I was there.

Enjoy!

Mary

Wow. Its absolutely remarkable to me the different feel you can get from looking over different wedding photographers blogs. Some are so bright, saturated, commercial, etc, and some are just so….well- something else. Jose Villa’s blog is something else. Its hard to come up with a truly descriptive term. Ephemeral? Yes, but more….Understated? Yes… but in a good way. Simple? Yeah, that too.. but in an straightforward way that sets aside the loveliness of his subjects and really shows more– more than how they look, he somehow captures their relationships, be it an engaged session, or a wedding. Jose works out of southern CA, and you can find his site here.

Truly alluring work ~enjoy!

Mary

In addition to being available for travel worldwide, Daniel Snow works out of the Twin Cities metro area, (Minneapolis & St. Paul–same as me!) so I guess I’m performing another local karmic good deed by featuring his blog here on Blogs of Photogs.

Anyway, quite simply, he rocks at both wedding photography and engagement sessions, and Daniel is shockingly affordable for being such an accomplished photographer. If I were getting married again, (which I’m not, but instead celebrating 15 years of wedded bliss to my sweetie next month) I’d have to talk to Daniel first off and see if he was available. There is such a glut of photographers in our area, many whom…how can I say this kindly….just do not have the expertise to be charging what they do. Daniel is the complete opposite-exceedingly talented yet well within the budget of most middle class couples. Yippee for them, and I can see why he is booked so far ahead. The dynamic range of his black and whites, (on my iMac anyway) are truly some of the best I have seen lately. Comparable to great film shooters-this is what digital should look like when done right. Enjoy!

Mary

Todd Laffler works out of Scotch Plains, NJ, but travels as well. He primarily shoots weddings, but also some portrait work and children, etc. To say that his blog and site showcase an extraordinary talent would be an understatement. I’ve mentioned it before (some might say ad nauseum…) but I look at a lot of photo blogs. A lot.

There are some blogs that grab me right away, making me go through pages and pages and my kids get bagels for dinner. Again. Yup, this is one of those. His artistry, finesse and personality are all intertwined within his photographs in a distinctive way that makes me think we will be hearing about Todd more in the future. Hope you enjoy too….

Mary

I’m actually kind of embarrassed to admit (as a photographer myself), that I had never read Jessica Claire’s blog or visited her website prior to today. I first heard of her years ago, have seen many of her images before, on various photographers forums, and read things by her, most especially her very giving and helpful Q&A’s on the Beyond Just Images website forum (which also rocks) and I even *own* a shootsac. But somehow, I’ve never visited her site/blog. Currently, her site and blog are one, she calls it her blogsite.

Anyway, I got a little lost in it this morning. (sorry kids!) The design of the site is beautiful, it would be redundant to comment upon how stunning her images are, and she is a truly a marketing genius. Her blog is the perfect mix of information geared towards both clients, and towards the thousands of photographers who blog stalk her site, looking for inspiration, actions, tips, etc etc. I also enjoyed her writing style, friendly and conversational, with bits of her personality popping up around every so often. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Mary

Bebb Studio (Stephen and Jennifer Bebb) are two well known wedding photographers, based out of Vancouver, British Colombia, and they also have a great blog with lots of fun stuff to read. Their post processing is stunning and you will find a wealth of inspiration. They also offer seminars (bebbinars) that I have not personally attended, but have heard good things about. Enjoy!

Mary

[b]ecker is one of my favorite wedding photographers….he just seems like he has so much fun and spreads that excitement no matter what he is doing. Along with being a terrifically talented photographer, he is also a master at branding and marketing and I heard from several of my online buddies that meeting him at wppi was a blast. He works out of Orange County, CA, and you can find his main site here.

I know you will love his blog and his photos and style!

~enjoy!

Mary

Lots of things I like about pink sugar photography blog; great photography skills, intriguing post processing with lots of yummy textures and conversions, good posing and fun ideas especially for couples, and really delightful wedding images. Andrea clearly has a good time with her clients and appears to excel at making people comfortable in front of the camera. Her site(s) are really lighthearted too… love how she has it separated out between love (weddings) and life (family, kids, etc).

{Now if only she had royalty free music…seems like no one does anymore…or maybe everyone knows how to get permission for all these fab songs, except me? }

ETA: No offense intended above, I’ve been informed that all her music is used with permission, so its my bad! My apologies!

~enjoy!

Mary

The blog of Charmi Peña was recently sent to me by an online friend of mine. I had never heard of her, but after peeking at her blog and her site, I bumped her to the top of my very long list of blogs to review! Several things I’m liking: her use of texture overlays really enhance her photos, love the huge variety of ethnicities in her clientele, and even though her business appears to be a bit on the new side, such an interesting mix of photos and you can tell she has a great eye.

~enjoy

Mary

João Almeida’s blog: Dar o No is in portuguese, but it really doesn’t matter, as the photos speak for themselves. They are haunting and lovely and push the limits in  many different ways. After looking at a million (ok, so I’m prone to exaggeration…) american photoblogs, its so refreshing to see something *different!* 

Make sure you go back and look at more than just the first page, as he has some really amazing stuff in earlier posts as well. Quite inspiring work. Enjoy!

~Mary