Author Archives: Eric Desch

Venus Transits the Sun 2012

Leave a reply

I don’t pretend to be an astronomical photographer or anything, but this was the second chance for a solar event in the past few weeks. Last time I took pictures of the solar eclipse. Today was Venus transiting the Sun. Today’s event was quite a bit more rare than the solar eclipse. Solar eclipses happen yearly (or so). The Venus transit of the Sun happens in pairs eight years apart. The last one was in 2004, but the next pair won’t be until 2117 and 2125. So this was the last time any of us will ever see this event.

If you saw my post on the solar eclipse, you will see that my shot was way overexposed and that I vowed to have a stack of neutral density filters next time. Well, instead, I just took the eclipse glasses that we had and put them over the lens to cut down the light to a manageable amount. Worked like a charm.

Venus Transits the Sun 2012

Sarah and Phil

Leave a reply

Have you ever been around two people who are completely, crazily, goofily, can’t-keep-their-lips-off-of-each-other in love? That’s exactly how Sarah and Phil are. Fortunately, I get to be around people like this most Saturdays. 😉

Ceremony and reception at Jess Stone Winery in Dixon, California.

Groom Getting Ready
Bride's Shoe
Wedding Dress Detail
Putting On The Dress
Dress and Ring
Bracelet
Bridesmaid Chain!
In The Limo
Ring Box
Ceremony Starts
The Rings
Ceremony
First Kiss
Just Married!
Beautiful Bride Sarah
Sarah and Phil
Phil and Sarah
Sarah and Phil
Rings
Phil With Bridesmaids
Kiss
Wine Glasses
Portraits
On The Cart
More Portraits
Happy Couple
Table Assignments
Bride and Mother Of The Bride Smash Kiss
The Toast
Groom Toast
First Dance
Favor and Cake
Cutting The Cake
Cake Smash!
Cake Smash!
Dancing
Sparklers
Fun With Sparklers
Fun With Sparklers

Eclipse!

Leave a reply

We started the day with the “Tour de Marin” (a 45 mile bike ride). We were pretty tired when we got home, but after a power nap, we rallied and went out to watch the eclipse. This was an annular solar eclipse, which means the sun and moon would be perfectly in line (depending on where you were on the Earth when it happened). We weren’t prefectly lined up, but pretty close.

Here are Yuching and Bailey getting ready. Note the cool “Eclipse Glasses”. We were at a local high school and several other people were there to watch the eclipse. When they saw our glasses, we became very popular; everyone wanted to check them out so everyone got a turn.

Bailey models eclipse glasses with Yuching
Bailey checking out the eclipse

The eclipse cast some weird shadows. Check out the eclipsed sun shape among the leave shadows. Some younger people who were borrowing our glasses were tripping out on the shadows and left to play in a drum circle while the eclipse was still going on. Nice.

Eclipse Shadows

Here’s the casualty of the day. I set my lens up on my tripod and once I got it set up, I took the camera off to take some other shots. I put the back cover on the lens and left the lens pointed at the sun. The sun was magnified by the lens and melted a path into the back lens cap! Doh!

Doh!

Here’s the payoff: the eclipse. I shot this with a 100-400mm lens at 400mm, f/40, 1/8000, ISO 50. Basically I set my camera up to allow as little light in as possible, but the sun was still too bright. Next time I’ll be ready with a bunch of neutral density filters.

Eclipse

Kathy and Jim

Leave a reply

Wow! What a great couple! Super cute and super happy bride and a super happy groom. All the smiles make my life easier for sure ;). Ceremony and reception at the Claremont in Berkeley, CA (one of the nicest venues in the Bay Area, I have to say).

Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, CA
Bride and Flower Girls
Wedding Dress
Getting Makeup
Shoes
With Flower Girl
Kids Getting Ready
Groom Getting Ready
Flower Girls!
The Dress!
Ceremony Starts
Here Comes the Bride
Ceremony
Flower Girl
Just Married!
Happy Couple
Formals
First Dance
Toast
Cake Cutting
Cake Eating

Bike To Work Day!

Leave a reply

Yuching Rocks "Bike To Work Day"

May 10th is Bike To Work Day! I don’t know if this is a national thing, or just in my area or what, but it’s a pretty cool event. Bike shops all along the main bike routes set up “Energizer Stations” with snacks, water, and support in case you have a mechanical issue. My wife has been meaning to ride her bike to work and chose this day as the perfect day to start. I rode with her for emotional support (and also because I used to commute by bike daily and know all the ins and outs). At the end of the day, I took the opportunity to make a portrait of her to mark the occasion. The result you see here.

That “bag” over her shoulder is called a “musette” and was given to the riders at the Energizer Stations. Goodies inside!

(I’m happy to report that she enjoyed the commute and plans to ride her bike once a week. Hopefully that will expand to 2 or even 3 days a week!)

Faith and Quentin

Leave a reply

Small, private wedding on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I love big church weddings as much as the next guy, but something about the small, private affairs really appeals to me. They always seem to be my favorites.

Shoes
Dress
Flower Girl Basket
Flower Girl Detail
Faith and Dogs
Dogs
Ring Shot
Mother and Daughter
Vows
Flower Girl and Quentin
Here Comes the Bride
Here Comes the Bride 2
Vows 2
Vows 2
Husband and Wife!
The Happy Couple
Bouquet
Champagne
Toasts
Cake Cutting Utensils
Cake Cutting
Offering Quentin a Bite
Bouquet and Centerpiece
Whispering...
Quentin and Faith on Dillon Beach
Quentin and Faith on Dillon Beach
Quentin and Faith on Dillon Beach
Quentin and Faith on Dillon Beach
Quentin and Faith on Dillon Beach
Quentin and Faith on Dillon Beach

Table Shots

Leave a reply

In case you don’t know what “table shots” are: They are the photos of all the guests at their table. They are usually taken at the reception as the bride and groom walk around chatting with each table.

I’ll let you in on a wedding photographer secret: most of us don’t like taking table shots. Seriously.

Partly because it’s not exciting and takes a ton of time, but mostly because we are going around interrupting your guests while they are trying to eat. Plus: if you want all the guests from a table in one shot, then they have to get up and all move around to one side of the table. From your guest’s point of view, it’s a bit intrusive. And then there’s the issue of “Oh, Uncle Bob just went to the bathroom. Can we wait until he comes back?”

But, hey, I understand. You want pictures of all the guests. And sometimes a table will have a group of, say, college friends who haven’t been in the same place at the same time since college (and probably will never be in the same place at the same time ever again). You want to capture that moment.

So while I understand why people want table shots, I also think they are a very inefficient way to get pictures of the guests, and they result in photos that aren’t as good as they could be.

So how do you get pictures of all the guests without taking a bunch of time, without being intrusive to your guests, and getting the best pictures possible?

I have a solution:

Set up a location for portraits of the guests with (or even without) the couple. If the couple has a “sweetheart table” (table with just the couple) at the reception, you can have each table of guests come up to the sweetheart table and pose for a quick photo or two before they get in line for the buffet. No sweetheart table? Pick a spot on the dance floor (or wherever works). Having a sit down dinner? Have each table come up for their photo before they get served dinner. Or before they get served desert. Or whatever works for you timeline.

Doing these shots this way takes much less time, results in much better photos, and is much less intrusive on your guests.

Lasers

Leave a reply

Another nice moment captured by Eric Desch Photography. Except for the green spots on the couple’s faces! This is what happens when the DJ uses lasers during the dancing. Don’t get me wrong, I like the nightlife. I like to boogie. But for all you future brides out there: trust me when I say you don’t want the lasers on during any important photo opportunities; ask your DJs to keep them off during the first dance and all of the other important photo opportunities. I ask DJs to turn off the lasers during the first dance(s) and keep them off until the dance floor really gets going later on in the evening. When I ask, they usually comply. But if you ask them, they will always comply.

Yes, I can often fix the photos in Photoshop. But sometimes I can’t. It is always better to avoid the problem in the first place.

Unless, of course, you like having green spots on your faces…

Frickin' Lasers

Eric Desch Photography receives the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Photography

Leave a reply
Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award 2012 Bride's Choice Award 2011 Bride's Choice Award 2010

{San Anselmo,CA} – April 3, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Eric Desch Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Eric Desch Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Eric Desch Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Eric Desch Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Eric Desch Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/eric-desch-photography-san-anselmo/fcdb026a5a9c2cba.html.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.
###