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aloha! in case you were wondering, ohana means family. our ohana is made up of david, kim, april, rain, and kona the dog. welcome to our blog! we are san diego wedding photographers, but we put everything in here. san diego weddings, orange county weddings, hawaii weddings, destination weddings, road trips, and even friends with beach balls. come on in and share a little aloha. please leave comments as often as possible. we love hearing from our extended ohana. mahalo for stopping by!
if you'd like to contact us, here are all the deets:
our website: www.ohanaphotographers.com
email: david@ohanaphotographers.com
cell: 858-663-3283
OUR NEW BLOG www.ohanablog.com

Monday, April 21, 2008

Leaving Las Vegas


weeks later i still have vegas on my mind (and in my pending folder).
before coming back from vegas (the 2nd time in as many weeks) i was lucky enough to get a golden ticket to hang out with a literal bus-load of talented photographers. john michael cooper, sofie and paul, tana huffman, jason dominguez, and mark eric (to name a few).
we headed out to red rocks for a sizzling session in the hot hot heat of the nevada desert.
hotness follows.




jessie (seen here) has some of the most amazing eyes i have ever seen. she definitely made it difficult to call what i do "work."













you would never know it by looking at her face, but the water in this pond was snow runoff from the nearby mountains. water temp was frigid.




jessie, being the ultimate professional, stepped right in and made these shots possible.







ya she did.
jessie ended up getting totally soaked.
gamer score +100!













while jessie was getting warmed up, i got a chance to chat with some of the aforementioned willy wonkas of the photographic world. (yes that's a compliment.)
from left to right - sofie, jason, tana, mark.




after a short intermission, jessie was back in black to set the desert on fire.

























unfortunately, my clone is still on backorder.
there was so much going on out there. i wish i could have been in about 14 different places at once.




if you ever get a chance to go out to red rocks, do it. i didn't even scratch the surface of amazing spots to see out there.




after a full day of sun we headed back to the strip for dinner at the planet hollywood hotel.
planet dailies to be exact.
the place was plush, the food was great, and the company was choice.




until this trip i had only known paul and sofie through their images and emails. let me be the first to say that they are twice as nice in-person. oh how i wish plane fare was as inexpensive and as fast as email. i also wish cyprus was a whole lot closer to california. i can't wait to see these two again. along with most of the people i surround myself with, they are supportive, super nice, and genuine. please make some time to pay them a visit (online or in-person) so you can share in their awesomeness.




speaking of awesomeness...
check out these mad old-school skills. like parachute pants, they never go out of style. :)
i had to do something to shine the spotlight on bobbi. sure, she demands it, but she SO deserves it. as with paul and sofie, i had only known e-bobbi before this session. if i could snap off a piece of her energy and package it i would be rich rich rich!
bobbi is like a super mario bros 1up to be around. for those (like kim) that don't habla super marionese, bobbi brings life into every situation she is in. you can't help but to be about 5 levels happier whenever she's around. we liked e-bobbi, but we absolutely LOVE real bobbi.
i can't pass up throwing a little love to mark eric too. he started up the trash the dress website and has really helped us. thank you mark for continuing to support our ohana.




tana is super sweet, like a claim jumper choclate motherlode cake that has been drenched in maple syrup, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and wrapped in cotton candy. are you getting the picture?




insert your own caption here.




i met chris in vegas for the first time also. chris is the coolest. you might think from his looks that he is too cool for his own good. not the case at all. he is one of the most grounded people you will ever meet. besides being a rad photographer, chris is also a rad dad. he has an awesome rockband ohana.
here's an example of how cool chris is.
true story.
in vegas, right after i met him, a group of us got together for lunch and i was rambling about something i had been looking for but couldn't find. nothing big. most people wouldn't have given it a 2nd thought. chris, on the other hand, goes back home days later, finds the thing i was looking for, and emails me not only that thing, but a handful of other options.
like i said, chris is the coolest.







i had so much fun in so little time in vegas. i will miss all my friends until the next time we get to meet up. hopefully next year, if not sooner.




i met some people this year that will definitely be on my mind for some time to come. these 2 couples in particular.
on the left, ross and leysa. on the right, sofie and paul.
if you don't know them, go drop them a line. you want people like them in your closest circle of friends.
we have been admiring sofie and paul's work online for quite some time and were stoked to learn that they were flying all the way out to vegas from their home in cyprus. i think they were competing for the longest distance traveled award with ross and leysa (they flew all the way from moldova).
before flying home, ross and leysa rode back to san diego with us to meet up with our mutual compadre eddie b. we talked all the way home, and in that trip we discovered that ross is brilliant and has the most giving heart of just about anyone we know. he is an incredibly talented web/blog designer. talent he donates generously to charities like mission moldova.
may God continue to bless you all and keep you safe in your travels. we can't wait to see you again.




64 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm yelling 3 F-words at you right now.



FABULOUS



FANTASTIC


and


FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(not what you expected, right?)

Anonymous said...

Aloha!
I've been a blog stalker and wanna-be photographer for some time now. I just have to say, I love your work and really love checking the blog every week (ok, every day) and it's been a real inspiration. I just came back from a trip to Hawaii, which ya'll (yes I'm a southerner) talk about all the time, and I had the time of my life. It was funny, of all the people I know personally, every time I whipped out my camera on that trip I thought about you & your family. OK, that sounds stalker-ish, but I've gotta say thanks for sharing your life and photos. You and a few other Pros (my kupunas) really keep me motivated my your blog posts. I can feel myself getting better every day.
Mahalo nui loa!!!
Erin

--
Erin M. McCoy, Photographer
http://natural-moments.blogspot.com

AHS Photography said...

HOT! You are so talented!!!!
p.s. I tagged you on our blog.

Leah said...

Yah more images, been waiting! :)
I really like the first two and the black and white in the trees. Looks like so much fun!!

Anonymous said...

Those pictures are SA-Weeet!!! I have some great pics of you in action - I'll have to post those soon to show everyone how cool you are! ~~~ Oh, and you had more than one person in my house snort out loud when they read just how sweet you think I am! All part of my master plan!! LOL!! Love you guys to death - can't wait to meet up again soon!

Josh said...

That first shot is INSANE!!! I see you got to meet Bobbi, but did you get to shoot with Heather Cole on that shoot in the desert? Awesome stuff, and we need some more.

Anonymous said...

David you were so cool to hang with and man I know I saw your pics before but man you are a stud photog man. So good man. You have a awesome wife and family and you are so down to earth. Dude your pics are wickedly good man and if you didn't know you have a new blog stocker. Hope to cross paths again.

/ todd scott ballje said...

hey rock star...
im sure i am one of a hundred who will say that first image is saaamokin'! Also the b&w shot in the tree super stylin'. Great stuff man. Cool to see all the fun you had in vegas.

talk to you soon my friend...

/ thanks for always stopping by my blog too man! /

/tsb

Jen Stewart Photography said...

Awesome post! Your photos from LLV ROCK!

I'm so bummed I wasn't able to join Chris in Vegas this year, but next year, I'M there!!

Can't wait to get the chance to meet you guys, Chris has had nothing but awesome things to say about you guys since he got home :)

Anonymous said...

such amazing color and clarity on the LLV shoot! wowzers! and it's so awesome to see all the people you guys met and how much you impacted them. you guys rock! seriously!

Anonymous said...

Awesome stuff dude! So... judging by this time-line, we should see the stuff from Friday in... July?

:)

Rachel Brooke said...

SIZZLING!!!
Her eyes are too good to be true. Wow! As always...you rocked it!

Melissa Koehler said...

Are you kidding me!??? WOW!!! I am so not worthy to by your friend :)
It's about time dude

"that's what she said"

Oh snap!!

kymberli q. said...

I wish you knew how excited I get whenever I see a new post from you two. Your images ROCK!!!!!!!!!!! I can never get enough - they are so crisp and clean and just gorgeous! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shot of the girl where you got her 'through' the branches of the tree. AWESOME! And you say so many nice things about other people, David, but we all can say the same about you. You're a great inspiration - with your words and your images. :)

Anonymous said...

OMG the shots in the water are stunning! I love that green dress! What an inspiring post, thanks guys.

Anonymous said...

These shots are so great! LOVE THEM! did you use off camera flash for the fill in some? HOT HOT HOT!!!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you guys had an amazing time in Vegas! Those were some absolutely beautiful pictures!! I couldn't take my eyes off the models...and the background! I want to go there! :)

Bobbi said...

Can I just tell you how much I ABSOLUTELY adore you two?! It was SO awesome meeting you two and your perfecto little family :)

YOu're WAY too nice!!! You seriously just made my day :)

~1UP Mario Bros Bobbi :)

Enoch Photography said...

really great stuff here but never expect anything else - guys your work is really fantastic! Jessie shots are smoking hot!

Nina_VK said...

Once again, like all your photos, these pictures are fantastic!!!! I love the shots of J in the water--beautiful!!!

Anonymous said...

These are so hot! The wait was worth it.
The first pic is amazing and those ones in the tree branches is FANTASTIC! As always so inspiring! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

These are all really really great! Beautiful gals and beautiful photography - well done!!!

Tiffany said...

WOWOWOWO!!!! These are so AMAZING!!!

ben & laura harrison said...

awesome shots ... beautiful and mysterious ... great job!

Eric Foley said...

Wow!!!! Too hot to handle! You guys always rock the model shoots! I'm lovin the color pop too!

Looks like you guys had a blast! Your style is inspiring and always feeds my creativity!

Peace

Hybrid Photography said...

PSHHHH way to blow it way outta the park man. You're ridiculous. In a cool way of course.

And just so I still have something to bug you about....how about posting the ones from Fremont Street that night we went out? haha :)

Anonymous said...

DUDE LIKE I WAS SAYING, DO YOU ONLY SHOOT HOT PEOPLE? YOUR DAUGHTER HAD SOME HOT COUPLE SHOTS ON HER BLOG TOO. WERE THEY AT THIS SAME PLACE? TOO HOT!! THOSE EYES THROUGH THE GRASS!!! SWEATIN OVER HERE!

gabriel.ryan. said...

thses are amazing! your right, her eyes are to die for! well not literally but you know what i mean! i love the one where you are looking throught the branches at her. she is smokin. your images are always so fresh and so clean clean.. yes i just went there. you guys rock. ROCK.

-CARLIE RENEE

jennifer said...

wow... red rock photos are awesome... love that first one. you had a crazy, fun time in las vegas!

Anonymous said...

Your family continues to amaze me how selfless, kind and genuine you are. No pretentious photographers in this family! Although I haven't met you I'm sure you are as truly kind, giving and fun as you are on line. Hopefully someday. You continue to inspire me! Thanks for sharing.
God Bless Your Whole Ohana and all that are blessed knowing you.

Unknown said...

Awesome Amazing great shots... I am at a lost for words. You were right her eyes were amazing. Once again you rocked it.

Anonymous said...

That has to be one of the best Vegas write-ups I've seen and read! You have a great knack for writing and just as awesome a knack at that thing called photography!! Your LLV images are stunning & I'm so pleased you could make it :)
Meeting you and your lovely family was one of the highlights of our trip and we only wish we could have spent longer with you all. We seriously considered driving down to San Diego for the day from LA just to see you but in the end didn't have the time to fit everything in!
I'm not sure I've ever told you but it means a great deal that you're always so supportive of our work and follow our blog. Thank you too for your very kind words here too... and I didn't even have to pay you!! ;)
It's been a few weeks now but you and your 3 lovely ladies are still missed by Paul & I... hope to see you guys again very soon. Lots of hugs & kisses to you all! xxx

Anonymous said...

AWESOME first shot!!! Really really awesome! Hahaha...e-Bobbi is definitely cool, but I look forward to meeting her in person as well :)

Jeanette said...

These images are ridiculously cool. That first shot is sick...sick I tell you! You Baxters are a talented bunch alright. Great job!

Nicole Liebgott Photography said...

A yeah WHATEVER!!!! I was talking to Jeanette (Sanchez) today and she said " have you checked the Ohana blog today" and I said no why, and she said OH MY GOSH you have to see what he did. So instead of going to the grogery store I flipped a UEE and went straight home.. I think Jeanette summed it up by saying " everytime he post something there's no way it could get any better RIGHT??? WRONG!!! SO, I need Vegas, Hot Chicks and some Hot rock and I can achieve shots like this?? Dude you blow me away with your talent... How's that for a novel post. 34 comments in less than 10 hours.... AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OHANA PHOTOGRAPHERS said...

oh my GOSH nicole i literally laughed out loud here at work! if i get fired i will thank you!! seriously say something funny again. i'll wait.....anywho,
YOU HAVE TO BE THE FUNNIEST PERSON I'VE NEVER MET! that is seriously one of thee most funniest comments we've ever gotten!!!
no matter how fabulous this is going to sound right now , but i,WE <3 our blog friends they rule them all!!! no matter what bobbi says about hers ;0)

OHANA PHOTOGRAPHERS said...

continued....although our beloved awesome luva luvas the parson bunch http://www.ashleyparsonsphotography.blogspot.com/ give us some epic comments too! we <3 them too. yah i said it. what now?

thanks so much nicole!!!

Ryel j said...

Seriously, is there anything that you do that isn't crazy creative?!! The fashion shots are so sick. And looks like you had a great time afterwards. Oh and I tagged you too!!

Shannon Lott said...

I LOVE LOVE the first one!

Anonymous said...

Looks like so much fun! Great shots!

Anonymous said...

Aw man! Every time I check out your site I spend a good hour of time clicking through posts, drooling a bit (not good for my keyboard), and hoping to be you when I grow up. I have so much to learn! I hope to see you at a workshop some time. Or... at my Maui wedding? ...IF my boy asks me and IF I say yes... Awesome work, as always!!

Nat said...

These are freakin' HOT!!!!! Seriously, they could not be any better!!!! AWESOME!!!!

OHANA PHOTOGRAPHERS said...

la la laura who's your wedding photographer ;O)

Gina said...

so many great pix! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip. My favs are the photos at the beginning with the gorgeous valley and green dress matching the landscape and trees, looks like a painting!

Anonymous said...

I just always love your family's work. All so different and fun!!
That first pic and the close up and the in the trees.... I love them all!! She is a beautiful girl and the colors pop and are so crisp!

Lisa Gisczinski Photography said...

OMG ALL of them are amazing! You continually impress me!!! I wish we could have hung out at wppi. boo for me.

Ruby Rideout said...

seriously great stuff. wowee!

Mark W. said...

Awesome stuff at the Red Rock Canyon!

Shawn Kloster said...

Dude! DUUUUDE! Dood! ...

Stellar work on these from top to bottom! These photos must be Scottish... cuz they're not crrrrraaap! =)

Dawn Malone said...

Laughing at Nicole's comment...you need to get her and Kim together. She is one cool chick!

rowena said...

Oh the colors! Shazam!

Impressions by Nudrat Photography said...

oooohhhh....I'm soooooooo envious!!!
Awesome pics david, I'm sooo not missing it next year...

Anonymous said...

these shots are amazing!! i love the colors - especially how the green of her eyes matches the green of her dress matches the green in the landscape!

Anonymous said...

dawg!..awesome set...love looking at your work..it's nice and clean..and one thing i noticed, i don't think i've ever seen you without a hat on...hahaha=b later man

::Conrad::

Anonymous said...

Long time no talk. Just wanted to say hello and let you know we are still alive and kicking in LA. Nice to see you're huffing and puffing out there getting some primo shots. Great job and we'll talk soon. Love ya guys!!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I love the first picture the best, of course they are all beautiful though!

Unknown said...

WOW, awesome captures. Your style reminds me of the super fotog dude I shoot with, when I can "RF" Do you know him?:) I see he likes your work as well. You guys are awe spiring!!!! Is that a work?:) "a moment in time" come c me @ deancathy.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

sorry for the type-o:)

ksenija said...

OMG! her eyes are soooo gorgeous. GORGEOUS work as always you guys!!!

Anonymous said...

Sorry I am a little late to this party.

Sweet pictures. See you next week!

Airika Pope said...

Awesome summary--makes me wish I had met everyone. hm...what would you have said about me??? Those shots of Jesse are AMAZING! Where was she? How did I miss her in that green dress? WOW!

Anonymous said...

great work as per usual ... love the first two shots especially ... and when you frame the subject with foreground elements

Anonymous said...

oh ... and also the spot color work ... really pops her smile ;) gexo

Anonymous said...

OH man... SO MUCH FUN...
2009 is closer than you think.. :) Can't Wait !!!