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SOUTHWEST INSPIRED WEDDING EDITORIAL / PHOENIX, ARIZONA

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A month ago, I had the privilege of learning from and being mentored by some of the best in the wedding industry. The amazingly talented photographers, Jeremy Chou and Tyler Rye organized a super informative and fun workshop in Phoenix, Arizona back in November, and it was one of the most invaluable and humbling experiences of my life. Despite only being a one and a half day event, I acquired a huge chunk of knowledge that I’ll definitely apply to my own business. It was also very refreshing to be surrounded by like-minded creative souls who are also passionate about fine art photography. I really do wish the workshop could have been longer; it was so much fun!

I’m extremely impressed by how Kourtney of Monarch Events was able to manifest her design vision for the shoots. She incorporated the existing color palette of the location into her floral arrangements and over all aesthetic in such a beautiful and harmonious way. Nothing clashes and everything just blends so well together! I would absolutely love to work with her again someday!

Meanwhile, here is a collection of the images I took from Day One of the workshop. All images were shot on the Pentax 645N using Fuji400H medium format film. Developed and scanned by the wonderful Richard Photo Lab!

 

LISA / MY FIRST MEDIUM FORMAT FILM PORTRAIT SESSION

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A couple of weeks ago, I photographed my friend Lisa in honor of her graduation from nursing school. This would also become my very first portrait session that I would shoot exclusively with my medium format film camera. After this experience, I can confidently say that I'll be shooting a lot more film from now on.

For years, my heavy reliance of the LCD screen on my digital SLR gave me great anxiety. I'd shoot a dozen photos of the same setting until I felt comfortable with the image. I made it a habit to photograph sub-par images expecting that post processing will fix it. And by the end of the day, I'm left with literally hundreds of so-so photos to cull and edit, turning this so called passion into a dreaded chore.

Despite my initial fears and reservations, I have fallen in love with shooting film, due to its completely unique experience. Each shot is expensive, hence you become more alert and cautious with every click of the shutter. Everything is a mystery until you've received your developed scans. Once the scans arrive, it's like Christmas morning. I find that I'm more creatively present and surprisingly relaxed. The satisfaction of listening to the shutter and film wind is unlike any other. But most important, the uniquely gorgeous images it produces, that digital can't fully emulate, brings me utter joy.

I'm not writing this to announce my complete departure from digital photography because that's just never going to happen. Digital photography has been revolutionary for modern technology, and it's versatility is absolutely invaluable. I'm simply excited to incorporate a new medium in both my professional and personal work. I don't fully agree with the claim that shooting film automatically makes you a better photographer, but I do believe that shooting more of it will teach me discipline, restraint, and improve my habits. Although I could use more practice, I'm quite pleased with my first two rolls of 120!

Time to shoot more rolls!

Location: Mayberry Park, Northwest Reno, Nevada

All images shot entirely with Pentax 645N on Fuji 400H film, dev and scan by The FIND Lab.