Aza Photo Shoot

I was incredibly honored to do a photo shoot with Aza, a Moroccan band from Santa Cruz on Saturday, August 25th. These guys give mellow a whole new meaning. They played practically the entire time, which felt like more of a concert rather than a work engagement for me. Aza’s music is a blend of Moroccan, Indigenous, and even Western sounds. Serious talent here. Along with making incredible music, the band has been committed to reviving the Amazigh (Berber) culture, which is the ethnicity of Fattah and Mohamed, the band’s two vocalists and founders. Aza’s new album, Tamghra Wushen (Wedding of the Wolf) is due out this week and will soon be available for online purchase. Some of my images are inside the CD jacket. A CD release party will take place at Kuumbwa Jazz Center on September 28th. Call the Aza ticket line: (831)818-1842 for tickets and information. You must check these guys out, they are truly awesome.

Here are some of images of Aza:

A cool detail.

I went for a grainy look here, 1600 ISO and a Lensbaby…

A little humor at the end of the shoot, I never like to let things get too serious…

Thanks you guys, this was so much fun!

Megan & Danny’s wedding 7/28/07

Congratulations to Megan and Danny who were married at Aptos Village Park in beautiful Aptos, CA on July 28th. Maybe it’s because I already knew them, but this was an unusually special wedding for me. The ceremony was beautiful and poignant, the reception was colorful and upbeat, and every generation (from babies to Great-Grandparents) laughed, danced, and had an amazing time. Megan and Danny are both teachers and needless to say, they love kids. The wedding featured a jumphouse and the most fabulous cookies ever for their young guests. Here are a few fun ones:

I broke in my new macro lens on some details:

a few more anticipation shots:

Something Blue: forget-me-nots from mom.

Celtic Hand Tying Ceremony

some reception details…

I love the Lensbaby shots:

It was easy to capture candid images of these two, they never stopped smiling.

A special guest enjoying herself.

Introducing my first romantic Jumphouse shot, there’s a first time for everything…

Thanks you guys, I had a blast! May your life together resonate with this day’s energy!