There were babies this week!! I get a little excited about Bronson’s baby girls coming to lunch.  I feel like every time I see them they have grown so much, so it is awesome when they come around. Spending a full lunch with them was awesome!

We went to Freebirds for lunch to pay homage to Zimmer’s college party days in Santa Barbara. She raved about how good this place was, so we had to check it out. Freebirds is a restaurant with the build your custom burrito model. You start with a tortilla size: the hybird, freebird, monster, or super monster.  Then you go down the line and pick what you want to fill it with.  What I liked most about this place was that the ingredients really tasted fresh and well seasoned.  There was plenty of flavor in my Monster Burrito.

I was also glad that they had a big board with instructions on how to eat the burrito.  I would have been completely lost.

Enjoy the baby photos!!

Possibly one of the worst weekends to do your family portrait session on the beach is 4th of July weekend. So when the Martin family contacted me to create their family portraits in front of the Hotel Del, I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge. Being on vacation and limited on the day and time that they could do it, we had to schedule a time where the sun was super bright and the beach was crowded.

My solutions to the brightness issue was bringing a very powerful battery operated flash.  I used it to balance out the harsh shadows that were being cast on them.  I had my assistant holding the 20 pound battery, the flash and the light stand with an softbox. The second challenge was a little harder to figure out.  There were people everywhere! I tried to shoot in directions that were less crowded but it was almost impossible. So their photos had to receive extra attention in the post production to remove all of the extra people that were distracting elements in the backgrounds.

In the end I was very happy with the photos that I created for the Martin Family and I think they were too.

Before coming a photographer, I spent 10 years of my life doing non profit work. Now when ever I have someone contact me about shooting an event that is for a good cause I get super excited. For most corporate events I know that when they hire me, it’s mainly to prove that the event happened. I am like a recorder for them. I create images that are used in their newsletters and websites and then go in to their archives. For nonprofits, I know that it’s that plus more. Nonprofits have to make sponsors happy to get more money to do the good work that they do. I feel that if I do a great job, my work will be a big help.

This is the second year that DJO Global hired me to provide event photography coverage for The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.  It is a very fun event and all of the participants are very cool people!  The event was very well designed and ran very smoothly.  The Allstar Group did a great job putting their event together.  Check out the custom golf ball table decor that they designed.  I also felt that the Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Club staff was great!  They provided great service to all of the participants, made some pretty delicious food, and even made sure that I had an easy time doing my job by offering me help with anything that I needed.

It’s great seeing such a successful event for a great cause!

Apparently it’s the off season. First we hit the Cheba Hut, and now we are hitting Snooze. I guess we are being lazy right now.

Snooze is a an A.M. eatery which aims at giving its customers the best breakfast and  lunch experience.  The first thing you will notice about this place is how cool it looks.  It’s a very clever design with its bright colors and variety in seating arrangements.  The place is very spacious, which kind of makes sense because it reminded us of a place from the distant future like the Jetsons cartoon.  I wonder if the theme was influenced by the cartoon.

It’s hard to mess up breakfast.  But it also takes some effort to surprise with breakfast food.  Their menu is very creative.  They had a very cool list of items on their menu.  We were very intrigued by their list of Benedicts and pancakes.  Most of us ordered a half order of each.  My combination was the Chilaquiles Benedict and the pancake of the day that was an Oreo pancake.

We could not be happier when we left this place.  I will be recommending it to all of my friends and all of our Bauman Photographers followers.

Last week for Bauman Lunch we went to a place called Cheba Hut. Their slogan is “WHERE THE ONLY THING FRIED IS THE OCCASIONAL CUSTOMER!”

I have been wanting to check this place out for a long time.  Every now and then when I need a quick print I’ll send it to Fromex and they are right next to that print lab.  They have this bright green van that is always parked in the parking lot and grabs my attention.

The first thing that I noticed about this place is that it is 420 inspired.  Their menu is organized with categories named after pot smoking terminology.  I guess it’s only fitting since it is right in the middle of the college area.

For me I was a little overwhelmed with all the different options, so I just told them to give the their customers favorite sandwich.  They suggested the Kali Mist and they did not lead me wrong.  The sandwich was great!

They also offer other treats like hemp brownies and fruit loop rice crispy treats.  They even had Kool-Aid in a fountain.

Recognize this place?? This is where I had my very own wedding photos taken several years ago!! This is in Olivenhain, a small community just east of Encinitas in San Diego’s North County. You wouldn’t know that you’re surrounded on all sides by homes and roads…. feels as though its in the middle of the country!

Speaking of my wedding, Marjeri of Events By Design is also the one who coordinated my wedding. If you didn’t see the pictures (Click Here) and video (Click Here), then you didn’t know how AMAZING of a job that Marjeri did in putting the whole thing together. What an amazing amazing day

Marjeri and her husband Herbie have become friends of ours through the years, and what a gorgeous family they have! We had a blast during this Family Portrait session, and I love all of the casual shots, especially the ones walking through the trees.

When Karen called me about her wedding I got so excited to have the opportunity to photograph her wedding.  From talking to Karen on the phone I could tell that her and Steve were super nice people.

I also loved hearing about how they picked their wedding location.  Karen and Steve would spend time together taking her dog to the beach in Rancho Palos Verdes and after walking back through Founders Park, they would eat at Cafe Pacific at the Trump National Golf Course.  Karen told me about how special that place was to them because they loved spending time with each other there on the patio eating and watching the birds as they migrate for the winter.

Both Karen and Steve got ready at the house and there where some really cute moments of her helping him get ready.  It was also fun to play with their German Shepherd.  It was funny how the dog had so many toys to play with, but she preferred to play fetch with a rock.  You can see a photo of her waiting for me to throw the rock.

The ceremony location could not be more beautiful.  The view was spectacular!  The chairs where set up on the cliff side over looking the beach.  I sent my assistant Josie to the other side of the golf course so that she could get a very wide shot of the ceremony from a far. It was also very cool how they had their dog as the ring bearer.

The skies stayed gray all day, which lend it self very well to get some dramatic lighting wedding photos.

Analisa first heard about me from Ailien and Drake’s wedding at the Hotel del, a few years back. She called me and told me that her wedding date was 11/11/11, which was about 1.5 years away. It turned out to be a good thing she called so early – what a busy date that turned into!

A lot of couple’s tell you how important family is to them. These two mean it. From the first time I met them, all the way to most recent Studio Premiere session, you can see the love and happiness in both their families. And, even more fun is to watch the two families spread all that same love and joy to each other. This all made for a great wedding day

This wedding ran uber-smooth! This is so rarely the case, and not that a few bumps are a big deal. But I was shocked at how smooth the entire day was. It really is a testament to Analisa and Bubba – they are both so calm, relaxed, and fun-loving. And, then, you have to love those Fall Sunsets in San Diego. WOW!

Cheers again to Karen from Paradise Point, another amazing wedding! And, to our favorites Jessica and Marjeri from Events By Design, for their day-of coordination

I’ve got to be honest with you…. we’re not big fans of Bridal Shows here at Bauman Photographers. I know they’re great for a lot, and I certainly don’t have anything against them. But… they just aren’t for us. Our business, and for that matter, our imagery, is based so much on the relationship. And, when we’re at a Bridal Show, its so crazy, and there are so many people everywhere, that its hard to truly connect with people. We did a few Bridal Shows back when we first started, and decided last year to try one again, just to see if our memories were still accurate. And yes… they were.
BUT – the silver lining is that it was ALL worth it, because I did meet Jamie at that bridal show! I could tell she had the same, overwhelmed look on her face as I did. And when I finally did have the chance to meet Grant… well lets just say you can see why these two have SO many friends together!  What a caring and generous couple.
What do you get when an East Coast girl marries a guy from Lake Tahoe? Well, without being over dramatic, I’ll just let you see the pictures I love all of the intimate moments that you see in the images. And, of course, the gorgeous October weather led to some very dramatic images on the beach and pier.  Stunning wedding photography!
Love these two, and love this wedding!!!

Have to give a shout out to the amazing team of vendors we had at this wedding! Truly a little family event that all of us vendors got to enjoy at this wedding!

Venue: Paradise Point
Coordinator: Ann’s Plans
DJ: Artistic Productions
Video: Joe Park
Florals: Rae Florae
Linens: Concepts Event Design

I love it when couples take some photo time seriously. Usually wedding photography on a boat can be very limiting. So anytime a couple asks me to schedule some time before we even get one the boat it’s exciting because we can get some really cool photos.

With Morgan and Mak we started at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina with a first look. We then traveled over the hill to Sunset Cliffs to do some couple alone photos with some nice scenery. After that we traveled to NTC Liberty Station for some family photos and some more couple alone.  Then we went back to the Sheraton where we got on the Hornblower Renown for the ceremony and reception.

We were very lucky to be able to travel to so many locations and get as much variety in the photos as we did.  It was such a fun day hanging out with Morgan and Mak all day.  They where so relaxed through out it all and I could really tell how much they just loved being around each other and laughing together.