Many Thanks

This year has been so amazing for me professionally. From taking pictures of President-Elect Barack Obama, to shooting at some of the best wedding venues in the state, to venturing into California and Washington for a few weddings, Becerra Photography has really grown over the last 12 months. However there have been a few people who have been helping behind the scenes and I just wanted to give a little shout out to those who have helped bring you some pretty amazing pictures this year.

First, thank you Steve Wagner! I met Steve after shooting a few weddings that his wife Nicole had done makeup for. Steve and I hit it off right away. We both have a passion for photography which is only surpassed by our passion for buying the latest photographic equipment. =) Steve worked with me on quite a few weddings in 2008 and I hope to have him shoot with me a lot in 2009!


Thank you Tino Zapien! Tino is currently one of my photography students and he shot his first wedding with me this year. I have been so impressed with his work both in wedding photography and in the classroom. He is constantly pushing the creative envelope and teaching me new things. He has a bright photographic future. But just so you know, when he becomes a famous photographer some day, remember that you read about him here first!


Thank you Lydia Shute! Lydia is a former student of mine who is majoring in graphic design. She currently designs my wedding albums and does a much better job than I am capable of doing. She really understands how to put my pictures together to tell the story of the wedding day. Hiring Lydia has been such a blessing because it has freed up a lot of my time so I can focus more on making great photographs.

Thank you Carlos Becerra (Dad) What can I say about my dad? Not only has he shot many weddings with me this year, my dad is always encouraging me to "Go for it!". Whenever I need a boost of confidence I can always count on my dad to point me in the right direction.

Well there you have it. I don't always have the opportunity to give these people the credit they deserve but I just wanted to say thanks for helping to make 2008 such an amazing year!

Luke and Jodie's Wedding in Harlan Oregon

What you've never heard of Harlan Oregon? Well let me tell you, you've been missing out. Harlan is a small former logging community tucked behind beautiful rolling coastal hills about half way between Corvallis and Newport. I shot Dani and Shane's wedding there about 2 years ago, so when Shane's mom called me up to tell me that her son Luke was getting married I was very excited to go back!

Harlan really is a peaceful place. I pulled up to the little community church early in the morning, got out of my car and just listened to the silence for a few minutes. Now Corvallis isn't a large town, but being out in Harlan everything was so still. There were no cars, no humming of electricity, just the silence of the wind blowing over the hills. It was breathtaking. I walked around a bit and took this shot of the sun coming up over the hill and melting the frost on a blade of grass.



So we started with the getting ready. I grabbed the wedding dress for a few classic back lit shots. To be honest this I didn't mean to over expose this one, but I liked the angelic look so I kept it.


All things being equal I had to include the guys too.


Speaking of the guys...they were kind of tired. Luke and his cousins rolled in a couple of hours after the girls but still needed some sleep.


I love the soft window light in this one and Jodie's calm expression.


There were a ton of cute kids running around, and I just loved this shot of the little girl getting her hair curled like a big girl, but still needing to sit on a box.

As Luke got ready with his cousins, they kept cracking each other up.

More of Luke getting ready...


I am really digging silhouettes lately. They can be over used but I think this one really works with the shirt in the background and looks goatee forming a distinct outline to his face.


Back to the girls.


I LOVE this shot. I didn't pose it at all. I shot a few more at different exposures but like I said before I'm really digging silhouettes right now.

Jodie just looks happy!

Most ceremonies are pretty much the same, but you gotta love the expression on the officiant's face!


More cute kids...

There is nothing compositionally exceptional about this picture, but the expressions on their faces are so genuine I had to include it.

As the sun started to go over the hill it turned into prime time lighting. It was actually a little chilly so all the girls had to hold their breath so you couldn't see it in the photo!


Like three angels.


The expression on their faces is priceless...the lighting is pretty good too =)

Sometimes the moment right before the moment or after the moment is the most telling. Here Luke and Jodie were about to kiss and I just loved the expression of their faces and how happy they looked.


Silhouettes. No matter how many times I type that word I still have spell check it!

Filling the frame with just their faces eliminates everything but their expressions.

Talking

My wife teases me about this, but I have a habit of adapting my speech to sound like the person I'm talking to. For example, whenever I talk to my friend Tanner, Kara always says I put on this "Arizona Cool" accent.

I always tell Kara that I'm not trying sound cool, it's just that I think I subconsciously am just trying to communicate better with the different people I interact with. This can come in especially handy for a wedding photographer.

As I reflect back on this year in wedding photography I have had the opportunity to meet so many great diverse people that I never would have known before. 3 weddings really stick out in my mind with how different they were from each other, and how I had to adapt to each couple's style.


Sean and Amanda's wedding was so great and different. They put their own style on just about everything, from the 3 day wedding festivities to the belly dancer at their reception, their wedding was something I'll never forget.

Soon after Sean and Amanda's wedding I shot Bailie and Tyler's wedding in Bonanza. They're wedding had their own style too. A style totally different from Sean and Amanda's. Some of my favorite memories were the wedding party jumping on the tractor to go take pictures and Tyler wearing a gas mask to remove Bailie's garter.

A little later I shot Calvin and Lisa's wedding. Their traditional Vietnamese wedding was an amazing marathon. All the details of all the different dresses and the importance of tradition were two impressions that I took away from this wedding.

The one thing that these three diverse couples have in common of course is that they hired me to be their photographer. Looking back on my interactions with each couple, I had to adapt to their own distinct wishes and desires. It's a part of my job that I truly love. Every couple is so unique and getting to interact with each one is fun for different reasons. So yes, I guess Kara is right, I do talk differently with the people I interact with. Thinking about that now, it's something that I'm proud of.