Jeff and Nancy are engaged! Bay Area Engagement Photography

Jeff is a mountain biker.  So I like him.  And Nancy... she's one of the sweetest people I've ever met.  I think she asked us about 15 times on our walk to the beach if she could carry Jehn's camera bag... or mine!  Who does that?  Nancy does that.

Needless to say, we had an amazing day.  The weather cooperated like it so rarely does in Santa Cruz.  Ever so slightly chilly in the shade, ever so amazing in the sunlight.  I'm still reveling in the amazing morning we spent with Jeff and Nancy.

Jeff and Nancy, we cannot wait to celebrate with you both as you tie the knot next month in Los Gatos.  We are so looking forward to it.  Thank you for the honor of your presence.  You two are perfect for each other, and two people I'm proud to know. Very proud to know.

So I shot some... film? Bay Area Bucket-full-of-Awesome Photography

So, about a year or two ago my grandmother's health was declining, and she started doing what a lot of people do - cleaning out their closets.  Knowing I was getting that much more involved in photography, she offered me her old Minolta with a couple of lenses.  And I couldn't have been happier.  A few weeks later I went out and picked up a Nikon FG with a few lenses as well.  And for the past year or so, they've decorated the mantle and shelves in our new house.

But a few weeks ago I got a wiry hair up my butt, and decided to see what this film thing was all about.  So I grabbed the Minolta, the Nikon, headed to San Jose Camera, and picked up some batteries and some Kodak 400TX film.  And just to really push my limits, I thought I'd shoot in full manual.  And I'm so happy I did.

Wow.... what a difference it makes in how I compose a shot when I can't see the results on the back of my camera.  And what a unique noise the shutter makes, followed by the winding of the knob to reel in the film.  And what amazing black and white images this film produced.

Here's a few images I snapped about two weeks ago.  I just loaded the second roll of Kodak 400TX into the Nikon FG, so there will be more.  And I'm planning on picking up some Kodak Portra 400 soon for some color action.  According to Ryan Muirhead and Jonathan Canlas, two amazing photographers, the Portra 400 is the bee's knees.

---Here's the first shot I've ever taken in film... that wasn't a Kodak disposable.---

Tracy and Luke - Bay Area Portrait Photography

Tracy has been my sister since... haha... she was born, I suppose.  So you could say that I've known her for a while.  Well, lucky me, she asked me to do some photos for her and her boyfriend, my good friend, Luke.  We avoided the kissing pictures for the most part because, no matter how old she is, it's still weird to see my little sister kissing anyone.  For some reason, in my head, whenever Luke and Tracy get married it'll be okay to see them kiss.  Until then...  NO!  HAHAHA!

They each got a new bike recently, and of course my love for bikes set in, so I told them - BRING THE BIKES!  And they did.  And lucky us... the weather actually held out!  It was raining all week, and rain was scheduled for the day we chose.  But God must have been watching out for us, because it literally stopped raining for a mere 1 hour while we shot.  Yay!

Enjoy!

www.michaeljamesphotostudio.com