For their engagement session, we braved the cold and explored Golden Gate Park. Weather forecast said 73 and sunny. Actual weather was somewhere in the 50′s and absolutely cloudy. This only gave the couple another reason to embrace and share their body heat. And a kiss or two.

Aine and James celebrated at the San Francisco University Club with friends and family flying in from as far as Ireland and Scotland. They themselves flew in from New York for the big day. I took a cab in…from my house. I first met the couple the day after Christmas for a morning engagement shoot in Golden Gate Park. After our introduction, we started walking. After 20 minutes of said walking, I had to ask about where they were leading me to. As it turned out, they thought they were following and I thought I was following them. We laughed about it and that broke that ice. I knew then that they’d be fun to work with. They were as easy going and relaxed then as they were on their wedding day.

The beautiful bride and her family leaving the beautiful Ritz Carlton en route to St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Notice anything odd?

Sister #1

Sister #4

Sister #5

The glamorous photobooth. Ever the crowd-pleaser and a great way to get photos of your guests having fun. Whether you are 4 or 84, sober or drunk, there’s no excuse to not step in front of the camera. Props optional, but seriously, who wouldn’t want to put on a pirate’s hat or a feather boa.

We had a bit of time before the ceremony and an empty hallway, so I let Clare and Jason have a few private moments together getting used to me snapping away. They were naturals.

I’ve got a timestamp on my photos. The first shot of the ceremony was taken at 3:45:43 pm.

“You may kiss the bride”. Timestamp reads 3:48:40 pm. Under 3 minutes. Talk about a quick and efficient ceremony.

Here is a wide view of the grand court and stairs.

This was my favorite shot of the day. I just loved the contrast between the slick metal and the texture and and pattern on Clare’s dress.

Here we are getting closer to the final destination and a sweet reward to celebrate the couple’s wedding and all the smiling, embracing, laughing, and kissing that they had to do. It’s hard work.

Mmm. Macaroons. I had a gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

One of the submission option was to create a video telling Viator and travelers about some of my top travel tips. All in all, I gave about 16 tips that were accompanied by some of my favorite moments captured on video like when I hand fed a crocodile, belly-danced for a room full of drunk Turks, ate sheep brains and lost my fried rice when a bamboo platform I was sitting on collapsed. I hope you enjoy it and let me know which was your favorite tip/clip in the comments section.

Here’s Ella smiling right at the beginning of the shoot. This lasted for all of 30 seconds.

“I want my milk!!!!!!”

“Give me my milk or I eat your hair!!!!”

“I’m never getting that milk am I?”

I think that was a yawn coming from Ella about 5 minutes before she demanded to be put into the stroller for her afternoon siesta.

Here’s Daddy struggling with the stroller and all the bags uphill.

I think this was a nice little break for the parents to be able to spend a little time together while Ella was fast asleep in the stroller next to the photographer. That’s what I call multi-tasking on my part.

From my point of view, this shot was quite symbolic of their relationship. One that started years back when they were students in middle school. Years later at a class reunion, they found each other and soon became more than just friends.

And here is baby Ella awake again and much happier than before. Just in time.

It’s getting harder and harder for photographers to ignore the potential of video when Nikon and Canon has put the ability to shoot high quality video right into the very same DSLR cameras we use to take stills. I certainly haven’t switched over to just shooting video, but I have definitely been spending a lot of my time practicing and working and learning everything I can to put out video work that is on par with the quality I look for with my photography.

I was down in Los Angeles recently and documented my brother and his friends perform a live cover of Taylor Swift’s “Safe and Sound” (ft. The Civil Wars) to fans waiting in line for the midnight screening of “Hunger Games”. I don’t think people knew what to really expect when SubtleSkeptics showed up with a giant bass, but they definitely enjoyed the show. A lot of people even whipped out their camera phones and started shooting the performance, so I made sure to quickly edit everything and put it online before I was outdone by a 15 year old girl shooting on an iPhone with some crazy filters.

I hope you guys enjoy it.

Happy Early Valentine’s Day. I don’t normally make such a fuss about the 14th, but this year I want to share something special with everyone. Following the overwhelming response from people around the world to my little travel video (http://kienlam.net/2012/01/09/time-is-nothing-around-the-world-time-lapse), I decided to return the love with this new Valentine’s Day video.

It’s inspired by my travels, the things I heard along the way, and the idea that love is similar no matter the country you are in, how old you are, or what medium you choose to express that love.

Once again, I asked my brother William Lam of Metaphysika Sounds to write an original composition that would help move the visuals along. I love the upbeat feel of the song “Fresh & Easy” as well as the pacing. The song will be available very soon on iTunes and I’ll post again when it’s available.

Now for the a mini FAQ.

I shot with a Nikon D3s a 60mm f/2.8 Micro lens to get the close-up shots, 50mm f/1.4 and 24-70mm f/2.8. The entire thing was edited in Final Cut Pro.

I did not use Google Translate. I spoke with native speakers to get a contextual translation rather than a literal one because you can’t always capture the subtle depth and meaning of a saying by translating it word for word from another language.

The catalyst for the video was the vintage Underwood portable typewriter I received for Christmas. It’s such a thing of beauty and you can see it in the first scene. I love old machines and I often wonder how many people have used it, how it was passed along, and how it eventually ended up in my possession. This typewriter was made back in the 1920′s, so it’s probably seen its fair share of love letters, correspondences between friends, and news of the world changing around it.

I’ll update this as more questions come in.