AVP Volleyball, Huntington Beach | Kessy/Ross

I was hired by 11 Management to photograph an AVP Volleyball team for one of the girls sponsors, Bodog.net.  It was such a great opportunity because I was able to do what I love (photography) and shoot a sport that I love playing!  I have been a competitive volleyball player my whole life up until a couple of years ago and I honestly miss it some times.  But I of course love watching it, especially when the team is as talented as Jen Kessy and April Ross!

Now, I normally don't photograph this type of event, but I really couldn't pass this up.  Especially with the free trip to Southern California!  The AVP tournament was on Huntington Beach and it just happens to be where a couple of my good friends used to live and I absolutely LOVE the area.  I only wish I could have spent more time there.

Jen and April ended up making it to the championship match and beating Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh to win the tournament!  Misty and Nicole are a very tough team to beat so it was a great match to watch from the sidelines with my Media Credential!  Nicole Branagh played volleyball for my alma mater - The University of Minnesota, so it was tough not to cheer for her, but after meeting Jen and April, they are such great people, I think I'll be cheering for them in the months to come and hopefully in the next Olympics??!!

I was able to photograph two of their matches that day, here is one from the first match:

I was trying to get some more artistic shots which included the Bodog logo the girls were wearing because after-all, these photos were for their sponsor!

Here is April sitting on the bench taking a breather and focusing up during the championship match

This is Jen on the sidelines during the championship match!

After Jen and April won, ESPN2 interviewed them, this is a shot of that.  They were on top of the world!

And finally, the girls up on the podium popping bottles of champagne in celebration of their win!

After the match, I was informed that this match was aired live on ESPN2!  If I would have known, I would have used my DirecTV iphone app to record it at home.  But luckily, Matt, the owner of 11 Management found this link for me to watch the entire match.  AVP on ESPN.

I'm hoping to photograph these girls again but maybe in just a photo shoot on the beach where I can get some shots that I can actually control:)  I have some great ideas that I'd love to execute!  Good luck to Jen and April in the future, I'm definitely rooting for you both!

Thanks for reading,

Las Vegas Strip Engagement Photos | Amanda & Michael

The other day I had an Engagement shoot with an adorable couple from Texas, Amanda and Michael.  They wanted to have their photos on the strip because it was in Las Vegas where Michael proposed to Amanda!  He popped the question at the Venetian so we definitely had to get some shots there to start out.  While we were there, I was asking for engagement details and Michael had this big elaborate romantic plan to ask Amanda on the balcony above the front entrance to the casino looking out on to the strip.  That was how it was, ugh... supposed to happen... Amanda got sick that night and he ended up asking her in the room.  But hey, they can still say that they got engaged in Vegas, right??Here is the balcony at the Venetian on which the proposal was going to happen, it made for some beautiful photos and was very romantic!  Nice work Michael!

This is another one from the front of the Venetian where the gondolas are docked when not in use

Next we headed over to Aria and were able to sweet talk the security guard to let us into the pool area without a room key

Amanda warned me that since her and Michael have been together for eight years that they aren't really lovey dovey and that I may need to give them directions on how to be so for pictures!  But she assured me that they DO really love each other:)  It was clear to me that they were in love, and I really didn't have to direct them to portray that!

Here is one of my favorites from the day.

Amanda and Michael were such a great couple. It was a lot of fun for me hang out with them for a couple hours and photograph their obvious love for each other!  I wish them a very happy marriage, but I don't think that they need my wishes for that to come true :)

Thanks for reading,

My first Engagement.... shoot

Last weekend I went on my first Engagement shoot!  I was contacted by Jennifer to get some pictures of her and Keith, her fiance, so they could have some photos to display at their wedding.  Their wedding was in two weeks from the date of the photo shoot, so I had to get them edited fast!  I'm mostly done editing already, it really helps when you're shooting a good-looking couple! We started out at Red Rock Canyon State Park where we just drove the 13 mile loop and stopped wherever I saw a place with potential for a good photo.  Here are some of my favorites from the Park:

It was easy to tell that Jennifer and Keith were in love when I was with them, but after looking at them in photos, it was even more clear how they felt about each other.  You can especially see it in this one:

The landscape is absolutely beautiful at Red Rock, you can really see it in this fun photo of a piggy-back ride I made Keith give Jennifer!

On our way back to their hotel, we decided to make a quick stop at the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign since it was so close to where they were staying.  Here is one of my favorites from the sign:

All in all, I think it was a very successful first engagement shoot!  Jennifer and Keith really made it easy on me, they were really great people and I wish them all the best in the future and I hope they have a wonderful wedding on May 1st, 2010!

Thanks for reading,

M