We’ve finally had a chance to prepare some of our recent travel photographs and we wanted to share them with all of our awesome readers on the blog. The galleries span the last couple of years and cover trips to Costa Rica, Israel, Jamaica, St. Petersburg (Russia), and even some local adventures to state parks nearby.

You can find these galleries on our portfolio website (www.chocostudio.com) by clicking on “travel galleries”. They can also be reached directly by clicking on the image below:

Natasha and I love to see new places and we go on as many adventures as possible whenever we have a chance to get away. All these trips happen with our cameras permanently attached to us as though they’re a natural extension of our bodies. (Sometimes I would wake up to realize that the camera is still my hands and I fell asleep while checking the photos I got that day :) Even our travel plans are often made around trying to get the best photographic opportunities and catch the best light. I guess what I am trying to say is that we love to take pictures for ourselves just as much as we love creating unique photographs for our clients during the weddings we shoot.

This winter we decided to make plans for an extended trip to travel to Southeast Asia. This will be our first time visiting this region and we’re definitely excited and looking forward to this opportunity. Our itinerary so far consists of a one way ticket into Vietnam at the end of December and a one way ticket back out of Thailand towards the end of January. We are loaded up on Lonely Planet guides, and, along with our big backpacks in tow, we are getting ready to leave for this upcoming adventure.

We hope to have a chance to update the blog from the road, so long as we stumble upon some internet cafes. We’ve also prepared several fun blog posts with personal photos set to be published during our time away.

Hope your weekend in this moody weather we are having is going great. Please enjoy the travel galleries and let us know what you think!

Mike

We are excited to share that our fall couple’s wedding is currently being featured as a “Real Wedding of the Week” at Project Wedding!

Click on the image to view this wedding on their site:

Natalya + Robert: thank you for being so awesome!! We couldn’t have done it without your collaboration. It was an absolute pleasure to be with you on this day.

Natasha

Our last wedding of the 2008 wedding season went off with a bang! We had a chance to photograph Yeni and Francis’ wedding reception at the brand new Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery in Pleasanton. Following the bridal preparations and a traditional tea ceremony, we travelled to Casa Real to take photos of the bridal party as well as the bride and groom.

Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery is a wedding venue that was finished just this year. We were so excited to photograph there because this winery was built specifically with weddings and special events in mind + we heard so much about it! The Mediterranean style architecture of the building itself, as well as the nearby vineyards lended themselves incredibly well as the backdrop for a festive and fun celebration.

Some of our favorite photos are below followed by a wedding slideshow at the end:

We started our photo shoot right in the middle of the day prior to the ceremony. Harsh direct mid-afternoon sun is usually not an ideal setting for photographs, but we were able to use it to our advantage and to get this beautiful flare:

And here as well:

Yeni looked absolutely gorgeous and the huge pink peony bouquet complemented her dress beautifully:

We loved, loved shooting at Casa Real! It looks like a gorgeous Mediterranean villa and just glows at twilight.

Peonies must be my absolutely favorite flowers. Huge pink peonies were everywhere at this wedding – from Yeni’s bouquet to the cake and centerpieces – and they looked gorgeous!

The rings. Yeni and Francis had decorated the venue with bowl of fragrant spices which were placed throughout the reception room. We took this opportunity to create a fun ring shot in a bowl of anise:

The slideshow! (If you’re reading this through a blog reader, please visit the site to view it)

Congratulations to you, Yeni and Francis!!! We wish you many, many years of happy life together.

Mike

To see another gorgeous Casa Real wedding photographed by Choco Studio go to Casa Real at Ruby Hill Wedding Photos