here we are behind the scenes. the caption is plenty is it not?

I love posting eye candy. I belong to an exclusive group of photographers called Commonly Different, and this past weekend our group took 2 models out to the desert to an abandoned mill to do a Trash the Dress session. Under the blazing sun, these gorgeous girls posed for us in this uber cool environment. As a lot of you already know my style is sort of funky, colorful, and fun. And this weekend we just did it up. For any of you brides who want to do something like this after the wedding, it’s a wonderful addition to your wedding look books. We can just go crazy!!!

I can’t even begin to put this into words how amazing the two of you are, how lucky you are to have such awesome families, and how beautifully your wedding embodied so many amazing qualities. I was honored to be there with the two of you to capture every moment that unfolded. I can’t wait to see everyone again in June!!!

So I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Guatemala to photograph a wedding and I can’t even tell you how excited I am to post the images from the it, Kelly & Luis, you two are in for a real treat!! Friday, look for another heavy duty blog posting of images from the wedding!!! I’ve been cramming in some editing for you guys.

In the interim, I have some snapshots from our adventures before the wedding. We absolutely adored the city of Antigua which is about 45 minutes from Guatemala City. Literally meaning, “old city” it’s history is rich with culture. You can tell just from some of these pics what joy lurked around every corner. It was fantastic. The colors there are what inspired me to take so many. I love color and any chance I get to document beautiful textures, this was the time to do it.

beneath the streets is the Mercado, all the locals do all their shopping for everything from textiles & flowers to fresh fruits and vegatables and of course, fresh meat.

affectionately known as “chicken buses” these are retired school buses used in the states. each one is privately owned and decked out with exuberant colors and chromed out. they are crazy drivers though so we did not venture onto any chicken bus, i kept a safe distance and took pictures of them instead.

i love doors, and i really love texture, so of course i have an entire series of shots like this with various doors and colored walls. last year i made a calendar of doors like this from a wedding I did in St. John, the colors there were just as beautiful. I love doors

this is the inside of a catacombe from a church that was partially destroyed by a massive earthquake 200 years ago.

i desperately wanted to get a shot of a Mayan woman’s face while she walked with her load on her head. it’s amazing these women are so adapt to carrying heavy weight, perfectly balanced on their heads. i never once saw any of them drop it. they don’t like their pictures to be taken, so I made sure to respect their culture by not shooting them straight on.

I think I saw colors here I had never seen before. Is this the most beautiful shade of red ever??

I always love to see how much love can fill a room and actually overshadow the wedding itself. It was so obvious how much your friends and family completely adore the both of you.  I wish you a lifetime of happiness….

xoxo christa

Zaida & Gerald celebrated an amazing wedding in Incline Village on March 15th, 2008. Their friends and family from Chicago and San Francisco were welcome by a truly spectacular modern day winter wonderland. Lori and Aimee of Sierra Weddings coordinated and transformed this wedding into something dreams are made of. Katie Long, owner of Thrans Flowers in South Lake Tahoe, created a spectacular floral display for the ceremony huppa and the winter trees that graced the club style setting for the reception. Wonderful job ladies! Zaida and Gerald I wish you both nothing but happiness!

Several years ago I had the pleasure of documenting Stephanie and Graham’s beautiful wedding & engagement. I know what a blessing it is to be doing what I get to do when I can also be there to document the beginning of their family. It’s humbling and extremely rewarding for me. I love you guys! Thank you for letting me be there and get so many great images.

can i hear a whoo whoo? this month’s issue of Photographer had a little feature on me in it. okay, God, if you are listening, thank you!

talk about perfect timing. we just missed the storm that Leah & Nick had to endure

I’m so glad that we were able to get some great stuff by the lake. I can’t wait for you guys to see all the images. You were both so adorable together, I really enjoyed working with you guys. I can’t wait to see what the wedding day will bring for the two of you. Beautiful, beautiful things await!

What a crazy day!! I couldn’t believe how much it was dumping when we were doing your engagement pics. You guys were real troopers that day. Thanks for ice skating I know it’s not easy when you can’t feel your hands and feet LOL.