August 30, 2007

Photography 104

I survived another night of lecturing in front of over 30 loud, scary, obnoxious, rowdy, wild, crazy , out-of-control, college photography students. There were paper airplanes flying all over the classroom, I forgot what my lecture was about, nobody was paying attention, a fight broke out, and the chaos was just unbelievable!

Ok, it didn't really happen that way. All my students are fantastic - they listened, participated, and asked great questions that kept a nice flow throughout the evening (actually I thought I talked too much). So far, it's week 2, and I've already gotten tremendous feedback from my students emailing me. I'm completely excited because I get to share my passion and I truly enjoying teaching and helping people that are interested in the art of photography.

I started teaching the Wedding Photography class (Phot 104C) at Cypress College last week, and I'm already loving it! Cypress College is fairly small school but their photography program is amazing - they have nice studios, equipment, well-equipped computer labs, top notch instructors (ahem...), and highly motivated students (are ya reading this guys?! hahaha). Hopefully I'll have some images to show by next week, so come back and check it out!

August 23, 2007

Greystone Mansion Wedding Beverly Hills

I'm back in Beverly Hills to meet with the bride and her other vendors. We had planned a walkthrough of the Greystone Mansion so that we can plan for Jenny and Rich's wedding coming up this September (so stay tuned!) As I walked toward the gardens my jaw dropped when I saw the property - everything looked spectacular! Here's a shot of our little tour group below, which includes Jenny (gorgeous bride to be), the catering coordinator Patty, the wedding coordinator Linda, and florist Jasmine.

I'm loving the Gothic English architecture!



This is the courtyard where the ceremony will be held.


Jennifer and Richard Taras wedding pictures at Greystone Mansion, Beverly Hills, CA.
Tags: Wedding photography Beverly Hills Greystone mansion, Los Angeles wedding photographer

August 20, 2007

Wedding Photography Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church

Allyson and Keshun held their wedding ceremony at The Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church. It is a gorgeous (and historic) building, but what was fun about it is that there's a constant trickle of tour buses stopping outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of a celebrity wedding!




I love the interior of the church because of the lighting and architecture.





The evening concluded with a soirée in a private Beverly Hills mansion overlooking Century City. They enjoyed the beautiful California weather - it was perfect and the view was spectacular.



Now click here to see more images in their teaser slideshow!
Tags: Beverly Hills wedding photos, photography at the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles wedding photographer Greg Bumatay

August 18, 2007

Los Angeles Equestrian Center Wedding Photographer

It was a beautifully warm day in Burbank. Carola and Anthony picked Calamigos at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center as the site of their ceremony and reception. We were surrounded by large sycamore trees and vast fields of grass. The bridal prep took place at the white house next to ceremony site. Here's a shot of Carola's elegant Maggie Sottero gown:

The lighting was gorgeous at the time of the ceremony, and by the time we began the romantic photo session the sun began to set which gave us a nice glow for the romantic shoot.




See more pics in their preview slideshow!
Los Angeles wedding photography

August 15, 2007

Toyota Making Life Easier

I had the honor of photographing Toyota's first annual "Making Life Easier" charitable giving campaign at their Torrance campus. Toyota Financial Services awarded 43 scholarships to teens from the Boys and Girls Club members from Los Angeles. They also got to see a tour of Toyota's Torrance headquarters and the auto museum. It was amazing to see so much hope in these kids. You can read more of the article here.






CONGRATULATIONS to all that received the scholarships!

August 12, 2007

Santa Monica Engagement Pictures

We planned Mariam and Jason's e-session to be at the Santa Monica pier. I love shooting here because the light under the pier is exquisite. It gives me opportunity to incorporate architectural elements, waves crashing against the pillars, and it gives a little bit of privacy while we're shooting.

Even on hot days like this when the beach is super crowded, not many people venture underneath the boardwalk.




I wish I could remember the name of this restaurant we found because it's in this alley with intersting colors and that gorgeous iron door.


Tags: Engagement pictures in Santa Monica, Los Angeles wedding photographer Greg Bumatay, engagement portraits at Santa Monica Pier and Promenade, romantic urban photos

August 05, 2007

It Was an "Accident"

So I did the TTD at the beach (see last post below) and ended up in the water several times. The waves were coming in pretty rough that day so the inevitable happened - I was drenched. In all the excitement I didn't realize my cell phone was in my pocket, and my camera in hand. Both were submerged multiple times in sea water, and luckily my Mark IIn is fairly water tight. Unfortunately my cell phone wasn't quite as robust. Everything was fried inside and anything that wasn't zapped by the battery was coated with crystallized saltwater. For some reason though, I just couldn't be bummed out by this. It just seemed so natural to run to my ATT/Cingular dealer to pick up the new iPhone. = D

The funny thing about it was that Wells (the guy at the ATT store) just wouldn't believe that I "accidentally" wet the old cell phone. My wife doesn't believe it was an accident because I've been raving about the iPhone for weeks until the -ahem- unfortunate incident. Destroying my old cell phone so that I'd have to buy a new one wasn't intentional. Besides, the iPhone was a good business investment. I needed it because it allows me to integrate my calendar, emails, and contacts much easier than any other cell phone. And a really cool feature it has that's already helped me is the Google map and traffic information. It's like having my laptop (with internet connection) with me anywhere!