Mike Mundell Studios Blog

Mike Mundell Studios Blog http://mundellstudios.com/blog/ en Copyright 2012 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:22:28 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Rainbow Wedding Photography | Jenn and Ronn Ronn and I have been close friends for almost 30 years. I was thrilled earlier this year when he told me that him and Jenn we going to tie the knot and that they wanted me to document their special day. They were married one beautiful day this last October at Southwest Boulder & Stone. Thanks Brianna for having such a kick ass wedding site and for all you did that day to make it perfect! The other big perk of this day is that I was assisted by Nic Dragomire. Congratulations Jenn and Ronn! I hope you have many years of happiness together!!!

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/11/rainbow-wedding-photography-jenn-and-ronn.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/11/rainbow-wedding-photography-jenn-and-ronn.html Weddings and Engagements Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:22:28 -0700 Harbor Island Wedding Photography | Jennifer and Scotty O I was stoked several months back when my good buddy Scotty O called me about wedding photography. My favorite weddings are always the ones I get to cover for friends! We worked out all the details and set the date for an engagement session. The e-session went great and I finally had a chance to meet Jen. The e-session can be seen several posts back. On the wedding day, the girls got ready at the US Grant hotel and the guys got ready at the Gaslamp Marriott. Their wedding was at Tom Hams Lighthouse. The view of San Diego Bay was spectacular! I was also stoked to be assisted this day by Nic Dragomire. The wedding could not have gone off better and we all had a great time! Congrats you two!!!!

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/08/harbor-island-wedding-photography-jennifer-and-scotty-o.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/08/harbor-island-wedding-photography-jennifer-and-scotty-o.html Weddings and Engagements Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:45:51 -0700 Newport Beach Wedding Photography | Jillian and Jerry Jillian and Jerry's wedding was day 2 of back to back weddings that I shot for Joe Dickie of Generation Photography. They were married at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. The club was an amazing place to have a wedding. Jillian's father ended the night with a great speech and played some viola for us. I had a great time hanging with a good friend and shooting 2 amazing weddings that weekend!

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/07/newport-beach-wedding-photography-jillian-and-jerry.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/07/newport-beach-wedding-photography-jillian-and-jerry.html Weddings and Engagements Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:43:44 -0700 Cardiff State Beach Engagement Photography | Jenn and Scotty Recently I shot an engagement session for my friends Jenn and Scotty at Cardiff State Beach. It was a gorgeous night and a great opportunity for everyone to get comfortable with the camera. A few short weeks later I shot their wedding as well. (photos coming soon!)

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/07/cardiff-state-beach-engagement-photography-jenn-and-scotty.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/07/cardiff-state-beach-engagement-photography-jenn-and-scotty.html Weddings and Engagements Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:05:31 -0700 Palos Verdes Estates Wedding Photography | Serena & Nam The weekend before last I had the pleasure of shooting back to back weddings for the very talented Joe Dickie of Generation Photography. Joe is based in Minneapolis. The first of the two weddings was for Serena and Nam. Their ceremony was held at the Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes Estates which is an incredible location right on the ocean. The reception was held at the Redondo Beach Historic Library. Below is a few of my favorite moments of the day!

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/06/palos-verdes-estates-wedding-photography-serena-nam.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/06/palos-verdes-estates-wedding-photography-serena-nam.html Weddings and Engagements Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:52:10 -0700 San Diego Children Photography I had a busy wedding off-season this year. I attended a couple great workshops, and photographed lots of kids! This last Saturday, I finally got back on the wedding scene by assisting Nic Dragomire with a kick ass wedding in Fallbrook! I thought I would share some of my favorite kid shots that I made this off-season.

I will start off with my nephew Ben Red. Here he is 16 months...

Next we have Miss Delaney, she is 2...

Ben Red at 18 months...

Next we have Garrison, he is 6 months...

Next up is Miss Kate, she is 3...

And finally, Ben Red at 20 months...

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/05/san-diego-children-photography.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/05/san-diego-children-photography.html Family and Children Portraits Mon, 23 May 2011 14:41:08 -0700 Fershop A couple days ago, I had the pleasure of attending another great workshop. Fer Juaristi is one of the talented group of photographers from Mexico known as the Wed-Rockers. I have admired his work for several years now. We had a model couple from Argentina that we did an engagement session with as well as shooting some wedding portraits. He talked and presented a lot about his style and techniques. We also spent some time together editing.Fer is a good guy and I will be going to Mexico later this year to assist him with a wedding. Thanks Fer for a kick ass day of learning!

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/03/fershop.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/03/fershop.html Workshops Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:24:52 -0700 Foundation Workshop 9 | Austin, Texas       I recently made a trip to Austin, TX. to attend the Foundation Workshop. I had been anticipating this journey for quite some time. The workshop is a week long study of photojournalism taught by Pulitzer Prize winning photographers. The interesting thing is that the students are all wedding photographers. The point of the workshop was to get us to think and find pictures like journalists. I have admired and been involved with this group for about 2 years.
       The first day basically involved some classroom instruction, some street shooting and some team building (lets just say some crazy shit went down in Tyler's room that night!). Unfortunately, my day ended by getting some crappy news from home.
       On day 2, I awoke with a heavy heart and a slight hangover. At 9am we were to meet with our team leader so we could get our assignment. We were individually instructed on what to do when we got to our assignment and what kind of photos we were and weren't looking for. My assignment was a skateboard park. I was told to go there and find a story if there was one and not to just shoot action, which I spent a full day struggling with! I was visited at my assignment and given some direction by my team leader Tyler Wirken and mentor Brett Butterstein. I didn't feel like I got anything great until I said screw it and only shot action! At the end of the day and late into the night we were critiqued by our team leader and mentors. My photos sucked and I was about to end my day as crappy day as it started.
       Day 3 brought a major weather change. It was 22 degrees outside and the wind was blowing 30mph. I sucked it up and headed to the skate park with stuff to work on. When I got there, it was closed. My workshop experience was getting worse! I called Tyler and told him the news and at this point I was pretty blown out! After speaking with Matt Mendohlson, Tyler had found me a new assignment. At first I felt like I was being given the only thing they could find, but my workshop experience was about to take a major turn for the better. Matt had mentioned to Tyler that when he checked in he noticed an easel with information about the cook in our hotel. Being the top notch journalist he is, he decided to help himself to the kitchen rather than checking in because the potential story about this guy seemed amazing to him. Matt was blown away by the person he was and considered covering his story himself. After clearing hurdles with the hotel, my assignment became the chef at the hotel. I went to my room for a bit and gave myself a pep talk. I decided that I had better go into this assignment with a new attitude or my $5000 investment would be wasted. I met Brett downstairs and he instructed me to go to the kitchen to introduce myself to the chef, Chi. Brett gave me some direction and told me I was mostly there to find 1 picture and to gain Chi's trust. I spent his 6 hour shift with him and ended the day going to his house to meet his family. I had learned about him that day that he was from Vietnam and that he brought his family here only 5 months previous. When Bush and Clinton visited Vietnam, he cooked for them! He spent 20 years working for the Marriott in various locations around the world where he became an executive chef. I was amazed that this guy was the chef at our little 5 story hotel in North Austin. After spending time with his family that night, I went back to the hotel for round 2 of the critique. My pictures weren't that great, but I found 1 picture and I gained Chi's trust. The night ended sour once again as Tyler and I butted heads and I was exhausted so I went to my room and crashed out.
       The morning of day 4 started with Brett calling me and telling me to come to the lobby asap. I gathered myself quickly and headed down. When I got there, Brett was sitting at the table with Chi's phone number. I am generally not one to tread into someones world uninvited, but Brett wanted me to call him and ask him what he was doing and if I could spend the day with him until he came to work. I called him and mentioned to him that I would like to come and hang out with him for a few hours. He was totally cool with it, so I got my gear and headed out. When I got to his house, he greeted me and let me in. His son and nieces were with him. Out of nowhere, he started to light incense and pray to a Buddha temple in one corner of his living room. After that, he did the same to a table of food by his front door. He then told me it was my turn, so he took my camera and advised me to light some incense and showed me how to pray to Buddha! During this time he was shooting pictures with my camera. Turns out, this day was the Chinese New Year. I was pretty convinced at this point that things really do happen for a reason! He then showed me the items outside that represented that his family was celebrating the new year. If you were Chinese or Vietnamese and you left a gift, you could enter his home and help yourself to the food by the door. A gift was left, so we retrieved it and took it to his backyard where there was a 55 gallon drum. He lit the gift, which was various types of paper, and put it in the drum. He told me that you must burn the paper until its gone and when the ash comes out it signifies thanks. We then went back inside and he told me he wanted to take me to his moms house. I rode with him and Brett met us there. His mom is a sweet lady and I could tell that her and Chi were very close. They had spent many years apart as she came to the US 10 years previous with hopes of the rest of her family following closely behind. Unfortunately this did not happen. Some amazing stuff happened in the house and Brett gave me some great direction. We said our goodbyes and got back in his car. He then told me he needed to take his son and nieces to Wal-Mart so they could buy some decorations for their new rooms. I was blown away again. As we walked in with my cameras blazing, I was quickly shut down by a security guard that told me there was no pictures in Wal-Mart and that I had to leave. I promised him I would shut my camera off, so I did. After wrapping up their shopping, I knew I had to get a shot of all of them outside the store with the Wal-Mart sign in the background, which I nailed. We then headed back to his house. He then asked me if I would eat lunch with them which I did of course and the food was amazing! We spoke a little more and he showed me some trinkets from his past. Time was running out, so we headed back to the hotel. I quickly parked and got a great shot of him in front of the hotel. I then followed him into the kitchen and got some great shots of him putting on his uniform. I told him thanks for everything and that I would be back to say hi a few times. At that time, I ran into Brett again and he told me I needed one more shot. So I hung a little longer and got a great shot of him placing the food under a heat lamp for delivery to a customer. We had a more brief critique that night, but it was obvious that I had nailed it this day!
       Day 5 was spent making slide shows with music that we were to present to the entire workshop group that night. We were fed at a very nice restaurant in downtown Austin followed by each team presenting their slide shows to the group. The evening and workshop at that point were basically history. Very special thanks go out to several folks. Thank you Huy Nguyen for creating the best workshop in the world. Thank you Tyler Wirken for being my friend and the best Team Leader possible, you really know your shit! Very special thanks to Brett Butterstein for making my workshop experience a successful one! This week was life changing for me and I will never forget it!!! We were told only to share a few images, so here are my favorites!

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/02/foundation-workshop-9-austin-texas.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/02/foundation-workshop-9-austin-texas.html Workshops Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:24:49 -0700 San Diego Wedding Photographer | Jenn & Kenny Jenn and Kenny's wedding was another spectacular day that I got to document with Nic. They were married at Breakers Beach in Coronado and had a fantastic reception at the Island Club.

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/01/san-diego-wedding-photographer-jenn-kenny.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2011/01/san-diego-wedding-photographer-jenn-kenny.html Weddings and Engagements Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:51:31 -0700 San Diego Holiday Photography | My Favorites 2010

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/12/san-diego-holiday-photography-my-favorites-2010.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/12/san-diego-holiday-photography-my-favorites-2010.html Family and Children Portraits Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:42:58 -0700 San Diego Maternity Photographer | Brooke & Miss Kate

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/10/san-diego-maternity-photographer-brooke-miss-kate.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/10/san-diego-maternity-photographer-brooke-miss-kate.html Family and Children Portraits Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:36:30 -0700 New York Wedding Photographer | Jeninne & Pete

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/09/new-york-wedding-photographer-jeninne-pete.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/09/new-york-wedding-photographer-jeninne-pete.html Weddings and Engagements Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:04:34 -0700 Balboa Park Engagement Photos - Barbara and Kevin

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/07/balboa-park-engagement-photos---barbara-and-kevin.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/07/balboa-park-engagement-photos---barbara-and-kevin.html Weddings and Engagements Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:32:13 -0700 My Nephew Benjamin Red

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/07/my-nephew-benjamin-red.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/07/my-nephew-benjamin-red.html Family and Children Portraits family kids photography santa cruz Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:45:22 -0700 The Maws

]]> http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/07/the-maws.html http://mundellstudios.com/blog/2010/07/the-maws.html Family and Children Portraits Beach Del Mar family photographer photography Powerhouse Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:28:34 -0700