About J.V. Photography
I love to kick back and relax. Photography for me is doing just that.
I love getting outside and just having fun composing photographs with new concepts and ideas.
I love to laugh and just have a great time.
I love meeting new people, everyone has a different story.
AND I love to photograph...well...pretty much everything.
This last weekend, I got to hang out and have some fun with two seniors that have grown up together. They both are so similar yet so different. These two had me all over the place which gave me that unique perspective and produced some creative shots. They are both avid musicians and wanted to incorporate their music into their shoot. At the very end, I got a unique experience as they set up for a outdoor concert in a field, which gave me some cool and fun shots. Here’s Daniel and Dave:
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of taking Morgann Bedsaul’s senior portaits and now my cousin’s, Katie Vesely! It’s kind of cool taking photographs of your family and being chosen to do so.
Since I’ve known Katie for quite a long time, we mixed it up a little bit in the session, getting some cool shots as well as some playful ones. Some of them are quirky whereas others look like a cover for an album. We also got some of her playing the Piano, one of her favorite pastimes. If you know me, you know that I love to mix things up and get out of my comfort zone. I feel like I got out of mine and so did Katie. She never got senior portraits taken so we did a belated portrait session. I’ll go for anything that gets me outside and taking pictures. Anyways, without further ado, here’s Katie Vesely’s senior portraits.
Last week I had the privilege of joining McFadden Studios as a second shooter at Vince & Shannon’s wedding. Their wedding was one that I will definitely remember for a long time. Not just because of their beautiful wedding in the Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, CA, but because it rained pretty hard during the ceremony. All of our gear/clothes were soaked…not to mention the bride/bridesmaids’ hair and dresses! They all were still as happy as can be and the wedding was amazing! Before the wedding, Vince & Shannon had their first look at each other out on the bluffs, which was awesome. They then had their reception at Eagle’s Hall. It was a very fun time, especially with the rain. I always like challenges and the rain actually proved to be helpful in many of the pictures as well! Vince & Shannon, it was great to get to know both of you and your families. Thank you for welcoming me in joining in your celebration!
This weekend I had the privilege of taking Morgann Bedsaul’s senior portraits. Not only is she a senior this year and graduating, but she’s also my sister-in-law. She is ending her high school career at Champion Christian School and then plans to go to nursing school after graduation. In her first year at Champion Christian as a new senior, she got elected as Homecoming Princess! So awesome! When taking her portraits, it was fun being able to get to see a side of her that I haven’t gotten to see before. I think we (mostly Morgann) created some fantastic shots. Here are the ones that I love the most:
So, Whitney and I hiked Half Dome this last Sunday…man, are we sore! It’s been several years since my last trip up there and her first time. If you’ve never climbed Half Dome, it’s about a 19 mile journey and is a brutal hike, especially once you get to the top after climbing 4800 ft. in elevation. Needless to say, it was hard to walk at the beginning of this week!
This didn’t end up stopping me from being able to participate in an awesome family portrait session this week. It was 4 different families for a total of 8 parents and 6 children! Talk about coordination! These kids were so much fun though and didn’t complain one bit. Granted, they got to take some pictures with my camera and play with some of my lighting equipment, but they really enjoyed being in the pictures and showing off their adorable, quirky personalities. I got the opportunity to take some shots of the adult couples as well; I am thrilled with the results and cannot wait to get them all the pictures. Until then, here are some of my favorite shots!
Recovering from surgery on Thursday (Wisdom Teeth), I thought this would be a great opportunity to catch up on some past projects that I hadn’t edited yet. Thankfully, my brain is still functioning and I have a somewhat clear mind even with all the meds. The pain has been tolerable as well. So, hopefully I wasn’t too off in my editing and choice of photos for this shoot.
This shoot was done in May (Yeah…just a bit behind on getting my projects done) for Orange Floor Studio and their client Artist Series Guitar. This was a cool, laid back shoot with one of the artists from Orange Floor Studios where we just got to talk, relax, chill, drink beer – oh – and get some great photos of their client’s awesome guitar!
After a very refreshing vacation in Vegas, it was back to normal life. Our dishwasher decided to go on the fritz (Finally got replaced after a week!), our AC unit died (Was down for a week), and we had Josh and Ashley’s wedding! Besides the wedding, we had better luck in Vegas!
It was a nice break from the normal grind of life. Josh and Ashley have got to be the most fun couple to be around. Talk about lively! Their wedding was out in Durham at a friend’s ranch in Daniel’s Park. This park was set up in remembrance of one of their friends and it was awesome to see them celebrate their love for each other here. I got to photograph this wedding with my brother and photographer, Ryan, who got some great shots! We started out at Dimension’s Hair Salon in downtown Chico, then headed over to the Powder Room. They had this air brush gun for the foundation, I had never seen that before. Of course, you ladies may have seen it before, but being a guy, I was oblivious that such a thing existed and thought it was pretty sweet. From there, everyone headed over to the ranch. We took a few group shots of the groomsmen and then some individual shots of the bride and bridesmaids. The bridal party was a very fun group and they became even more fun when the reception started. That’s when the real party began. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the groom and groomsmen dressed in their tuxes and then jump into a pool before…that one caught me by surprise. It just goes to show you how lively this group really was.
Josh and Ashley, thank you for allowing me to get to know you and your family. I really felt like part of the celebration with you guys rather than an outsider. You guys rock!
First Dance…
The jump into the pool and the groom after getting out…
Last weekend was the weekend for graduations! My brother just graduated as well as my wife. Not only my family, but the Pruitts as well! This is how I met the Pruitt family. Cliff Pruitt is the Canvass Manager at Yellowbook USA and the reason that our landscape photo is on the front cover of the Oroville Yellowbook! His daughter graduated from CSU, Chico (Congratulations!) which brought the whole family together and was prime time to get some photos of all them together. I loved the backyard and the landscaping they had so we had to get a few shots there and then in the house. They were such a fun group and a pleasure to photograph!
The sun is out, the flowers are blooming, and so are my allergies! This last weekend was no exception. It was a nice, cool Saturday where I got to spend my day in the beautiful hills of Ono, CA…sneezing like crazy.
It was all worth it to get to meet Tim and Rachael and capture this historic moment in their lives together. This has to be different than any other shoot I’ve been on. While our other photographer got to get the bride and bridesmaids, I got to get some shots of the guys. When first meeting up with the groom and groomsmen, the first words that were spoken to me were, “You want a beer?”. I love it, my kind of people. It only got better from there.
The wedding and most of the group shots were taken on a hill quite a ways up from the family’s ranch. It was only reachable by 4-wheel drive, so my little compact car didn’t even attempt the journey. Once we got up there, it was one of those sights where you wish you could just lay in the grass and read a book. Like a bluff, but instead of overlooking the ocean, it overlooked the valley with snow-covered mountains beyond it. It was amazing! To make the wedding even more unique, the bride and bridesmaids were brought in on a carriage! It’s one of the most unique weddings I’ve witnessed and that made it even more fun to photograph!
After the wedding, everyone gathered at the local Ono Grange to get the partying started. The DJ, atmosphere, and the 4 kegs of beer ensured that everyone would be partying all night long!
Tim and Rachael, Thank you for this opportunity! I wish you both the best and may God Bless your marriage in the years ahead!
On the way up to the ceremony location, we saw this sweet boat in the middle of a field and had to get a shot with it.
First look…
Some ring shots for the guys, then one for the girls.
Nothing like celebrating with beer and some shots of Cabo Wabo.
First Dance
I had a very fun shoot with Arean and Leigha last weekend. Talk about an adventurous couple! They mountain climb, ski, mountaineer…anything physically challenging and outdoors. I really wanted to show part of that adventurous lifestyle in our portrait session, so we decided that I would photograph them in their natural environment. This was such a fun experience! I hope I can do this with future shoots as well.
We also went through Arean and Leigha’s past through town stopping at the places where they had shared many memories together. From there, they then brought forth their adventurous side and went mountain climbing. It was such a fun session and I can’t wait to take pictures of them on their wedding day!
Here’s Arean & Leigha:
