Some of you may have noticed that I use the Nikon D3 as my main camera and a Nikon D300 as my second camera. I've been wanting to use a D3 as my second camera as well, but it's just too big to carry two of them. Well, Nikon has answered my prayers with the introduction of the Nikon D700, which is essentially a D3 but in a smaller body. When I say that it's essentially a D3, I mean it has all the advantages of the D3 in terms of how I use it for a wedding, namely the FX full-frame sensor that can capture unmatched low-noise images in low light, the sharp focusing system, and the amazing image quality.

Here it is finally, the oft rumored Nikon D700.

Murrieta, CA.

We met at the beautiful house of Brandy's mom's friend in Murrieta on a really, really hot day. Since we shot at sunset, the weather cooled down a little and the light softened just the right amount to create beautiful backlight and flare for our photos. The house was so cute in many ways, from the old-fashioned porch with a swing to the horses and dogs in the stable to all the greens throughout the property.

Brandy and Jason made a great choice in location. I always encourage couples to think of a unique concept or location for their engagement session.

We can't wait to photograph their wedding at the winery in September!

Here's a little trivia about the house: It belongs to the uncle of the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold.

San Marino, CA.

Let me start off by saying that Adam is one of the nicest guys I know. So it's not shocking that he went through all this trouble to set up a surprise proposal for Su. He had been planning this for a while and was still a nervous wreck up to the very moment he got on his knees.

The set-up: Since Su is pregnant, Adam told her that we were going to the Huntington Libary (The Botanical Gardens) to do a maternity session. He had me go there earlier to hide a bouquet of roses in the Rose Garden where he was planning to propose. There's a special meaning to the roses, so even though it was a pain to get it through security, I wanted to make sure I could sneak them in.

Fortunately, everything went without a hitch. They showed up with Su's sister because they were going to have afternoon tea at the Rose Garden Tea Room after the shoot. We did a few warm-up shots and then I suggested that Adam pose with his face next to Su's belly. So Adam got on his knees and based on the look on her face, utterly surprised Su as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket. She started crying immediately and as witnesses to this special moment, Su's sister and I got misty-eyed too. It was just one of those genuinely happy moments that a couple will remember for the rest of their lives, and it'll be easier to tell their kids about with these photos below:

I had a little time to kill before they arrived, so I shot this sweet looking flower.

The new url for the blog is:

http://blog.jimmychengphotography.com/

I asked my lovely wife and dog to help spread the word.



If you subscribe to the RSS feed, be sure to add the new RSS Feed here.

All the previous entries are here in the new url and also at the old url, but new entries will only be here.

The cool thing about this new one is that the archives work a lot better now. Also, there is now a "older posts" at the bottom of each page so navigation is much improved.

I still have a few recent shoots to post and a little personal announcement, coming soon.

I'm glad we were able to catch Alison and Andy for an engagement session since they were down here for only a couple of days. We'll be covering their wedding in Santa Barbara in August and it should be a fun one.

For this shoot, we traversed across Irvine Regional Park and found some cool spots. When I say cool, I mean it was like 100 degrees and I really wanted to find shade for them. Despite the weather, we still had fun and they even went out with a paddle boat to take in the scenery. I really enjoy getting to know the couples through the engagement shoots because when the big day comes, they are so comfortable in front of my camera.

Here's a sneak preview and see you guys in Santa Barbara!

You know you must be a loved teacher if your class gets together and buys you a portrait session. Frederique and her family is moving back to France after being here three years, and the class that she teaches thanked her with a family portrait session with us. They were so much fun to work with, especially the little ones. I hope that one day these photos will bring back fond memories of their time here in Orange County.