Personal Archives | Wedding Photographers in Atlanta

A trip through Italy | A few days on the Lake

November 1, 2016 0 Gardens, Personal, Photography, Travels

Lake Como, that is…

So this post is so behind it’s not even funny, right? Come on now, 2015 and we’re now closing out 2016. This goes to show how one can get sidetracked with amazing weddings we’ve had the pleasure photographing during the last few months. But now I would like to get back to revisiting the beautiful setting that is Italy. In this case one of my all time favorite areas, if not the favorite area in the world, Lake Como, Italy.

Yes, the first thing that comes to mind for most people when mentioning Lake Como is George Clooney. In fact, I remember the first time visiting Lake Como back in 2006. The locals would ask where we are from and I would reply, “America”. Their first comment was for the most part, “George Clooney”. They would always point out where his villa is and give us directions on how to get there from where we were. But to be honest with you, I was never interested in seeing George’s villa. I’m sure it’s nice and all, but it couldn’t be as amazing as what was surrounding us, all you can see and feel while traveling these beautiful, lazy lakeside towns and enjoying its natural beauty is all I wanted to experience. No offense George.

Where is Lake Como?

Lake Como is in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region. It’s an upscale area known for its dramatic scenery. And let me tell you, it IS dramatic. It’s set against the foothills of the Alps if that gives you a better visual. The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y. The three slender branches meet at the well-known and popular resort town of Bellagio.

Below are but a few of the photographs we captured during our few days on the lake.

How to get around the lake

Ferries are the main mode of transportation between the towns, especially if you need to get to the other side of the lake. We would get up early, enjoy the crisp morning air, grab a cappuccino and head out on an adventure. Don’t you just love the view? The Italian Alps right behind Orlando.

Below is me getting a little frisky after a wonderful lunch. This area of Italy makes you do weird things in public. It’s so romantic. It helps when you have crazy friends encouraging you too.

Off to our next stop. The idyllic town of Tremezzo.

Even on a break from shooting, we find moments to photograph couples. This majestic place…it inspires us.

Back on the ferry again. Off to the pearl of the lake, Bellagio.

Amazing view on the lake, right?

Below is the view from our friend’s house where we stayed in Varenna, a small fishing village with picturesque streets and alleyways. We met the Gala family 10 years ago while visiting this part of the country and still keep in touch. What a spectacular view.

…and amazing sunsets. This was our view while enjoying some wine and spirits out on the terrace.

The next morning, and we’re off again.

This time to the town of Como.

The view from the ferry as we approach Villa Balbianero in the village of Lenno. The location where many, many well known films have been shot as well as an amazing venue for weddings. We would absolutely be in heaven if we have an opportunity to photograph a wedding at this property, wink, wink. We got inspired and wanted to capture some photographs of us. I still would like to be behind the camera.

Next and final leg on our tour of Italy is Venice and its surroundings.

A trip through Italy | From Tuscan Hills and San Gimignano to Pisa and Florence

July 15, 2016 1 Personal, Photography, Travels

Next stop on our amazing Italian holiday/work trip we see ourselves visiting a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form “an unforgettable skyline”. Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture. But, before we arrived within their walls, we decided to enjoy the beautiful Spring-time weather and take a Vespa tour along the outskirts of the town. The best decision ever. The picturesque landscape goes on for days. Since we have friends in the area, we took the self-guided tour and had our friends show us around the most scenic and less traveled roads and stop whenever we wanted to to take it all in. So far, the highlight of our trip.

No trip to the Tuscan countryside is complete without taking in a wine tasting or two. Here we are preparing to enter our private cellar prepared with a light lunch with cheese and meats and our wine stems. We learned a lot while visiting Tenuta Torciano Winery in San Gimignano and meeting the farmer/winemaker Pierluigi. What a treat! P.S. we took home several cases of wine to enjoy and reminisce the amazing time with la famiglia.

We can just move here, right?

Above you see us approaching San Gimignano and below within the walls. Amazing stone town. Oh and the best gelato thus far on this trip at the world famous Gelateria Dondoli winner of multiple awards. They did not disappoint.

The following day, we woke up to a beautiful final day in Castillioncello and amazing breakfast had our photoshoot along the beach then headed towards Florence. But before, we decided to take a quick little detour and our private driver obliged us with our request. Off to Pisa we went. Because of the city regulations, parking nearby was a challenge so our driver dropped us off for us to view the tower and surrounding property for a few minutes.

Onward to Florence. We’ve been to Florence before and it’s still a magnificent town full of art and history and all around amazingness. So after dropping off our bags at the hotel, we quickly started walking around town viewing the different nooks and crannies. We only had one day here so we made the most of it. Would have been nice to have a little more time to explore outside the city center but we had dinner plans with our local friends and they were on their way to pick us up at the hotel and take us to their home for a home cooked meal (the best, if you ask me). For our surprise another couple we know from another town about 3-4 hours away, came to see us in Florence. We had an amazing evening visiting and laughing!

A trip through Italy | Livorno and the Ligurian Sea

July 14, 2016 0 Personal, Photography, Travels

Ah, Italy, what’s not to love? It’s a country so vast in diversity that no two trips will be identical. Or in our case, third or fourth… but who’s counting. Looking forward to going back again and again. Our first stop after landing in Venice was to take the train down to Livorno to meet up with some friends. I definitely wanted to see different towns for this trip along some of our true favorites and show the couples we were here to photograph an awe-inspiring country that is Italia.

So, while doing some research of unique areas along the way, we stopped at Livorno, sight of the famous Terrazza Mascagni at which no trip to this area is complete without taking a stroll along its dazzling stone balustrades and dramatic black and white checkerboard stone floor that sweeps gracefully along the seafront. In order to take in the complete view of the Ligurian Sea, we went up to the roof garden bar of the Grand Hotel Palazzo to take in some aperitivo and celebrate our first evening in Italy. Below are but a few images from our first evening.

Here we are just giddy with excitement for arriving and enjoying the few of the Tuscan coastline at Terrazza Mascagni.

This is the view off our balcony at Hotel Atlantico as the sun sets over the Ligurian Sea in Castiglioncello.

Our First Couples Photo Session

Below are a few of the images from our couple’s session with Miguel and Eli celebrating their anniversary while strolling along the beach in Castiglioncello, a quaint beach town in the province of Livorno.

REET + JULIE’s CHANDIGARH, INDIA WEDDING – PART 1 (Pre-wedding Travels)

March 2, 2015 2 Personal, Travels, Weddings

Through the past few years we’ve had the opportunity to cover multiple weddings across various locations. Traveling has always been a passion for us. This past Spring we enjoyed covering a beautiful island wedding in Jamaica and we always had our sights on going to Europe at some point to photograph a couple there. However, little did we ever expect to be commissioned for a wedding in India. Nonetheless that’s exactly what happened. Many of you may remember Reet+Julie from last Spring’s engagement session. A truly wonderful couple, with a great love for the outdoors. It just so happens we were extended the privilege of covering their wedding in Chandigarh, India. Words are hard to come by when describing how incredible this experience was for us. Talk about seeing life in a whole new light!

Therefore before we move any further, we want to send our sincere thanks to the Singh and Knoll families for placing their confidence and trust in us and bringing us halfway across the world to cover their special occasion. We will always be grateful for this opportunity!

In total we spent 8 days in India. The first 4 days gave us the opportunity to ride along with the bride and groom as they led a group of friends and family across the country for a tour of some of the main sights. The last 4 days were set aside for all the wedding ceremonies and festivities. As I’m sure everyone can imagine, a trip of this length and magnitude generates so many images. In order to illustrate this week-long event properly we’re going to break up this wedding into 3 separate blog posts.

Today’s post will focus on all the pre-wedding travel. This includes a safari in the National Chambal Valley Sanctuary, home to the highly endangered freshwater Gharial Dolphin and Marsh Crocodiles. Then a visit to the city of Agra and the Taj Mahal; along with a stop at the Old Agra Fort. Afterwards we make our way up through New Delhi in route to Chandigarh. In between we get to see the beauty of everyday life in India. From the humble street markets where children handle full grown cobras for extra change to the magenta-orange sunsets over temples to water buffaloes and cows running freely in highway traffic. It’s never a dull moment, it’s authentic and it’s precious in its own way. Hopefully you’ll get a feel for life in India with some of these images.

Please stay tuned for more blog posts featuring all the pre-wedding ceremonies and the wedding itself!

And the award goes to…

January 26, 2015 2 Business, Personal

It’s been a fantastic week of interaction with so many friends coming by to check out our new look and our new website. Previous brides, soon-to-be brides, and so many new people we’ve met for the first time. Thank you for supporting our launch with all your visits, commentary and social media attention. It’s greatly appreciated. The time has come to announce the winners of our launch giveaway. They are:

1. Grand prize winner: Damaris Perez — Any 2-hour photo session we offer, plus 10 Hi-res digital negatives with a print release.

2. $50 West Elm gift card — Katja Morgenstern

3. $25 Starbucks gift card — Yessenia Cooks

Winners please contact us to secure the details needed to deliver your prizes.

We’d like to remind all those that didn’t win that opportunities for other complimentary photo sessions are available. Our referrals special will run until March 31st. If we end up working with someone you’ve recommended, you will receive a complimentary 2-hour photo session of your choice!

Once again we’d like to thank each and everyone of you for your time and support.

2014 Year-End Review

January 17, 2015 0 Engagements, Personal, Photography, Weddings, Year-end Review

At the end of every year we take some time to look back and reflect on everything we experienced. Accomplishments as well as opportunities for improvement. We feel it’s important to look at both as this creates a better road map for personal and professional growth. 2014 was a year of great change for us. Truly remarkable to meet and work with so many new brides, vendors and venues. It was also reassuring to see how our individual artistic visions continued to grow and fuse together as a team. A style that we feel makes us unique and different. Our wedding photography also provided gateways to all new destinations such as Jamaica and India. We are so grateful for all the experiences of the past year and we look forward to 2015 for more of the same. Obviously they’re moments we are proud of and we’d like to share those with you. The following is a collection of our favorites photos of 2014.

We’ve Got a New Look!

January 15, 2015 6 Business, Collaborations, Design, Personal

Greetings to all!

We hope everyone is doing well and having a great start to the New Year. 2014 was truly special as we grew by leaps and bounds. So many fantastic experiences with friends, family, industry peers, and of course, with all the wedding couples we were able to work with. We sincerely want to thank each and every one of you for your support. Even if we didn’t get a chance to work with you on a wedding, we still value your consideration in taking a look at us in the first place. Over the past few years our current branding has served us well and brought us to the point we are now. However as we enter a new phase of growth, and a new year, we felt it was time for a visual refresh. Our mission, our service, and the values we stand for remain the same. We continue to offer modern, fine art wedding photojournalism to couples that truly appreciate imagery beyond pictures. We’re just sprucing things up a bit.

With that in mind, we’re excited to introduce the new Viridian Images!

Yep, the whole nine yards. A new logo, a new website, and new marketing materials, among many other enhancements. The goal behind the new look? Simplicity, clarity and a better visual experience. In particular our website was designed with this vision. So we’ve added new image galleries and sliders, more info surrounding our services and products, links to some of the best vendor partners in the business and a more interactive blog. But this is just the start. In the coming weeks and months we will continue to introduce new content and services that speak to our culture and the art we want to create with you.

This refresh could not have been completed without the incredible help and patience of many special friends that we want to acknowledge.

SEEMEDESIGN – Ellen Witt, Hannah Boresow and Julia Kubica. In our opinion, simply the coolest design firm in town. I guess we are biased!
TIN ROBOT – Need a new website? Jared Hague is one of the best-kept secrets in town. Beyond our new website, his awesome work can be found at the link.
HENRY+CO – The finest quality print shop around. We can’t get enough of the letterpress business cards and brochures they made for us.

Thanks once again to everyone for their support! We look forward to working with you again in the near future. All the best!

Orlando + Lissette Suarez

Launch giveaway

As you can imagine, we want share this moment with everyone. But we need your help. Help us get the word out and you might be one of the 3 winners of our launch giveaway.

PRIZES:

1. Grand prize: A 2-hour session that we offer (Engagement, Bridal, High School Senior, Maternity, Family…etc) – Includes 10 Hi-res digital negatives with a print release!
2. $50 gift to West Elm
3. $25 Starbucks gift card

HOW TO QUALIFY:

1. Check out our new website and leave a comment on our blog on this post.
2. Social media “Likes & Shares”: Stop by our Facebook or Instagram pages and like/share our “launch announcement” post with all your friends. Make sure to use hash tag #VIPNEWLOOK

WINNERS:

This contest will end on Sunday, January 25, 2015 and winners will be randomly chosen from a pool of names that participated in social media via likes, shares, and comments. The winners will be announced via our blog on January 26, 2015.

Launch specials

REFERRALS:

We truly appreciate word of mouth. If you’ve worked with us in the past or simply enjoy our photography, we’d love to get your help sharing our work with other engaged couples. If we end up working with someone you’ve recommended, you will receive a complimentary 2-hour photo session of your choice!

ENGAGED COUPLES:

Throughout the first quarter of this year any couple that purchases one of our collections will enjoy 10% off their selection. This launch special will end March 31, 2015.

Why Print With A Professional?

January 2, 2014 0 Personal, Photography, Photography Tips

Are professional prints really better? Why can’t you just print all your professional pictures at the local grocery store? This is a great question and one that we hear quite often. So what’s the big deal about getting prints from a professional lab? Well, here are a few reasons why professional prints are better.

1. Better skin tones. The look of skin tones on your images is very important to the picture. We’ve found that many times images printed on lower quality machines can make the skin look either too orange-y or too ash-y. However, when you’re getting your images from a professional lab, your skin tones will look exactly like the photographer edited them. Healthy, alive and real! This is because the professional labs calibrate their machines multiple times per day to make sure the colors are just right. Other printers don’t.

2. Better paper. When ordering professional prints, the paper your images are printed on is a much higher quality paper and professional labs do everything they can to get the most color out of the paper they can. This results in more vibrant true colors in your prints.

3. More options. Most printers that can be found at grocery stores will only have one type of paper and a few sizes to choose from. However, when working with a professional, you will find that if you choose, you can print your image on many different types of papers and get some very large sizes like the 36” x 48”.

5 Ways to Meet Your Goals

August 6, 2013 1 Personal

January is always a great time to set goals, but as life quickly gets in the way, it’s easy to lose our focus and let those goals slip away. Does this sound like you? If so, it’s not too late to still make a difference! Here are a few tips to help you out!

Collaborating with Bloomin’ Bouquets | Floral Photography

June 4, 2013 2 Collaborations, Personal

This past Friday we had the opportunity to visit with the wonderful ladies at Bloomin’ Bouquets: Unique Floral and Event Design to photograph some of their arrangements. JoAnn Jones and Sarah Provow are the principal partners of Bloomin’ Bouquets, and provide unique floral arrangements for just about any event you can imagine requiring florals.

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