Old Blog

Stephen & Amy wedding at Ponte Estate Winery

Jake — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:11:46 +0000

In November, we had the pleasure of having not one, but two weddings at Ponte! And even better, we got to work with such an awesome couple, Stephen and Amy.

Stephen is from Ireland, complete with the accent and witty banter to boot. Stephen's Dad and Brother both flew in from Ireland just for the wedding. One of the highlights from the night was when Stephen, his Dad, and his Brother all got together for a little Irish jam session with bagpipes and drums. Very cool!

Here are some of the great photos we captured during their wedding! :)

Food photography shots at Falkner Winery

Jake — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:17:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of doing some food photography for Falkner Winery the other day. Food photography is probably one of the most difficult types of photography. Unlike a person, you can't tell it how to pose or to smile! :) The ultimate goal of food photography is to make it look so good, people will want to buy it. Ever notice how enticing those french fries are on the picture at McDonalds. The fries are all crisp and golden and are leaping out of the box as if they were just freed from purgatory! OK, I stole that line from Dane Cook! Unfortunately when you get them they never look as good as they did in the photo. I will admit though, McDonalds fries are pretty tasty!

So in order to get great photos, you need great lighting. So I showed up at Falkner with about $20K in photography and lighting equipment. I setup with my key on a 7" reflector with a 10deg grid and back lit with a 7" reflector with a 20deg grid and filled with a beauty dish wrapped in a diffuser. I also threw some bounce light off a silver pop up reflector.

Our next shoot we are going to incorporate some cool linens as well as a full table setting.

Once I got setup, the Chef started bringing out plate after plate. Needless to say, by the end of the shoot, I was so hungry!!! Man the food looked so good.

Here are a couple shots from the shoot.

A day in the dirt

Jake — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:31:00 +0000

For the past few months we have just been slammed with weddings. Between shooting weddings, editing photos, and designing albums, you can get a little exhausted. So, last night my friend Julian D'usseau sent me a text saying that they are going to be riding in the morning and that some magazines and sponsors needed some new photos. So I said...count me in, I could use a break.

As some of you may or may not know, I got my start in photography while doing Action Sports photography. I get a lot of people inquiring about my shooting style and everyone always tells me, "I love your photography, it is so creative, edgy, and fun". So then I explain to them that before doing wedding photography, my roots began in the Action Sports world. Personally I feel that my style is different and edgy because of my background in Action Sports. Wedding photography is competitive but shooting Action Sports is like swimming in a shark tank. When I go to X Games or Supercross, there will be 30 other photographers all shooting the same thing and trying to sell the photos to the same people. So I had to set myself apart. Through years of shooting, I evolved my style into what it is today. And ironically enough, my wedding photography crosses over and inspires my action sports photography now. And although wedding photography is my passion, I still enjoy shooting action sports and will continue to do so when I am not busy shooting weddings.

There is nothing like a Day in the Dirt!

Duncan & Laureen Wedding at Wiens Family Cellars

Jake — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:35:00 +0000

Duncan & Laureen traveled all the way from Germany for their destination wedding at Wiens Cellars in Temecula Wine Country. They had guests from England and as far away as Australia! What a great mix - they're wedding had so many fun guests and I loved the British accents. Your wedding was SO beautiful and we hope you guys enjoyed your honeymoon and made it back to Germany safely.

The Marry Me Lounge Grand Opening is a Success!!!

Jake — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:43:00 +0000

Last night, November 5th was the Grand Opening of Temecula Valley's premier Wedding & Event resource center, The Marry Me Lounge. Grand opening started at 5:00 and everybody who was anybody attended. For those of you who were not able to attend, you truly missed out. The event was a huge success and the success was largely due to the hard work put in by the owners of The Marry Me Lounge, Terre and Cathy! Although, many other people were involved with making this thing a success. Not to mention the amazing food provided by The Forge...OMG, to die for! And all the vendors who did their part, great job.

When I didn't have food in my hands and delicious cup cakes stuffed in my mouth, I managed to snap a few photos. Also, be sure to check out L PARKER Photography as she was also running around taking photos.

Click on the images to see a larger view.

This lucky couple was the grand prize winner of a fabulous Fantasy Dream Wedding!!!

Jason & Michelle wedding at Leonesse Cellars

Jake — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:51:00 +0000

It was only a matter of time before Jake & I would run into Jason & Michelle. They are both involved in the Action Sports Industry, getting married at one of our favorite wineries - Leonesse Cellars, and it turns out that Jason is friend's with my brother who also video'd their wedding! It was fate! We had SO much fun - their day was full of excitement and dancing and fun! We loved it! Thank you guys! And I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon!

Fantabulous new Wedding & Event Center - Marry Me Lounge

Jake — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:59:00 +0000

We are so pleased to announce that Ashcraft Photo has been selected to be part of Temecula's new Wedding & Event resource center, appropriately named Marry Me Lounge!

If you are planning a wedding or an event, the Marry Me Lounge has the best vendors in the Temecula Valley on hand. From caterers to cake designers and DJ's to photographers, The Marry Me Lounge has selected only the best to be part of their unique showroom.

Be sure to stop by November 5th for the grand opening. Grand Opening starts at 5:00PM. There will be plenty of Almond Champagne provided by Wilson Creek as well as Marry Me Martini's! Yum! Appetizers graciously provided by The Forge. And with their grand prize drawing, some lucky couple will be the winners of a Fantasy Dream Wedding package!

The Marry Me Lounge is located at:
42072 Fifth St. #103
Temecula, CA 92590

So stop by and check our our display at Temecula Valley's Premier Wedding & Event Resource Center, Marry Me Lounge!

Why we do what we do!!!

Jake — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:53:00 +0000

I can't tell you how good it feels when we receive a nice compliment on the work we did or perhaps a card in the mail from one of our couples, telling us how much the appreciate what we did and how great their photos are. Well, we received an email today that really made us stand back and say, wow.

You did a fabulous job on my niece Shayna's wedding pictures. They chose a beautiful setting but your unique eye caught some of the most beautiful photos I've ever seen. I can't wait to see the rest! I'm a wedding coordinator and I haven't seen such quality pictures like this and a fun yet professional photographer in a long time. I've seen some people that didn't look fun to work with and I felt bad for my brides. If I get the chance I would recommend you.

Robin

And that is why we do what we do...provide brides with the best quality images and be fun and professional at the same time. Thanks Robin

Kaleb and Alissa Engagement shoot at Leonesse Cellars

Jake — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:33:00 +0000

If someone were to ask me what the definition of being in love is, I would have to say, Kaleb and Alissa! Spend 5 minutes with this couple and it is blatantly obvious that they are without a doubt, 100% in LOVE! Today was their engagement shoot and we had sooooo much fun! Kaleb and Alissa are so cute together. And they are naturals at taking photos, let me tell you. We just told them to have fun with each other and be flirty and playful and they took care of the rest. Here are some of the photos from today's shoot. Enjoy!

Eric & Shayna

Jake — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:16:00 +0000

It was really hard choosing photos to blog from Eric & Shayna's wedding last weekend @ Wiens Family Cellars. Between the awesome country details and the Super-fun group shots - we have too many fun photos to choose from! This wedding party is definitely one of the funnest we've worked with! Oh...and did I mention the AWESOME menu by The Forge - appetizers were blt's, grilled cheese sandwiches and the best cheeseburgers I've EVER had! Yum!! And, of course, Jenelle from Sweet Flowers made Shayna's vision come to life with the awesome bouquets and linens!