Monthly Archives: November 2009

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Thanksgiving

November 27, 2009 – 12:00 pm

Thanksgiving. What does it mean for you..?  Is it a day filled with amazing food and football.. a day filled with the fellowship of family and friends..or a day filled with fun festivities..? Kristin and I were pondering last night how cool thanksgiving is because it looks so differently for every person. Everybody has their own unique family traditions and cook their special recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. I love trying other families thanksgiving dinners because although you can expect what is going to be served, it never ceases to amaze me the hundreds of different ways you can prepare something to make it unique and special. I think this is so fascinating. For Kristin and I, although we get our grub on like nobody’s business, Thanksgiving is a time of reflection for all the blessings that God has graciously given us. James 1:17 says” Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variance or shadowing of turning.”

I spent some time to write down all that I was thankful for.. I encourage you to do the same. You will quickly see how abundantly blessed and provided for you are.

First I am thankful for my friends and family. If my blessings ended here I would be completely overwhelmed. I have such an amazing loving family who is always there for me when I need them.. even when I dont.. My friends continually encourage, strengthen and build me up through the different seasons in my life. Whether its providing a helping hand physically or a humorous joke occasionally,  I know that I am well loved by all my great friends.

I am thankful for where we live. Beautiful sunny southern California.. year round awesome weather, the access to so many activities (golf, ski, surf, hike) and the ability to do them all in the same day.

I am thankful for my health, although not as in shape as I would like :) I am thankful I can walk, can move around, I can see and hear.. all of which allow me to partake in sports and outdoor activities which I LOVE to do. I am so thankful for my photography business. God has really poured out His love and graciousness to us the past couple years and has provided for us in so many ways its incredible! Honestly..I am so blown away! Not only do we get to do what we love to do for a living but we have the best couples to work for and serve! Its just a joy to be able to capture special memories on such an important day in their lives. Its such a honor and a privilege.

I am thankful for laughter, light, my camera, clouds, antiques, bicycles, barbacoa burrito from Chipotle, my bible, my bed, music, country music,  companionship, sunrises(although I dont get to see them much they are awesome when I do ;) ) , sunsets, power tools, my golf clubs, sour patch kids, freedom, free will, my guitar, sound (have you ever thought about that.. its kind of crazy), honey mustard chicken sandwich from DW’s, my running shoes, thrift shops, garage sales, movies, the complexity of creation yet the simplicity of life, and last but not least one of the greatest beauties of God’s creation, my beautiful bride to be Kristin.

I am so thankful for everyday I get to spend with her and treat it as a gift to be treasured.  She is truly one of God’s most beautiful creations inside and out. I am so thankful for her heart and how much we have grown together over the past couple years. Her love is so pure and genuine and cant wait to spend the rest of my life with her! When I recap all the ways in which I have been blessed..I am reminded everyday how awesome the God we serve is for all He has given. Actually when you think about it..  its kind of hard to NOT think there is a God. Romans 1: 20 says “for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead..”

Above everything that I am thankful for, above all my family, friends, health, food and Kristin, yes even her.. is the Cross of Christ. Where Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior laid down is life so that we would be declared righteous and reconciled to God so that we would might have eternal life with Him and through Him. John 3:16-17 says” For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

John 15 :13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s own life for his friends.”   there is no other thing that I could be more thankful for..That Jesus would lay down His own life for me and take my place. What blows me away even more is that Christ died for us while we were still sinning against Him. Romans 5: 8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I am speechless, humbled, eternally grateful and forever changed.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

By Brandon Kidd | Posted in Personal | Comments (6)

Derek and Maryjane: Wedding in San Juan Capistrano

November 23, 2009 – 12:40 am

I love being a photographer! Seriously. It brings me so much joy that I honestly have to continually pinch myself to see if I am living in reality. One of the things I love most about photography is the people that it brings into your life and in the ways it does it.. especially from the past.. I mean look at me and Kristin.. Photography was the medium in which God brought Kristin back into my life that allowed us to form a relationship which will last a lifetime. It is so cool! Maryjane a former Aztec and school acquaintance was one of those special cases where we were reunited through her pursuit of a wedding photographer several years down the road.. When she contacted me (along with a couple of my past clients) she said “this isn’t the same Brandon Kidd from High School is is..?” A relationship that would have ended with the graduation of High School now back into existence because we had the opportunity to document their very special day. In fact will now be (what we hope to be at least) a very special part of their lives because we were a special part of their big day. Its such a blessing to be able to serve all our clients and especially our friends in such a fun and unique capacity.

After the engagement shoot I knew that I was going to be stoked for the wedding, and I was right! The day was beautiful and the guests were so fun!  Derek and Maryjane have two of the most fun loving, charismatic personalities I know! They totally love life and wear their hearts on their sleeve..They are honestly so perfect for each other… plus they love country music and wanted it incorporated in their wedding.. I knew it was going to be a great day! Here are some of the photos from the day.. Enjoy!

Maryjane’s little sis working on some last minute toasts..

The handsome groom.. these guys were so much fun.. like herding cats all day. but a lot of fun none the less!!

Both had the same exact expression waiting in anticipation for the first look.. hahaha like 2 peas in a pod!!

Beautiful ceremony location at Marbella Country Club.

I love these shots.. brides maids stealthily scouting out the scene before the ceremony began… :)

I love this moment.. even after the first look.. its just such a sweet moment during the ceremony..

an awesome ceremony then off to the woods for some photos!!

I love their interaction with eachother.. its so fun and genuine

Killer light!

And my fav shot of the day! I love the HUGE tree trunk chunks..

Thanks guys for allowing us to partake in your special day! We were so honored to shoot for you guys and were so blessed by it! We wish you the best in all your future endeavors as hubby and wife!

By Brandon Kidd | Posted in Wedding | Comments (9)

Hawaii Wedding Sneak Peek

November 18, 2009 – 6:32 pm

We just got back from Hawaii a couple weeks ago where we shot a wedding and sweet day after shoot in Oahu. Here is a little sneak peek to some exciting things on the way!!

By Brandon Kidd | Posted in Wedding | Comments (4)

Vintage Engagement shoot with Kevin and Jennifer

November 13, 2009 – 10:00 am

Ok so where do I begin! First of all I have to give a little shout out to Jen from Green Wedding Shoes for putting some of these on her sight as well! Such an honor to be posted on such an amazing wedblog!

I have been craving to post this amazing shoot for a couple weeks now! Kevin and Jennifer had the idea to shoot at Kevin’s grandpa’s house in Riverside, CA. This idea quickly turned into an amazing one the second I pulled up the the house.. or better yet..estate! This place was HUGE!! When I arrived I quickly called Kevin to see if I was at the right place because the place I drove to had 3 gated driveways all with the same address.. Kevin laughed and said yeah just drive through the 3rd driveway to the right.. HAHA a little perspective right.. :)

When I got there I could not believe my eyes.. It was amazing or better A  MAZING! It was like a photographers heaven! Seriously! So many details and old vintage memorabilia, furniture, tools, stoves.. you name it Kevin’s G-PA had it! including a wide collection of classic cars from as early as the 1890’s.. crazy!! I didn’t even know there were cars that far back.. I didnt even know where to start.. like a kid in a candy store I couldn’t keep my attention for more than 5 minutes.. Kristin no comment ;)

so much to shoot and only a couple hours!! It was going to be impossible!! There was even a full country store! can you tell how excited I still am!!

we perfect light all day!!

I love the chemistry between these two.. such fun loving people.. with a little impromptu sass :)

this is inside the store furnished with original candy shelves and even the original candy!! I really was a KIDD in a CANDY STORE.. haha ok that was bad..

anyways look how insanely awesome this place is!!

the light was SOO perfect!!

did I say how sweet the light was..

a quick wardrobe change then off to the pomegranate tree..

I LOVE these ones!

we pulled out one of the cars.. Model A I think..? car experts..?

I thought this was such a sweet way to end the day..

Key elements for a rockin’ shoot.  A sweet couple, perfect light and an incredible location!! cant get better that that!! Seriosuly there was too much to cover for only one shoot so we are going to try to go back for the wedding since they will be having their reception in the backyard of Kevins Moms house just up the road! I honestly cant wait!!!!

By Brandon Kidd | Posted in Engagement | Comments (20)

Our Engagement Photos!

November 12, 2009 – 1:15 pm

Last week Kristin and I had our engagement session with 2 of the sweetest and fun loving people we know! Choosing a photographer was going to be an incredibly hard decision.. In fact its funny how much people get and understand that.. I think every time someone finds out either I or Kristin is engaged they never fail to ask… “Well whose going to do your pictures”  I think its totally sweet and thoughtful that they understand how difficult it was going to be for us to make that decision.

We met with several just down right astonishing photographers. Ones that I look up to and respect quite a bit for the presence and impact they have made on the industry. However it wasn’t until after we met with Jasmine Star to do our wedding that we just knew that her and JD were the perfect candidates to document a big part of our perfectly imperfect love story! Not only do they produce just rockin’ images, they really take the time to invest in their clients personally.

Now it wasn’t the first time we had met JD and Jasmine, but the first time as clients.. and right from the very beginning Jasmine was so comfortable, easy to talk to, friendly and exciting..even a little loud… haha ok a lot loud but we loved it!!  She treated us in a way that made us feel comfortable to be open with her but still confident with her professionalism. A perfect combination of both that really put both Kristin and I at ease.. Jasmine has a real honest and sincere genuineness about her that just really captivated our hearts and were totally content and at peace about ending the search for our wedding photographer.

I think the biggest thing that really drew us into using Jasmine and JD for our wedding was the fact that their love for each other and Jesus was so evident in their lives. Something that I pray everyday is in mine as well. I think there has to be a deeper connection with your photographer than just the images.. Being a photographer myself I see the importance of this everyday. You want someone who wants to know you and takes the time to do so. Someone who will take the time to figure out how to best represent who you are.  And when your done with your experience whether its just a meeting or photo shoot you should feel like you have known them for years. That’s when you know its a right fit.. and that’s exactly what we felt. If all this just wasn’t enough Jasmine has this real humble transparency about her, a characteristic that we really respected, especially coming from someone as successful as her! Just blew us away! It is no wonder why they are as successful as they are. They have really set the bar high for industry professionals both for image quality, and loving their clients!

We couldn’t be more confident and happier with our selection of using JD and Jasmine! Our photos are awesome and I cant wait for our wedding!! Seriously cant wait its going to be so much fun!! I want to shoot with them everyday!

Here is a little teaser of our engagement shoot.. you can see more on her blog or check out our little slideshow from the day.

Look at how amazingly beautiful my sweetie is!!

By Brandon Kidd | Posted in Engagement, Uncategorized | Comments (12)

Garrett and Janan in Del Mar

November 9, 2009 – 4:30 pm

Ok so I have been super far behind with posting.. but I promise it will all be worth the wait! We have some awesome shoots to post in the near future so stay tuned!

Here is one for starters. Garrett and Janan got married down in Del Mar, CA last month. They hired us for the whole weekend so we got to shoot the rehearsal dinner to which was awesome! We first all met at a super fun and artsy hotel The Secret Garden Inn. This is a boutique hotel filled with a ton of personality and a very fun place to stay if you are in Del Mar. Every room is totally different from each other.  We loaded up in the charter buses they had rented for everybody and headed down to Downtown San Diego for the dinner.

Garrett and Janan immediately treated Kristin and I like family right from the beginning and had us help our selves to the awesome food! Our favorite part of the night :)

Check out how cool this place is.

It was a such fun night but had to say no to the midnight karaoke party since we were going to be shooting the whole next day. So after a good nights sleep we got up fresh and energized for the big day! Check out the details of the hotel.. Each room has its own private courtyard thingy and fire place.. really cool.

this is Janan’s little doggy tankers..

the first look…

..then off to portrait session

everything was right next to the beach so the day had a great relaxed vibe to it.. here all the little details.

the first dance.. A great musician with some sweet original work.. Lee Coulter check out his stuff he is awesome!

I snuck them outside after dinner for a few quick photos at sunset.. I love the clouds!

I dont normally post the formalities.. but these were too good to not.. check out this awesome cake…. a little insight into Garrett and Janan’s personalities.. I love how precisely Janan is cutting the cake…

considering this is what she was going to do with it.. :)

and the retaliation.. MAN!!! I havent seen one this good in a long time!!

a little dancing the night away!

A great wedding with tons of fun attendees… Garrett and Janan Kristin and I had a blast shooting your wedding and were so thankful to be apart of your weekend festivities! We wish you all the best with your new marriage!!

By Brandon Kidd | Posted in Wedding | Comments (7)