Steve and Shannon’s Wedding at Eagle Ridge Country Club in Gilroy was a blast. First off though, a quick word about the venue, which was really great in many respects but lacking in a few. Let’s start with the good things about it — The ceremony setup is just off the golf course and right next to the club where the reception hall is located. So there’s no long walks and no place really for people to get lost. This is important when taking the formal pictures and some venues make it impossible to find people who have wondered off. In the afternoon sun, there isn’t any backlight to deal with because the sun sets behind where people sit and the light on the bride and groom is just perfect, so long as it’s not a mid-day wedding. The only tricky shot here though is getting the bride walking down the isle and getting her exposed correctly with the sun right behind her can be a challenge.

Eagle Ridge is very picky about not stepping on their golf course. The event manager there told me that the G.M. has been known to go ballistic if he sees anyone doing this for wedding portraits, so I was warned not to bend their rules in the slightest way. Fair enough and there are indeed enough other places to do portraits.

The reception hall is fairly typical and the staff are on top of their game. All my needs were taken care of efficiently (though we’re only talking about a request for a table and chair for my slideshow presentation). They do have an LCD projector, so that was nice that I didn’t have to break out my own equipment. Slideshows of ceremony highlights are always a big hit and make for a great lead-in to the program after dinner.

Well thanks Steve and Shannon for a great day. You guys know how to party! Your wedding at Gilroy Eagle Ridge was awesome and I’m so pleased you are happy with your wedding photography!

Michael and Jessica are by far the biggest Giants fans I have ever met, crazier than even my brother Matt who wrote two books on the team. Being a Giants fan myself, I was totally down for their engagement session at the ballpark. These guys brought signs, jerseys and lots of bubbly energy that made for some really fun pictures. And after a quick eat, we headed to Union Square for some night portraits before calling it a night. What a great time guys — look forward to your Chinese wedding/ tea ceremony!

I’m finally getting around to posting these pictures from Tanzania that I took during my Africa trip in March. The Kenya portion was posted here. Having our first baby and moving from Japan to California — all in less than 3 months — took more energy than I could have ever imagined!

I took these photos while documenting Compassion International’s Child Survival program, which is wonderful and effective outreach to marginalized young mothers and their children in Tanzania. This is how it works. Compassion Int. staff, along with community and church leaders, identify the most needy and form them into small groups. They meet at least once a week to receive encouragement, spiritual guidance, livelihood training, and enough nutrient-packed porridge to feed their baby for the week. The latter is actually prepared by the women themselves, by mixing a variety of beans, nuts, and flour and placing them in sacks to be transported to the local mill. By the next meeting, the porridge will have been milled and measured equally among the women. The allotment will provide a hearty meal for either a nursing mother, or if old enough, their baby as well.

The stories of these women were almost more than I could bear to hear. Like the first woman in these pictures. I found out after photographing her at church that only days before her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. Widowed with such a young child, she’s facing a long and difficult journey in a country not able to provide any form of assistance. Her and the baby desperately needs the mercy and love that Compassion International is providing.

Compassion does amazing work and is by far the most effective organization I’ve seen that breaks the cycle of poverty, one family at a time. No matter your religion, if you’re not doing something about eradicating poverty, God called and said you have to. Really.

Stepping down from the soap box right…. now.

At the age of 19, this woman (above) was widowed just a few days before I took this photo. She’s being helped through Compassion International’s Child Survival Program

Down the trail from Compassion’s Child Survival project site, a young Muslim girl retrieves water for her family before school.

More pictures uploaded here