599 Blackhawk Club Drive
Danville, CA 94506-4522
(925) 736-6550
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Photographer’s Review

For the Bride/Groom: We really like Blackhawk as a wedding venue because it provides ample space to move and a good photographer shouldn’t be in anyones way at this place. Great service and the on-site coordinator is on every last detail. If you’d like a more techie review, please read on but don’t forget to check out our article on getting the most out of your wedding photographer.

Photographer’s review: This venue certainly is one of the more posh locals in the East Bay and works well for larger weddings. There is plenty of room to move around and the staff are very helpful and responsive to every need. The place is fancy and elegant, which is perfect if you like that sort of thing. It does not have the old, classic sort of feel. The ceremony area is usually set up so that the front is angled into a “V”, which makes it challenging for the photographer to get bride/groom faces. The angle that seems to work best is actually from behind and below the patio, near the shrubs. Then a telephoto can shoot up through the black iron railing to capture the bride reactions during the ceremony. The groom shot is tougher, since that same angle from the behind the patio would put you in the water. The ballroom is spacious but high ceilings won’t help much to bounce your flash. They have an in-house projector and screen but no digital video connectors for Mac (we bring our own).

One knows on the drive into the Blackhawk Country Club that they’re not in Kansas anymore. The treelined road approaching the club has by far the largest mansions we’ve ever seen and provide interesting possibilities for portraits. The entryways to any number of these homes could grace the cover of Sunset magazine.

Lighting notes: East Bay in the summer means there probably won’t be clouds. Prepare for harsh light and hot day during the summer. The reception ball room has high, wood/ white painted panelling.

Equipment
Body: Nikon D3, D200
Lenses: Nikon 12-24 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 16 2.8 fisheye, 85 1.4
Flash: Nikon SB900, 40″ umbrella
Pro-line projector & 60″ portable projection screen (not used since BH has in house projection)

Click here for pictures from our Blackhawk weddings. If you’re looking for a wedding photographer for your Blackhawk wedding, it’s Dan Johanson Weddings for any venue in the Danville or San Francisco Bay Area.

Glenn and Vickie picked the perfect place to get married — in a beautiful backyard in the hills of Alamo, CA on a warm September afternoon. Vickie’s surprise was a darling new haircut which Glenn didn’t know about until she walked down the isle. The wedding was intimate and special, as every wedding should be. What made it so enjoyable for me was how Glenn and Vickie are such easy going people who really wouldn’t let the stress of a wedding get in the way of having a really fun day. Thanks guys for the amazing privilege to work with you. Glenn, we’ll definitely drop by your studio when we’re in LA.

Should you be looking for a wedding photographer in the Alamo or Lafayette area, click on the link and lets get together to discuss your big day!

Zac and Stephanie rocked it — total joy emanated from these two on a classy, fun afternoon at Dublin Ranch. They scheduled things perfect on the photography side of things — most of the formal pictures were done before the wedding, allowing them to spend more time with their guests at the reception. Thanks guys for a great day!

Wedding Review for Dublin Ranch Golf Course
5900 Signal Hill Drive
Dublin, CA 94568-7795
(925) 556-7040

Yelp review for Dublin Ranch
Our Review

Character: Not much
Lighting: Good
Portrait locations: Great (The fountain, golf course (allowed in certain areas), the entrance area, small bridge)
Food: “Just Ok”  (guest plate)

Overall: 8/10

Our Review:  Dublin Ranch Golf Course offers an amazing number of portrait possibilities with great views over Dublin and Pleasanton. For weddings, they typically have outdoor seating looking west down the golf course, which can be a bit bright for guests in the mid to late afternoon sun. Once the sun is down however, the sunset is really something special — and a gorgeous backdrop while guests are enjoying the cocktails outside.

We liked how they allowed the wedding party use of the golf carts (not sure if there was a charge), which allowed us some really fun shots and a quick trip down to the fountain, which is a great place for pictures. The biggest benefit though was it totally de-stressed the bride having a go around in these carts before the wedding. The reception room has two large big screen televisions that in theory should connect to a laptop, though it will not connect to our Macbook Pro.  We bring out own LCD and projection screen and they work well near the bar area.

Contact Dan Johanson-Weddings for photography and cinematic video services for Dublin Ranch or any other wedding venue in Dublin, Pleasanton or Livermore.

Lighting notes:  East Bay in the summer means there probably won’t be clouds. Prepare for harsh light and hot day during the summer. The reception hall is functional and great for dancing pictures because of the ceiling is low and reflective, allowing the flash to bounce up and not always directly at people.

Our Equipment:

Body: Nikon D3, D200

Lenses: Nikon 12-24 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 16 2.8 fisheye, 85 1.4
Flash: Nikon SB900 – bouncing nicely off the low, white ceilings
Pro-line projector & 60″ portable projection screen

Rosie and Archie’s wedding sizzled! We were told the temp was 103f at the ceremony but really it didn’t matter at all. From the moment Rosie walked out and down the isle, we were all caught up in the beauty of this wonderful union. The reception integrated part of their Filipino background with a troop that performed different traditional dances from all over the Philippines. Ang galing galing nila! Salamat ng marami Archie & Rosie!

Shannon and Nick know how to do something different — a Chinese Dragon dance topped of a beautiful ceremony overlooking the Sasualito harbor. The wedding ceremony and reception was at the classy Casa Madrona Hotel, which did a really fantastic job with everything. The setup is tricky because it’s such an intimate little platform that overlooks the harbor and it only accommodates around 50 people. The reception room has an equally amazing view and is also a bit on the small side. We had a hard time for example finding a suitable place to have the LCD slideshow of all the wedding ceremony highlights. If you’re looking for a Sausalito Wedding Photographer, Dan Johanson-Weddings, is available throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

After the reception we headed over to the hills just above Tiburon (Tiburon Uplands Nature Reserve) where we had a great time taking their wedding portraits. The trails overlook the entire San Francisco Bay and the fog was just starting to come in as we wrapped up. Nick and Shannon are such wonderful people and took the time to write me a very nice Yelp review, and a follow up email several months later that totally made my day, if not the entire month. Love you guys!

FINALLY getting to some long lost wedding photos yet to be posted… these favorites are from more than 3 years ago. No, the couple didn’t wait that long to get their photos… they were delivered within two weeks, keeping with my usual promise to get clients their photos fast!