wait.... what?

it feels so surreal to write this post. to share these images, to say these words. thats my name up there in a list of the best wedding photographers in the world. thats a picture i took on the cover of American Photo Magazine's top 10 wedding photographers issue, the image running across 2 pages that leads into the whole article is of a wedding i shot in brooklyn. it just doesn't even seem possible. im just a guy with a camera. i get so nervous before every wedding that i can barely string a sentence together. i often forget to eat for about an entire day until im breaking down my lights and almost pass out. I GIVE THIS MY EVERYTHING. i owe that to being raised up in the punk/hardcore community. ive learned about doing things on my own terms. ive adapted a no bullshit work ethic ( thanks justin) . ive found a path where i can express myself. where i can be surrounded with passion, energy, and love. that same intensity that makes people yell into microphones and jump off stages, i have found, lives just as much in wedding vows, in promising true love for eternity, and sharing it all with the people who mean the most. i get to be a part of this almost every weekend of my life. and i dont take one second of it for granted. i have a roof over my head. a yard for my midget vegan pit bulls, food on the table for a daughter so beautiful i cant even comprehend it, and a wife who has inspired and supported me from day one. and its all possible from shutter speeds and apertures. top 10. this title that ive been given will only make me work harder, break more rules, and push every boundary. i have to give credit to Jesse & Whitney for taking a chance on a fat guy covered in tattoos, and teaching me how to take my camera of the P setting and trust my instincts. thank you to everyone at OUR LABOR OF LOVE, you blow my mind on the regular heidi , david & kendrick, & julia . also big ups to Meghan for putting up with me every weekend and being incendiary too... and of course, thank you to everyone that has let me take their photo. you trusted me, and shared my vision. you are amazing beyond words. you make me who i am and help me live my dream. you rule...

and congrats to all the amazingly talented photographers that i share this title with this year. Morgan Lynn Razi , Ryan Brenizer , Samm Blake , Ryan Joseph , Emin Kuliyev , The Parsons , Sean Flanigan , Todd Hunter McGaw , Tyler Wirken. here is a ink to the article. please take a look and live in the beauty HERE.

Our Labor of Love is proud to announce that we're board members for the YEAH! 2012 FREE WEDDING. Visit the website to learn more about who else is involved and enter to win a completely FREE WEDDING IN LOS ANGELES ON AUGUST 19TH 2012

(read this, it's important) HERE IS HOW IT WORKS...SIGN UP HERE take your time (you DON'T have to do this today, you have until June 19th to enter), be clever, be creative, link to your website / facebook / instagram / twitter / vimeo, make something rad, tell jokes, give us a feeling for who you are, tell us all about how you guys met, what you like to do, what inspires you etc. Once you are signed up you will be in the running. The board will choose 20 couples and the public will vote for a winner (the public will be voting on you based on the information you provide so make it awesome!). If you are one of the 20 couples chosen by the board, your profile will be put on our blog and the public & the board will vote to determine the winner. You can campaign (like a city councilman), you can get your friends and family involved, make your cat vote, get one of those weird Sarah Palin America buses & maybe you'll WIN A FREE WEDDING

pretty damn cool.

wooooo!!! dorian & lynn's amazing wedding at the natural history museum in LA is the feature over at offbeat bride. check out the ceremony in front of the dinosaur skeletons, millennium falcon cake, dude dressed as boba fett, and battlestar galactica wedding vows..... the feature - CLICK HERE!!