Hawaii photographer
A small preview of a wedding I photographed this week, Rebecca and Tyler’s eloped on the North Shore of Hawaii. Nobody knew of their wedding, so I sent them a few photos quickly so they could announce it to the world. Congratulations Rebecca and Tyler, it was a beautiful ceremony.
I asked Bree to write a little something for this post, and it ended up being a bit of a testimonial. Bree was a lot of fun to work with, she is able to pull off so many different looks. We were able to shoot all the different styles below in one morning.
“Working with Mark Lee was not only new to me but a leap of faith. As I was in search for someone to shoot me for my portfolio pictures, there is always that possibility that you will not connect with the photographer or in the worst case, the pictures will not turn out. I have worked with many photographers, and have gotten my fair share of horrible, and good. Mark was by far the best photographer I have worked with yet. Not only did I go into this photo shoot not knowing what to expect, but I barely knew him. He ended being much more creative than I had intended, and turning idea’s I had, into better and more powerful shots. Mark has so many new and original idea’s up his sleeve, I feel like we could of shot all day with all different looks. After receiving my final pictures, I have never been so pleased. This has been my strongest portfolio within the past three years, and my agent couldn’t be happier. Mark Lee is an outstanding photographer that I would recommend to anyone that needs portfolio shots, wedding shots, engagements, high fashion, or commercial. One of my favorite shots was the water, and underwater shots. He knows what he is doing, and will explain exactly what you as a model need to do and position yourself to get the right picture. Not only are his ideas fun and exciting, but he makes you feel comfortable the whole time. There is never a dull moment with Mark. He can do it all, and I promise you, you will be happy with your end results.”
-Bree
This is where my heart is and will always be. I love a lot of things. I love the ocean, I love where we live, I love all the good people we are around every day, I love to surf and I love to take pictures. But there is nothing I love more than Ruby, and Atticus. They bring me the greatest joy and happiness.
I haven”t had much time to post my most recent shoots. Here are a few pictures from one of my last family photo shoots. We started at the Laie temple and then headed to the North Shore for a few family beach photos.
I don’t remember where I first saw it, but someone had a slide show made by Pummelvision. They just take a bunch of your photos and make a fast slide show in a few minutes. Instead of trying to make a slide show with all the photography from this last year, like the weddings, family, and commercial photos; I decided to just use the local underwater photography. It was kind of a fun thing to see.
This wedding brought two passions together, surfing and photography. I was of course excited when Malia contacted me and said she wanted to go surfing in her wedding dress. I have done a lot of trash the dress photography, but this was the first actual wedding where the bride and groom and the whole wedding party jumped in the water. Malia and Brad’s wedding was at Turtle Bay on the North Shore of Oahu Hawaii. This was the perfect wedding venue to have the wedding ceremony and then jump in the water. On top of the surf, they had a really amazing color scheme. Congratulations Malia and Brad, you guys ripped it up.
In our home I do most of the cooking. One cooking blog I love is www.kitchencorners.com. The author of the blog, Damaris Santos-Palmer, was visiting family in Hawaii over Christmas. While she was here we set up an underwater shoot. It was so much fun to arrange and photograph this scene of her cooking underwater. We rigged this together in under 15 minutes with the help of her husband Christian. You have to read her blog to get a sense of how much fun she is – you can probably see it in these photos too! Bon appetit!
Being a wedding photographer here in Hawaii I deal with a lot of different variables, especially when it comes to getting in the water for a trash the dress session. Being on an island we are often at the mercy of the wind, sun, waves, and all different elements. Dana and Jake’s “Trash the Dress session” almost didn’t happen. Jake sliced his foot open before their wedding and almost didn’t make it to the ceremony after spending most of the morning in the ER. The doctor told Jake to stay out of the water. A friend let us borrow the big blue boot to keep Jake’s foot dry, as seen below. Busted up foot or not Dana and Jake did a great job hiking over the coral on the North Shore, and getting in the water. The waves were a little big that day but we were able to find a safe location to get into the water. My two favorite pictures of this shoot are the 4th photo were Dana is running, and the last one. I think she looks so peaceful as she is gliding through the water.
This is one of the most stunning locations I have photographed for an engagement session. Marcus and Anela wanted to encompass the land and sea in their shoot. So we spent time in these gardens on the Windward side of Oahu and also in the ocean for some underwater engagement pictures. Marcus and Anela are truly some of the best people I know. Marcus is in medical school and Anela is an amazing teacher here in Hawaii, my kids just light up anytime she comes around.
As most of you know the Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest at Waimea Bay did not go today. There was the size, just not consistent. Contest or not there was still some amazing surfing. I had a shoot on the North Shore this morning, thought I would head over after and get a few shots. As I was standing on the bluff, I couldn’t help think to myself, how could I get on one of those skis to shoot from the water. That is the angle I would like to be shooting from. Maybe next year.
A few pictures from the 2011 Moanikeala Hula Festival at the Polynesian Cultural Center here in Laie Hawaii. One of the Halau came all the way from Japan just to perform at this festival.
