Hawaii photographer
Kumiko and Michael flew all the way from Japan for a Hawaii destination wedding here in Honolulu. It was fun to see the two families come together. Kumiko’s family spoke a little English and Michael’s family spoke a little Japanese. The ceremony location was beautiful with Diamond Head in the background. Congratulations Kumiko and Michael.
Here are a few photos from Aloha Ko’olauloa, the first was used for the banner and posters. This is an annual community event to help support the Hawaiian Immersion schools of Ko’olauloa. It is a fun day with ono food booths, entertainment, games for the kids, silent auction, free used books, bake sale and even lomi lomi massage. If you couldn’t make it this year, definitely look for it next year. The Hawaiian Immersion program has been an amazing experience for our whole family, and I don’t know if there are better kumu than the ones who have helped teach our kids over the years.
One of my favorite islands in Hawaii is Kauai, so I was super excited when Lindsay asked me to be their wedding photographer for their destination wedding on Kauai. Lindsay and Brandon had a fun group of friends fly in from Alaska. One of them even bought a van for the week while they were here, see it below. Even though we had a little rain, the wedding turned out beautifully, and we were blessed with an amazing rainbow just in time for the ceremony.
As I arrived at this engagement shoot on the North Shore, the rain started and I thought for sure Tanya and Adam would want to reschedule, but they were troopers. I’m glad because it ended up being a fantastic photo shoot. The video I included is a little behind the scenes look at the underwater part of their session. Adam has been deployed three times overseas already and I wish them all the best in their upcoming wedding and life together. Congratulations Tanya and Adam, can’t wait to photograph your wedding. You guys are a beautiful couple.
Lindsay and Jay had a beautiful destination Hawaii beach wedding on the North Shore of Oahu. After the ceremony we captured some shots of them together on the beach as the sun went down, and then headed to the Turtle Bay Restaurant, Ola‘s for a dinner reception where they did a traditional tea ceremony. What a fantastic night this was for a wedding. The couple, their family and friends, the setting, it was all stunning.
What a beautiful couple. I had such a great time shooting these engagement photos with Lara and Chris on the North Shore of Oahu. They were adventurous, fun, and clearly in love. Everything seemed to work together really well, the sunlight, palm trees, wardrobe, and their joy. Congratulations Chris and Lara!
Congratulations to Kristen and William, welcoming their fifth beautiful child! I included links to three previous photo shoots I have done when their family was just four, then grew to five, then six and now a family of seven! They are family to us. They have been one of my favorite families to document over the years. It has been fun to see Grandma Susi over the years as well and I’m glad we got some great photos with her. As you can see they are all so photogenic. And as Patria always says, Kristen is one hot mama! But it’s their genuine love and kindness with all those incredible personalities that makes them stand out in a crowd.
As I started to edit these photos of “The LIttle Mermaid”, My daughter looked over my shoulder and said “Oh daddy! Do you mean there are mermaids in this island? Were they nice? Oh they are so beautiful! I want to be a mermaid”. I never had the heart to tell her they weren’t real.
Children’s Theatre of Oahu (CTO) approached me about taking some underwater pictures of mermaids to advertise their production of “The Little Mermaid”. The video I included is a behind the scenes look at our underwater shoot. The girls did a great job in the water even though it wasn’t the calmest of conditions. The dancer playing Ariel had some serious diving skills, she would go down and then just calmly cruise along the ocean floor. Have to thank the Makeup artists Karlotta Carvalho,and Vasi Wolfgramm for the great job they did. Go support this fun production of CTO’s “The little Mermaid”. For more information here is a link to their site. www.ctotheatre.com
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
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.
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.
