Anna Wu Photography » travel

Best of 2011: Weddings

Anna — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:55:40 +0000

I know I know, it’s almost February, and I am still back in 2011, recapping weddings. Please forgive me. I thought about letting this post slide by, but I simply couldn’t let it go. 2011 was filled to the brim with such wonderful couples, unique venues all across the country, the most touching moments, and above all, love, love, love.

Below is a selection of just a few of the amazing moments from the past year. The majority of these are photojournalistic captures of genuine emotion. The laughter! The tears! The hugs! I chose these photographs because they are the types of images that remind me what an incredible honor and privilege it is to be able to do this for a living.

My sincerest thanks to every one of my 2011 couples and to their friends and family who invited me to be there on such a special day of your lives. I hope you enjoy! Click on any image to view the full wedding post.

A Birthday Gift… For You! | Photography Giveaway

Anna — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:47:45 +0000

Yes, today is my birthday, and in honor of this day, I wanted to celebrate you! All of you out there who have been following my work and supporting me in all my little adventures deserve a little treat. Plus, yesterday, my facebook page just surpassed 1000 “likes”, which was really a delightful little gift and perfect with its timing!

So today, I kick off a photography giveaway for one lucky winner. Up for grabs is a one-hour photography session of your choosing. It can be a portrait session, headshots, an engagement shoot, an anniversary, a family session, etc… If you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, then great, so am I! But even if not, then here is my travel schedule when we might be able to squeeze in a session. And if none of those work either, then you still have the option of gifting the session to someone else. More info and details are below.

Travel schedule (dates are approximate and may not all be available for bookings):

San Francisco Bay Area: this is where I live!
Los Angeles: January 14-19, February 24-27, March 14-19
Las Vegas: January 20-22, February 19-23
Philadelphia: February 10-13
New York City: February 14-15
Durham: April 19-23

Photography Giveaway!

One-hour portrait session with me, Anna Wu Photography! Includes the full online gallery and disc and a feature on my blog (valued at $625+).
One winner will be selected randomly from the comments below.
The winner can schedule a session in the San Francisco Bay Area or one of the cities I’ll be traveling to in the next couple months. OR the winner can gift the session to someone else who is able to schedule the session. Scheduling is subject to my availability and discretion.
Session must occur before the end of April, 2012.
This prize has no cash value and cannot be traded for any other services or goods. A la carte options and products may be added at regular pricing.
To enter, comment below with:

Your name
Your city
How you found Anna Wu Photography
What you would do with the portrait session if you won!

The deadline to enter is 11:59pm PST on Tuesday, January 17, so don’t delay. Winner will be notified on Wednesday, January 18. Hooray! Happy Birthday to you!

Book a Session Today!

If you’d like to go ahead and book a session instead, I am offering a birthday special for you too! (Weddings included). Just mention my birthday giveaway, and you’ll receive a 5% discount on any bookings finalized between now and the end of January 2012. And yes, this would be a lovely birthday gift to me, too. =) Use the contact form or email me at anna(at)annawu(dot)com.

Best of 2011: Personal Posts

Anna — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:24:23 +0000

2011 was a lovely year filled with little surprises. I was lucky enough to fill my days with travel, photography, and even yogurtland and ballet. Oh, and I even managed to read 36 books (thank you iPad). And I blogged and blogged through it all. Below, I share some of my personal posts reflecting on my adventures along the way.

Places

In 2011, I found myself in Las Vegas three times in a row and Los Angeles six times during the year. I had amazing clients who flew me to Atlanta, Washington D.C., Arizona, and upstate New York. And then there was our epic roadtrip up the West Coast from San Francisco to Vancouver. Below are my various adventures, arranged roughly thematically: Bay Area, Las Vegas trips, other destinations, and the Cascadia Road Trip.

The City \| San Francisco	Sausalito	SF Vignettes	Falling in Love with San Francisco	A Lifetime Ago \| Oakland	Sailing in the Bay
All of the Lights \| Vegas	Out in the Desert \| Vegas	Neon Museum \| Vegas	Ice Waterfall in the Desert \| Vegas	Pyramid Lake	With Etiquette
A Single Snow Day \| Tahoe	Staying in Awe \| Duke	The Beauty of Night \| Atlanta	Stone Mountain & Rhodes Hall \| Atlanta	Nogales & Tubac, Arizona	Washington D.C.
Cascadia Road Trip	Crater Lake	Portland, Oregon	Tacoma, Washington	Seattle, Washington	Vancouver, British Columbia

Personal Reflections

I’m sometimes not sure how I let such personal thoughts travel from my mind out into the wild world of the internet. But I believe strongly in the power of personal expression, and whilst I found myself seeking inspiration on more than one occasion this year, I had this little hope that perhaps my words could somehow contribute to others finding inspiration as well. Below, some of my personal musings from this past year.

Nina & Fernando | Windsor, California Wedding Photography

Anna — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:47:20 +0000

They are high school sweethearts, best friends, and partners for life. With Nina’s brilliant smile and Fernando’s kind heart, they brighten every room they enter. Nina and Fernando were wed in December in a beautiful celebration with summery sunlight, beautiful autumn leaves, and a sparkling winter wonderland all rolled into one.

A great mother daughter moment

The beautiful lazo encircles the couple– a Mexican wedding tradition.

Looking over the shoulders of the Mariachi band.

Nina and her father, and on the right, Fernando and his father.

After the ceremony, we went to the Windsor Golf Club for some more portraits of the bride and groom.

I was in love with these trees!

And then it was time for the reception at the Mary Agatha Furth Center.

I love seeing my couples’ engagement photos used at the reception!

The toasts were beautiful. Family is so important to Nina and Fernando, and it really showed throughout the day.

I love this moment from the end of the money dance! For those who are wondering about all that money stuck to the couple, it’s a Mexican tradition to do a “money dance’ where guests can take turns coming up and pinning money to the bride or the groom in exchange for a dance with them.

And now for the 12 piece Banda! I’ve seen bands play at weddings, but never a 17-piece band with the full stage and production equipment set up! It was one of the many highlights of the night.

…And they danced the night away!

Congratulations Nina & Fernando!

Wedding Vendors:

Ceremony: Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Windsor, California
Reception: Mary Agatha Furth Center, Windsor, California
Hair: Ivonne Zapata
Florist: Angelica DeMaderios
Catering: Rosales Catering, Santa Rosa, CA
Dress: Wine Country Bride
Mariachi Band: Mariachi Jalisco
17-Piece Band: Banda Troyana, San Jose, CA
Videography: Tamayo’s Video
Coordinator: Carmen Callinan, aunt of the bride
Cake: Alicia Quatrocchi
Chair Rentals: 1000 Fine Linens, Fremont, CA
Security: V&G Services, Santa Rosa, CA

Best of 2011: Engagements & Couples

Anna — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:53:43 +0000

2011 was filled with the most amazing couples. I got to shoot engagement sessions in New York, Atlanta, Seattle, and of course all over the Bay Area. I photographed a surprise proposal on the beach, a really disgusting (or is it cute?) gum wall, and even a baby pig! You can see it all for yourself below. Thank you to all the couples who made this such a fantastic year!

Sun & Elliot at Sutro Baths, San Francisco, California

Theresa & Rob at Muir Woods, Marin County, California

Debby & Justin in the Mission District, San Francisco, California

Jenny & Kevin’s Anniversary Shoot in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California

Connie & Tony’s Engagement Session in downtown Los Angeles, California

Magali & Sam’s Engagement Session in San Francisco, California

Silvia & James’ Engagement Session at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California

Shelly & Mark’s Surprise Proposal at China Beach, San Francisco, California, and their Engagement Session at the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco

Evelia & Joseph’s Engagement Session at the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Raquel & Andy’s Engagement Session at Lullwater Park, Atlanta, Georgia

Mega & Jason’s Engagement Session at Baker Beach, San Francisco, California

Catherine & Joe’s Engagement Session at Baker Beach, San Francisco, California

Janey & Lee’s Engagement Session on Treasure Island, California

Kristen & Ryan’s Engagement Session in Sunol, California

Cat & Dan’s Engagement Session in Buffalo, New York

Nina & Fernando’s Engagement Session in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California

Cami & Eric’s Engagement Session at Pike Place, Seattle, Washington

Anny & John’s Engagement Session at Baker Beach, San Francisco, California

Evelia & Joseph’s Wedding Album

Anna — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:15:46 +0000

Even in a digital age– perhaps especially in a digital age– it is still so important to have printed photographs. I absolutely love creating heirloom wedding albums for my couples. Below are just a few sample spreads from Evy & Joe‘s wedding album, which they created as a beautiful gift for Joe’s grandmother.

Use the related links below to view some of the other wedding albums we’ve created in the past.

Vancouver, BC | Cascadia Road Trip, Part 5

Anna — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:50:43 +0000

It was the only rainy day of our road trip, but luckily the rain went away and left only lingering gray skies once we crossed the border into Canada. Vancouver was our northernmost destination on the road trip, and it was the perfect finale to our amazing week.

First, some views from Stanley Park which spans the entire edge of a peninsula.

It was funny how we really didn’t expect Canada to really be like a foreign country (I mean, it’s Canada. They don’t even stamp your passport!) But then the little things kept getting to us. One, we couldn’t use our cell phones. Two, we actually had to get some Canadian money, even though the exchange rate is basically even. Three, what in the world are blinking green lights? In fact, what are all of the strange street signs, like the sign that looks like three gold bars? And why would you ever have an intersection in which one direction has traffic lights and the other has a stop sign? We sat there at the stop sign loudly pronouncing, “But when is it our turn!?!” But we loved Vancouver anyway.

We also took a little side trip out to Capilano bridge, a nice Indiana Jones style suspension bridge in the woods. And then we headed into the city!

Left: a reflection of the steam clock in Gastown. Right: the boys had a lot of fun in this denim shop. I never knew Young knew so much about denim.

We also managed to walk through what must be the two worst blocks of Vancouver– between Gastown and Chinatown. There were just tons of people openly doing cocaine on the sidewalks and arguing with each other. This was also only two blocks from the police station It was quite bizarre.

Finally, we headed back to Richmond (the very, very Asian suburb of Vancouver) for the best Taiwanese beef noodle soup ever. It might not look like much in my cameraphone rendition below, but it was amazing and quite possibly the best meal of the entire trip, which is saying a lot, considering we spent the entire trip eating really good food.

The end! And then we went back to Seattle and each flew away to our respective cities. Check the related links below to see the other parts of our road trip. Thanks to Howard, Vince, and Young for an epic adventure! What shall the next one be?

Technical note: as with many of my latest posts, this has been a mix of real film photos processed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab and digital images processed with VSCO Film. Check up on my “Shooting Film” series if you’re interested in reading more about my explorations in film vs. digital.

Little Sarah | San Gabriel Family Portraits

Anna — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:31:07 +0000

She might not be able to walk without wobbling all over the place, but she’s smart as a whip! Little Sarah reads entire books and answers all sorts of questions, from “what sound does a monkey make?” to “who is the president?” (both answers are really adorable, by the way).

It was a sunny Monday afternoon when we all met up in Lacy Park, San Marino, for a family session with the Espinosas. We kick it off with the whole fam! Joseph, Sarah, and Marilyn. Plus, another little one on the way!

Fun fact: Marilyn and Jenny (of Kevin and Jenny) are twin sisters!

A kiss for mommy!

Dimple power!

Precious!

Seattle, Washington | Cascadia Road Trip, Part 4

Anna — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:24:55 +0000

You would think we had planned it, the way we were greeted by colorful autumn leaves and perfect weather everywhere we went along our road trip. In reality, we were just really lucky. After our stops in Crater Lake, Portland, and a brief stop in Tacoma, We arrived in Seattle to bright sunny skies in the mid-sixties. Our first stop, Gas Works Park.

Autumn! Young, Howard, and Vince.

Love this leaf pile.

We stayed at our friend Jennie’s ridiculously awesome place. This is the view of the Seattle Space Needle out her window.

On day two, we walked through the Olympic Sculpture Park to get to Pike Place.

Love the Calder against the sea and skies.

Seattle Center– Space Needle and the Experience Music Project.

Lynn and Young– we met up with Lynn for lunch at Paseo.

And then the most amazing oyster happy hour at The Walrus and the Carpenter. Best $1 oysters ever. Vince models by the entrance.

And Young too.

Finally, one last shot from Jennie’s bedroom window on the morning we left for Vancouver– the only non-sunny day of our entire trip.

Lovely as always, Seattle! Next up, Vancouver.

Tacoma, Washington | Cascadia Road Trip, Part 3

Anna — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:51:56 +0000

Day three of our epic road trip up the west coast: on our way from Portland to Seattle, we made a little pit stop in Tacoma, Washington. On a friend’s suggestion (thanks Margaret!), I wanted to check out Tacoma’s Museum of Glass. We didn’t actually go inside, but we just scoped out the Chihuly Bridge of Glass and some of the sculptures outside. It made for a nice photo op.

Next stop: Seattle!