Anna Wu Photography

Chicago Streets | Pointe of View

Anna — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:25:51 +0000

Every Monday, I feature an image and backstory from my Pointe of View series.

This morning, I am back in Chicago, Illinois, about to film a wedding with Seaglass Cinema. This is the perfect time to share a beautiful image from last fall when I was here photographing Joffrey School trainee Nardia Boodoo. I just love the soft glow of light and her beautiful curved arms, set against those elevated tracks so characteristic of Chicago.

Chicago Streets

Ballet dancer: Nardia Boodoo
Hair & Makeup: Makeup for Your Day
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Pointe of View is a ballerina series by Anna Wu Photography. The Kickstarter project raised over $12,000 in a month. If you didn’t get to order your copy of the book yet, sign up here to be notified when more copies are available for purchase.

Eating Through New York | New York, Part 3 of 3

Anna — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:16:00 +0000

Following my posts on Manhattan and our excursion to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, we continue the New York love with more ventures across the boroughs in search for good food. In fact, this post revolves almost entirely around food, so if you are very hungry or hate looking at food, consider yourself warned. Join me as we eat our way through New York!

First, a Filipino restaurant called Krystal Cafe in Queens.

Those purple yam pastries were the best. After dinner, we went to SriPaPhai in search of mango sticky rice, but after we were finally seated were told that they had both sold out and would not serve us only dessert. So then we continued on to Ayada Thai where we acquired the desserts to go… and then ate them out of the back of the car. Mission accomplished!

On Sunday morning, I headed to Brooklyn to meet up with my friend Jen. She and Clay have an amazing apartment with spectacular views of Manhattan.

Jen and I took a stroll down the Brooklyn Promenade and ended up under the Brooklyn Bridge at The River Cafe, which just so happens to be her wedding venue for this fall! I cannot wait!

Next up, Jesse joined me in DUMBO for Smorgasburg!

It’s a food festival crammed into an old abandoned tobacco warehouse. And it’s delicious.

After a nice sunny picnic, we headed even further into Brooklyn and stopped by Brooklyn Fare and a beautiful flower shop.

Back in the Wall Street area downtown:

An image from my Monday morning visit to the 9/11 Memorial.

That evening, a lovely sushi dinner at Sushi Azabu.

Afterward, drinks at the Tribeca Grand.

Last day of the trip was an encore of our Japan trip. First we met up for tea and desserts (before dinner) at a Japanese tea house called Cha An.

Drinks at the Bowery Hotel:

And then it was time for the finale, Bohemian New York City. We had eaten at the original Bohemian in Tokyo, so I had to experience the New York version as well!

Tiffany and Hagan were the first to arrive.

The food at Bohemian New York was definitely much more western fusion style. The uni croquette and mac n cheese pretty much summed that up. It was all quite delicious, if completely different from Bohemian Japan.

Ting & Jason and a familiar guitar motif.

Jesse and me.

And this is what happens at the end of the meal.

Thanks for another great trip, New York. Til next time!

Anna is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. Follow her on facebook or subscribe to her blog for the latest on her food, photography, and travel adventures.

New York

Part 1: Manhattan
Part 2: Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Part 3: Eating Through New York

Bridgette & Ryan | San Francisco Engagement Photography

Anna — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:41:52 +0000

Bridgette and Ryan first met in Michigan, where they worked together at a communications company. Their first date was at a friend’s show at a music hall in Detroit, and they have been together ever since. After several years living in Michigan, they decided to move to California, and San Francisco was the lucky city to receive them. I had the pleasure of hanging out with these two on a gorgeous afternoon in the city. We started in their beautiful apartment and headed to the nearby Bernal Hill for some gorgeous golden light.

Congratulations, Bridgette & Ryan! Looking forward to the wedding this fall!

Ballerinas in Taipei | Pointe of View

Anna — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:12:22 +0000

Every Monday, I feature an image and backstory from my Pointe of View series.

In celebration of Taiwanese American Heritage Week, I wanted to share just one of my favorite images from our ballerina shoot in Taipei, Taiwan. When I visited Taiwan back in February, I had the opportunity to meet these two young ladies who are close friends at the Taipei American school. We headed to Beitou and roamed the streets, attracting attention from passersby and finding great settings in tucked away corners. Even the seeming simplicity of this image, with its soothing geometric curves, belies the complexity of ‘Taiwanese American,’ with these Taipei American School students set in this district once colonized by the Japanese as a hot spring town. The Taiwanese American story is complex and ever evolving, but it’s a part of my identity I’m proud to embrace.

Ballet dancers: Iris Hsu, Kendra Flemming
Assistant: Deborah Flemming
Location: Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan

Cami & Eric | Wedding Album

Anna — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:27:58 +0000

It was so wonderful to photograph Cami and Eric’s wedding in Seattle last summer, and it is so exciting to see their wedding come to life in their heirloom wedding album. I think Cami and Eric did a great job selecting this beautiful mosstone leather for their cover. It’s a beautiful neutral that fits perfectly with the photographs inside. They opted for a 10×10″ album and a mini to go with it.

These albums are impeccably made, with beautiful flushmount images that are printed in a full bleed, going right up to the edge of the page, with a tiny fold down the middle that is scarcely visible.

A full spread dedicated to the thoughtful wedding details:

And a bit of a size comparison between the 10×10″ full album and the mini.

Absolute treasures. Love!

Gardner Family | Ojai Family Portraits

Anna — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:28:37 +0000

What an honor it is to photograph the Gardner family year after year after year. This is the fourth time I’ve had the privilege, and the first time (officially) that I got to photograph them at their home in Ojai. What made this portrait session extra special was that it was a gift from Aaron’s father.

As always, the session was full of laughs and love. Isla continues to be way cooler than I could ever hope to be. And Miles found his inner clown in front of his captive audience. We were all in for quite a treat this afternoon!

Isla and her loquats fresh from the loquat tree

Miles and Doobie enjoy a special bond.

Miles rides Doobie.

And then Miles licked a tree. Who knew he was such a ham?

This expression!

And of course, an awesome family portrait to round things off!

Anna is a wedding & portrait photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area but available to travel worldwide. She drove 1500 miles on this road trip which included San Diego, LA, and of course, this little town of Ojai, located just north of Ventura and east of Santa Barbara. Follow Anna’s adventures on facebook and book her in your own town some time!

Cinderella | Pointe of View

Anna — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:20:39 +0000

Every Monday, I feature an image and backstory from my Pointe of View series.

On Friday, I had the privilege of attending opening night of the San Francisco Ballet’s Cinderella– a birthday gift from my friend Dan. It was a brand new production by Christopher Wheeldon, based on the Brothers Grimm version of the tale– a far darker version than the Disney story we’ve come to know. It was, in short, magical. From an opening scene so intricately layered in mesh and pinpointed lighting to the carriage scene complete with floating silks and a giant (hidden) fan machine that closed out the first act to the row of chairs that took flight to create an overhead arch framing Cinderella and her prince , nothing was held back in the production design.

Even with all of the theatrics, the dancing was a delight unto itself. Maria Kochetkova was beautiful as Cinderella, transitioning from tentative girl to belle of the ball. There was abundant humor in the stepmother and stepsisters, with Frances Chung as the standout character of the trio. It wasn’t a perfect show. Some of the scenes and character pieces seemed a bit excessive (especially the inexplicable foreign princesses who were strange caricatures that did not fit the scene in any way). But if anyone ever doubted the magic of a story ballet, this would be the show that puts all doubts to rest. For me, the pull still comes back to the story of Cinderella. Cut through the fanfare, and a delicate emotional thread is still in there somewhere. A young girl loses her mother, is kicked down by those around her, and with kindness and generosity, rises above it all. That is the fantasy we love to hope for.

Ballet dancer: Caroline Dennis

Hair: Justina Downs
Makeup: Julianne Chai, Pretty By Julianne
Assistant: Cassandra Manansala
Location: Berkeley City Club, Berkeley CA

Blue Hill at Stone Barns | New York, Part 2 of 3

Anna — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:45:44 +0000

It turns out that one of the best dining experiences in all of New York lies not in the city but 45 minutes north at a little farm in the Pocantico Hills.

On a Sunday afternoon, we left Manhattan to spend a day at Blue Hill at Stone Barns where they take farm-to-table to its logical conclusion– put the table on the farm. The Barbers were hand picked to open their Blue Hill restaurant on the site of Stone Barns, and they enjoy a great symbiotic relationship to this day. Our dinner reservation was not until late in the evening, but we arrived early in the afternoon to take the tour of the farm and explore the surrounding area.

Our first stop was to grab a bite to eat from the Blue Hill Cafe– a taste of great things to come. That beet & goat cheese sandwich was amazing. It was also an indication of many more beets to come– tis the season!

This was a magical moment of great luck for me, as I recognized Chef Dan Barber working in the kitchen and snapped this photo mere milliseconds before the tour guide realized he was supposed to tell me not to take photos of the kitchen. I then apologized but excitedly checked my screen and confirmed that I got the shot. With Chef Barber in the kitchen, this was going to be a meal to remember.

We saw artichokes going into the ground.

The greenhouse was perfectly kept with all sorts of goodies growing.

As nice as the veggies were, they could not beat this… April means the arrival of NEW BABY LAMBS! Ahhhh, the cutest! Shelby the guard dog looks out for them.

Out of all the baby lambs, just one came out black and white.

And then we met the pigs.

Baby pigs!

Our Blue Hill crew: Julia, Davis, Robyn, Peter, me, and Jesse.

And then, since we still had four hours to dinner, we headed in to the neighboring town of Tarrytown and wandered around for a while.

We came back at sunset.

Blue Hill at dusk.

Setting the scene for an incredible meal.

First, I got to try a ramps cocktail– pickled ramp gibson. The ramp is a spring onion available for only a few days each year.

There are no menus at Blue Hill. Instead, they provide a small pamphlet that lists some of the ingredients that are in season throughout the different months of the year. The Farmer’s Feast is a tasting menu with five, eight, or twelve courses. We opted for the eight.

First up were these little squares that looked like granola but actually had a gelatinous texture and were made up of beets and goat cheese. In the middle of the top row, mini birch whoopie pies. And on the right, one of my favorite presentations: miniature veggies. Tiny broccoli, carrots, and radishes for all!

In the second row, some farro, polenta, and beet chips as thin as paper, and then some pea shoots with a lemon vinaigrette with scissors for you to cut the shoots off yourself.

Third row above, a celery ‘sushi,’ a very delicious acorn polenta and ham shooter which was unexpectedly warm and tasted like a wonderful corn chowder, mini beet burgers, and a gluten-free beet yogurt with a green apple sugar compote for Robyn.

Top row below, bone marrow with caviar– yes, really. And everything up to this point had been an amuse bouche, not technically a part of the eight courses of our meal. On the top right, brioche, spinach and kale, ricotta cheese, and fresh black pepper.

Second row, farmer’s tacos with kohlrabi wrappers, shrimp, mussels, green peas, daikon, sea salt, and mini bottles of watermelon molasses hot sauce.

Third row above, with the big ball of black coal, we were shown the biological charcoal process. At this point, we were all so invested in the meal, we would have been willing to carve right in and start digging for the cabbage inside, but it was just a demo. We were served the amazingly tender savoy cabbage with speck and smoked apple shown in the next picture– it’s so crazy, it looks more like fish than cabbage.

Last row above, some carrot and beet salts. Then, a rutabega also cooked in the bio charcoal process with a compost shell, paired with blood sausage (as a liquid removed from the casing). Next, a Pollack-esque squid ink with celery root and a soft poached egg. Finally, a trio of porks with green apple puree and sauerkraut.

Next, it was time for the dessert rounds. Some tea with a beautiful honey from the farm. Upper right, rose hip, pistachio ice cream, and yogurt. On the bottom row, milk jam and chocolate and Robyn’s non-dairy alternative, and on the bottom right, (served on a tree, of course) dried apple, macadamia nut chocolate, Meyer lemon, and pumpkin seeds.

It was an incredible meal and a wonderful day from beginning to end. What a way to leave the city and be transported to an entirely different experience. Thank you to all my dining companions and especially to Jesse for bringing me out there! I also stole most of these food descriptions from him, since he was the only one taking notes and remembering what everything was.

And so the adventures continue.

Anna is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. Follow her on facebook or subscribe to her blog for the latest on her food, photography, and travel adventures.

New York

Part 1: Manhattan
Part 2: Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Part 3: Eating Through New York

Berkeley City Club | Venue | Wedding Vendor Spotlight

Anna — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:33:55 +0000

The first Friday of each month, I introduce one of my favorite vendors in the industry– completely unpaid, just out of sheer love of working with them.

This month, I am proud to feature the Berkeley City Club– one of my favorite wedding venues in the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Why do I love this place? Its historic architecture means all sorts of gorgeous nooks and crannies just waiting to be discovered– a veritable photography paradise. And it’s all located in the middle of Berkeley, just a couple blocks from the UC campus. Bonus? It doubles as a (small) hotel, a restaurant, and it has one of the most beautiful pools in the Bay. I have photographed everything from weddings to boudoir sessions at this beautiful venue, and it’s been amazing to work with the staff every single time.

Berkeley City Club

http://berkeleycityclubhotel.com/
Wedding & Event Venue
Berkeley, California

How would you describe the Berkeley City Club?

Renowned Architect Julia Morgan designed the Berkeley Women’s City Club. The Club was the collective vision of its 4000 female members. The lush gardens and courtyards provided sanctuary. A library and roaring fireplace brought great friends and conversation together. An invigorating pool enlivened body and spirit. More than a building, the Women’s City Club fulfilled dreams.

Today, the Berkeley City Club is a private club for both men and women, and a meeting place for Berkeley’s arts and culture community. Morgan’s “Little Castle” has been renovated and is an exciting destination hotel for architecture-lovers and a favorite venue for weddings and special occasions.

More than a building, the Berkeley City Club continues to inspire friendships, celebrate beauty and nourish dreams.

What sets the Berkeley City Club apart from other venues?
The rich history of the Club and its incredible architecture. The Berkeley City Club has so many unique spaces to hold events: The lush, garden-filled courtyards, the cozy Member’s Lounge, the grand Ballroom, the stately Drawing Room. The hotel can be reserved for out of town visitors, the indoor mosaic tiled swimming pool can be used for recreation and Julia’s fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge are now open to the public..

What amenities or features does the Berkeley City Club offer its couples (catering, hotel rooms, etc.)?
Weddings Specialists
Attentive and Professional Staff
In-house Catering by Julia’s Executive Chef Alaun Grimaud
A Range of Locations for Festivities and Photographs
Hotel Accommodations for Out-of-Town Visitors

How many weddings does the Berkeley City Club host each year?
Approximately 100.

What else does the Berkeley City Club do outside of weddings?
Corporate events, meetings, member events and private events. We are a private members club and historic hotel.

This is but a small taste of this beautiful venue. For more about the Berkeley City Club, visit their website. Tell them Anna sent you!

Anna Wu is a wedding a portrait photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area but available to travel worldwide! Follow her adventures on facebook or her website. View the rest of my preferred vendor spotlights here.

Alexis & Frank | San Francisco Anniversary Photography

Anna — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:28:49 +0000

It was so wonderful to spend some time with Alexis and Frank in a city that has been so meaningful to their relationship. These two met in their office– a unique, floating office– as they are both Navy officers and worked together on their first ship out of San Diego. Friendship led to dating, and as they found themselves in a long distance relationship, San Francisco became the city they’d often spend their free weekends together. It would also become the site of Frank’s proposal.

These two have been married almost two years now, and their weekend getaway in San Francisco was the perfect time to enjoy a lovely portrait session, just because. We had fun roaming around Crissy Field under the scenic expanse of the Golden Gate Bridge. A beautiful love in a beautiful setting.