Frederick and Geraldine | Wedding Reception | Willows Event Venue

Event: Wedding Reception
Location: Willows Event Venue, Vallejo, CA

Frederick and Geraldine hired me at the last minute to be their wedding celebration's photographer in early February. Their civil wedding had taken place a few days before, but the party was when family was able to celebrate with them at Willows Event Venue in Vallejo, CA.

Willows Event Venue is an intimate space that hosts all kinds of events. Its interior is smaller than a community hall, and is customized to each event. For Frederick and Geraldine's reception, the flowers were all decorated by themselves and an aunt. The rest of the decors were by the venue. We took a few portraits in the outdoor area behind the building, and the rest of the day was all about celebrating: first dance, cake cutting, money dance, bouquet toss, garter toss, line dances, and lots of food :)

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. B!

Categories: weddings

Loyola family | Portraits | Palace of Fine Arts

Cathy is a longtime friend of mine since we were in junior high. Over the years, we never really talked or spoken to each other until the social media explosion. I've since learned that she's become a mom and lives in another state.

She approached me on one of our Facebook chats to do her family portraits, and she brought her whole family from Las Vegas just a few days before Christmas 2012. We decided to do the photos at Palace of Fine Arts. It did rain, but we managed to get plenty of shots in between the pouring madness. Plus, that dome and the columns at the palace served as a mediocre shelter, but it was more of a wonderful prop (or backdrop). I loved their simple outfits of white tops, blue jeans and Chucks. The ladies each had a red accessory on them.

Evidently, this family has a very goofy side.

Categories: families, portraits

Gerard and Sophia | Wedding | Our Lady of Mercy

Event: Wedding and Reception
Location: Our Lady of Mercy (Daly City, CA), One Ferry Plaza (San Francisco, CA)

Nicco was the videographer at Travis and Amanda's wedding, and that was my first time meeting him. He is very good at what he does, and so I couldn't say no at a chance to work with him again in another wedding. He asked me to help out at Gerard and Sophia's wedding in October. The ceremony was at Our Lady of Mercy in Daly City, CA. It was a traditional Catholic wedding.

For entourage portraits, the group went to Legion of Honor. There were many other wedding parties that day, but once Nicco got his shots in, off we went across town to One Ferry Plaza for the reception. It was a gorgeous venue with the Bay Bridge as part of its wide backdrop! Loved the windows, loved the lights, there was nothing not to love.

The official photos are presented by Paderna Photography, but I would like to share my personal favorites that I shot. :)

Click here to start the slideshow!

Categories: weddings

Travis and Amanda | Wedding | Wildwood Acres Resort

Venue: Wildwood Acres Resort in Lafayette, CA

Back in September, I had accepted my first second-shooter opportunity for PXL Photography to help with Travis and Amanda's beautiful wedding. I started with documenting the groom and groomsmen getting ready, and proceeded to the venue and took detail shots of flowers, props and of course the ceremony. It was a very long day, but this is one of the funnest weddings I've witnessed.

These photos are not the entire collection (those are presented by PXL Photography), but rather, my personal selection of favorites that I shot.

Thanks to Nino Nucum for taking me under his wings on this :)



Click here to start the slideshow!

Categories: weddings

PanFocus Studios in 2013

A very warm welcome to you on our new website!

I have decided to take this back to the blog-style because I have never stopped liking it, and experimenting with Smugmug proved to be ineffective for what I do. The galleries are still hosted on Smugmug, and prints/products can still be purchased by clients. Please feel free to contact us through private messaging (use the form to the right), or leave a comment on any of the pages here. It is very easy to reach out to us! Shy people who prefer email can do this, but we also have a phone number if you want to talk :)

What we are facing this year is a re-positioned focus on events. Children, maternity and family portraits are mostly shelved now, but will be considered during each inquiry. Past clients will of course be considered without hesitation. Events we are available for include weddings, birthdays, religious ceremonies, sports and any and all. In addition, we have a fun open-air photobooth: the PEPbooth (PanFocus Event Photobooth). This service is available for any event, and will be discounted if booked along with our photography service. The PEPbooth is a mobile photo studio, and will be sure to make your event a big hit.

If you need recommendations for videography and hair+makeup, we can help! We know the best videographers and a wonderful beauty artist, and guess what? We would LOVE to be YOUR team for YOUR big day!

Along the way, we are also tuning into fine art and stock photography. This is a step towards a personal fulfillment to shoot on our own time on our own terms. For this, we are using the resources of 500px.com to host these images. Please follow our work at 500px.com/panfocusstudios.

-Rio

Categories:

Backlog on blogs

Excuse us for the lack of updates here, but times were spent with family and re-working this website.

We are behind by 3 blog entries (three weddings) since September, and a family portrait from December. I'll get to them eventually.

Just some brief updates: Our photobooth is now its own brand, and we call it PEPbooth (PanFocus Event Photobooth). For the year 2013, this is what we will be pushing. I (Rio) am preparing for an Adobe Exam with a couple of courses and so there will be very little time for me to book weddings and edit the many photos they produce.

I am also making myself available for hire as a second shooter, so if you are an event photographer in need of some assistance, please drop a note!

Also, check out our new nature & urban photography page at 500px!

Categories:

Moses and Rebecca | Wedding | Sutro Heights Park

Event: Outdoor wedding
Location: Sutro Heights Park (San Francisco, CA)

Moses and Rebecca had me document their very intimate wedding in one of San Francisco's quiet public spaces: Sutro Heights Park. It was a very overcast September afternoon, and I met with the bride and some of her entourage in the nearby Seal Rock Inn at a suite to cover the bridal preparations.

Shortly before the ceremony started, I hurried across the street and across the park to the other end where the ceremony was going to take place, where guests and Moses were waiting.

It was a very custom ceremony, in which the couple had a "sand ritual" with black and orange sand; this was a nod to their favorite baseball team, the SF Giants (whom, at the time, were vying for the playoffs).

Congratulations to the lovely couple! And the Giants went on to win the World Series a few weeks later =D

Categories: weddings