jessiechophotos.com »

We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium this past weekend with Jeff’s cousin Andrew and his girlfriend Teresa from LA. We shot many weddings in Monterey Bay last year but haven’t  been to the aquarium for a while.  I was shocked when I saw the ticket price for adult cost $29.95.  I seriously thought I only paid $19.95 few years ago.

The aquarium was packed with people due to the yucky weather and the MLK holiday. I have been wanting to improve my swimming skills and certify for scuba diving in the near future.

After shooting around the aquarium, I would love to shoot a wedding here or at the Academy of Science or any aquarium.  There are some really unique shots to be had.

yellow tang

Dorie!!!

Moon Jelly

Egg-yolk Jelly

Lobed Comb Jelly

Sea Nettled Jelly

Crystal Jelly

Weedy Sea Dragon

Leafy Sea Dragon

Cuttlefish. I have eaten a lot of these guys and never knew what they looked like

After shooting the first part of their engagement session at Pasadena City Hall, we drove to UCLA where Jamie and Ryan (and me!) went to college. There was hardly anyone on campus since the students were still on their winter break. Most of this part of the engagement session was shot mainly with off camera lighting for a more dramatic effect. UCLA is such a beautiful campus with so much potential for engagement photos in SoCal.

I still cannot believe I graduated from UCLA for almost 9 years now. I couldn’t even recall the building names except the Powell Library, where I spent countless hours studying for exams. I have been back several times after I graduated, and have seen photographers shooting engagement sessions around the Powell Library and the Ackerman Building, but I never thought that I would be doing that too.

I am so grateful for Jamie and Ryan being so patient with me. There were times that the shoot got a little slow since I needed time to adjust the position and intensity of my lights.  They were very patient and enthusiastic for the entire 4 hour engagement session. I can’t wait to see them again for their wedding in LA this coming May.

I drove down to LA with few of my high school friends to celebrate the New Year. Our plan was to go to Disneyland for the countdown but unfortunately the park has already reached it’s maximum capacity and we were not able to get in, so we returned to downtown Disney before midnight for the countdown, for free!

I also photographed my first engagement session for 2010 in Los Angeles. Jamie and Ryan live in Pasadena so we started our engagement session at the Pasadena City Hall. I was familiar with the area since it was close to where I stayed the night before my wedding back in 2007, but the city hall was under renovation during that time so we never had the chance to explore.

The Pasadena City Hall was trashed by campers, as people were camping out there for the Rose Parade. Fortunately City of Pasadena has already cleaned up everything by the time we arrived. Ryan was a little tense in the beginning but was more relaxed after a little while.  Jamie looked absolutely gorgeous in her purple dress and they both looked so happy together.

Later we drove out to UCLA for the second half of the engagement shoot. UCLA was a special place for both Jamie and Ryan since they first met there and also graduated.  I’m also a Bruin alumni and it brought back so many memories since the campus has not changed much. Please stay tuned for the second half of the engagement session…..

I feel so fortunate to have won the third quarter wedding photography competition organized by Wedding Photojournalist Association. Although I’m only 17th placed under the category ‘Dancing‘, I’m a little proud of myself just because this is the first time I ever enter into a competition, and I was competing with award winning wedding photographers worldwide, including United States, England, Germany, Brazil and France. I will continue try to perfect my skills and 2010 will only be better than 2009. Thank you so much for your support!!