Mirza went to UCLA and Anthony went to USC, but when they met six years ago they didn’t let the standard school rivalry get in the way of getting together.  They both love their Alma mater though, so when it came time to plan their engagement session they instantly knew they wanted photos at both schools.  Both USC and UCLA have amazing campuses, so Felicia and I happily agreed to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon wandering about these schools.

Fortunately there weren’t any hardcore fans around when Anthony threw on his USC jersey at the UCLA campus.

Congrats again Mirza and Anthony! We can’t wait for your wedding!

Not too long ago, I was just explaining to someone why the movie industry moved to Hollywood: because, unlike New York, Southern California has awesome weather where you could make movies all year round (sunlight = film exposure). The same wonderful climate here also means that Felicia and I rarely have to worry about rescheduling shoots due to the weather. Well,  it happened that it was raining when we first met Meghan & Josh for their consultation, and it rained all the way as we drove to San Diego for their engagement session too.

Thankfully we left Burbank real early in case of traffic, and by the time Felicia and I finished our delicious pork cheek ramen, the angry skies had cleared up, and Meghan & Josh soon arrived chirpy & excited for their shoot. Kudos to Meghan for being such a trooper because it was really chilly out. So chilly that Felicia was very sad she did not bring her expedition grade North Face parka along for the shoot. Don’t judge her: she moved from the tropics.

We started at Seaport Village in San Diego before walking to the USS Midway and took our turn among the unceasing line of tourists at the well-known statue of  a sailor kissing a nurse (apparently its proper name is “Unconditional Surrender”, and the nurse depicted attended its unveiling). Very apt for these two, seeing as Josh was leaving for another military assignment just a couple of days after this shoot.

Thanks guys for being so awesome to work with. Looking forward to your wedding in July!

On Christmas Eve, I was in my Dad’s backyard, drowsy from a food coma and was being coerced into playing yet another game of croquet, when my phone rang. It was Michelle, whose engagement pictures we shot in the Nevadan desert and the glitz of The Strip in Vegas. Her best friend, Juna, was visiting LA from Jakarta Indonesia with her fiancé Whitson, and they were hoping we could squeeze them into our schedule before they flew home in a few days.

Thankfully, besides an obscene amount of feasting with the family on the calendar, I had no other shoots scheduled.

We met with Juna & Whitson for a shoot to capture the sights of downtown Los Angeles, and I was very impressed by their outfit changes: Juna had three awesome gowns for maximum dramatic effect, and Whitson was not to be outdone, picking up several Hugo Boss suits and new shoes while shopping the day before to keep up with his lady. Michelle tagged along as driver & chaperon and updated Juna’s hair & make-up for each outfit change. Thanks Michelle!

And… the last shot while we were walking back to the car. Camera bag as tripod = MacGyver win!

Justin and Christa are freaking cool. No two ways about it, they may not be LA natives, but they have certainly taken wholeheartedly to the lifestyle.   Justin is a young filmmaker and within minutes of meeting, he and I digressed into talk about cameras, lenses and all the other image-creating paraphernalia whilst we were supposed to be talking about their wedding day.  Our ladies just rolled their eyes and knowingly put up with our likeminded obsessions.   Eventually we did get to talking about their upcoming wedding day and shortly after, we planned their engagement session for an afternoon in Franklin Canyon Park followed by a sunset stroll around Venice Beach.  Felicia and I had a great time getting to know these two and are already looking forward to their Mountain Mermaid wedding in May.

The late afternoon winter sunlight was epic! Definitely one of my favorite things about shooting this time of year.

Congrats again to you both, thanks for being such great sports, and for the post-session beers.  Felicia and I can’t wait to be at your wedding in May!

Eileen & Trinidad are friends of Cassandra & Javier, and I can see why: All 4 of these awesome people are super easy-going and fun to be around!

We started off our photo session at a sushi bar where Eileen & Trinidad first met. I love being able to shoot at a place of sentimental value for our clients, and even better yet when they’re on a first name basis with the owner so we get to take pictures before it’s open to other patrons!

After a run of the sushi bar – and after I had sufficiently manhandled Trinidad’s sushi roll for the shot above, I let them eat this roll – we headed east to Highland Springs Resort for the second half of their shoot.

Thanks for such a fun day, and congrats again to you both. We look forward to capturing your big day next July!

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon I packed my cameras and wife into the car for a drive up PCH.  Felicia and I were on our way to El Matador State Beach to meet Chrissy and John for the first time to shoot their engagement session.  They are getting married next July in downtown, so we suggested we meet at this rustic beach for something totally different.  What I didn’t take into account was that there would be no less that 12 other photographers on the beach shooting family, engagement, band, scenery and just about any other photography you could imagine.  The beach was a veritable studio which fortunately provide enough nooks and crannies for everyone to shoot in. Chrissy and John we’re totally chill and dodged photographers like they were celebrities. Never even blinking at all the cameras.

It was right around this time when my camera went “click, chunk, click, TH-Chunk!” followed by a series if gasps and weezes before it gave me an “Err 99″ and the shutter completely died. I popped the lens off and looked inside to see that the shutter was looking like a wadded up ball of aluminum foil.   The last 9 frames looked like this.

For years I have always carried backups for our backups but this is the first time we ever had a piece of gear fail.  Figuring it’s just part of the business, I tossed that body in my camera bag, pulled another camera out and kept shooting.  A couple days later, I dropped the camera off at Canon in Irvine, they gave me a loaner camera (one of the benefits of Canon Professional Services) and they promised to have it back to factory condition in 48 hours.  Sweet.

The sunset quickly became epically Californian and as my white skin slowly took on a pink cast our wonderful couple started getting their feet wet.

Congrats again to you both! See you again soon!

Sean and Amber were sent our way by Matt and Amber a few months back (Sean and Matt are good friends and refer to their respective ladies as “my Amber” whenever talking amongst themselves).

When we originally planned to meet with Sean and Amber,  Amber was out for lunch with a friend the day before our scheduled meeting. They were discussing wedding planning and Amber mentioned they had a meeting with a photographer (me) the next evening.  Her friend, Kelly, immediately told her not to book anyone yet because they “have to” check out this other photographer she knows.  ”What’s his name?” Amber asked.

“Robert Paetz.” Kelly replied.

Sheer awesomeness when I have to start competing with myself for referrals.

Anyhow, Sean and Amber met Felicia and I at Caspers Regional Park just outside of San Juan Capistrano for their engagement shoot.  The weather was perfect and the bugs numerous on this languid summer day, but other than a few wasted frames of Sean swatting gnats like crazy, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend an afternoon.

Congrats again Sean and Amber, and thanks for being so much fun to shoot!  We’ll see you next month for your big day!

Before I met Felicia and she beat me into submission to force an honest man out of me (she tries, but I doubt she’s succeeding…), I was fresh out of college, bartending, and being my raucous, rambunctious self.

During those crazy years, I had a bunch of bar regulars, some of whom followed my blog when I traded in the shakers and martini glasses for some round-the-world traveling – hence the title of this blog: Mom Says I’m Running Away.

Now, fast forward 6 years: I get a call from Pete, and I’m totally shocked that he actually got referred to me by another long-long-ago bar regular who STILL follows my work! I guess my transition from a life of debauchery to one as a married, semi-grown-up (sort of) is still interesting enough to keep people reading?

So anyway. Pete and Cindy are getting married in beautiful Napa Valley next month, and Cindy suggested a shoot in Ojai, which according to my wife, makes her want to do yoga.

Pete and Cindy both work for Porsche, so one of the perks was having access to a bevy of these beautiful vehicles besides their own. For their shoot, Pete brought out a flaming red Porsche 911 Turbo. (By the way, we verified with the professionals that it’s Por-sche, not Porsch, FYI.)

Post-shoot, we had a super fun (and delicious) dinner with Pete and Cindy, and we could’ve hung out all night if not for the waitstaff giving us dirty looks as we were the last people left in the restaurant. Thanks Pete & Cindy for being so awesome and fun. Can’t wait for your wedding weekend!

Michael and Genna are long-time sweethearts who have been together since they were 16. And throughout the years, visiting the OC Fair has been an annual highlight. When it came to deciding on a location for their engagement pictures, Michael & Genna decided without hesitation that the Fair would be the best choice.

They chose wisely, as the four of us had an absolute blast just running around for three hours, taking advantage of the myriad of backdrops despite the heat and the crowds.

On a side note… cotton candy is no longer just pink and swirled on a white paper cone. Instead, it comes in a 3 colored variety pack and smooshed up in a plastic bag… FAIL! We had to improvise and use a few plastic straws as a handle, but it was nowhere as fluffy & wonderful as the days of old.

Michael and Genna said this ring toss was ‘their’ game, and Genna always won a prize. Well, Felicia and I must have distracted them with our incessant shooting this year. Sorry guys.

Though they didn’t win at the ring toss, Michael showed some superb marksmanship as he out-squirted the competition to win Genna the coveted Hello Kitty she had wanted all night.

Thanks Michael & Genna for being such great sports and suggesting an awesome location! We had so much fun and look forward to your 11/11/11 wedding!

“BALLOONS!” my wife exclaimed as she saw Alisa and John unloading in the parking lot of Crystal Cove State Park.

I gathered Felicia was obviously excited about the balloons, and I was excited because the balloons meant this couple had come ready to have fun, and being surrounded by fun loving people who are excited to be a part of creating great imagery is one of the reasons I love what I do.

John had contacted me a few weeks back about shooting his and Alisa’s wedding next summer and to see if we could get their engagement session scheduled in the next week or two. Seeing as he and Alisa are in the unfortunate throes of a long distance relationship, and she had to return to med school in New Orleans soon, we needed to make it happen quickly.  I instantly related with them and let him knew we understood what they are going through (Felicia and I did the trans-Pacific long distance thing for the better part of 2 years), bounced a few location ideas off of them and got their session scheduled at Crystal Cove.

Needless to say the balloons were just the tip of the iceberg in this couples fun loving quotient. Within minutes of meeting, Alisa (an ex-gymnast) was cartwheeling down the path in front of us and John was throwing her over his shoulder to carry her away.  Felicia and I were hustling to keep up throughout their session.   When we got to these giant boulders on the beach they both started climbing with no prompting from me.

John and Alisa are an awesome couple to work with and we are looking forward to their wedding next year.  Congrats again to you both!