Jan Garcia

Della and Richard | The Ambassador Campus, Pasadena Wedding

Jan Garcia — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:46:17 +0000

The Ambassador Campus in Pasadena is one of those really fun places to shoot in the area. Really cool buildings and great landscape everywhere. We had a great time with Della and Richard wandering the campus and was able to photograph some great moments with them and their friends and family. And thanks to Richard’s buddies who brought the cigars…I love cigar shots:) Congrats to Della and Richard! It was an amazing day! Here are a few highlights:

Jennifer and David : San Francisco Engagement Session

Jan Garcia — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:35:05 +0000

I feel like in the past few years that San Francisco is our second home. We’ve been coming up so often that I’m getting pretty familiar with where everything it. Which is cool because I love it there. Pretty crazy because it’s so amazingly different from Orange County. And, it’s also so nice to have family in the city that we can routinely stay with! Thanks Rob and Chloe :) But it was great to meet up with Jennifer and David as we took an afternoon to shoot in and around the city. We started near the de Young Museum and made a quick trek to the Marina neighborhood for some quick shots around the streets. It was freezing cold, but we had fun with it! Their wedding is coming up really soon and it’s back to SF again :) Here are a few highlights:

ISPWP Winter 2009 Photo Contest Winners

Jan Garcia — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:23:39 +0000

We are proud to be a member of the ISPWP (International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers). It is one of best and most respected on-line directory of wedding photographers. And we are also very excited to announce that we placed in the Top 10 for the Winter 2009 Photo Contest!! It’s such an honor to be on the list with such amazing photographers from all over the world. There is some crazy talent there and it’s so cool to see our name along with them. Here are our images that placed! Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible!

Placed #2 in “Bridal Portrait” Category

#2 in “Framing the Subject” Category

#7 in “First Dance” Category

#11 in “Venue or Location” Category

Jennifer and Brady : Newport Beach Engagement Session

Jan Garcia — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:36:10 +0000

Went out to the Wedge in Newport Beach to take Jennifer and Brady’s engagement portraits. It was pretty crowded, but we managed to get some cool shots while avoiding most of the So Cal winter beach goers. And when I say winter, I am talking about the 70 degree type winter. It was beautiful! Their wedding is coming up really soon and I can’t wait! Here’s a few highlights:

Sharon and Naveen : Orange County Wedding

Jan Garcia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:45:15 +0000

The first time I saw Sharon and Naveen together was for their engagement session. I still remember seeing how awesome they were together. Their wedding day was a great continuation of that moment. It was a great day full of emotion. Tears of joy, huge smiles of happiness and an amazingly jumpin’ afternoon party. Sharon is coming all the way from Australia to live here in SoCal!! And it was an honor to be a part of their celebration. They had their ceremony at Zion Christian Center and the reception at the Double Tree Orange County. Thanks to a great team of vendors! Monique Atwell of A Signature Wedding who was such a treat to work with. The awesome Jason Young of Garner Films. Jason is the best…awesome to working with him. More thanks to Great Dane Baking Co, my mom’s favorite baker :) and Tribe DJ for an awesome, awesome party.

Toni and Joel : Oceanside Wedding Photography

Jan Garcia — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:11:30 +0000

It’s pretty awesome when people from other parts of the country come to Southern California to get married. Toni and Joel came all the way from Ohio and they were married down by the beach in Oceanside. It was a cold winter evening and the clouds brought the dramatic look. And we always loved working with Joan Burns and her crew. DJ Bumps, Brian Bowman, brought the music and always does a great job taking care of the party. Congrats to Toni and Joel!!

Hong Kong Trip in iPhone Photos

Jan Garcia — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:45:04 +0000

On our way back from Phuket, Thailand, we stopped over in Hong Kong for 3 days. I had visited once with my Dad but I was only 10 years old, so I really don’t remember anything from then. My overall impression of Hong Kong is that it’s an awesome little city! Check out some of the pics below from my iPhone with a few descriptions of our trip.

The first photo is from the top of Victoria Peak, one of the main tourist attractions. It was hazy but you could still see a bit of Kowloon across the harbor. Hong Kong Island is right below us.
There was free WiFi everywhere! Which was pretty awesome. I think Tey is playing Words with Friends on her phone :)

The food everywhere in Hong Kong is pretty great but it isn’t that cheap. It’s pretty comparable to food in the states, just a tad bit cheaper. Well, this is coming from Thailand, where we bought a big plate of amazing Pad Thai from this lady in street for $1.50! Notice, the non-english menu…we had to find some places w/ pictures. But we had an amazing Peking Duck. Typhoon shelter style spicy crab, seriously great! And some of the best bbq chinese food I’ve had.

Some more goodies. That round plate is a fast food place called Pepper Lunch…probably one of the best fast food places ever. I hear there is one in NorCal. And that drink is coconut milk with mango and tiny tapioca balls. I had this everyday! So awesome.

It was definitely not a large place so getting around was super easy thanks to their awesome subway system. It really didn’t matter where you stayed in and around Hong Kong Island or Kowloon (mainland). Everything seemed like it was 15 minutes away by subway, which by the way was fast, super efficient, clean and non-stinky. Try saying that about your local transit system.

We went to the night markets every night. There’s the usual fake LV and Rolex. But the clothes were tempting since I’m not the biggest guy and everything there fit me perfectly! Didn’t too too much buying…we even ended up bringing a ton of HK Dollars home.

And last but not least, my favorite road! Nathan Road is the main avenue that goes North/South in Kowloon. It’s a crazy busy street that always made me think of my little dude.

Jordi and Sean : St. John Vianney and Lido Island Yacht Club Wedding

Jan Garcia — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:30:47 +0000

Hello from Hong Kong International Airport!! Thank goodness for free Wifi!

–

Just wanted to do a quick post on Jordi and Sean’s wedding! We had the pleasure of joining Jordi, Sean and their awesome friends and family for their wedding in Newport Beach. Their ceremony took place at St. John Vianney in Balboa and their reception was at the Lido Island Yacht Club and it was a great, great day. We had an amazing pink sunset that had everyone coming out to check it out…it was fantastic. Congrats to Jordi and Sean!!

Nolo Atelier Fashion Shoot

Jan Garcia — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:00:04 +0000

Back in December, we did a fashion shoot for Nolo Atelier, a men’s clothing line started by my friend Bryan. We shot down in San Diego at the Hard Rock Hotel and it was an amazing day of collaboration by everyone involved and I loved it! We don’t do this very often, but it totally got my juices flowing and I think a have desire to pursue some more fashion work in the future.

Tey and I led the photo team along with Mutya, who was assisting us that day. She took most of the behind the scenes video clips in the highlight clip below. As you will see, Nolo is going for that rockstar image, so it was definitely fun playing around with different ideas. Bryan already had a vision for the photos and style so we worked together to make sure we achieved that. We came out with some pretty cool images and learned a ton in the process. Bryan’s line looked awesome and he is raring to get them out there. So, look out for Nolo Atelier!! Coming soon to a boutique shop near you.

Click play below to view a quick behind the scenes video of us shooting.

And here are a few of my favorite images from the day.

Anthi and Long : Laguna Beach Engagement Session

Jan Garcia — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:32:04 +0000

I met up with Anthi and Long last week in Laguna Beach and I had a blast taking their photos. They were really excited and were ready to go! I love the combo of woodsy and beach stuff…it just feels like such a complete shoot. And it totally shows off the type of landscape we have here in Orange County. These two spots are less than 10 mins from each other…I love it here! Their wedding is coming up really soon in March and it should be great! Here’s a few favorites:

Angela and Ty : Newport Beach Marriott Wedding Photography

Jan Garcia — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:03:16 +0000

It’s always a treat for us to go back to the Newport Beach Marriott and it was one of those memorable days where everything went just right. Angela and Ty are such an awesome couple, both so super nice and up for all kinds of photos. We had a great time looking for some new photo spots and we got some of my favorite shots of the year. Thanks to the crew at the Marriott for doing their usual exemplary job making the day just right. We had a great team of vendor, too! Fleuretica with gorgeous florals, Elysium Productions doing their usual amazing video work, Theresa Huang doing some awesome makeup and hair and DJ Jack Hou of The Music Man Productions running the music and lights. What an awesome team! Here’s some highlights from the day:

Samantha and Anthony : Manhattan Beach Engagement Session

Jan Garcia — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:18:59 +0000

Sam and Tony are getting married at end of this month in a most exotic location…Phuket, Thailand. AND we are honored to be the ones to photograph their wedding!!! It’s going to be a beyond amazing event and we can’t wait to be there with them along with their close friends and family. For their engagement session, we spent an afternoon with them in Manhattan Beach right before they went back home to China, where they’ve been living for the past year. They also took us to the best Chinese-owned Italian deli :) in LA which was deee-lish! Here’s some highlights:

Judy and Michael : Pacific Palms Wedding

Jan Garcia — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:27:49 +0000

First post of 2010! Where has the last few weeks gone?!

We had a great time with Judy and Michael on their wedding at the Pacific Palms Resort. Judy looked amazing and she did such a great job organizing everything. Her teacher skills really came out in full force :) It was such a fun day of shooting with two of the nicest people ever! We also got to see some old friends which is always a treat. Our friend Jay from Red Cheese Photobooths was there keeping everyone happy. If anyone is looking for a photo booth, definitely check them out. Also, thanks to Joy Loo from Joyous Memories Events for all her help. It was a fabulous day!

Post Christmas Greetings!

Jan Garcia — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:52:53 +0000

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a great weekend of family fun and it was great to just spend time with the kids and other visiting family members. I didn’t even turn on my MacPro! Now, the iPhone…that’s another story. I got hooked on the Words with Friends game over the weekend. But at least, I consider it a brain training game :) But, I did my usual mix of online shopping and Christmas Eve mall madness. Thank god for Amazon and their Prime two day shipping! The kids got a ton of stuff and we’ll be doing our usual store-in-the-closet-until-a-later-time method.

Just wanted to share our Christmas card for this year. Thanks to ProDPI for printing them out so fast! Their smooth matte paper is pretty sweet.

Front:

Back:

Now it’s back to work. Still got lots to do before the new year!

Megan and Chris : Rancho Las Lomas Wedding

Jan Garcia — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:08:48 +0000

Here’s another one at Rancho Las Lomas. Good thing, we love it there! :) We had the honor of joining Megan and Chris for their super fun wedding. They looked pretty awesome and we had a blast shooting portraits with them. Rancho has so many cool little spots that it’s always a treat to find the new ones. They had a fun, fun, fun group and I’m sure DJ Brian Thomas Lee of Elevated Pulse had a good time mixing it up for them. Here are some highlights:

Cindy and Will…and Family!

Jan Garcia — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:45:50 +0000

Shooting family portraits are not usually our forte, but when we get the opportunity to do them, it’s always a cool little challenge for us. Cindy and Will are getting married next year and they had a big family gathering to celebrate the engagement. We had some time with the happy couple and we also took our biggest group photo ever! Big groups = not easy. Secret weapon was a HUGE ladder!!

Cathy and Frank : Ranch Las Lomas Wedding

Jan Garcia — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:38:11 +0000

Another day at one of the coolest and most unique venues in Orange County. We love coming back to Rancho Las Lomas! It was great to see Cathy and Frank along with their super fun friends and family. There was A LOT of dancing and it made for a ton of fun pics. Thanks to Melinda Chu who helped the day go by flawlessly, 24 Carrots for the delish food and Essence Entertainment for keeping the crowd happy and dancing. Here are some highlights:

Julie and Larry : The Westin Pasadena

Jan Garcia — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:53:11 +0000

Julie and Larry are so much fun. They really know how to let loose and have fun with each other…such a great quality to have. Everything took place at The Westin Pasadena, a very cool location right there in the Plaza Las Fuentes. Pretty cool spots for photos! It’s always wonderful to work with Carolyn Chen and her awesome crew at The Special Day. Their ball room looked so great! Also, great to see Gina and Tommy from Mille Fiori Floral Design...they never desappoint. Here we go:

Sharon and Naveen : Orange County Engagement Session

Jan Garcia — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:13:37 +0000

It was a lovely, cloudy day for Sharon and Naveen’s engagement session. I was happy that the sun peeked out for a moment and we were able to get a good variety of images with the sun and that great soft winter light. Sharon and Naveen have such a great chemistry…it really was a pretty effortless shoot. With their great smiles and great stares, I was was clicking like a fool. Sharon just moved from Australia and they will be getting married in 2 weeks, our last wedding for the wonderful year of 2009!

Here are some highlights:

Featured in The Knot Magazine, Spring/Summer 2010 Issue

Jan Garcia — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:47:55 +0000

I’m happy to share that Shanel and David’s wedding that we photographed last year at the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook was chosen as one of the featured weddings in The Knot’s current issue for Spring/Summer 2010. It was such a great wedding for a great couple and they had it all. Awesome details, the infamous Scrablle cake and some amazing friends and family that kept the party rocking all night! Check out their original blog post. Here is what it looked like in print. Check it out at your local magazine source! Page 90 :)

Note: We did not photograph the cover image.