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Haley and Hunter Engagement

November 12, 2018 by Josh Baker

We love to create engagement sessions that match our couple’s lifestyle. Haley and Hunter love the outdoors and are both sportsmen. We headed to a friends farm out near Little River for some outdoor sportsman engagement photos.

Outdoor Sportsman Engagement

Things kicked off with a little fishin’. Haley hooked a bass right off.

Hunter, very thoughtfully we thought, made sure to only catch a tiny bass. I’m sure he just didn’t want to overshadow Haley’s catch.

Fishing complete, our outdoor couple headed back to base camp and changed for the second half of their engagement session.

Getting Prettied Up

The bard wire contrasts with the beauty of Haley’s engagement ring. I liked how the rust and light blue of the corrugated sheet metal wall behind the ring complimented the ring. The barbed wire seemed fitting for this outdoor couple. Their friends farm had interesting hills, and erosion features.

Haley put on a beautiful flowing copper colored dress and Hunter went with the class: jeans, boots and a button down shirt. The rolling hills of eastern-central Texas, the fall colors and their outfits all go perfectly together.

Josh Baker

Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.

Josh is a Texas native and long time Pflugerville resident. He started his photography business in 2009 and has never looked back. His photo business even allowed him to be daddy-day-care before his two sons reached school age. Over the years his business has expanded to include just about every type of photography including automotive, editorial portraits, corporate events, sports and food. Through it all, he has continued to love wedding photography for genuine moment, the fast pace and the diversity of subjects it offers. Josh is a co-founder of North Austin Pfoutographic Society and a resident instructor at Precision Camera & Video in Austin, Tx.

http://www.azulox.com

Chris and Samantha – A Chapel Dulcinea Elopement

November 5, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

One thing we love is being the photographer for multiple family member’s weddings. Chris is the little brother of one of our brides, Stacy from a few years back. As with other multi-wedding families, its amazing how different each wedding is. Samantha and Chris took advantage of Chapel Dulcinea‘s free wedding chapel for their Chapel Dulcinea elopement and they only wanted photography of their ceremony and formal portraits. We showed up to document the most important part of their wedding day.

Lest you think Chris and Samantha weren’t excited about pictures, remember their soaked engagement session from earlier in the year.

Chapel Dulcinea Wedding Ceremony

There is something really wonderful about being a part of a wedding service, even from the outside. Services like this are full of genuine emotions and touching moments. Their simplicity serves to highlight the couple and the lifelong commitment they are making to each other.

Formal Portraits at a Chapel Dulcinea Elopement

Formal wedding photos can be stressful if not handled right. Everyone has to be wrangled into one location, posed, etc. We always try to make them fun and fast so the wedding party can get on with enjoying their big day. In this case, it was easy. Everyone was in such high spirits and it shows through in the pictures.

Once we finished the pictures of all the guests, we took a little time to make portraits of Chris and Samantha.

We work fast, but we also try to make the couples portraits relaxing. They are a chance for the couple to have a few minutes together “off stage” between their service and reception.

Chapel Dulcinea’s location south-west of Austin puts it in the hill country. The chapel can face great sunsets if the weather cooperates. With the overcast skies there wasn’t a sunset. We chose to use the path leading to the chapel for a nice portrait of the couple.

Andrew Fritz

Andrew is a wedding photographer that loves a good adventure.

http://AMadTrip.com

Danny and Caitlin’s Downtown Georgetown Halloween Engagement

October 29, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

Danny and Cat’s downtown Georgetown Halloween engagement is a great example to what Georgetown has to offer. I had a hard time picking which engagement photos to include in this blog. There were a lot of favorites. The couple were bursting with great energy, and it showed in their photos. They lucked out this evening with a spectacular sunset, with amazing colors and the perfect amount of clouds.

The Old Church

Danny and Cat own (and started) Sincerely Yours 1848 (SY48) just off the Georgetown square. It’s a cute boutique shop with unique clothes and gifts. Immediately next door is one of Preservation Georgetown’s Grace Heritage Center, housed in he historic Grace Episcopal Church.

The historic church is right in the middle of downtown Georgetown, surrounded by buildings and cars. With a little judicious use of shooting angle and lens selection I kept out those distractions.

Union on 8th Engagement Photos

Our second stop was the front wall of Union on 8th. Union on 8th is an old automotive garage turned wedding venue. We’ve shot weddings there before and the inside is funky and cool. Today we just made use of their distressed blue doors and cool metal wall.

VFW Park

We strolled though the old residential district near downtown (stopping to take a few photos along the way) and eventually ended up at VFW park along the San Gabriel river. It provided wide open skies to take advantage of the glowing orange sunset.

Monument Cafe

After sunset at the park we strolled back towards the Georgetown square and made a stop at the historic Monument Cafe. It’s a super cool art deco style building with in neon lights and a nice beer garden seating area.

Georgetown Halloween Engagement – The Murder of a Pumpkin

Danny and Cat told me that Halloween was their favorite holiday so we ended up in the back courtyard of their shop with a selection of victims. They went to work and I photographed.

It was a fun evening strolling around the streets of Georgetown, lined with historic buildings in the cool autumn evening air.

Andrew Fritz

Andrew is a wedding photographer that loves a good adventure.

http://AMadTrip.com

Mike and Kathie – A Palm Door on 6th Wedding

October 22, 2018 by Josh Baker

A lot of our recent wedding blogs have involved old running friends of mine. Mike is a long time friend from my days as a corporate drone and we trained and ran the 2006 San Diego marathon together. When Mike and Kathie decided to get married we were honored to be their wedding photographers. They had a Palm Door on Sixth wedding ceremony and reception, but before that, lets talk about wildflowers.

Spring Flowers at McKinney Falls

Mike and Kathie live out of town but had their wedding here because this is where most of their friends and family live. We didn’t get to do an engagement shoot, but we did set aside the day before the wedding for some fun pictures in the wild flowers at McKinney Falls.

Luckily the Texas wild flowers were still going strong in April. Their matching pink outfits, went perfectly with the yellow flowers and green of Texas in the spring time.

Flowers for Days

Kathie loves flowers. They were an important part of the wedding for her. We always try to highlight the things that are important to the couple. The Palm Door on Sixth wedding hall was decked out in so many beautiful bouquets it’s hard to know where to start. Their focal point was a large flower chandelier. Valerie Wolf of Davy Gray did and amazing job with all the flowers.

Mike and Kathie's Palm Door on Sixth wedding center pieces by Valerie Wolf of David Gray

Mike and Kathie's Palm Door on Sixth wedding center pieces backed by huge hanging flower chandelier by Valerie Wolf of David Gray

Mike and Kathie's Palm Door on Sixth wedding place setting featuring fern leaves.

Mike and Kathie's Palm Door on Sixth wedding flower chandelier designed by Valerie Wolf of David Gray

The Palm Door on Sixth Wedding Ceremony

Kathie and Mike had their Palm Door on Sixth wedding ceremony in the courtyard surrounded by flowers and under a clear blue Austin sky.

Palm Door Wedding Reception

Kathie’s love of flowers extended to edible flowers included with the wedding cake, cupcakes and drinks. The place settings even included fern leaf accents.

Mike and Kathie floral cupcakes at their Palm Door wedding.

Mike and Kathie flower inspired drink at their ATX wedding.

Mike and Kathie simple wedding cake with edible flowers.

With the formal part of the day over with, the party started. One of our favorite DJs, DJ Gatsby was there keeping the party going all evening.

Of course at, Kathie and Mike had to exit their Palm Door on Sixth wedding in a shower of flower petals and head to their hotel via an Austin rickshaw.

Josh Baker

Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.

http://www.azulox.com

Josh and Brittany 2018

October 15, 2018 by Josh Baker

Josh and Brittany had a Saint Patrick’s Day wedding at Hyde Park Presbyterian Church with a reception at the UT Alumni Center. It was a traditional affair with lots of family and friends. They even had green beer at their UT Alumni Center wedding reception.

Getting Ready

Not a First Look

Josh and Brittany wanted to stick to the tradition of not seeing each other before the wedding on their wedding day. They got creative with the interpretation though and had a short moment together before things kicked off. Josh just had to wear a blindfold.

Hyde Park Presbyterian Church Wedding Ceremony

Once upon a time Austin was a small town on the edge of the hill country. There were lots of small country churches like Hyde Park Presbyterian. Those that have survived have been surrounded and embedded in Austin. Hyde Park was built before 1900. It’s been around a long time. It’s a great place to start a life together.

Hyde Park is a small church and the inside is simple, with white walls and a simple alter. Everything is focused on the service.

Joshua and Brittany Wedding - A cute flower girl interrupts the ceremony to hand the bride something at Hyde Park Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX.

Waller Creek Bridge

Waller Creek runs just behind the UT Alumni Center and there is a cool old limestone pedestrian bridge that crosses it. We headed down under the bridge during the UT Alumni Center wedding for quick bride and groom portraits before their reception.

With recent rain there was some water standing in the creek. It’s always fun to play with reflections for bridal portraits and for portraits of the couple on their wedding day.

UT Alumni Center Wedding Reception

The main concourse of the UT Alumni Center provides a nice space for an event like this.

Some of our weddings are over the top, and others traditional. We love them all. An event like this with lots of good friends and family is a perfect way for the couple to start their new life together.

Josh Baker

Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.

http://www.azulox.com

Carl and Sarah – A Downtown Austin Engagement Session

October 8, 2018 by Josh Baker

Carl and Sarah met while running on the Rogue Elite team a few years back. They no longer live in Austin, but wanted their engagement photos to be a tour of some of their favorite Austin spots. I grabbed my gear and headed out with them for some downtown Austin engagement photo fun.

Downtown Austin Engagement

This one is so Austin it is pretty much obligatory on a downtown Austin engagement shoot. Done!

Zilker Park and the Long Center

Things kicked off for real down at Zilker park along the town lake water front. Austin’s skyline has changed a lot over the last few years and the cranes visible among the towers suggest that it isn’t slowing down. Running along the river (as Carl and Sarah so frequently did), they witnessed that change on a day by day basis one run at a time.

The hill beside the Long Center provides a clear view of downtown during sunset. It makes a nice location for photos of the couple with the ever changing Austin skyline.

Republic Square

Carl and Sarah like some of our more experimental (they used the word strange, but I’ll go with experimental) stuff. I’ve recently been playing with mixing color a lot more. By gelling our lights and then shifting the white balance of the photo we get interesting results. This is sort of like the cross processing of the digital photography age.

It’s not a traditional look, but we don’t feel confined by traditional looks. We headed up to the top of our favorite parking garage adjacent to Republic Square.

Frankly, with all the changes in Austin, we are surprised this garage is still there. Regardless, we’ll take advantage of it while we can. It can provide an interesting industrial location for some shoots, but in this case, we were interested in the view of surrounding buildings.

The Paramount Theater

Our final stop was the Paramount Theater on Congress Ave. We continued the experimental direction and had some fun with the downtown lights.

Josh Baker

Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.

http://www.azulox.com

Allison and Gabe – Buena Vista Endurance Camp Destination Wedding

October 1, 2018 by Josh Baker

I’ve know Allison and Gabe for a long time, since my days running with rogue in Ausitn. It was a privilege to tag along on their DIY Colorado destination wedding. Their intimate wedding was held at their friends running retreat Camp Endurance in Buena Vista, Colorado.

A DIY Colorado Destination Wedding

Allison and Gabe are runners and co-founders of Rogue Expeditions. Having a wedding at an endurance running camp made perfect sense. The location is pretty spectacular with the adobe house anchoring the large property.

Everyone Pitches In

Small and intimate DIY weddings are some of our favorites. A group of friends and family comes together. Everyone pitches in. It is the essence of what a great wedding should be with none of the extra fanfare that accompanies so many weddings today. Just good friends and good times to start a marriage.

I love the custom stole with pictures of Allison and Gave on it. It adds an nice and unique twist.

The Ceremony

I love the gidy excitement of intimate weddings like this. The relaxed atmosphere gives so much more space for spontaneous moments between the couple and between the couple and the guests.

One thing about ceremonies like this one, you never know what the weather is going to do. Allison and Gabe ended up with overcast dramatic clouds which is a win.

It is kind of hard to beat the backdrop at a location like this up in the mountains in Colorado.

A Laid-Back Reception

As you might expect at an intimate DIY wedding like this, the reception was pretty laid-back.

Allison looks mischievous during the cake cutting.

Allison smashes cake on Gabe's face at their Colorado wedding.

After the (messy) cake based fun, everyone just hung out and chilled. It was an evening of good times, good food and drink and good friends.

Josh Baker

Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.

http://www.azulox.com

Meagan and Austin’s Landa Park Engagement

September 24, 2018 by Josh Baker

Growing up in Seguin we sort of took Landa Park for granted. There is nothing better on a hot summer day than a dip in the cool head waters of the Comal river that originates in Landa Park. Austin and Meagan are from New Braunfels and Landa looms large for them too. We headed there for their Landa Park engagement photos.

A History with Landa Park

Meagan grew up watching her dad play at evening dances in the park at the Landa Park Dance Slab so of course we had to stop there. A lot of musicians have played there since 1990 when it was built. Landa was their local play ground and swimming hole.

Landa Park Engagement Photos

The spring itself is ecologically sensitive with several endemic and endangered species calling it home. We stayed on the bank and rocks in the area around the spring mouth. It is still quite beautiful.

In the Comal River

Even in April it is warm in Texas so getting in the water was a pretty easy call during the engagement shoot. This wasn’t really a full adventure engagement but it is nice to get off the beaten path a bit.

Josh Baker

Josh loves a good adventure and some of his favorite wedding and engagement shoots have involved “getting crazy” or going somewhere special to the couple.

http://www.azulox.com

Blog

Outdoor Sportsman Engagement

Getting Prettied Up

Chapel Dulcinea Wedding Ceremony

Formal Portraits at a Chapel Dulcinea Elopement

The Old Church

Union on 8th Engagement Photos

VFW Park

Monument Cafe

Georgetown Halloween Engagement – The Murder of a Pumpkin

Spring Flowers at McKinney Falls

Flowers for Days

The Palm Door on Sixth Wedding Ceremony

Palm Door Wedding Reception

Getting Ready

Not a First Look

Hyde Park Presbyterian Church Wedding Ceremony

Waller Creek Bridge

UT Alumni Center Wedding Reception

Downtown Austin Engagement

Zilker Park and the Long Center

Republic Square

The Paramount Theater

A DIY Colorado Destination Wedding

Everyone Pitches In

The Ceremony

A Laid-Back Reception

A History with Landa Park

Landa Park Engagement Photos

In the Comal River

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