Archive for September, 2006

September 27th, 2006

Photographers Building Community

This last Monday night, 25 photographers from all over the Seattle area got together for dinner at the yummy Bizzarro Italien Cafe in Wallingford. My best friend from college, Jamie Irene, is one of the owners of this great place. She and Jack bought it almost a year ago (and they also own all the Caffe Ladros in town which is the best place for a vanilla latte! And she has her own line of custom purses and hats which is phenomenal, I seriously could go on and on about her! :) ).

Me, Jamie and Shelly

David Jay and Shelly Garcia were up from Southern CA, and they were so great to make time in their crazy schedule for a bunch of us in Seattle. DJ is an amazing guy in how much he gives to the photography community and also his incredible talent. He is ranked as one of the top 15 photojournalists in the world by WPJA. Shelly is co-founder of an amazing album design boutique type company. I can’t wait to send her some of our albums and see what magic she does!

David Jay, the beautiful Jennifer and her goofy, husband Brian Hartman of Photo Elan (a great husband/wife team who have done work for great publications like Elle Magazine.)

As I looked around the restaurant that night, I was so happy inside. We (Brian, myself and Jeff LaPlante) started the PUG groups in Seattle and Tacoma almost six months ago. Before these groups Brian and I didn’t really know many other photographers, and now I feel like we’ve been friends for years. It was so great to see every one having a good time, catching up, sharing helpful tips and just laughing.

The funniest part of all is when we tried to do a “big group photo.” You’d think that with how many group photos we all take at weddings, we’d be able to pull this off. Not even close! No one wanted to be in the front or be in it at all. :) It probably took six shots before we were paying attention and doing the right thing. :) See below!

One of our first six tries…

Another try…probably shot number 10. :)

And I’m still on the end laughing and not paying attention. :)

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September 25th, 2006

Tina and Will’s Wedding!

As promised, here is one of a handful of weddings that Me Ra Koh Photography has done in the last few weeks.

Tina and Will were a blast to work with. They’re a special couple to us because they literally booked us when we first started out. (even then they believed in our work)

It felt like their wedding day would never come, but it did. And Tina was beautiful!!

Check out their photos, and if you to see more take a peak at their slideshow too!

A handful of favorites…

One of my favorite “lacing the dress” shots ever! You’re awesome Brian! (my sweetie, the other half of Me Ra Koh Photography, and husband…for those of you who don’t know)

One of my favorite “bridesmaids” shots ever!

 

Tina and Will together before the ceremony.

 

Another great shot by Brian! I love his eye!!

 

My dad (who is Korean) used to ask me to cover my mouth when I laughed. That is how Korean women laugh, but I’m only half Korean and ended up with this loud, giggly laugh–sorry ahba!

Tina was so sweet when she laughed that I had to think this is what my dad was talking about!

But one of the best moments was when the girls decided to do the “kimchee squat” together. Seriously, that’s what they called it! :)

A small runaway before the bride came down the aisle.

The kiss!

I loved the natural light through the windows. It made every thing glow.

A bow to honor their family and friends for coming.

A quiet moment before Tina headed off to the reception.

Congrats you two! It was an honor to shoot your wedding and meet your family and friends!

Enjoy the slideshow!

love Me Ra and Brian

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September 23rd, 2006

To LA and NY and Back!

Me Ra Koh Photography had the craziest three weeks! I’m way behind on updating this blog, and I apologize to all of you who check in with us daily! And I’m also buried in emails and messages, so I promise to get back to all of you in the next week!

In less than a month, we’ve spoken at Pictage Partner Conference in LA, did a photoshoot in Santa Monica, flew home and shot a wedding in Bellingham, had Pascaline start kindergarten!, repacked after being home for three days and flew to the Big Apple for an amazing wedding in the Hamptons. PHEW!

It’s good to be home! :) Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be updating the blog every couple days with new images and slideshows from the different weddings and shoots we did in September! Stay tuned!

But in the meantime, check out our kids taking in Times Square! It was a bit to much stimulation for Blaze, knocked him right out. :) But Pascaline couldn’t get enough of it! :)

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September 11th, 2006

“Destination Maui” Trailer Release!!!

All of us at are super excited to release our first trailer for an upcoming video called “Destination Maui”!

To view, click the “play” arrow, and then hit “pause” right away and wait for the video to load (this way it won’t stop mid video :) ). When it’s done loading hit “play” and enjoy!

Brian and I hired Joshua Smith from , to follow us around as we shot the wedding for VH1′s My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding series. We though it’d be fun for clients to have an inside look at Brian and I shooting a wedding.

We know our clients are going to flip when they see Josh’s work, so we did the next obvious step…we asked Josh to join our team as an Associate Videographer for Me Ra Koh Photography. He said “YES!” :) Josh has an incredible video business in Louisiana already, but by being an associate he’s providing two exclusive video packages for our clients only. We’re super excited! Email us at mera@merakoh.com for more info.

The full video of “Destination Maui” will premier in January with interviews from different clients, Brian and I sharing more of our story, and other fun surprises. :)

We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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September 4th, 2006

Summer Days

This summer has been one of the best ever! With school starting back up tomorrow, it felt like it was our last summer day. And can I just say it was an AMAZING one! ;) 

It started with our kids playing this morning. They were taking turns with this ribbon, and the morning light coming in from behind them was breathtaking. I couldn’t help but shoot it.

After breakfast my two neighbors and I went for a 20 mile bike ride. It was fantastic! We live in the most beautiful place on earth. It’s this little waterfront community called “Old Town.” You can step out your front door, jump on your bike, and four blocks later be on the waterfront. The first five miles of the ride were along the water, and I couldn’t help but smile at how beautiful the scenery was. As I was leaving Brian snuck a couple shots of me with my bike and gear (and my new cycle glasses that he surprised me with yesterday-isn’t he a sweetie!).

In January I started training for triathlons, and Brian told our friends at dinner last night that “Triathletes are those personalities that are over the top. They don’t know when to stop in life. It’s like they swim first, and then of course they want to ride and then why stop their when you can run?” I totally laughed because that is my personality for sure! I wouldn’t call myself a triathlete by any means since I only started training in January, but I’m definitley the type that doesn’t know when to stop, especially when you could go so much farther! ;)

But the BEST part of training is how excited my kids are when they see me ride home. They come running out and jump on their bikes, and then the three of us ride around the block a couple times with Pascaline on her training wheels and Blaze on his tricycle. It’s awesome! Pascaline told me yesterday that someday she’s going to get up early with me and go ride when it’s still dark out. (I can’t wait!)

Here’s Blaze taking a “gold fish” break. All that riding works up his appetite! ;)

So if our day couldn’t get any better, it did at dinner time! Our other neighbor, to the right of us, has this great apple tree outside my kitchen window. Last week I asked
Mr. Ken if the kids and I could come and pick some apples for a pie or cobbler (if we promised to share our final product). He said sure! And then the week went by, and we never got over there. So guess who knocks on our back door today!

Mr. Ken!!! With an apple pie! He said he couldn’t wait any longer and went ahead and made it himself! ;) That’s the best result I’ve ever had with procrastinating on something! His pie was amazing, and the perfect ending to a wonderful summer! Thanks Ken! We love you!
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September 4th, 2006

Summer Days

This summer has been one of the best ever! With school starting back up tomorrow, it felt like it was our last summer day. And can I just say it was an AMAZING one! ;)

It started with our kids playing this morning. They were taking turns with this ribbon, and the morning light coming in from behind them was breathtaking. I couldn’t help but shoot it.

After breakfast my two neighbors and I went for a 20 mile bike ride. It was fantastic! We live in the most beautiful place on earth. It’s this little waterfront community called “Old Town.” You can step out your front door, jump on your bike, and four blocks later be on the waterfront. The first five miles of the ride were along the water, and I couldn’t help but smile at how beautiful the scenery was. As I was leaving Brian snuck a couple shots of me with my bike and gear (and my new cycle glasses that he surprised me with yesterday-isn’t he a sweetie!).

In January I started training for triathlons, and Brian told our friends at dinner last night that “Triathletes are those personalities that are over the top. They don’t know when to stop in life. It’s like they swim first, and then of course they want to ride and then why stop their when you can run?” I totally laughed because that is my personality for sure! I wouldn’t call myself a triathlete by any means since I only started training in January, but I’m definitley the type that doesn’t know when to stop, especially when you could go so much farther! ;)

But the BEST part of training is how excited my kids are when they see me ride home. They come running out and jump on their bikes, and then the three of us ride around the block a couple times with Pascaline on her training wheels and Blaze on his tricycle. It’s awesome! Pascaline told me yesterday that someday she’s going to get up early with me and go ride when it’s still dark out. (I can’t wait!)

Here’s Blaze taking a “gold fish” break. All that riding works up his appetite! ;)

So if our day couldn’t get any better, it did at dinner time! Our other neighbor, to the right of us, has this great apple tree outside my kitchen window. Last week I asked
Mr. Ken if the kids and I could come and pick some apples for a pie or cobbler (if we promised to share our final product). He said sure! And then the week went by, and we never got over there. So guess who knocks on our back door today!

Mr. Ken!!! With an apple pie! He said he couldn’t wait any longer and went ahead and made it himself! ;) That’s the best result I’ve ever had with procrastinating on something! His pie was amazing, and the perfect ending to a wonderful summer! Thanks Ken! We love you!
read more
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