June 2009

Megan and Garrett Haake Wedding – Dallas, Texas

I had the pleasure of photographing Megan and Garrett Haake wedding in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, May 9, 2009. The wedding ceremony was in the beautiful Perkins Chapel on the campus of SMU and the reception was at the Belo Mansion.

A good time was had by all, and I have the images to prove it!

Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope

During early May I had the privilege of again working for Roberta and Howard Ahmanson photographing the reinstallation of the stain glass windows in the chapel at the Orange County Rescue Mission, Village of Hope in Tustin by Danish artist Peter Brandes. He was also here to install stained glass windows in the new Ahmanson home which I also photographed. The best part was to get the whole story behind each piece from Peter.
The Village of Hope is a 200-person residential facility for homeless families located at the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Base. The Ahmanson’s have been long-time supporters of the OC Rescue Mission and were a big part of helping to build the Village of Hope. https://www.rescuemission.org/

Tour de Force: A Dance Spectacular

A whole host of Russian ballet stars put on an amazing one night only show in Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center last month.
I have had the opportunity while working at the OCPAC for the last 8 years to photograph many great dance programs, and this was one of the best. Check out more about this show and others to come by visiting the OCPAC website: www.ocpac.org.

Jane Griffin, PhD.

Congratulations to our “niece”, Jane Griffin, who received here PhD from UCI this last week. After the usual boring ceremony, but we had a great party on the beach that was attended by lots of family and friends.
Jane is the daughter of our dear friends Wayne and Susie Griffin who live on Catalina Island. Susie is one of the Innkeepers at the Inn on Mt Ada, www.innonmtada.com which was the old Wrigley Mansion and is now a four star six room bed and breakfast. While Wayne heads up the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau, www.catalinachamber.com.
As many of you know, I have been teaching an extension class at UCI over the last 8 years. So, over the last 5 years as she complete her studies, Jane and I would have dinner together at In n’ Out Burger on the UCI campus before I would teach my class. We would solve all the world’s problems by the time I had to go to class, and so I will miss my “dinner dates” with Jane as she now moves on to teach at the University of Indiana.
All the best Jane!

ACES Photography Club

Last year I had the pleasure of judging the print competition at the ACES Photography Club in Garden Grove, and this year they invited me to speak. www.aces-photo.com
I choose to speak about something that I know a lot about, but is rarely talked about, Low Light Photography.
With all types of photography, at the beginning and end of the day, inside and out, you work with low light all the time.
The room was full and everyone said they enjoyed the program. I enjoyed talking to this very nice, passionate group of photographers and hope to have a chance to do it again.
Look for an announcement soon about more of my private classes held here at my home studio over the summer. www.douggiffordphoto.com

PPA International Print Competition

June 13-17 found me heading to Atlanta, Georgia, to judge the International Print Competition for the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) www.ppa.com. I was one of 40 judges selected from a total list of only 125 qualified jurors who, over a four-day period, judged over 5,000 entries from PPA’s 20,000 plus members. To become part of this esteemed group of jurors, I first had to become a Master Craftsmen Photographer with PPA, then judge for many years at the local, state, and regional competitions, followed by completing a series of judging classes, and finally a review of my background and submissions of my work for review by other judges. Over the years, I have also had many opportunities to judge the international print competition for the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). By judging these international print competitions, I get to see thousands of prints from photographers around the world. This allows me to stay in touch with the latest trends and styles in photography and, most of all, to always provide fresh perspectives and ideas for my clients.

Morning Light is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray

Morning Light is a documentary sailing movie by Roy E. Disney. I had a chance to work on it shooting stills with my friend, and long-time yacht photographer, Sharon Green (www.ultimatesailing.com). It is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

The movie is about a young crew of sailors that are on the yacht Morning Light in the Trans Pac Yacht Race that sails from Los Angeles, California to Honolulu, Hawaii every other year. The movie follows 15 young sailors through the selection process in August 2005, their training in Hawaii and Long Beach, and sailing the race in July 2006. http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/morning-light.html

Friends of Dorothy

June 11, 2009, found me at the Impulse for Spring Fashion Show for the Friends of Dorothy Guild at Macy’s in South Coast Plaza. The guild has raised a whopping $245,500 to date for Aids Services Foundation.

As you can see from the other posts in this blog, I have been supporting this organization proudly for the last year and an half.

I hope to see you at the next event! For information: www.ocasf.org/dorothy.htm

Sad News

Chloe Blom lost her battle with cancer and passed away on Friday, June 19th. She and her husband, John, have been dear friends and colleagues for the last 28 years. For 30 years, John and Chloe have owned and operated John L. Blom Photography in Corona del Mar.
Chloe started out only running the business side, but soon picked up a camera and started producing some beautiful images. They were a great team at providing some of the best photographic services in the country.
Chloe was very loved and will be deeply missed by all of us who knew her.
Our prayers are with John and the family.