zulufoto blog

Mike + Melinda = Married! Chicago Wedding Photographer

bryan@zulufoto.com — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:36:04 +0000

I first met with Mike and Melinda last year and they told me they had a colorful wedding planned out. Of course, when I hear color, my ears perk up. Then I find they’re going to be having their wedding at Carnival and I insist on shooting their wedding. Yes, I had to have those colors in my portfolio. It turns out they serve a pretty tasty meal too. The wedding was awesome, one of my best of the season. The weather was great during our outdoors trek and the shots inside were dramatic and full of flare, just like Mike and Melinda. And in they even went to Argentina for their honeymoon. Jealous. Here’s a sneak peak!

Reception venue: Carnival

Event Planning: Designer Event Chicago

Entertainment: Fig Media

Flowers: Flora Chicago

Kathy + Scott = Married!! Chicago Wedding Photographer

bryan@zulufoto.com — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:23:23 +0000

A couple months ago I shot an engagement session in San Francisco with these two. We had lots and lots of fun and some….well, let’s just say we saw some “interesting” things. Google Baker Beach and nude sunbathing and you’ll get an idea of what I’m referring to. Flash forward to the wedding, which was hosted at the Sofitel. This wedding was among the most beautiful I’ve ever shot and the whole thing, from the getting ready stuff to the ceremony and finally at the reception was just so scenic and beautiful. Luckily we had an amazing fall day with beautiful soft light. I think the results speak for themselves (kudos to Lola Event Productions for the flawless execution!). Well done, Kathy and Scott. And enjoy your time in the Bay area

Reception: Sofitel Chicago

Event Planners: LOLA Event Planning

Entertainment: Associates Band

Rachel + Darren = Married! Chicago wedding photographer

bryan@zulufoto.com — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:17:52 +0000

If you follow my blog, you might remember my coverage of Rachel and Darren’s engagement session earlier in the spring. Flash forward several months and the now we have a wedding…my how time flies! You might also recall that I’ve been good friends with Rachel for many years (and maybe more than one tipsy karaoke session at 3am). So it was an honor to shoot her wedding. She met Darren several years ago – he was from NYC and she lived here in Chicago. Well, I guess they liked each other enough for him to convince her to move to the Big Apple – so off my karaoke buddy went. (sadness ensued!). I kept asking her when Darren would pop the question. I mean, I’d ponied up by then and asked my girlfriend (whom I had met AFTER she moved to NYC) to marry me and we had already been official for over a year when they broke the news! It’s about time Darren wised up

Anyway, the wedding was at the BEAUTIFUL Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier. Samantha and her team did an awesome job and there were no hiccups with the event. The getting ready stuff took place at Palmer House. Here’s a few samples from the day!

Jill + Michael = Married! Philadelphia wedding photographer

bryan@zulufoto.com — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:05:17 +0000

Jill and I go way back. Way way back. Not to date myself but we go back to band camp. That’s right, I was a band nerd (at least I played in the drum line, not quite as nerdy as Jill). Jill was always my favorite upperclassman. I even went to her graduation party way back when…she sent me a photo to remind me that I was there. It was promptly burned to erase any evidence that I MIGHT have sported a mullet at one point in my life. I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Anyway fast forward “2 years” (the dates have been changed to protect our true ages) and I find myself shooting her wedding. How strange! It was really fun to see a familiar face for a change and great to catch up with her and her new husband Michael! The wedding took place in New Hope, PA at a winery called Crossings Vineyard. The perfect venue for the perfect couple on their perfect day. The day went without issue and the images were beautiful. Hope you enjoy!

Laura + Andrew = married!! (Morton Arboretum wedding)

bryan@zulufoto.com — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:02:09 +0000

Every now and then you get a couple that you just “click” with. Where everything is laid back, the people are fun and the laughs are plenty. Laura and Andrew are one of those couples. After an engagement session and now this wedding, I’ve decided that we definately “click”. Actually, the whole wedding party was awesome and I don’t think I’ve laughed as much at any other wedding this season as this one! And so I know I’m not supposed to have favorite couples, but if I did have one, these two would be on the short list. Okay, and Kevin too.

In case you forgot, or don’t follow my blog closely (get with the program people!), Laura and Andrew had the unique e-session in the woods….complete with living room furniture, balloons and woodland creature masks. Their wedding was simply beautiful. It was hosted at the Morton Arboretum and it’s evident the care and attention to detail that Laura and her planners took getting this thing together. The theme was earthy and natural, complete with fresh honey as a wedding favor! The cake was also awesome. Go ahead and see for yourself.

Also, stay tuned for more shenanigans with these two (and Kevin) when we do their Trash The Dress later in October! Oh boy!

Wedding Venue: Morton Arboretum

Cake: The Cakery

Flowers: Phillip’s Flowers

DJ: Fantastic DJs

Dress: Wai Ching

Make Up: Total Image Bridal

Hair: Salon Ruele

Scott + Kathy = engaged! San Francisco Wedding Photographer

bryan@zulufoto.com — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:30:22 +0000

So Kathy and Scott are in the process of moving to San Francisco (jealous!!) and as a result, cancelled or rescheduled their engagement session a few times. And when I learned that Kathy was spending more time in San Francisco than she was in Chicago, I was HAPPY to throw out the offer to shoot their session in the bay area. And the best part is…they agreed! So off to San Fran I go for an EPIC all-weekend engagement session. We started off on the piers on the edge of downtown, shot in and around our hotel and headed to Chinatown during the first night. The 2nd day, we headed over to Muir woods and quickly retreated to some of the famous areas near the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately for us, the city of fog lived up to it’s reputation and the bridge was nowhere to be seen! We made our way onto the rocks at Baker Beach, took some pretty awesome shots of the foggy bridge, avoided a couple of nudies (yeah, apparently the beach is known for this…and why only unattractive old men feel the need to sunbathe nude is beyond me) before heading back to the city for some final urban shots.

All and all, not bad. Their wedding is actually this weekend so I figured I better get this session posted before I have to do a wedding post! Can’t wait to shoot their beautiful Sofitel wedding soon!

PS guys….Colby, Erin and I are GOING to take you up on your offer to come visit sometime, so be warned.

Meghan + Chris = married!! Charlotte Wedding Photographer

bryan@zulufoto.com — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:40:03 +0000

So I had the opportunity to shoot my cousin Meghan’s wedding this season out in Charlotte. It’s always fun to shoot weddings where you know most of the people there. It’s almost not even work, really. (well other than the hours of post-editing involved…ha!). Their wedding was amazing, with beautiful light throughout the day…even a major storm front couldn’t hold off the beautiful soft light I was finding throughout the day. The reception was hosted at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens just about 45 mins outside of Charlotte. The place is really beautiful and there were so many places tucked away to choose from for the portraits. Take a look!

I love my clients!

bryan@zulufoto.com — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:00:47 +0000

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I have THE BEST clients in the world I feel so fortunate to have a talent that makes people feel good about themselves and getting these little notes just makes me feel great!

BTW, I have got such a huge backlog of blog posting material to get to that I’ll be here for months before I get to it all! I’ve been pretty bad about regular updates but that should change here shortly!

Till next time!

Also, a note from another bride:

"Hello Bryan,
We have been siting here looking at the pictures for over 2 hours...we absolutely LOVE them.
You are so talented & I feel honored you were able to do our wedding. We can pass this on for generations
and it is truly a gift."

Kristine and Jack

bryan@zulufoto.com — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:47:15 +0000

Here’s alittle DVD slideshow from Kristine & Jack’s wedding that I though you might enjoy. The DVD comes with a HD resolution version of this video and a custom case!

Kristine and Jack.

Urban Decay – a photo essay

bryan@zulufoto.com — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:08:25 +0000

I recently had a chance to visit Gary, Indiana to do some urban exploration. I brought a camera with me to capture a slice of a place forgotten by time. I visited 2 locations, the first being a magnificent cathedral that had fallen into ruins. The place was amazing, a photo opportunity at every corner. After spending a couple of hours there, we headed over to an abandon post office, where we explored the crumbling hallways. I couldn’t help but think of all the people who’d made their careers in those hallways. It’s really hard to believe that these structures are just sitting there to rot and that nobody has stepped in to save them. It’s really a shame.

Here are some samples from the day. I used this opportunity to build a nice background collection that I’m sure I’ll be using for future photographs. Enjoy!