I was lucky enough this past weekend to shoot two sets of engagement photos with some wonderful people.  I was able to hang out with some old friends, and make some new ones.  Along the way we managed to capture some wonderful moments and get some great shots.  I can't express how wonderful it is to get to photograph two people in love.  It really is touching to me and a truly wonderful experience every time.  I was really afraid that the bad weather, and a cold I was fighting, would force me to push the shots back... but that didn't happen.  I pushed on through the weekend with a slight cold and managed to get some amazing photos along the way.

Simkins Engagement

There are few people that I am lucky enough to hang out with from time to time photographing their lives.  Alex and Matt are one of those couples.  It started with me photographing their son Jordan, then doing their daughter's baptism, and family photos for Christmas.  But Saturday was all about them.  I'm shooting their wedding later this year, and very much looking forward to it.  Alex and Matt are both a fun loving, relaxed couple to shoot with.  We spent the day in the Arroyo Grande Village where we were able to get some wonderful shots by the river, and through the alleyways of the town.

With all the rain we've been getting it was awesome to see how full the river could be.  Usually there isn't a lot of water.

Every now and then I like to play around with textures and diffrent boarders.  After looking at this photo I thought it would look cool with a film boarder around it.  I think it adds to the photo a bit.

And yes.  The water was cold.

Bustillos Engagement

Rachel contacted me a couple weeks ago after seeing Kristen and Dan Johnsons's engagement photos I took a couple of weeks before that.  She told me she fell in love with my work and would love to have me shoot her wedding coming up on March 20th.  I was very touched by her e-mail but at first turned her down.  With my own wedding on the 27th, I was trying to keep March open and free.  However; she wrote me again and said some wonderful things and told me that she wouldn't mind waiting as long as it took to get her photos back.  It's really hard for me to say no... and after talking it over with my fiance I decided to shoot her wedding.

Before any final decisions are made though it's always good to do a session with the photographer to make sure that you really have the right person for the job.  I also like to know who I'm working with beforehand.  I don't want to go to a crazy person's wedding.  Well Neither Rachel or her future husband, Shaun, are crazy.  Maybe crazy in Love, but not crazy.

We started the shoot off in their backyard with their dog, Sunny, who was more than wonderful to work with.  It also gave me a great location to play with a new fisheye lens I found while cleaning out the garage that morning.

After a few shots in their backyard we moved over to the first townhouse they lived in, and its neighborhood.  The setting was very wonderful for them because it was where they first met.  It was there that the rain started to fall.  Only a little at first, and then a little more, and a little more.  But that didn't stop them.  They are too in Love.  We just played in the rain and I got some of the most loving photos I have captured to date.

I now understand why they say rain is lucky on your wedding day.  Well... maybe not lucky... But two people that are willing to get married in the rain, or even just take photos in the rain really can get through anything.  Nothing will stop them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this week's photo updates and as always I would love to hear what you think.  So leave a comment bellow.  Check back soon, and if you want to see all the photos just click on over to the photography section.  Enjoy and take care.

Last weekend me and the family went down to Irvine to spend the weekend with Laura's family.  With only months to go till the wedding we are starting to do all the fun stuff, and one of those fun events is Laura's bridal shower.  I'm going to cut straight to the point that bridal showers aren't for guys.  It's cute and girly, and no matter what anyone may say it's not my thing.  But Laura's bridal shower was at Benihanas and I can't turn down fried rice (I've tried multiple times with no luck).  So Laura got all dressed up for the part, and all I have to show for it is this wonderful head shot.

It is a cute photo though right?  Well my beautiful wife-to-be cleaned house!  Like I said, bridal showers aren't for guys by any means.  But they sure do bring home a lot of wonderful toys to play with.  Besides the pink kitchen stuff we got that we'll be forced to sell, we got all kinds of gear.  Electric skillets, wine glasses, ice cream maker, toasters, bedspread,  and so much more.  It's awesome.  We even have a Crock Pot now.  And I love it.  So the chef's show as we got our food cooked was some fun too and you can see those photos in the photo albumn.

The day after the bridal shower was my 348 month old birthday.  So we celebrated by hanging around LA and letting Faith play in the dancing water fountains.

That adventure was followed to a trip to "Howl at the Moon" on City Walk.  I didn't bring my camera with me, but that bar was amazing.  Way too much fun, although half the fun came from the free drinks we got through my buddy James.  I love that guy.  We enjoyed some drinks as we laughed and enjoyed the sounds of the dueling piano's.  If you're at City Walk in Universal City, go to that bar.

We finally ended our weekend adventure with a trip to DISNEYLAND!!!  I love that place.  I always have had a soft spot for Disneyland (as everyone should) and I didn't think it could get any better.  But now, with Faith, it surprisingly has become better.  There are few things in life better than having a little one with you on the boat through Pirates of the Caribbean singing "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirates Life for Me!"  My first favorite shots is the lovely striking a pose for the camera.

And then at the end of the parade they shot some Mickey Mouse confetti into the air, and I manged to be quick enough on the draw to grab some cool images.

So I hope you enjoy the photos, and you can check them all out in the photography album.  There's some good stuff in there... but then again... that's also coming from the guy who took the photos.  So don't take my word for it.

Speaking of words... My Brofriend's Girlfriend (Erin) has offered to spellcheck the website for me and all my future posts. 

This is Erin.

So hopefully from here on out my horrible spelling won't be ruining the website so much anymore.  But she is also aware that she doesn't have to do it by any means... only when she feels like it.  So for your sake I hope she feels like it.  I'm not even going to read this over a second time... I'm just going to post it.

So Erin... Did you get around to fixing all my mistakes?  How horrible was it? 

ERIN: Not too bad Donald, not too bad.  Gotta say, love that you posted the super close up of my face on your updates page.  Awesome.  Anyway, I love doing this so leave things misspelled and use bad grammar.  It gives me purpose. :)  

Will do Erin... Will do...

Well, take care and check back soon.  I finished some engagement photos today that I'm really looking forward to sharing with you soon.  And now... I'm off to work on photos... or go to bed cause I'm beat... what ever happens, happens I guess.

I'm a huge fan of the rain that we're getting, and even more happy with how green it's making the hills around me.  I think this is what Ireland looks like... but I can't be sure because I've never been.  I'm just going to pretend it does though.  The one and only downside about the rain is that it moves my shoots around... and that sucks.  I was supposed to do some engagement photos last week that I was starting to get excited about, but now we'll be shooting later in the month.  It happens though, and I'm not too upset.

I did want to pass a little info along though, and that is that I'm still booking for early next month (March), but I'll be taking a long break in March to get married myself and then spending a week in Paris with my new bride.  So I'm not booking any shoots for late March or early April for the most part.  If you're looking to get photos done plan for May and beyond and contact me soon before all my weekends are booked up.

Wow, I can't wait for the time change when I can start doing shoots in the evening when I'm off work... I love those midweek photography sessions.  They can be such a blast.  So take care of yourself and come back soon and I'll have some photos for you.  I promise.  I don't know what... but there will be photos.

-Donald Weiting

I would love for this update to be me telling you about all the wonderful photos I got while out camping over the weekend.  However; the truth is that I never took my camera out of my Jeep.  Sure I went on some day hikes where I could have easily brought my camera... and there were plenty of times at camp that I could have taken photos of the area... but I was far too busy enjoying nature.  I have so many photos from that campsite that I decided to leave my camera alone for the most part and enjoy my time with the company I was with.  So thanks for checking back, and I'm sorry I don't have any photos to share.

I am, however, taking some engagement photos this weekend if the weather will play nice.  So I should have some photos ready this weekend or early next week.  Though probably not on Monday... because I've been way to busy watching "24."  That show is always so good.

How I love nature.  I just love going out in the wilderness and being one with the elements.  It truly is being close to God's wonderful work.  I can never get enough of it and long for it.  So I know I said it in my last post, but I was just thrilled to get to take those engagement photos of Kristen and Dan in the snow last Sunday.  They turned out to be amazing photos and just a wonderful day.  While I did their photos though I also grabbed a few photos of the area just for fun.  I posted them today for you to enjoy if you wish.

So get some smiles from the photos and go enjoy a hike on this beautiful weekend coming up.  I know I'm going to love it myself on my four day camping trip with some of my best friends.  So of course you can look forward to some more photos early next week.  

Take care, and don't be afraid to leave a comment.

When ever I go out to shoot photos I always make sure I have a good time.  It's the main reason I do photography... because I can have fun with it.  And every once in awhile I get to do something really fun, and shoot photos that I just can't get anytime.  Working with Kristen and Dan yesterday, shooting their engagement photos, was one of those days.  Kristen scheduled our shoot earlier this month with no knowledge of the rain that was coming the week before.  And when I say "rain" I mean "RAIN!"  There was a lot of it falling all week, and few breaks for the whole week.  We were ready to move our shoot date, but lucky for us the rain cleared, and even more amazing was the snow that fell on the Mountains around us.  With the low temperatures and all the rain, I had a good feeling that snow would grace us... and so I called Kristen and suggested that we run off to the snow for the photos.  I never have the chance to take snow photos and I was way excited when they decided they wanted to take advantage of it.  You might as well while it's here right!

So we drove up to Mt. Figueroa and played in the white powder for the photo shoot.  We got so many great shots, and I was having so much fun myself that I kind of over did it and shoot about twice as many photos as I normally do, but who can complain with a few more photos right?  I got home after the shoot and started sorting through the photos, and was so happy with them that I decided to make it a late night and just power on through all the images.  So while watching a couple Documentaries on the National Geographic channel, and laughing through "The Hangover" I managed to get through all the photos on the same day as the shoot.  Yesterday really was a fun day, hanging out with the couple, shooting all afternoon, playing in the snow, and all the laughs really did make for an awesome Sunday afternoon.

Once we were done playing in the snow we stopped by in Los Olivos and took some photos around the town.  It was my first time shooting in Los Olivos, (even though I have wanted to for a long while now) but we got some great shots in some wonderful locations.  The photo of them holding hands with the red door in the background is one of my favorites, and one of Kristen's too... I think it will make a great print, and I hope one day I can see it if they do get a nice large print made.

 So as you can see the shoot was a blast and if you want to see all the photos click on over to the photography page and take a look.  Enjoy the photos and check back soon because I got a couple random photos of the landscape and snow while I was shooting that I'm going to touch up and post later this week.  Probably on Wednesday before I leave on another much needed camping trip (if you don't mind, pray for some clear weather for us while we are out in the wilderness).  Take care and God bless.

I'm so excited to have treads in the rain.  The tires on my Jeep were about 95% bald.  Bald tires in the rain with slick roads it is no fun (actually that's a lie... I seriously love it and think it brings a fun challenge to driving).  So I finally had enough money to throw down on some new tires for the girl, and now she rides smooth and steady.  No more compensating for the fish tailing, no more drifting into lanes instead of merging.  I will admit I kind of miss it a little, but I think it was worth it.  You know, that whole "being a safe driver" thing.

I was able to use this new found grip on the road to drive up to Down Town Brew last night in San Luis Obispo to see the one and only Tyrone Wells.  If you haven't listened to his music before I suggest you try it out.  He is an amazing singer/song writer, and I'm thrilled I was able to see him live.  I can't wait till the next time he rolls through town so I can go again... and next time I wont make the horrible mistake of leaving my camera in the car.  Yeah... I know... taking photos is what I do, why did I leave my camera behind... yada yada yada....   I took Laura out for the night and we don't get many date nights out so I decided to enjoy my night with her, instead of working through it trying to get that perfect angle, or framing that was just right.  So next time I'll bring my camera and get those photos with the perfect angle, and framing that is just right,  I promise.

Well this weekend should be a fairly quit one for me (and possibly dry one).  I have a poker tournament I'm going to play in tonight, and then over the weekend I hope to get some engagement photos done.  So pray that the rain breaks over the weekend just long enough to take some pics of a happy couple.  Check back soon for some more photos... possibly going to have them ready by Sunday night.  Cross your fingers with me.

The rain sure is coming down here on the coast isn't it?  I do love the rain, and even though thousands of people are without power, cable, and internet... it's still good to have the rain.  Sure tree's are coming down, cars are slipping and sliding, and fences are blowing over... but I still thank the Lord for the rain.  It's good to have the rivers swell up, and the rain to fall.  We do need it, and so for that I just enjoy it and push through.  Knowing that the rain was coming though I decided to get in a quick backpacking trip before the rain hit. So with my old friend Mr. Burns as company we made a weekend trip out to Fish Camp, a nice 2 hours hike into the canyon from the Nira camp Grounds were we left Super Jeep for the night.

I was able to watch the sun fall behind the mountain, see the stars fill the night sky, and catch the sunrise as the storm moved in.  It really was something, and an awesome time.  We also got in a good day's hike and have a great weekend down in the canyon.  It was really a blast, and I can't wait to get in some more camping soon.  Building the fire that night sure was fun, nothing wanted to catch.  It was really kind of frusterating at times, but we did get the fire up and were able to keep warm and chat through the night.

Sabera also had a good trip and seemed to enjoy her day hiking through the canyon with us.

Take notice to her wet paws, that dog can't get enough of the water... and shortly after this photo she made a run for the river to soak herself in it.  I almost made her sleep outside, but I decided to be nice and let her in with me.  Glad I did too, because she was kind enough to sleep on top of my feet at night and help me stay warm.  She's a good girl.

So thank God for the rain this week, and let's pray that it gives us a short break before pounding us again.  Splash in some puddles too while you're at it.  One of the reason's God gives us rain is to dance in it... at least that's my thought...

I'm already to go on my weekend backpacking trip.  Well, almost ready.  I first have some socks that need to be moved to the dryer and then my pack.  But I went through my checklist and got my pack (and Sabera's pack) ready to go.  I'm pumped and excited, and I really hope to get out of the canyon before the rain starts falling Sunday afternoon.  I love going through the wilderness and exploring with a pack on... it actually reminds me of going through China with my pack full of all my gear.  That sure was a grand adventure... and now you can enjoy it too.  Well, enjoy it through my words anyways.  I posted the photography post on my website back in 2007, and today I just posted the written version of that same trip.  It took a long time to write, and get put together, but it's finished now and I don't think it's a bad read either.  Actually, I haven't had anyone else read it yet, so maybe let me know what you think if you decide to read it yourself.

So maybe check out the China photos in the 2007 folder, and then read about my trip to China in the 'Stories' section.  It may be entertaining on a rainy day.  Enjoy your weekend and check back next week for some more updates.  Take care.

So a few weeks ago at work my bosses told me that we were going to be giving away some tickets to Disneyland to some lucky viewers.  So I suggested that we just go down to Disneyland and shoot the promo.  It's only a day trip and a couple hours of shooting at the happiest place at earth right?

Well they also thought it was a great idea, so tonight I just returned from shooting a promo at Disneyland.  It was so cool to be able to get escorted through the park, behind the scenes, and have part of the park shut down for me while I shot my stand-ups.  It was crazy fun to be honest, and something I can't ever forget.  One guy that was helping us was extra cool, and even made some phone calls to have the music shut down in the area's where we were standing so it wouldn't pick up on our mics.  It was super rad.

OK, so this post was really for me, and my personal memories and to share with friends.  But it's pretty cool right?  Well, beyond that I'm going to go backpacking this weekend... so I'll have some photos to share early next week.  SO take care and we'll talk soon.