Back from San Francisco and Philadelphia Shoots

Aloha,

My apologies for not posting blogs for a while. I have been traveling on the mainland doing shoots in San Francisco and the Philadelphia area.

I am now back in Maui for a long stay and don't any have immediate pressing travel plans except for maybe a trip to Osaka,Japan to photograph models for Getty and Blend Images when the fall foliage starts changing there.

The above photo is of one of my favorite couples, Maeghan and Mike, from San Francisco. They hired me to shoot engagement photos for them in Maui and liked my work so much they extended an invitation for me to come shoot more engagement photos of them in their home base, the San Francisco Bay area, which was my home for 25 years until I moved to Maui in 2001.

If you would like to see more photographs of this lovely couple, you can see a gallery I created of their engagement photos on my alohaia website.

Who knows? Maybe I'll get invited to shoot their wedding in Southern California when they set the date to tie the knot!

with warm aloha,

Richard

ps~ I've just posted a new wedding gallery of Ayumi and Yuichiro...a gorgeous couple from Tokyo who are professional dancers and dance teachers . They had the fantastic opportunity to perform for the Emperor and Empress of Japan a couple years ago.

They had a very beautiful, heart filled and unique wedding ceremony at a sacred Hawaiian site...the same site my wife and I were married at. Please feel free to visit Ayumi and Yuriciro's gallery. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.alohaia.com
http://www.richardmarksphoto.com

A mini miracle unfolds

Aloha,

I would like to share a little excerpt I wrote this morning in my journal about the wonderful wedding of Maya and Paul that I shot at the Sugarman Estate in Makena South Maui on August 3:

~~~When i entered the house there was a sense of quiet mahem and general chaos everywhere....

the catering staff was cramming all the tables for the 60 guests into a tiny covered porch area....

When I stepped into the room where Maya the bride was getting ready, she was in tears and looking quite sad because it was raining and the skies dark and cloudy with no blue sky to be seen...I began to take pictures of Maya putting on her make up in the mirror but in each photo she looked so sad...and she was applying her make up over and over again which only got streaked by a tiny river of tears falling from each eye.

When the right moment arose, I stopped photographing and asked Maya if I could give her a hug. I gently told her that as soon as I noticed the dark clouds and could smell the rain that day, I began praying all afternoon for a circle of blue sky to open up right above the wedding ceremony and for stars the to be shining above us at night...she softly smiled for the very first time since I arrived but the smile dissolved from her eyes back into a look of doom and gloom and sadness like the dark clouds outside.

Right after I told Maya about my"prayer" I quietly excused myself for a few minutes and ran in the rain as fast as I could to the little pavilion that the wedding was to take place in. I took a deep breath and lifted some prayers and Hawaiian chants to our Creator (whom the Hawaiians call Keakua) to please open up the sky for this beautiful couple who have such beautiful hearts.

"Please Keakua if it is your will then please let this beautiful couple have clear skies for their wedding day...yes... I know that rain is your way of sending a blessing, but please let a circle of blue sky open up to reveal your golden sun and beautiful stars this evening....and as you well know, the bride is really really very upset because of this rain and dark skies, I ask that you please clear the skies for her so she can have a happy wedding day"

After my prayers and chanting, I quickly ran back through the rain to the bride's room to continue photographing the bride...and then ran back and forth between the bride and grrom to photograph the groom his son and his groomsmen... about 15 minutes later after my prayers in the pavillion, much to my joy the rain slowed to a light drizzle and a blue streak of sky opened above Kohoolave!

The wedding was standing room only in a tiny pavillion and was actually quite sweet, but I had to crawl on my knees between people who kindly let me through so I could get the perfect shots.

By the time the wedding ended, ...a huge circle of blue sky opened above us and we had the beautiful gold ball of sun break out through the clouds as it set over Kohoolave.

And the circle of clear sky began to reveal the stars shining overhead so the rather weary staff cheerfully moved all the tables outside, and the dj set up his station and a slick dance floor. A great time was had by all with the wedding dinner under golden lanterns under the open sky followed by the cake cutting and some great celebratory dancing...families of the bride and groom mixing together and dancing from anything fantastic Persian styled music...as the brides family were Persian, to We Are Family disco... I got some great shots of the groom's Mom dancing with the bride's 80 year old grandfather, who was wildly waving a napkin in the air over his head as he danced.

I in no means can take full credit for that mini miracle...I'm sure many of the wedding party were also praying their heads off as well.~~~

Look for a gallery of photographs from Maya and Paul's wedding to be posted in the next few days!

with warm aloha,

Richard

http://www.alohaia.com
http://www.richardmarksphoto.com

Emergency! What precious belongings do we take with us?

Aloha,

I was just checking the news this morning in these challenging times and I came upon this powerful photo of a Chinese couple carrying all their belongings and fleeing their home in China that had just been leveled by an earthquake.

For a moment I tried to imagine if I was in a similar position what would I bring? Photos of my beloved grandmother, my family, a precious book, my most recent journal, my 100 year old Gibson mandolin and Martin 12 string guitar, my laptop and last but not least all my cameras, and a heavy back pack filled with my flashes and lenses, and several hard drives filled with precious images would most likely be what I would would be carrying.

When I looked closely to see what this couple were carrying, I was deeply touched. The man was carrying a picture of what appeared to be the couples framed wedding photo.

Meditating upon this picture once again got me in touch with the great power of a single photo and what importance it can have to the heart and soul of its owner.

If you had 10 minutes or less to move out of your home in an emergency, do you have an idea of what would be the most precious belongings you might quickly gather together?

With warm aloha I wish you the very best of all good things and wish that you never have to suffer through such an emergency ~

Richard Marks

Richard

Thank you so much for taking the time to send me this e mail and for your words of encouragement.

I clicked on a link to see your work and ended up browsing for 40 minutes! Wow! I am speechless….Your work is stunning!
In viewing your work your advanced technical skills are immediately apparent in the beautiful lighting and composition of your images.
But what is so heartwarming to me is to see that elegance, drama, romance, passion, and humor are alive and well and so wonderfully portrayed in your images.

In a time when most of the skilled “old time” photographers have been pushed aside and overlooked in favor of inexperienced newcomers with limited talent and skills, it is refreshing to see that the island is recognizing and supporting someone with true talent. You are the whole package…your sensitivity, warmth, sincerity and humor coupled with undeniable skill and talent is a rare combination that any bride would be lucky to experience.

Your photography truly is EXQUSITE!


digital image of original watercolor "Mango Magnificent" by Kathryn Regier

Alohaʻia moves into a new studio!

Aloha!

We are proud to announce that we have just completed our move into a new more spacious studio. The move has slightly slowed down our production in the interim, but we are now back up to speed and processing several thousand images from two recent weddings shot last week.

Look for new images that will soon be posted in our galleries!

We invite you to visit our websites:
http://www.alohaia.com
http://www.richardmarksphoto.com

Alohaʻia goes global!

Aloha!
We are proud to announce that alohaʻia has now has now initiated a global advertising campaign that is offering our high end wedding photography services to those living in some of the major cities of the world: Paris, London, Tokyo, Osaka, Sydney, Montreal, Quebec, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, LA, Seattle, and last but not least our old home base, San Francisco!

It is wonderful and quite exciting to be booking and serving clients from all corners of the world!

In the next few days look for a new gallery of images from a recent wedding with Ayumi and Yuichiro, a couple who are professional classically trained dancers from Tokyo who have performed for the Emperor and Empress of Japan. You will find a few of the photos from their wedding below.

We invite you to visit our websites:
http://www.alohaia.com
http://www.richardmarksphoto.com

Happy Spring!

Aloha and Happy Spring!

I hope your spring is blossoming beautifully on all levels.

I have been quite busy with shooting quite a few weddings as of late. Last week I shot a 2 day wedding in West Maui on the first day and on Mt Haleakala on the 2nd day.

The sweet couple, Ayumi and Yuichiro are from Japan and they are professional dancers and dance teachers. They are quite proud to have performed with their Isinai Dance Troupe for the Emperor and Empress of Japan!

The first day of their wedding was on a sacred Hawaiian site in the West Maui Mountains. The second day of their wedding celebration was with about 50 close friends and fellow dancers on the top of Mt. Haleakala at sunset. It is usually freezing cold at that time but we were blessed with warm temperatures and a beautiful sunset!

I will be adding a gallery of Ayumi and Yuichiroʻs wedding in the next several days as well as 3 other galleries from recent weddings. Please feel free to stop back to see them.

In the spirit of aloha, I am putting together a special surprise bonus for all my clients who book their weddings from March until April 20 my birthday. Please feel free to contact me for details about my special spring gift bonus.

With warm aloha,

Richard Marks

Maui Wedding Photographer

We invite you to visit our websites:
http://www.alohaia.com
http://www.richardmarksphoto.com