Adam Novak Photography Blog

Mike and Shaunna | A Montage Engagement

MIke and Shaunna are getting married, and I am the lucky guy that gets to capture their big day!  I am really excited because I met Mike and Shaunna last year at her sister, Crystal's wedding.  Actually, the last memory I have of Shaunna was on the dance floor at Crystal and Tims wedding.  She was doing a full back flip, barefoot, in her bridesmaid dress...needless to say, I was impressed! 

A couple of weeks ago we met at the Montage for their engagment shoot.  The weather was perfect, and we had a great time!  Oh, and of course no shoot is complete without getting kicked out of yet another hotel for taking photographs...I ended up knowing the security guard, so we still got a ton of great pics in!  Well, here are a few of my favorites below...enjoy!

Larry & Candice | A Montage Engagement

I am super stoked to introduce to you the future Mr and Mrs Vlagea.  I have known Candice for a few years now, and I knew that one day she was going to meet that “Mr right”!  Well, that day has come, and Larry is “Mr right”!

 A couple of weeks ago we spent a beautiful evening at the Montage Resort in Dana Point.  We spent about 2 hours together, cruising around the beautiful grounds of the resort, and got some great pics!  Larry and Candice said they were novices with the whole pro-photo-shoot thing, but they acted like pros.  Thanks guys, for a great evening...I cant wait for your wedding!

So, they told me that they had never had a professional shoot before...this is one of the first shots I took...they look like old pros...

The weather was beautiful during our shoot, so there were lots of people at the beach.  But we found this really cool tree in a secluded area...

Love the extreme happiness on Candices face...

How cool is that arch...amazing!

What a cool setting!  I shot this with my 200mm 2.8f lens, so I was pretty far from them.  They set themselves up like this on their own...

Their were so many great pics to choose from for this blog that I had to be super picky.  I chose this one because I love the way that Larry is looking at Candice...

Gotta say, some of my favorites...

Pat & Shelley | An HB Engagement | 09.24.10

A couple of weeks ago I met Pat and Shelley in downtown HB for their engagement shoot.  I first met them last month at a local coffee shop, and instantly fell in love with their big personalities.  I was trying to think of a few words that best described them but too many came to mind.  One thing I can say about them is that they are truly in love, and I think you will agree with me once you see these pics.

I am so glad you guys chose me to be your photographer, and I am really looking forward to a fun, and memorable wedding!

I love this spot!  I shoot in downtown HB a lot, but this was the first time I shot at this exact spot...

Perfect sunset light...

 

We were going to rent bikes for the shoot, but this bike taxi worked out perfect...

Bling, bling...

I love this black and white!  The bricks and old doors contrast perfectly...

 

Can you say, "I am so in love that I can hardly contain it"

 

 

Again, the sunset light was amazing!  This is one of my favorite angles for this pier, the pier pilings create an incredible depth of field.

Stephanie & Jasen | A Montage Engagement

A couple of weeks ago I spent a great evening at Montage Resort in Laguna Beach with soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs Murphy.  If you have not been to the Montage, I highly recommend it!  I wouldn’t recommend staying there, only because it will cost you an arm and a leg.  However, it is a great place to enjoy a day at the beach or a sunset stroll.  I love engagement shoots because it helps to build my relationship with the couples, and it sets the foundation for a great wedding.  I really enjoyed my time with Jasen and Stephanie, and it was great getting to know them as a couple.  They are simply great people, and I am really excited to shoot their wedding.

Tori & Cole | A Balboa Engagement

A couple weeks ago, I spent a great evening with soon-to-be husband and wife, Tori and Cole.  A friend of mine recommended me to them, and I am so glad he did.  We met at the Fun Zone in Newport Beach, had a bunch of fun, and took some pics along the way too!  They are such a fun, kind, and loving couple, and I really enjoyed my time with them.  My respect goes out to not only Cole because he serves in our armed forces, but to their love and commitment to each other.  Cole just left for a long tour in a far away land, and they plan to wed sometime in the near future.  Thanks Cole, for protecting our amazing country, and to the both of you for a great evening at the beach! 

Debbie + Brent | A Laguna Beach Engagement

The great thing about being a Southern California photographer is that I have so many great locations to choose from.  Last week I shot Debbie and Brent's engagement pictures at one of my new favorite spots...the Montage in Laguna Beach.  You can't ask for a better beach location! It's no wonder the hotel costs a fortune to stay in.  

I had a really fun time with Debbie and Brent, and I cant wait to shoot there wedding!  Towards the end of the shoot, we were on the beach watching the sunset, and Debbie said that this was her first sunset viewing from a beach.  I still don't believe it, but none the less, it was a moment that really made me realize how much I love being a photographer!  Thanks, Debbie and Brent, for driving a couple hours to this special spot and spending the evening with me.

Genevieve + Eyal | A San Diego Engagement

Last week I drove down to San Diego and shot Genevieve and Eyal's engagement pictures.  What a great location for photos!  We went down town, cruised through out the streets, and found some really cool spots for pics.  I love shooting in downtown areas, you could do an entire shoot on one street corner.  Eyal and Genevieve were really cool throughout the shoot, especially because photo shoots aren't really Eyal's favorite thing...really, photo shoots aren't most peoples thing.  But he was open to all of my ideas and really cool about everything.  Really, you guys look amazing and I cant wait to shoot your wedding in October!  Thanks for spending the evening with me and showing me your home town.

michael + tatiana

Sometimes the most unexpected moments in life turn out to be the best! 

Michael is the brother of Jenna, who I shot last year for her wedding at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach.  For a couple of months, I have been communicating with Michael's mom, Leslie, trying to schedule an engagement shoot for Michael and his fiance Tatiana.  You would think it would be easy scheduling a shoot, right?  Well usually it is, except for the fact that the groom is a Captain in the Air Force and spends months of the year protecting our freedom flying over the Middle East, and the bride is a model from Russia currently living in New York.  So, needless to say, it was a little tough figuring out a time when all three of us would be in the same geographic region. 

So Leslie and I came up with a tentative date to shoot the engagement pictures, but I did not hear from Michael and Tatiana until the day of the shoot. I wasn't really sure if the whole thing was going to happen.  So when Michael called me it was a little unexpected... but man am I glad he did! 

Michael and Tatiana came up with the great location idea of Union Station in Los Angeles.  I mean really, how can you go wrong?  Airforce Captain + beautiful model + historic train station = incredible shoot!  We had a really fun time shooting pics all over the station, on a train (until we got kicked off),  in a really cool tunnel, and in my favorite spot- an old ticketing area from the 1930's. It was actually closed, but we bent the rules a bit :). 

Thanks, Michael and Tatiana, for spending your precious time in California with me.  I really had a great time, and hopefully we will continue the fun on your big day in December.

  

VIDESSA + DEREK - Scottsdale, Arizona

A couple of weeks ago I finally got to meet a really cool couple in a really cool place!  I had been communicating with Videssa and Derek for a few months, but I had not met them until their engagement shoot. 

Derek and Videssa pondered whether to shoot in Los Angeles or Phoenix, and I am so glad they chose to fly me out to their home in the desert!   It provided me with an opportunity that I will never pass up, shooting photos and traveling, and it gave them a chance to show off their beautiful city.

They picked me up at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, and we drove 30 minutes to The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I left the location up to them, and they made a great choice.  The Phoenician is a beautiful resort placed in the Sonoran Desert, and it is surrounded by a really cool mountain range called Camel Back Mountain.  We took advantage of all the resort had to offer, but some of my favorite shots took place in a desert botanical garden.  The garden was full of amazingly gorgeous, and amazingly prickly cacti (yes, I bled for this one :).  There were also a handful of black and orange lizards that kept us entertained.

Thanks, Videssa and Derek, for a really fun day!  I can't wait to shoot your wedding next month!

 

barry & lindsay

Barry and Lindsay are getting married next year, and I am the lucky guy that gets to capture their big day!  Last week we spent a couple of hours together and took some engagement photos in Irvine, Ca.  Barry is a friend from back in the day, so it was great catching up with him.  And Lindsay...well, lets just say that Barry knows how to pick em'.  We had a great time cruising around taking photos in really cool spots.  I have to give Barry the credit for finding the old broken down truck in the photos below. It was a great prop!  I got so many amazing photos around it that I had a really hard time picking which ones to put on this blog.  Here are just a few pics out of the hundreds that I took. Enjoy!