The Gregg Shaw Photography Blog

Sophia

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:40:55 +0000

All I can think of when I see this shot is that she is a little porcelain doll that we set up on the door step!

Getting ready to learn how to pop up…

My favorite shot of the day! This is going to have to be blown up BIG! And don’t worry, the board was being held from behind. I just had to clone out the hand holding onto the rail, so she wasn’t in any danger!

Sophia’s cousins were at the beach house too so we grabbed a few shots of all of them together, and this beautiful shot of one of her cousins above. Seriously angelic!

Thanks for letting me hang out with you all!

Lauren and Nathan’s Wedding Slideshow

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:44:20 +0000

Lauren & Nathan’s Wedding Slideshow from Gregg Shaw on Vimeo.

Lauren and Nathan’s Altadena Wedding

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:42:32 +0000

I had the privilege of photographing a wedding a couple of weekends ago for the daughter of a friend of mine. Lauren and Nathan are living in Alaska, so before their big day I had only met Lauren briefly at a Christmas dinner at the fire station and this was the first time meeting Nathan. Normally, that might be difficult. But fortunately, the two of them and their families are such incredible people, it made my day really easy. Not to mention there seems to be a rampant streak of good looking running through both of these families! The wedding was held in Altadena at the Town and Country Club. So here are my favorites from the day. First a couple of getting ready shots.

While that dog looks cute and pretty harmless, it’s pretty ferocious and very protective of her mama!

G0rgeous before….…and gorgeous after.

Nathan is an Air Force Intelligence Officer. He possesses the cool demeanor that you would hope for in a man who has our National security in his hands!See what I mean by good looking running in the family. Lauren and her sisters…

I could have kept shooting photos of Lauren for another hour or two, but there was a wedding to get to.

Waiting to walk her down the aisle….

The minister officiating the wedding also just happened to be the father of the groom. Here the two of them are going over the details one last time before the start of the wedding.Father of the bride “pop locking” out on the dance floor. The sign of a good party!

Always one of my favorite shots…Dad saying goodbye to his little girl. As the father of a daughter myself, this always gets me!

Thank you so much Lauren and Nathan for letting me be a part of your day! Stay tuned for a slideshow!

Park It

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:48:21 +0000

One of my favorite things to do is go to the park about an hour or so before sunset. First, it gives you a built in time frame for exactly how much time you’re going to spend at the park since the sun setting pretty much shuts the place down for you. It’s obviously cooler and the crowd is a bit thinner. But it’s just a great way to finish off your day with the your family and good friends. And of course, once in a while, I bring my camera.

Happy 55th Anniversary Disneyland!

admin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:26:12 +0000

Today I was at Disneyland shooting an event for my buddy Noah. Today is Disneyland’s 55th Anniversary, so he painted 55 original Vinylmation characters to commemorate the occasion. They looked absolutely amazing. I did wander the for a bit and grabbed some shots of the park as it is today. When you look at photos from opening day, July 17, 1955, you get a true appreciation for what an incredible visionary Walt Disney really was. I’m convinced that he saw the park not for what he had created at that time but what it was going to look like 55 years later.

Yosemite in June * Part II

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:45:58 +0000

Yosemite is one of my favorite places that I have ever visited. Every time I go I am with my family, which is awesome. But, I do have to balance taking photos and not ignoring the ones I love! One of these days I plan on doing a solo trip where I can really focus on the landscape and capturing the beauty. But, then again, it’s pretty hard to take a bad photo in the valley. It truly is one of God’s most incredible creations and I never get tired of staring at the granite peaks, waterfalls, and beautiful meadows.

Half Dome seen from Glacier Point

El Capitan

This is the face of El Capitan. If you look real close, you will see a tiny yellow dot about dead center of the photo, which is the yellow equipment bag of a climber.

The Merced River with upper Yosemite Falls in the background

Half Dome with a obscured view of Royal Arches and North Dome

On the left, Royal Arches, Washington Column and North Dome. On the left is looking downstream from Cascade Falls.

Yosemite Falls

We hiked the John Muir Trail to the top of Nevada Falls, then descended the Mist trail to Vernal Falls and back to Curry Village. There was so much water that along the trail you had small waterfalls from the granite cliffs above. Fortunately, it was pretty warm so the showers were refreshing!

Almost there! The first view of Nevada Falls with Liberty Cap to the left.

Still plenty of wildflowers along the trail

Taken from the foot bridge that crosses over the Merced River, just before Nevada Falls. The person walking on the left gives you some perspective as to how big the falls are.

The opposite view looking up the Merced River.

Close up of the Merced

From the top railing, looking over the side of Nevada Falls. This picture doesn’t even remotely capture how breathtaking this view is. The water is thundering over the edge and plummets 594 feet to the rocks below.

Savannah and my nephew Jack taking in the view

The family with the falls behind

This is where the hike got interesting…

Starting the descent towards Vernal Falls

A few moments after the picture on the left was taken, my daughter slipped and rolled her ankle so bad she couldn’t stand….with about 3 miles to go! Happy Father’s Day!! That’s me pretending that she’s not that heavy.

My son Ian standing where you can see why they call it the Mist Trail. Savannah let me take a break once in a while so I could still snap a few photos

First glimpse of Vernal Falls

And here’s the view that makes the whole hike worth it…

The Awahnee hotel with Yosemite Falls in the background

Probably the most famous view of Yosemite Valley, known as the Tunnel View, right off Hwy 41 coming from Glacier Point. El Capitan is on the left, Bridal Veil falls is on the right and you can see half dome in the middle of the photo.

The Valley from Glacier Point

I shot this through the viewing telescope at the top of Glacier Point. This the outlook above Vernal Falls. When I turned around I was getting a very dirty look from some old lady. Apparently she wasn’t nearly as amused with this as I was.

Thank you to the nice lady from Texas for taking this photo.

Yosemite in June * Part I

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:11:22 +0000

I have had the opportunity to visit Yosemite many times. But I don’t ever recall an early summer visit quite like the one we just had. The heavy snowfall and mild temperatures have created some of the most awe inspiring waterfalls that I have ever witnessed. It truly was an incredible feeling to stand at the top of Nevada Falls and hear the roar of the rapids as they shoot over the ledge and to feel the rush of wind that it carries with it. So here are some of my favorite shots from our last visit.

Cascade Falls. This beautiful site can be seen from Hwy 120 as you enter the west end of the valley. I didn’t have my tripod handy, so I steadied the camera on the railing along the roadsie.

One of the many beautiful meadows that line the valley. The Merced River runs through the stand of trees in the distance.

Tuolumne Meadows. Normally by this time of year, green grass is covering a good portion of the meadow, but the late winter has kept the grass down. But the Tuolumne River is wider than usual and there is still a lot of snow on the ground in the shady areas.

John making his way to the top of Olmstead Point

Jeffrey Pines and the kids

Tenaya Lake from the top of Olmstead Point

Jeffrey Pine

Just enough snow at Olmstead to build this majestic, four inch tall snowman.

We did do some hiking while we were there. Though we intended to do a little more, the hikes were cut short due to a severely sprained ankle by my daughter coming down the Mist Trail. Word of advice; if you’re hiking the Mist Trail and you broke your ankle six months prior, wear high top hiking boots!

I’ll finish up with the rest of the photos tomorrow…

Groveland, CA

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:09:03 +0000

Summer at last! We returned home last week from an awesome trip to Groveland and Yosemite. I thought I’d post some of my favorite shots from around the ranch we stayed at in Groveland first. In a couple of days I’ll post the Yosemite shots.

I loved watching this wood pecker every day. He’d go to a nearby cherry tree, pick a cherry and then stash in the top of the fence post.

My niece likes horses… a lot.

Somebody was missing his puppy back home.

My beautiful girl

The dude.

My dad…chillaxin’

I love this shot of Savannah. The ranch owner’s cattle wandered into the field behind the house one evening. So she of course runs inside, grabs a clip board and some paper and starts sketching cows.

The kids on their way to feed the horses carrots and apples. Except for Ian….he decided to eat his apple on the way.

The horse whisperer.

We also visited the Moaning Cavern which is in Vallecito. If you are in to stuff like this, it is really cool. The tour takes you to a depth of 165 feet below ground and features this 100 foot spiral stair case that was built in 1922. The entrance to the cave is through these tight cracks with wooded stairways. Very cool…

Noah at Disney’s World of Color Preview

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:27:37 +0000

Last night I shot some photos of Noah painting at Disney’s World of Color celebrity preview event. First, the show is amazing so make sure you go see it. It totally lived up to the hype and I found myself getting completely lost in the special effects. But here’s just a couple of quick shots of Noah doing his thing. He painted a canvas of Mickey and a 5 foot tall Vinylmation character, both of which came out amazing.

Photo of the Day * June 8, 2010

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:56:28 +0000

Napa River at sunrise.