KHARA.AND.JAKE.::.TO.THE.MUSIC.

with a couple as awesome as khara & jake, who wouldn't have a blast shooting their wedding! thanks again you guys... you rock!

if you want to share the show with your mom, dad, grandma, or friendly neighborhood postman, just send them this link:http://www.gabrielryan.net/2008slideshows/khara&jake_wedding/iframe.html. enjoy.

KHARA.AND.JAKE.::.THEIR.STORY.

your story is unique... one of a kind. and i think it is in that uniqueness, not in any kind of systematic perfection, that my love for story draws its fervor.

khara & jake drew me in with their story. we sat in that cozy little bohemian cafe, while jake ordered a slew of treats to whet our taste buds. when i handed over their engagement book, i watched & listened to khara & jake pour out with excitement. their big day was almost here...

i met these two and immediately knew it was a good fit. it was like hanging out with good friends, sharing anecdotal bits of life with one another. their whirlwind of a journey brought khara & jake together quickly, lending truth to the old adage 'when you know, you know.' their introduction was quirky, but it didn't take long for jake to realize that khara was 'the one.' and it wasn't long before plans were being made. it wasn't long before the preparatory steps were being taken towards binding two lives & two stories, into one.

in fact, part of that preparation had begun years before, when jake's parents began praying for khara, long before the two had met. and it was 29 years later, when khara & jake sat on the couch watching a soccer game, exchanging hi-fives in the excitement of a goal scored, that roger & becky tirabassi knew the woman they had been praying for, all those years, was khara.

khara & jake, thank you so much for the invitation. the two of you have blessed me more than you may know. say hi to a howler monkey & eat some good seafood for me during your honeymoon in costa rica! pura vida!

here are a few images taken from their wedding in dana point, california. make sure to check back tomorrow for the slide show...





























enjoy.the.story.

WHO.TURNED.THE.LIGHTS.OUT.

vegas was a blur. take 10,000 photographers, add in the stimulus of the strip, and throw in a couple of first-timers, and that's right... you get one big blur of radtasticness!!!

so, in no particular order, here is a slew of randomness for you to enjoy. so nice to meet all of you. and for those of you not able to attend, be thankful that your clothes don't smell like a casino, but hopefully we will see you there next year.


by the way, the title alludes to a vegas oddity. deciding to stay one extra night, we had to find a room [which in the middle of spring break is not as easy as you might think... even for vegas], and ended up in hotel excalibur. carlie & i decided to relax a bit before [b]ecker's party, and without warning, the power went out...

...in the WHOLE casino. i guess the casino floor only lost power for about 5 seconds, but carlie & i sat in the dark of our room for about an hour and a half, listening for the occasional siren and watching the helicopters circling the area. i guess mandalay bay, the hotel, luxor, and excalibur all lost power for that hour and a half.

when the ground didn't collapse beneath our feet, and there was no sign of brad pitt or george clooney repelling from the rooftops with bags of cash, carlie & i just waited it out. it was the only silence we had all week

SHOOT.OFF.PART.DEUX.

the last time we shot with mark & candice was more than a blast...  so, when we made the trek out to vegas [together] to spend a couple days with the zillion other photographers, we thought it might be fun to do another shoot off.

after an intense day-long workshop, my bride & i took the last hour of light with our friends, found a patch of desert, and played a bit.

mark & candice rocked our socks off!

a little american gothic.





though not in the middle of nowhere, mark & candice just found out they might be one step closer to home ownership.  in fact, we are going to check out the prospective buy with our friends tomorrow.



i know this last one doesn't really fit [visually] with the rest.  carlie & i just decided to have a little bit of post-production fun to see what we could come up with.  we like.  you?

HITTIN.THE.STRIP.

just a quick post, since carlie, mark, candice & i are about ready to hit the strip [for the first time since our arrival about 24 hours ago]...

we got in last night, bought food, ate food, learned some sweet photoshop tips [thanks karey], slept, woke up, showered [brrrrrr... 5 bedroom house with a hot water tank that wouldn't fill my kitchen sink], and spent an incredible day bending my brain with my fellow founders & the incredible dane sanders.

if you're here in vegas, i'd say call me... but my phone is dead.  so, i'd say call carlie, but she lost her phone.  so, if you're in vegas, hopefully we'll see you.  the only spot i know we will be for sure is [b]ecker's party tuesday night.  other than that, lady luck will be our guide...

rock on.

LETS.DO.LUNCH.[or dinner]

kymberli and al rule!

at the start of this year, i was stoked to know that someone was reading my blog. and that someone was kymberli. i guess she had quietly stalked my blog for a short time, and when she came out of hiding and commented, i was struck. i thought only the big shots had frequent blog readers [other than their mom or neighbor], and when i found out that someone had randomly found my online scribbling of thoughts & images, and STILL decided to come back for more... well, i think "honored" is too fancy.  i was straight-up stoked.

so, last night carlie & i had the wonderful pleasure of hanging out with the quackenbushes at one of my favorite pizza joints. we got to hear their story, share a little of ours, and just enjoy each others company. i had read earlier this year, from a psychological study, that people are more happy, not from the amount of money they make, or the amount of time they have; but the number one indicator was found to be the frequency with which they share a meal with friends.

so al & kymberli, thanks for making our day a bit brighter! and thanks for the gift & card [the two love-birds happened to have picked the perfect gift... a couple of small vintage photo frames that totally go with our style at home]. we would have been just as happy to have shared a good meal, but on top of that, to get something new & shiny... way cool! this couple gets it.

thanks new friends. we will miss you in vegas, but can't wait to hang out again. rock on.

kymberli... where are you? you thought you could escape the lens for this one. so busted. well, here's al [of kymberli & al quackenbush] with my smokin' hot bride [and no her neck isn't really as long as it looks... ahemGIRRAFEahem] & myself.

[b]IG.[b]LIND.

last night [b]ecker taught me how to play poker. and then i took his money. thanks [b]. [disclaimer: i did have the advantage of playing like a 'donkey' which i guess means that i have no idea as to the 'correct' way to bet & play poker].

the night started out at ling & louie's, where becker arranged a happy-hour chill-session for any & all photogs within a decent hang-out radius. it was so good to meet new friends, blog friends, & some of our favorite photogs. add coconut shrimp & i really couldn't have designed a better monday afternoon. my job rocks!

as we geared up to leave & call it early, jessica claire asked if carlie & i played poker. uhhhh... yeah [i was thinking of the $40 i dropped in bishop at the indian casino on the way to mammoth a couple months ago], so we took the invite, and an awesome opportunity to just chill with others in the industry.

after a stomach full of chic-filet & taquitos, the assault of 'fort knox' deciding not to play smart [aka candice of mark brooke photographer], a couple dumb-but-lucky hands, one or two good plays & 5 hours of poker, i had taken out a few players, to include both my wife and becker [on the river... sorry] and found myself across the table from my new friend ma5en. somehow the newb [me] had made it through, from 11 down to 2.

but ma5en played strong and took the game. not bad though, especially for a rad night of entertainment and good ol' fashion community.

vegas is right around the corner... can't wait.