Santa Barbara Independent Best of Poll

We are so honored and excited to share that Kandie Koed, of Pacific Islands Media, has won finalist for Event Coordinator in The Santa Barbara Independent’s Best Of 2009. Kandie has been coordinating events in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles for the past fifteen years and is also a Brooks Institute of Photography graduate where she earned her Bachelors of Arts in Professional Photography. Congratulations Kandie!

Larry’s 4th Birthday

23 September 2009
This past weekend we celebrated Larry’s 4th birthday by cursing around the Santa Barbara harbor on The Little Toot then heading to Rusty’s Pizza for pizza, cake, presents, and games. It was so much fun to watch as each child took a turn at the wheel of The Little Toot, always under the captain’s watchful eye of course. Bubbles, sailors hats, and fun where had by all despite the cloudy day. Latter at Rusty’s Pizza kids and parents enjoyed pizza, face painting, and loads of pirate treasure. Happy Birthday Larry!

Bryson and Mackenzie’s Wedding

25 July 2009
This past Saturday, my team and I had the immense pleasure of coordinating Bryson and Mackenzie’s beach wedding in Santa Barbara, California. Mackenzie looked so beautiful as she walked down the aisle in a flowing pink gown that was perfect for a beach wedding. The couple exchanged vows before friends and family then headed off to one of Santa Barbara’s historic landmarks, Stella Mare’s where they dinned in the breathtaking Greenhouse room.
Congratulations Bryson and Mackenzie! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your lovely day.

All photos taken by Pacific Islands Media

Secret Wedding

On the morning of 28 June 2009 I woke up to one of the strangest phone calls. Someone was on the line asking me if I could come down to the Santa Barbara courthouse in an hour and photograph her wedding. My first thought of course was why had they waited until the last minute to hire a wedding photographer so I started asking questions. What I discovered was that this couple was up for Los Angeles and that their parents were planning a very large wedding for them next year. They felt that things had gotten out of control with this wedding and it had become more about their parents wants then their own. All they cared about was being married so they hopped in their car and drove up to Santa Barbara, a place they enjoyed visiting together. The couple had only one request of me as their photographer, I would not be allowed to post any of their wedding photos as no one knew they were getting married. They were still going through with the large family wedding the following year but they wanted photos to show their children someday of their actual wedding day.
At this point I should tell you that I was a bit reluctant, not because of the couple but because I had returned late the night before from my grandmothers funeral and to say the least I was not in an overly happy mood. For some mad reason however, I found myself agreeing and an hour latter I was standing, camera in hand watching and photographing the most beautiful couple. The love they shared simply poured out of them healing my broken heart as it did. I thought I was doing them a favor by showing up at the last minute but in reality they were the ones were helping me without even knowing it.
The photos turned out to be some of the best work I have ever done and I am sorry that I can not share them with you but I made a promise not to. So thank you to the magical couple who had the secret Santa Barbara wedding. You know who you are.

Danny's Bar Mitzvah - 20 June 2009

Being a part of Danny Sills Bar Mitzvah was so special because of what it meant to Danny to be Jewish. His family shared with us that Danny took on all the responsibilities of a Bar Mitzvah on his own accord and really did an amazing job. To be there to capture the celebration was simply awesome and it was a lot of fun to see some of the same faces who where at Emily’s Bat Mitzvah earlier in the year. Congratulations Danny!

Lacey and Josh

This past week my little sister and her husband were in Santa Barbara and asked me to take photos of them at one of our favorite parks. Of course I was honored and it was really awesome to get to hang out with them for a bit. They live in North Carolina so I don’t get to see them much. It was really cool for me to see her so happy and watch the two of them together. They make each other laugh and he kept kissing her which made my job really easy. I still can’t believe that she is married. Oh my gosh do I feel old.

Bahamas

I must start by apologizing for the lack of postings lately. We have been on location in the beautiful Bahamas with very little internet access but are home now and I wanted to get some images up. This trip was by far one of my favorites. We spent several days on an awesome 110 foot private yacht with one of the best chefs I have ever met feeding us amazing food all day. The water was so clear that we could not help but take photo after photo of the colorful reefs. I am so excited for our clients to see these photos of their dream vacation and forever grateful to them for hiring us to tag along.

Tiffany's Boudoir Shoot

Tiffany wanted to give her boyfriend something special for their one-year anniversary and a boudoir shoot was perfect. Tiffany’s boyfriend creates beats so we photographed her with his headphones in some of the shots. The shoot was a lot and fun and I am so excited for Tiffany and her boyfriend to see the images.

Senior Photo Shoot

Kandie and I had a lot of fun during our senior photo shoot with Dylan. After a little coaching he relaxed and opened up. He wanted shots of who he is. So after taking the parent requested “nice” shots, he grabbed his guitar, put a cigarette to behind his ear and played a few songs as we photographed him. We love to shoot this way as it lets our seniors be comfortable and have fun. That’s the point.

Emily's Bat Mitzvah

On Saturday, 21 March 2009 Dustin and I had the pleasure of shooting Emily Shane’s Bat Mitzvah. It really was awesome to be a part of this beautiful event. Emily’s family was really cool to work with as they were all so easy going and so much fun! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your special day Emily. Happy Bat Mitzvah!

Twilight DVD Release

On Friday, 20 March 2009, my Kandie Boudoir stylist Annette and I went to the midnight release of the Twilight DVD at Borders Books and Music in Santa Barbara. I’ve never seen so many pre-teen screaming girls all in one place before. They were so cute playing Twilight trivia and waiting for midnight. I’m sorry to say that Rob Pattinson did not make an appearance which really would have sent the girls over the edge. I’m not sure who was more excited for the midnight release, all those 12 year olds or me? I have already watched my Twilight DVD 6 times and it hasn’t even been out for a week yet.

Dustin

Dustin has been battling skin cancer for the past 8 years and has to do a crazy skin treatment once a year that brings all the cancer cells to the surface and kills them. It is really painful and I feel so terrible for him, but not bad enough to not blog about it. I am posting this to remind everyone just how important sunscreen is. He just looks like he is in pain.

Lake Weekend

Hey Everyone,
We just got home from Lake Nacimiento where we spend a lot of our time. It was our friend Sarah's birthday and we had way to much fun. I am sorry to say that I did not take any pictures. I'm really excited about this weekend. We are photographing an event in beautiful Malibu and really looking forward to it. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Bridal Shoot

Yesterday Dustin and I shot a bride at Butterfly Beach. It was such a beautiful afternoon and sunset. Dustin was working as the main shooter and I was assisting him which was really fun for me. He has a great eye for backgrounds. Our bride was so much fun and even willing to get in the ice cold water to get the shot. She was awesome!

Website Launch

We finally launched our website today. We are so excited for everyone to see it. Let us know what you think as feedback is always welcome. Now we’re starting work on my boudoir site which I cannot wait for! It should be up sometime in the next couple of months. Have an awesome week everyone.

Last Friday, Dustin and I did a shoot on the roof of the Wiltern Theater in Hollywood. The shoot was for several graduates from Cinema Make Up School and was shot in a fashion style setting. It was really cool to photograph something more fashion orientated. It’s a much different world then what I generally work in. The models and styles were a blast to work with and I got some shots that I am so excited about. Thanks ladies for an awesome day!

WPPI

We made it through WPPI and what a week it was. I am so excited to have spent a few minutes with The Boudoir Divas, Marissa and Kimberlee, who are my inspiration. Snaps ladies on your new posing book and thanks again for helping me settle on a name for my boudoir photography.

Dustin and I attended a few masters and platform classes that were so valuable such as Lori Nordstrom’s, which helped us to realize that we needed to focus our photography.

I am so jazzed about our new website. It will be up and running this week and will be hosted by Blu Domain. We had the pleasure of attending their rockin’ party where we met some unique, fun people.

We’re glad to be home and putting all that we’ve learned into practice. Thank you everyone who contributed to our newfound knowledge, it was an awesome week.