Take a trip back in time...to 2010.

December 11th I headed down to Ocean Beach to meet up with an old friend from the Coast Guard to shoot his engagement photo. John and I were stationed on the "Mighty Warship" US Coast Guard Cutter Chase. We both worked in the Main Propulsion division, arguably the roughest, toughest, sweatiest, smelliest bunch of sailors imaginable. After 1.5 or 2 years of sleeping in adjacent racks (beds), John headed off to the air station in San Diego to pursue his career as an AMT (Aviation Maintenance Technician) in the Coast Guard. I think we ran into each other one time after that before I was honorably discharged from service in 2004.

Fast forward to 2010.

John and I link up on the infamous Facebook, you may have heard of it. You too may have come in contact with people from your past via Facebook. It's inevitable. I digress...Shortly after John and I connected, he proposed to his then girlfriend, Ali. A few weeks later John contacted me to see if we could talk about possibly shooting his engagement and wedding. I was absolutely thrilled! We decided to get together on December 11th to do the engagement session. I told them if they're comfortable with me during the shoot to please consider me to shoot their ceremony and reception. We began with lunch. John and I spent more time catching up, telling stories from the sea (sorry, Ali!) than discussing the wedding. We then moved on to a great location John and Ali had picked just outside of Ocean Beach on Sunset Cliffs.

The shoot went amazing! They were perfect subjects and from the photos is it evident perfect for each other. They've reserved their wedding for late July in the northern San Diego city named Vista. Here are some photos from their engagement shoot.

I really like this image. There is some serious chemistry going on here.

So much sass going on in this one!

I love the feeling of this photo. So genuine!

Three separate photos, all shot on 4x5 black and white film. By far my favorite!

 I'm feel so honored and grateful to be shooting this wedding. It's going to be a blast!

Congrats, John and Ali!

Craig