San Diego Wedding Photography - MA5EN - 619.244.7627

Welcome to the new MA5EN blog!

MA5EN — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:20:24 +0000

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by my brand new blog. My name is Masen, and I’m a wedding and portrait photographer working and living in beautiful Southern California. This blog is meant to serve as a journal for me and my photographic life, where I post images, stories, thoughts and opinions from every aspect of my life. I like to think of it as a great way for my clients, friends and fellow photographers to keep up with my day-to-day personal and professional life.

Please take the time to look around and click through all of the links at the top, and don’t forget to add me to your RSS reader! If you have any links or blogrolls pointing to my old blog, I’d appreciate it if you took a minute to switch them over to here. I’ll be happy to do the same for you.

If you’d like to know a little more about me or my photography, please SEND ME AN E-MAIL, or give me a call at 619.244.7627.

If you are a client looking to see your proofs, please do so by clicking HERE.

And lastly, if you are planning on getting married, I’d love to hear from you! Or if you know someone else who is getting married, please send them my info. I promise you won’t regret it! Thanks again for stopping by.

August 21st Vow Renewal

MA5EN — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:59:58 +0000

This past Saturday I had the chance to photograph a wonderful reception that followed the 15 year vow renewal of fantastic couple. While I didn’t photograph the vow renewal itself, I did shoot a few family formals and some fun times at the reception at the 94th Aero Squadron. Here are a couple of my faves:

The beautiful bouquet:

The couple’s dapper little boy:

And couple images of the wonderful couple:

Ashton - 4 Months Old

MA5EN — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:59:04 +0000

Last week I headed over to the house of a friend of mine whom I haven’t seen in quite a long time. It had been so long in fact, that since the last time we saw each other, he’s become a father! His little boy, Ashton, is the cutest thing ever (next to my daughter of course!). I took of few photos of 4 month old Ashton, along with Mom and Dad. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Hangin’ in Dad’s arms…

Blowing on the belly is always good for some laughs:

With Mom, on the bed:

The beautiful, happy family!

And it’s always important to get a couple shots of the tiny hands and feet!

Congratulations, you guys! He’s an awesome little man!

Alaska

MA5EN — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 07:40:30 +0000

I’ve just arrived to my destination in rural northern Alaska for yet another two week shoot for the US Army. This trip is was scheduled at the last minute, and I was initially bummed at the prospect of having to leave town yet again, leaving my wife and daughter behind. While that is still a major bummer, the surroundings here in Alaska are absolutely AMAZING. I’ve never been to Alaska, and so far it is not disappointing me in the least.

I’m staying in a lodge about a 1/4 mile from where I’ll be shooting. Other than those two places, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING in the way of civilization in any direction for at least a hundred miles. But, the lodge is fantastic, and the scenery is unmatched. I have cel service, internet, and food, so I’m good. I think I can deal without having TV for a few days, although I’m not too stoked about that. : )

I’ll be taking plenty of pictures while I’m out here, but for now, here’s one simple shot of my view from the outside deck of the 9-room lodge I’m staying in:

This shot was taken at 10:30pm, and there’s still plenty of light outside now at 11:30! It’s messing with my internal clock a little, but worth it to have more time to take in the beauty of my surroundings.

Check back in the coming days for more images!

PS - I’m working on my brand new laptop, and forgot to bring the file I use to watermark my images, so please don’t steal it! ; )

Family Portraits - Rancho Santa Fe, CA

MA5EN — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:39:08 +0000

Last week I had the chance to photograph a wonderful family up in Ranch Santa Fe. They’re in the final stages of building a brand new house, so we decided to shoot some fun and simple portraits in their backyard. Here are a few I liked while going through the images…

Family Mini Sessions - Seaport Village, San Diego

MA5EN — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:54:05 +0000

Last week I met up with some amazingly fun families for another round of mini-portrait sessions. This time we met in Seaport Village, near downtown San Diego. Here are a few of my favorites from the afternoon:

I’ll be scheduling more mini-sessions for later this Summer. Check back here on the blog for details!

Del Mar Family Portraits

MA5EN — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:36:52 +0000

A few days ago I shot some simple family portraits for a wonderfully fun family in Del Mar, CA. We only shot for a few minutes in the family’s back yard, but we captured some great, relaxed images to update some of the frames around their house. Here are a couple of my favorites:

June 26 Wedding, Paso Robles, CA

MA5EN — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:57:53 +0000

A couple weeks ago I found myself back in Paso Robles, CA to shoot another beautiful winery wedding. Before last month, I had never shot a wedding in, or even visited Paso Robles. Last month I photographed two! This wedding took place about a mile down the road from the wedding I had photographed only 3 weeks earlier.

Here are a few shots that caught my eye from the day:

A couple of details…

The beautiful bride peeking out the getting ready room:

A shot of the dapper groom:

Such a beautiful location!

Just before the first kiss…

These kids were hilarious!

The couple!

I love this shot, and how the groom is helping with the dress up the stairs…

I haven’t created an inspiration board in awhile, so here ya go!

I love this shot of the groom singing to his bride during their first dance. A very sweet moment:

And I always have to get a shot during the last few seconds of golden sunset light!

If anyone is getting married in Paso Robles, please give me a call! I would love to shoot there again and again!

June 5th Wedding, Paso Robles, CA

MA5EN — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:27:36 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I flew out to California from the east coast during one of my long Army photo shoots to photograph a beautiful wedding in Paso Robles, CA. Before the wedding day I had never met the couple. We’d spoken on the phone, but because the couple doesn’t live in Southern California, we’d never met face to face before their big day. I’m always a little nervous when that happens, but as soon as I arrived the couple made me feel right at home, just as if I were a member of the family. I’m so fortunate to be able to work with such wonderful couples, and these two are absolutely no exception!

The bride and groom got ready at the charming Hotel Cheval in downtown Paso Robles, and were married at the gorgeous Vina Robles winery. To begin, here are a few shots of the getting ready details!

The fab dress!

And you know I love shots that show the textures of the dress…

The awesome Stuart Weitzman shoes:

All hands on deck!

Stunning!

The happy bride, strutting her stuff…

A couple shots of the lucky groom:

Such a cute flower girl:

I love this emotional shot of the bride and her father coming down the aisle:

Married!

The cupcake wedding cake was delicious!

First dance:

And here are a couple more of my favorite portraits of the bride and groom:

Thanks for letting me share in your day, guys! Congratulations to you both!

May 30 Wedding in Tiburon, CA

MA5EN — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:35:14 +0000

A couple of weekends ago I traveled up to Northern California’s Marin County, to photograph a beautiful, intimate wedding for a fantastically fun couple. It was a very small wedding, with only 20 or so of the couple’s closest family and friends making the trip to the bay area. The wedding day started like any other with the preparation. Here are a few details during the getting ready:

The dress:

I love the details:

The groom is a cowboy, so I had to get a shot of the sweet boots:

The rings inside the top indent of the groom’s cowboy hat:

The gorgeous bride:

I wanted to capture a shot of the groom looking like a true, badass cowboy. No smiling allowed for this shot!

The bride’s beautiful daughter:

The ceremony was held on the edge of a mountain cliff on top of Mt. Tamalpais. It was absolutely beautiful with the small group of friends, and a view of the San Francisco bay in the background:

Married! With bubbles!

Now, lets zoom backwards in time to earlier in the day… After getting ready, the coupe and I drove around Mill Valley and Marin County to shoot a bunch of images before the ceremony. We had plenty of time, and a crystal clear day to cruise around and snag some great shots. Here are a just a few:

With the Golden Gate Bridge in the background:

Near some redwoods:

At the edge of a lookout on the mountain. I love this moment:

After shooting a few portraits of the couple, the two headed into a secluded spot inside of the mountain park where they could spend a few moments together, and have their own special private ceremony together. I was honored to have been there to share and capture it with them.

The happy couple!

And here’s one last shot of the two of them… maybe my favorite of the day:

Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day you guys!