A Year in Review + Top 33 Pictures of 2009

Again, I feel so incredibly blessed for the opportunity to pursue La Brisa Photography and I sincerely appreciate all of my former/future clients, supporters and fans! 2009 has been an absolutely a-MAY-zing year for me as I honestly feel that I have been able to reach more people and have been able to give back with this wonderful gift that God has given me. Thank you to my incredible wife, Brisa, because without her selfless support, I would not have been able to accomplish half of what I have been able to do this year! One thing that I am really proud of accomplishing this year is the growing number of fellow photographers that I can call my friends. I look forward to developing our relationships and encouraging each other in 2010!

A huge amount of appreciation to everyone and I wish I could give all of you a ginormous HUG to show you how much I appreciate you! 

Happy New Year's Eve everyone - stay safe, have fun and take a TON of pictures!!! :)

2009 By the numbers for La Brisa Photography

$1,009 = amount of profits that was evenly donated to the Red Cross and the Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan through Photography for a Cause

27,968 = number of total visits to our blog, client site and main website (via Google Analytics)

343,677 = number of total page views to our blog, client site and main website (via Google Analytics)

40,000+ = pictures delivered to clients

1,169 = Followers at www.twitter.com/labrisaphoto

740 = Our awesome Facebook Fans! www.facebook.com/LaBrisaPhotography

158 = Blog Posts

7 = Aspiring Photographer Workshops (APW) attended by 48 photographers of all abilities

11 = After assuming I was moving in early June, I referred all of my potential wedding clients to other fabulous photographers, but then I decided to stick around and was blessed with 11 amazing weddings in 2009! Started off the year in a big way with Kacie and Monte's rockin celebration in KC to North Dakota to North Carolina and finished the year with Laura and Jake's wonderful wedding in KC!

28 = Attraction sessions: Engagements, Anniversaries, Just Because!

26 = Joy sessions: Families, Babies, Children!

12 = Style Sessions: Senior Portraits, Modeling, Just Because!

26 = Thanks to a bevy of assistants, I was able to do 26 sessions in July. Ridiculous, right? We had a ton of fun though didn't we?

1 = Master's Degree in Education: Counseling and Student Development for me

And possibly the most important number and addition to La Brisa Photography...

10 = After announcing the addition of Brandi as an associate photographer in August, she proceeded to do 10 sessions and is ready to be unleashed in 2010! An unbelievable talent, Brandi is just beginning to utilize a glimpse of her vast potential and I am super super excited to have her join me at La Brisa Photography!

Below are 33 of my favorite images from 2009. There were so many awesome clients to choose from and I wish I could have included everyone! Enjoy!

Landscapes from Kansas & New York

Dierks Bentley @ Country Stampede

Attraction Sessions

Style Sessions

Joy Sessions

Love

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Christmas!

As most of you already know, my family means the world to me. For Christmas this year, everyone met up in Northern Virginia to celebrate Christmas as an entire family! From CA and NY, we all traveled down to remember and glorify Christ's birth at my sister's house! 

8 adults + 2 babies + 3 dogs in 1 house = an eventful few days, but it was glorious to be together at the same time!

I have been blessed with an amazingly close-knit family and it always breaks my heart to hear about how others do not have the same supportive, loving and caring family like mine. Growing up, I assumed everyone's family was the same, but I realized that what we have is very special and should be cherished each and every day.

So I am incredibly grateful for my family and especially to my parents who struggled, adapted, thrived and can thoroughly enjoy their accomplishments. 

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas too!!!

Grandparents + Grandsons

Timmy, my youngest nephew

Like I said on Facebook, my nephews are cuter than your nephews!

Matty, aka The Meatball

Our big happy family!

The Chu Family

The Yeh Family

The Hsieh Family

Grandmother, mothers and grandsons

At the end of the day, I think Genius sums up how we all felt!

Merry Christmas!

Today, we celebrate the birth of our savior. Brisa and I are overwhelmed with our relationship with Jesus Christ and how much he has blessed our lives. We honor Him today as we enjoy time with our family and loved ones.

Thank you for all of your love and support and we pray that all of you travel safely and cherish the time that you have with your families and friends!

Here is a picture of us in front of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan thanks to www.ericamay.com. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Laura & Jake - Love in Kansas City

Laura and I have had quite the history. First time I had the pleasure of photographing her was way back in March of 2008 with her best friend Rebecca - HERE. Then, the second time around was when Laura wanted to do a friends' shoot and I was happy to oblige! You can view that session - HERE. Finally, after all of the talking, I had a chance to meet her boyfriend turned fiance, Jake, during their awesome engagement shoot - HERE. Can I just say that Laura looks more and more beautiful with each shoot? I love my gorgeous clients! :)

So you do not have any idea how excited I was to photographer Laura and Jake's wedding! With the amazing assistance of my associate photographer, Brandi, and Eric of ELS Photography, we covered their fabulous wedding from hair salon to their rainy departure!

Laura and Jake were possibly the most relaxed and calm bride and groom I have ever had. Throughout the day, they were just happy and ready to party! They really set the atmosphere for everyone because even with the pending weather, all of the family and guests were excited and eager to dance!

My absolute favorite moments of the entire day were when Laura and Jake were smiling at each other. They look as if they are in their own little world and nobody else is with them. Perfectly in love.

Thank you so much for having us photograph your wedding! We had a blast and we hope you love your pictures!

Hair Salon - Double Take Salon and Spa

Ceremony Site - Church of the Resurrection

Reception Site - Bacchanalia Private Dining

The Men

Stud

Details of the gorgeous dress

Brandi's rockin shot of the men

Elegantly Beautiful

Brandi's view of the First Look

My view

Brandi's awesome shot that I absolutely love

Bouquets!

Fabulous ladies

Amazing shot by Brandi right before the walk down the aisle

I absolutely love this photo. Love the simplicity, love the clean lines, love Laura's expression. My favorite photo of their wedding!

This epitomizes Laura and Jake

I set up a quick slideshow of images for Laura to see and Brandi took this great shot of Laura's reaction!

First dance

Mid fist pump between brothers! FTW!

da Bling

At the end of the night, there were a ton of heartfelt goodbyes and congratulations.

Good night!

Be sure to watch the video below for an awesome toast by Laura's dad and to see Jake and his mom showing off their sweet dance moves! Want to watch it in HD? Click HD Version!

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