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This year we photographed a lot of weddings at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. There are some really great spots there for photos from the classic architecutre to the beautiful grounds. I have another album that I am working on from Montalvo and will update my blog soon with some of those images. Here is some information about Montalvo (it's pretty rich with history) Montalvo Arts Center was previously known as Villa Montalvo, a historic landmark built in 1912 by James Duval Phelan (1861-1930). Phelan, a passionate Californian who had been a three-term progressive mayor of San Francisco, went on to become California's first popularly-elected U.S. Senator. Villa Montalvo was Senator Phelan's favorite home and a center of artistic, political and social life in Northern California. Phelan invited leading writers and artists to Villa Montalvo to work on individual artistic projects in an environment rich in dialogue and fellowship. Jack London, Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Douglass Fairbanks, and Edwin Markham were among Phelan's many guests. Villa Montalvo was named for the popular 16th-century Spanish writer Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo, who coined the name "California". In one of his fables, he described an island rich with gold and jewels, peopled by Amazons whose queen was Califia. On this storybook island of California, Montalvo's Amazons rode griffins, the mythical winged guardians of precious treasure. Griffins can still be found throughout the Villa Montalvo grounds, standing guard over one of California's true precious treasures. Here is one of our recent albums from Montalvo:               -- Mark Villa Montalvo Wedding Photography Posted 12/28/2007 at 6:24 PM |
Here is a recent album from one of our favorite vineyards, Testarossa Vineyards in Los Gatos. Testarossa is a beautiful place to get married at and has a very Italian feel to it. The beautiful stonework of the buildings make you forget you are in the Bay Area and take you away to Tuscany. Here are some album pages from a Testarossa wedding: Erika got ready at the Hotel Los Gatos just right down the street:    Before the wedding they met to take some photos. It can be such a benefit to take photos before the ceremony and if you are worried about taking away that special moment when you first walk down the aisle don't worry, it will still be just as special and you will have some amazing images beforehand that can be so emotional and beautiful. Here are a few pages when they first met and then we got to walk around the grounds for awhile without anyone else around which was nice and relaxing.   Testarossa Vineyards has some beautiful walls for photography:          -- Mark Testarossa Vineyards Wedding Photography Posted 12/28/2007 at 5:37 PM |
Posted 12/27/2007 at 8:51 PM |
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The last month we have been so busy finishing up album designs and have created some really beautiful albums designs that I am happy with. Here are just a few of the albums we recently finished: This was a great wedding at the Corinthian Center in San Jose, a beautiful place to get married at. -- Mark Bay Area Wedding Photography                 Posted 12/24/2007 at 1:8 PM |
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Here is a funny little pre Christmas greeting from me and my 2 little elves (Lucky and Jasper, our cats) Elf Greeting -- Mark Posted 12/24/2007 at 2:23 AM |
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I love this time of year, and can't wait until Christmas next week. Just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy Holidays, for everyone that is traveling out there safe travels. I will be catching up on sleep over the next few days and just relaxing a bit (still working though, i am not taking any real time off this year but that's a good thing I have lots of new things i am working on for next year and will share more later) I also owe everyone a belated video post from Thanksgiving and will post that later on today. Have a great weekend, -- Mark Posted 12/21/2007 at 2:30 PM |
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I shot an engagement session at the Legion of Honor a few weeks ago and it was such a great session. The couple really has a great personality and are a perfect match for each other, I can't wait for the wedding. They also really were perfectly dressed for the location and that is always such a big deal. If you are going to be taking engagement photos your attire should always go with the feel of the location and if you aren't sure what to wear just ask me for some suggestions! Here are a few of my fav's from the session:         The Legion of Honor is such a romantic, classic place to photography I just love it! Also if you have never been inside, check it out there is some really great art they have in their collections. -- Mark San Francisco Engagement Photography Posted 12/17/2007 at 5:7 PM |
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As some of you who have read my blog for awhile know I really got back into running this past summer. I was doing good and going out about 3 times a week for a 5 mile run. I felt great, was eating healthy and really felt energized. I was going out with a friend and his schedule changed so he stopped running and I totally stopped also. At the same time I got a little lazy and also stopped eating healthy and really saw my energy level drop back down. But today is a new day and time to start the running program back up. Im going to start today with a mile or so and try to keep it up 3-4 times a week. I'll and post my progress from my Nike + kit on my blog, so you can see my progress and if you see little progress feel free to harass me :) Have a great week, Mark Posted 12/17/2007 at 12:33 PM |
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Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? We still have time to create beautiful wall art for you. Let us print one of your favorite wedding or portrait images for you in one of our custom fine art papers and then finish the piece off with a custom matt board and custom frame. We have lots of beautiful options available give us a call at 408-323-8727 or email Mark and we can setup a time for you to visit the studio and view our options. Also for the next week for any frame order of at least 2 frames we will give you 20% off your entire order (including the prints). Our pricing for custom framing will also not be undersold, even by the big frames like Aaron brothers. Orders must be received by 12-10 to guarantee Christmas delivery.  -- Mark Posted 12/5/2007 at 12:3 PM |
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For all of you techies out there, we have a feed for our Podcasts. This makes it so easy to view new podcasts we have online. And for anyone who didn't know you can subscribe to our blog using RSS which makes it so much easier to keep up on any postings we have. I have been using Safari's RSS bookmarks and it does make things so easy to keep up to date, and for any Mac fans out there try out Leopard new feature in mail to subscribe to RSS feeds in Mail, it makes keeping track of all of the sites you read every day so easy! View our blog feed here:  View our Podcast feed here: Stagi Imagery Wedding Photography Podcasts -- Mark Posted 12/4/2007 at 6:10 PM |
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Here is the slideshow from Chris and Abby's wedding at Thomas Fogarty Winery. This was our last wedding of the year and it was such a great event, a perfect way to end the year :) Chris and Abby's Slideshow - Thomas Fogarty Winery Wedding -- Mark Bay Area Wedding Photography Posted 12/4/2007 at 4:17 PM |
Custom Christmas CardsLooking for a custom christmas card this year?There is still time to order Christmas cards. We can also do beautiful framed prints that make the best Christmas gifts. Give us a call to place an order. To ensure enough production time for your order, all orders must be placed by 12-12-07 for Christmas delivery!If you also need a last minute holiday portrait let us know and we can try to squeeze you into our schedule!  Have your Christmas cards stand out this year!Press Printed Greeting CardsOur 4-color press printed greeting cards are printed using the highest quality press print technology available. Perfect for custom Thank You Cards, Promotions, Special Announcements, and more.
Download an order form here, or call us for more information (408)323-8727. Posted 12/3/2007 at 2:56 PM |
Available in Postcard and Folding Card formats in 4x5½ and 5x7 Sizes, as well as a NEW 5x5 Tri-Fold format!