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Kauai, HI – Escaping the Snow and Wind

1 Comment February 11, 2012|Joe Connolly|News

After blowing snow for over 80 hours this winter just to maintain access to our house (our snowblower has a chronometer), we decided that it was imperative for our sanity to escape Alaska and recharge our souls. We called up our good friends Nick and Madeleine from North Carolina and convinced them to make the 15 hour flight to meet us there. Alaskan’s are spoiled – with airfare in the $400 range and only a 6 hour flight, we’ve got it easy compared to those on the east coast.

Joe and Nick have a long history of photography together. For those of you who don’t know, Joe photographed Nick and Maddy’s wedding 10 years ago in Austria. Since spending 2 weeks together in Austria and Germany for the wedding, Joe and Nick have been best friends. They ended up shooting for the same wedding photography company in Detroit and then, after both moving to Anchorage, Nick shot for Chugach Peaks. Along the way, Nick ended up shooting Brook and Joe’s wedding in Homer.

The four of us love outdoors stuff and decided to tackle the Kalalau Trail in Kauai. It traverses the North Shore (Nepali Coast) of Kauai 12 miles from the end of the nearest road. It’s pretty rough terrain, but totally worth it. Because it’s only accessible by foot and is a long hike, the beach is pretty much your own when you get there. In one of the photos you can see our camp site in the bottom of the photo.

All these photos are either Joe’s or Nick’s. Some of them we’re not sure who’s is who’s… so we’re throwing them all in together and posting them on both our blogs. Hope you enjoy!

Palmer Wedding: Jessica & Derek at a Private Residence

0 Comments December 20, 2011|Joe Connolly|Private Residence: Palmer

On Tuesday I was at a private residence in Palmer for Jessica & Derek’s wedding. They were married in Jessica’s parent’s living room with a small group of friends and family, with a nicely catered dinner after in the same room. It was small, intimate, and mellow, until one of the guys tried to light Jessica’s dress on fire with an entire fistful of sparklers that were lit at the same time. It was pretty much an explosion that was tossed to the ground next to her dress – luckily she escaped unburned. We started off the day doing some photos of just the two of them, taking advantage of whatever wind-protection we could find – it was blowing 30-40mph, but we managed to make it work. After the ceremony and reception dinner, Jessica’s brother drove out onto the lake near their house and lit off some fireworks at the end of the night. It was a nice touch and everyone came out onto the deck to enjoy the show. A great day for sure!

Soldotna Wedding: Megan & Andy at the Soldotna Bible Chapel & Alaska Christian College

0 Comments December 17, 2011|Joe Connolly|Uncategorized

On Saturday Chris Beck and I were down in Soldotna for Megan & Andy’s wedding at the Soldotna Bible Chapel followed by a reception at the Alaska Christian College. Before all that, we started at a friends house where we did some nice bridal party photos and photos of Megan & Andy together. In-between the ceremony and reception we stopped along the way to do a few shots. Before entering the reception we did a few photos with their sweet 1980′s Volvo. A sparkler exit for a grand finale and a quick getaway in the Volvo rounded off the night!

Anchorage Wedding: Amber & Nick in Downtown Anchorage and the Anchorage Hilton

0 Comments November 18, 2011|Josh Martinez|Anchorage Hilton

On Saturday Josh was at the Anchorage Hilton to photograph Amber & Nick’s reception – their ceremony was the week before in downtown Anchorage at the Captain Cook Memorial overlook. More text to come!

Flying to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

0 Comments November 18, 2011|Joe Connolly|Flying

For Thanksgiving we traveled down to Asheville, North Carolina to visit former Chugach Peaks Photographer, and now Asheville Wedding Photographer Nick Gillespie of Blue Bend Photography. It’s been a nice trip so far and we are enjoying the 60-70 degree weather!
One of the things I’ve been working on during the winter months is my commercial pilot’s license. A requirement of that training is to complete a 300nm flight at least 250 miles in a straight line from the departure airport. In Alaska, that would force me to fly out to Bethel our Dillingham, which is possible but more expensive and risky in the Winter due to weather and less daylight. I decided to meet that requirement while down here, and chose Kitty Hawk as the destination. This is the site of the Wright Brother’s first flight, so as a pilot it was an extra special destination! The weather was perfect and the flight smooth and quiet. First Flight Airport was a nice 3000ft runway a few hundred feet from the monument and site of their flight. As an Alaska-based pilot, it’s really weird flying down here. There are so many airports and so much traffic in the sky. In Alaska it’s usually more weather and terrain that are the primary concerns. Here are some pics!

Anchorage Wedding: Michelle & Matthew at St. Patrick’s Church

0 Comments November 11, 2011|Josh Martinez|St. Patrick's Church

On Friday, 11-11-11, Josh was at St. Patrick’s Church in Anchorage for Megan & Matthew’s wedding. They went up to the Glen Alps parking lot after and did some photos in the snow as well. More text to come!

Engagement Shoot: Erica & Ken at Hatcher Pass

0 Comments November 11, 2011|Joe Connolly|Engagement

On Friday, before I shot a Hatcher Pass wedding, I also shot Erica & Ken’s engagement photos. The sky was bright white with clouds, and the mountains were bright white with snow, so we had to hike up to the mine buildings for 20 minutes from the lower parking lot to get some contrast. The mine buildings are awesome though with their bright red trim and silver and white siding.. Lots of character. Speaking of, Erica and Ken were characters too.. getting into a snow fight (no snow balls, the snow was too loose..), followed by Ken pulling some wrestling moves on Erica including the often-feared head slam thing.. (edited: Erica says this is a pile-drive). They also brought out their dogs for a few shots at the very end. Here are the photos..!

Hatcher Pass Wedding: Christin & Nate

3 Comments November 11, 2011|Joe Connolly|Uncategorized

On Friday, I spent the awesome 11-11-11 wedding date at Hatcher Pass with Christin and Nate – we all met up at a parking area near the Government Peak picnic area where they had setup a pretty sweet ceremony site tucked away in the cottonwoods next to a snow covered creek. The Groom’s dad made an arch from scratch that sat atop a platform that they were married on. Blankets, hand warmers, and propane heaters were all provided to the guests. Fortunately they were married before a really bad cold spell fell upon southcentral, so temperatures were only in the teens and not below zero. No wind also made things pretty nice. After the ceremony we headed over to their friend’s house for a great dinner and fun. The cornish game hen was particularly tasty – marinated in crown royale! Despite the wind and snow that fell upon the reception, we still got outside and did some nice stuff with the log cabin.. check it out!

Indian/Anchorage Wedding: Nevada & Shane at the Indian Valley Bible Chalet & Bayshore Clubhouse

0 Comments October 15, 2011|Joe Connolly|Bayshore Clubhouse, Indian Valley Bible Chalet

On Saturday I was at the Indian Valley Bible Chalet, which is located about 20 minutes south of Anchorage along the Seward Highway. Nevada and Shane live in Cordova but came up to Anchorage and got married in the church Shane grew up going to. Despite a little rain, we still managed to do all the family pictures outside and plenty of stuff with the wedding party and bride and groom. Afterwards we headed back into Anchorage for a reception at the Bayshore Clubhouse. Shane surprised Nevada with an-unknown honeymoon destination. She just knew she would be flying through Seattle enroute to somewhere warm. Hopefully they are enjoying their time on a nice sunny beach!

Cooper Landing Wedding – Yvette & Brian at Alaska Heavenly Lodge

1 Comment October 7, 2011|Josh Martinez|Alaska Heavenly Lodge

On Friday Josh was at Alaska Heavenly Lodge in Cooper Landing to photograph Yvette & Brian’s wedding – We are doing a bunch of blogs at once and will update the text a bit later, in the meantime, here are the photos!

Anchorage Wedding: Liana & Jim at the Hotel Captain Cook

0 Comments October 2, 2011|Heather Thamm|Hotel Captain Cook

On Sunday Heather was at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage for Liana & Jim’s wedding – We are doing a bunch of blogs at once and will update the text a bit later, in the meantime, here are the photos!

Skagway Wedding: Kathryn & Neal

0 Comments September 29, 2011|Josh Martinez|Wedding Locations: Skagway

When I got the call for a Skagway wedding, I was stoked! Shooting down in Southeast Alaska is such a treat. Katie and Neal had an intimate wedding just outside of town, with a picture perfect backdrop of snowcapped mountains and the teal waters of Lynns Canal. Overcast weather opened up into a spectacularly sunny Autumn day. I have only been to Southeast a couple times, and both trips have been like this. Who says it’s always rainy down there? If you want a sunny Southeast wedding, book me! (Editor’s note: Joe says it’s always rainy in SE, because it is)..

Photographing in these type of locations is really a photographers paradise. The emerald waters made such a great backdrop for some of these shots. If any of you Brides out there are even considering a destination wedding here in Alaska, don’t forget about Southeast!

Katie & Neal, a huge congratulations to you both. Thanks for choosing me to be a part of this very special day. I truly had a blast!

Palmer Wedding: Beth & Pat at a Private Residence

0 Comments September 25, 2011|Josh Martinez|Private Residence: Palmer

On Sunday Josh was at a Private Residence in Palmer to photograph Beth & Pat’s wedding – We are doing a bunch of blogs at once and will update the text a bit later, in the meantime, here are the photos!

Anchorage Wedding: Jeri & Patrick at Cuddy Family Midtown Park

0 Comments September 24, 2011|Joe Connolly|Cuddy Family Midtown Park

On Saturday I was at the Cuddy Family Midtown Park in Anchorage for Jeri and Patrick’s wedding. Their reception was on the 9th floor of an unfinished office building between Northern Lights and Benson on C Street. Definitely one of the coolest and most modern venues I’ve shot at in Alaska! Very lofty with amazing views in all directions. The ceremony itself had a great backdrop also – the ‘ol Chugach Peaks loomed in the distance and all the guests got a good view from the amphitheater seating. Before the ceremony, we walked around the park doing photos of Jeri and Patrick. We actually got to do some cool stuff – Feed the ducks and geese and then chase them, and then Patrick hijacked some guy’s acrobatic kite and flew the kite for a little while. He also crashed it into the ground at the end, and we were afraid it was busted, but luckily it was okay. Patrick took off and we told the guy with the kite we didn’t know him.. everything worked out just fine!
The reception lighting was off the hook, great ambient light from the city and cool decorations everywhere. We were only at the reception for an hour and a half but managed to pack it all in and get great coverage.

Anchorage Wedding: Alisha & George at Hilltop Ski Chalet

0 Comments September 10, 2011|Josh Martinez|Hilltop Ski Chalet

Today I was at the Hilltop Ski Chalet to photograph Alisha & George’s wedding. I had great time shooting their engagement photos earlier this year, and today was no different! I started in Peters Creek for the getting ready photos with Alisha and her bridesmaids. The salon had some great interior design, which is a huge plus for these type of photos. Lots of fun shots, portraits and details! Once everyone was ready we headed down for photos at Peters Creek itself. More bridal portraits, and group photos and then we headed down to Anchorage for the ceremony at Hilltop. You couldn’t have asked for better weather. George and his thirteen groomsmen were a fun crew to work with while we shot a variety of photos around the venue. This many guys make for an impressive group photo! Five Star Entertainment DJ’d the ceremony and reception, getting everyone out celebrating on the dance ﬂoor. I had a blast shooting this wedding start to ﬁnish, and would like to extend a huge thank you and congratulations to this beautiful couple!