Archive for October, 2011

Hawksnest Beach, St. John, Virgin Islands

Monday, October 31st, 2011

I know in my last blog, I raved about Trunk Bay Beach, St. John.  It’s true:  Trunk Bay is magical and wonderful late in the day.  Sure, it is a beautiful beach all day long but there can be so many tourist on Trunk you shouldn’t have high expectations of privacy or intimacy until late in the afternoon.   Hawksnest Beach, however,  my other favorite beach on St. John, is perfect if you want those rockin’ Caribbean, what I call “Corona” (like the beer commercial) colors.  10:00 a.m. is the perfect time.  There is rarely anyone there at that hour and when the sun is out, the colors pop.  I guarantee friends and family will say “Wow!”

I get a lot of inquiries saying “it’s just the two of us and we’re on a budget.”  I understand.  Things are tight these days and that’s why I reply, “It’s a once in a lifetime experience.  It’s the most wonderful experience you’ll ever have outside of having children.  Remember, it’s not about 1 day of photos, or 1 hour even, it’s about a lifetime of memories.  If you want those memories to be smiles, how can you not afford to hire me?”

Congratulations to Kristina & Cyril!  I Love the joy and spontaneity.  No one cared about the sudden downpour.  By cloud and by wave, for these beautiful images, I didn’t mind getting wet.   –Eric

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

 

A minister, an arch, flowers and Love!  What more do you need?

Hawksnest is Beautiful!

 

 

Making Cyril Smile

 


And Here Comes the Rain!

Love it!

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

Cara & Josh Trunk Bay, St. John, Virgin Islands

Monday, October 31st, 2011

I Love Trunk Bay Beach on St. John.  For those few of you who don’t know, Trunk Bay, St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands is world famous.   It is 2nd only to Magens Beach on St. Thomas as the most visited and most photographed beach in the Caribbean.  It has been on the cover of numerous magazines & web-sites around the world and I am confident that it has been the subject of every artist who has ever visited St. John.  You will find a picture of Trunk Bay on anything and everything promoting this little island as it has become a symbol of, or should I say, synonymous with St. John.

It is a beautiful place and it deserves the rep.  Although during the day, it can become overrun by locals and tourists.  In the late afternoon, when the crowds have returned to their ship or villa, it becomes a beautiful, almost magical, place for a wedding.  The mid-day saturated Caribbean colors become muted but not dark.  The water sparkles, in my camera anyway, with a magical cyan that isn’t seen anywhere else.

That is exactly what Bostonians Cara and Josh wanted.  After dating for 7 years, they shared their experience of a lifetime with 25 friends and family on a near empty Trunk Bay Beach before celebrating at Coral Oasis Villa atop Bordeaux Mountain.  It was truly a special experience and I was glad to be a part of it.

I love so many images from their wedding I could just post them all.   Short of that what I decided to feature with this blog is sequential images and show how they tell a story.  As a photo journalist, I try to tell the story of the day, your story, with beautiful individual and unique images.   Sometimes the story, however, is told in a sequence of shots.  Notice in the following series of images, as Cara and Josh walk the beach after their wedding, how the images flow beautifully together to tell their story of Love and Friendship.   Yet also notice how each and every one is in itself a unique and beautiful image standing alone to tell that story.    I LOVE IT!  If had to pick one, I couldn’t.

Cara & Josh:  Blessings and Thank You!  To your Dad Cara: That was an awfully long walk Dad and we could all feel your emotions as you walked her down the “aisle”.  I was with you and you did great!

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures.  © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

 

I Love the alternative process with this image. It works!

Love & Laughter

Laughter & Friendship!

Beautiful

That was a long but beautiful "aisle"

 

Yahoooo! They're Married!

"We're Married!" Bubbles anyone?

Love the Parasols!

The look of Love!

Again, a great series!

 

Coral Oasis Villa, St. John, Virgin Islands

Congratulations!

(Now for a promotional moment:  Josh and his crew wore killer fedora hats from Salmagundi in Boston.  Awesome! I want one.  Apparently, it’s Josh’s new favorite place to shop.  Let me also mention Cara was very happy with all the specialty items: programs, bubble wands, place cards, napkins, coasters, match books, key chains, tote bags and parasols she purchased at www.foryourparty.com.)

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures.  © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

 

Peterborg Wedding / Villa Jamie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

A common misconception is that all weddings in the Virgin Islands are done on the beach, or else as the follow up question begs, “why get married on a Caribbean Island?”  True, beaches are a wonderful natural asset here in the VI but we have other other natural beauty too that can contribute to the making of beautiful breath taking images.  Kristen & Martin’s late afternoon wedding at Villa Jamie, with their sunset portrait shoot at the end of Peterborg Peninsula, is a perfect example.  These images rock!  (Pardon the pun.)  And don’t worry, they got their beach photos.  We did those a few days after before they left for their honeymoon on another island.  Which Island?  I’m not telling.

Congratulations Kristen & Martin!

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

Photographer's Favorite

Love the rocks on the point

Kristen & Martin

Selenium Toned

Dad & DaughterKristen getting ready

Kristen getting ready

Beautiful Bride

Poolside ceremony at Villa Jamie

"You May Kiss the Bride..."

Beautiful Sunset

Kristen & Martin at Lindquist Beach!

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

When you are with the one you Love

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Here’s to September’s Tropical Storm Irene.

I know the dangers of hurricanes are obvious to most everyone; except radical surfers and weather channel reporters, but I have lived here in the Virgin Islands long enough to know you also take seriously the potential dangers of heavy winds and rain that are a Tropical Storm.  Not Ken & Jody, however.  Since Saturday the 10th was very important to them, they were going to get married that day no matter what.  Me?  I really didn’t want to get wet but, more importantly, I wanted to give them beautiful sunny Caribbean wedding photos.  Despite all the worries, it turned out to be the best time of that day to get married at Bolongo Bay Beach Resort.  It was sunny and clear and so beautiful, in fact, that as I pulled up to the resort I found myself saying “Irene who?  What Tropical Storm?”.  Needless to say, but I will anyway, the wedding was sunny and beautiful and we got out of there just in time.  Well, almost anyway.  I took that last shot with a long lens from under cover at Iggies as they smiled and kissed oblivious to the deluge.  Which supports one of my many theories:  ”It doesn’t really matter where you are when you are with the one you love.”  I then ran to my truck, getting as soaked as I had expected, because I was in a hurry to get home to the one I love.

Cheers to Ken & Jody

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi

Ken & Jody at Bolongo Bay

A Beautiful Bride!

Bride & Groom Portraits. Ken: You Rock

Love B&W

On a Sunny Caribbean Beach

The Uninvited guest arrives. "Say Goodnight Irene"

All photos by Eric Johnson & Paradise Pictures © Ej 2011 www.paradisepictures.vi