photography by john michael cooper and dalisa cooper, blog post by dalisa cooper

Do you recall that delicious post about our Philly adventures?  Within our first hour of landing in Pennsylvania we were already in heaven.  We had no idea of what was in store just a few days later… Gwenn and Brian’s wedding was a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.

After a peaceful morning with the girls as they all got ready for the day, we headed to Doylestown for portraits at the unbelievably gorgeous property called the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works

This is a fire place - it’s the most fascinating fire place that I have ever met.  Gwenn and Brian adorn it so well!

The night before the wedding we had driven from Philadelphia to Doylestown and absolutely fell in love with this majestic town.  It was a must for a few quick photos downtown as well.

Then on to the garden ceremony at The Manor House at Commonwealth

The ceremony was followed by a cocktail and reception, a lot of laughs and a heap of memorable moments - this might be a bit mushy but I feel so lucky that we were chosen to capture it all.

While on the road we decided to put together this little blog post about this BIG adventure.  Finally, it happened - we experienced Pat’s Vs. Geno’s while in Philly.  Our wonderful clients, Gwenn & Brian, who’s wedding was just a day and a half away picked us up from the airport and shuttled us directly to South Philly where 9th Street and Passyunk cross.

VS.

As the story goes, In 1930 it was Pat Olivieri who created the steak sandwich and began selling them out of pushcarts.  Business took off and somewhere around 1940 he opened his restaurant.  It wasn’t until 1966 that Joe Vento opened up Geno’s just across the way claiming that he “perfected” the Philly Cheese steak.  We ordered a “Whiz With” from each location along with some fries and JMC’s favorite - a diet coke and compared the two.  My opinion?… they both had their own “special touch” so you will have to decide for yourself.  A word of wisdom?… learn how to order before you actually get to the window and do not, under any circumstances, expect to be greeted kindly - they just want to get their steaks in your hands, leaving no time to talk about the wonderments of life.

Just after our rendezvous with Philly’s iconic competitors we were taken to the gorgeous Loew’s of Philadelphia.  As I could not get enough of our panoramic view from our suite, JMC was infatuated with all of the architecture, vaults and other treasures that were preserved in the building from the days that it use to be the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, founded in 1816.

More to come from this Pennsylvania adventure including Gwenn & Brian’s delightful wedding!

blog post by dalisa cooper, photography by john michael cooper and dalisa cooper

Long Island, NY

Michelle and Rick are as real as it gets.  These two are made for each other, you can just feel it when you are around them.  (Oh, and should I say it people??… daaaaaarling dress!!)  Michelle and her girls were styled by the fabulous Ms. Erica from PodSpa

The wedding party was a riot - so many personalities and a whole lot of ink!

The ceremony, cocktail and reception took place at Dowling College - an old W.K. Vanderbilt property transformed into a private college campus.  The property was lush and the details were immeasurable - Rick and Michelle certainly scoped out a gem of a location to celebrate.

The ceremony was about 10 seconds long - the quickest ceremony I have ever seen and then it was time for more portraits!  (ya, we are pretty damn lucky to have such rad clients)

Rick also arranged to have some eye candy there which made JMC even happier than he already was…

And on with the reception - it was a lot of fun, dancing and laughter - everything you want when all of your friends and family come together

As I began with this post, Rick and Michelle are truly the kind of people that I can appreciate - real, down to earth and loving.  Being that Rick is also a very talented photographer, we are super lucky and completely honored to have taken part in this heart-stirring day!

photography by john michael cooper and dalisa cooper, blog post by dalisa cooper

Hand us a great location and an even greater couple and we almost feel guilty for calling it work.  Ashley and TJ put together this tropically stylish event to celebrate their love for each other.  We were so lucky to be a part of it.

The ceremony took place on the beach, the weather could not have been more perfect.  There is something about a cool breeze and the sound of the ocean that makes me feel at ease and dreamy.

We headed out for some killer portraits… seriously, you really can’t go wrong.  Hot couple + gorgeous location = bad ass photos, for sure.

This group was so fun, Ashley and TJ have certainly surrounded themselves with great people!

I loved, loved, loved! Ashleys dress!  The perfect style to compliment her resort wedding on the beach.  And I must say, TJ looked pretty hot himself!

Their reception dinner was at La Frida restaurant - course, after course the food and wine pairings were delicious!  JMC and I felt like guests and a part of the group - we even snorkeled and hung out by the pool… like I said, it’s hard to call this work.  But know how fortunate we are - not only to get to go to really great places but I measure our fortune by the great people that are brought into our lives - Ashley and TJ and their wonderful family are a prime testament to that.  Thank you both for the opportunity and for making us feel so  welcome and a part of your celebration.  We wish all the love in the world to you!

a little over due post.  This is just a little glimpse into of what an awesome time i had teaching with Jason Groupp for our Concept2Execution workshop back in mid October.  The video below by the Fabulous Darrel Aubert sums the event up much better then anything i can type here so just click and play to see what you missed out on..

Burning Man was awesome and i pretty much hung out with a dream team of some of the best photographers on the planet..  I’ll be getting back to work and putting up some overdue posts really soon and then i’ll share some of my experiences from the Playa.  stay tuned for that.   .jmc.

Time to start getting excited about New York!   Play the video below and get a taste of what Jason Groupp, the other half of our killer workshop, has in store for you!  As a photographer if you’ve ever had any New York dreams, then this is the perfect opportunity that’s knocking at your door.  First there is the workshop,  2 intense days with Dalisa, myself, and the ultra cool Jason Groupp.  Then there is the party, Jason’s world famous party, i missed it last year and have been regretting it ever since.  And if that is not enough PDN’s Photo Plus expo is the following day.  What a no-brainer: workshop, party, photography expo, and NEW YORK!

click to check out the site:  Concept 2 Execution  October 19-20th, New York.

Concept 2 Execution from Jason Groupp on Vimeo.

July 11, 2009 - Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

A breathless destination + a stunning couple + a wicked cool bridal party = very lucky photographers… we could not have asked for anything more.  Whitney and Jennifer from One Luv Agency came along and did an amazing job (as usual) styling hair and make up for Lausanne and her bridesmaids

Lausanne and Jimmy not only introduced us to a beautiful location but they are over all really, really genuine people - the kind of couple that I would love to be friends with and share great times with.

After the ceremony they arranged for a traditional Shell Toss where all of their guests make a wish on a shell and toss it into the ocean - this little guy must have some big dreams…

The cocktail after the ceremony was a great celebration with the talents of Stephanie from Ajua Weddings- the mariachi blared and the drinks rolled in as all of the congrats and well wishes made their way to the new Mr. & Mrs.

And the festive reception took place at Ajua Maya! Restaurant - dinner was delicious!  I am ready to take the trip again just for the great dining experience!  Lausanne and Jimmy took their first dance to a whole new level - it was an impressive show…

So if all of this wasn’t great enough, they iced our adventure cake with a spectacular bridal session in a Mayan cenote… seriously, we could not have been luckier.

Sanne & Jimmy:  We had a spectacular week with you, your wonderful friends and your accommodating family - thank you for letting us into your world to capture such a great time in your lives.

-dc

We have been on the run these last couple of weeks.  We shot a beautiful wedding at Canyon Gate Country Club for some close personal friends and then the day after we jumped on a plane to Mexico where we had a chance to photograph a stunning beach side wedding with an absolutely cool bridal session a few days later, all in Playa Del Carmen.  Home from Mexico we had two days to wash and repack for a quick trip to Denver to cover a gorgeous brunch then back for another two days to prep and pack the RV and head out for a personal vacation with our Best (John’s since high school) friend Robert.  There was no time to blog in between so now I will catch you up over the next couple of days.   First, our RV trip (which we just returned from) is, in fact, out of order but I want to bury the trip in the past and let the gorgeous weddings we shot stay on top of the blog much longer.

The first stop was the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  On the way there we received our first clue, we started to smell diesel.  With a quick stop at a flying J for fuel and to check things out…. Open up the slide and notice we have no fuel cap:  There’s the problem! diesel sloshing out all over the place.  We fuel up and make a temporary fix until we can find a place that has a fuel cap.  We get our fuel cap replaced in Williams AZ,  very cute town!

Below, the Grand Canyon.

Guess what I forgot to bring?  Our cell phone chargers.  After we left the Grand Canyon and headed to Monument Valley we occasionally could still smell diesel.  We pull over and check it out even though I know that diesel smell tends to linger a lot longer then gas. Small drip from the back, but with the engine too hot to tinker around with we decide to go the next 20 miles to the RV resort we were planning on staying at and let the engine cool down so we can investigate.  We didn’t make it.  After 10 miles we lost a lot of power and had to pull over.  A high pressure fuel line popped off..  made a quick fix and headed back to the nearest service station.  Kayenta, AZ.  We pull into the only service station in town to find out that the mechanic went home and would not be back until the next morning.  So our 2nd campsite was not as grand as our first but we have no choice but to stay over night and spend a good part of the next day getting the fuel line back with the help of the mechanic.

RV fixed!  Monument Valley, and a cool RV resort in Gouldings.

Leaving monument valley the next day, we are one day behind.

Below the Mexican Hat..   shot by Dalisa with a drive by style..

Next stop was Moab and into Canyonlands.

Heading up to Island in the Sky.

Island in the Sky

Archview, Canyonlands.  Looks like another planet.  I love the southwest!

On to Zion.  But just before, I break down and buy a phone charger.  back to being connected.  kinda..

Zion is always beautiful! Even in 105 degree heat.  We don’t go on any hikes, its just too hot and opt to hang out at the rv park in Springdale with just one short trip into the park.   The following day we plan to leave first thing in the morning so we can get home.. it has just been a long week!

Good Bye Zion - three hours to Vegas. Mr. RV is running great.  St. George - two hours from home. RV is running great.  Pass St. George and entering the Virgin River Gorge, a windy and winding down hill road that is notorious for really bad accidents.  In the middle of the gorge, engine dies, power steering gone, switch to N and try to coast to a part where I can pull over,  struggling without power steering to stay on the road.   Almost a mile of coasting and I find a place to pull this 40′ thing over.   Guess what?… engine won’t restart and our fully recharged phones are useless, read zero, bars..  I start to tinker around with the engine as Dalisa hits the service manuals and Robert starts to flag someone to call for help.

1 hour later highway patrol arrives and call’s AAA for us and we wait several more hours until a tow truck gets to us.  2 more hours to get the rv up on tow truck then back to St. George.  Entering St. George we get stuck at the Port of Entry, 45 minutes later with over-height fine (over 15 feet on the tow truck) we get on our way to the garage.  Get there after hours and the overtime rate applies.  Diagnose the problem and find out that they don’t have the part and will have to wait unit the morning to order it..  We are so close to home..  we wait it out again, now not just a day behind but also a day over.    They get the part in the morning and fix it by 2pm and we are on our way.

Heading home.  1 hour away, we start to smell diesel again.  Pull over, same fuel line and back to problem number 2.  Fix it the best we can and keep going…  driving mostly 45mph …   fix didn’t work.. pull over again, fix.  keep going… damn it,  we are going to get home!  Pull over again, fix.  Made it home smelling like diesel and grease and hot (generator turned off with a half a tank leaving us with no AC for the home stretch)…   the dogs are happy to be home, we are happy to be home.  The end of a long Adventure! What did we learn? One, that the first problem you find isn’t always the problem. Two, that RVing isn’t all that plush and easy going.  And Three 50 hours of broke down time and umpteen rummy games, dalisa is a rummy goddess,  she consistently  trounced us game after game… Dalisa is the Rummy Queen…

BTW: a few more images can be found in my facebook album, yes after much coaxing Dalisa has got me on facebook, so friend us if you are up for it!
John Michael Cooper

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Dalisa Cooper

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Oh, and thanks for reading through this very long post!

what do you get when you add

I don’t know either but it is going to be exciting to find out this October when we team up with the ultra cool Jason Groupp for a 2 day intense lighting workshop.   We have been anxious to announce this workshop that will take place right before PhotoPlus and Jason’s world famous party in New York on October 19th and 20th.

So click on over to the site: Concept 2 Execution for more info and to reserve your spot!