Aaron Dieppa

Julie and Luke decided to have a traditional Chinese ceremony and banquet here with there friends and family because they’re going to Alaska soon to get married on a glacier! How cool is that!? Very! I would go if I could but the helicopter ride to the glacier can only hold 3 people so the pilot will also take the role of photographer.

The banquet was intimate and beautiful and the food was fantastic! As promised they had all sorts of traditional chinese dishes including shark fin soup, abalone and lobster! MMMmmm!

Julie.

Luke.

A little bit of spontaneous dancing is always fun!

They played this really fun game where they blind-folded Luke and then had girls and guys including Julie line up in front of him. Then he had to touch all of their hands and see if he could find his bride’s hands! He played it like a pro and picked out Julie’s hands right away! I was impressed!

Julie’s sister Mimi gave a speech.

Julie and Luke complimented each other perfectly and they were so fun to work with. I hope they have a wonderful time in Alaska!

A few weeks ago my friends Nicole and Natale called me because they needed some portraits done. But not just any type of portraits. Nicole and Natale are Flamenco dancers and sisters. It was such a unique and enjoyable experience to work with them and I am so excited with the way the photos turned out. They performed last weekend in Santa Monica and I was invited to attend. It was an absolutely beautiful performance, and I was so honored, because their dance instructor Yolanda Arroyo, put the portraits on display in the lobby of the venue for all to see.

Flamenco is such a passionate and dramatic dance with sharp vigourous movements, clapping of hands and stomping of feet, traditionally performed in the company of acoustic guitar music and a spanish vocalist. Its something that is not so much viewed and heard as it is felt. You have to experience it to understand it. It’s beautiful! It was a lot of fun to photograph.

I never once posed them, because I wanted to be sure to capture the movement of their dresses as they danced. Nicole and Natale were so cooperative, which was great because it gave me free reign to use some pretty creative lighting techniques. I really tried hard to express the dramatic mood that I think is at the heart of Flamenco dancing.