Solénne getting her first taste of snow in Seattle’s snowmageddon last week.

When you meet Shannon and Tal, you know immediately that these two were made for each other. Intellectual, goofy, silly and loving are all just some of the notable traits that these two peas in a pod share. Originally from back east, (Shannon from Michigan, and Tal from Wisconsin) these two eventually settled over here in Seattle.

This was our first experience filming a Jewish wedding and we had a lot of fun doing so. The symbolism during the ceremony was not only meaningful to Shannon + Tal, but for someone like me watching it for the first time, it was very deep. There, standing under the Chuppah – (a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony) which Shannon knit by hand, they made their promises with the Seattle sun setting over Elliott Bay. So picturesque! Tal stepped on the glass at the end of the ceremony and everyone yelled, “mazal tov!” Cool, huh?

After such a heartfelt ceremony with all the Jewish traditions, we enjoyed a great time with the starfish and the otters at their wedding reception at the Seattle Aquarium. Can you imagine doing your first dance under a dome of colorful fish? It was extraordinary! Shannon and Tal told us when we first met, that they chose the Seattle Aquarium for their wedding because it just fit them. It was definitely a great choice and a great day.

What I’ll remember most about this wedding though is how Tal looks at Shannon. He is the sweetest guy ever and even all of her besties say they knew he was the one for her by the way he treats her. Awww…. I can actually still picture in my mind how Tal’s eyes had a beaming sparkle whenever he looked at his gorgeous bride!

-chele

Over the last two months I have had the very cool opportunity to film some University of Washington football games. I owe a bunch of thanks to my awesome friend Tyler Mayeno, who works for the UW sports department, for the great opportunity to be on the sidelines close to the action. Tyler who’s been working for the UW for quite sometime now, has been asked to put together a cinematic film for the football team that was played at their end of the year banquet. Some of the other films Tyler has produced are posted online at coachsark.com
Some notes about my experience in filming games.

1) The action is super-freaking fast.
As you get closer to the field, the action is a lot faster than watching at home on TV. Having filmed mostly live-events (weddings) which are already fast and unpredictable, football games are quite a bit more challenging to film. In a wedding you can at least somewhat anticipate what’s going to happen, but with a sporting event, it’s a bit less predictable. Overall this experience has definitely taught me a lot about adjusting on the fly, and it’s definitely enhanced my overall skill set.

2) Adjustments galore.
On the field, you see quite a bit of people on the sidelines. At first, I was surprised to see the amount of people on the sidelines for a college game. This definitely makes it challenging for shooting a live event. You constantly have to be running, from sideline to sideline following the action, but have to watch out for restricted areas, as well as have to squeeze in through the crowd in order to get a good vantage point. Oh and the chain markers, as well as the referees also are obstacles that you need to adjust to. With all of these impediments, you defninitely need to stretch your mind to think out of the box in order to get a creative shot of the action.

3) UW fans are passionate.
Sad to say, I’ve never been tailgating before. So the first time I pulled into the Montlake parking lot for filming a game I was in awe. Everything was so lively, from the music, to the beanbag games, to all of the tricked out tailgating RV’s that I witnessed. I can’t belive I never went down there when I was a student! I thought, “people really go all out for these games”. And as I got closer to the stadium and walked through the Fan Zone, it was such a sight to watch the fans greet the team with passion as they arrived before the game on the team bus. Gosh, what it must be like to walk through such a greeting, being heralded like rock stars.
Overall, this was such a fun experience, and I’m so blessed and grateful to have had this opportunity. As Pixel Seattle heads into its off-season, it was nice to have an opportunity to keep my skills fresh, as well as the chance to get better too.

-b

Below are some pictures of me making it on TV during the action

And here’s the final video that was produced. Enjoy!