Goodness gracious great balls of fire! 2009 isn’t quite done yet with 8 more weddings before the new year begins, including 4 in South Africa. This year has been amazing and beyond my expectations. I’m very humbled and also more than grateful for all the brides and grooms that have trusted me to document their wedding day.

I wish I could photograph two people’s amazing day virtually every waking weekend. But in recent months, I’ve learned that I need to put a max on the number of weddings I commit to each year if I plan on doing it for a long time. I’m glad I realize this before it’s too late, i.e. I simply can’t give my all at each wedding…boo!

With that being said, I’m very excited (at the same time pretty bummed out) to let the wedding world know that I can only take on 5 more weddings for 2010, getting to my unofficial max of 30. I may push it out to 35 or even 40 like this year but I want to have enough time to grow my business, conduct workshops/seminars/gatherings, extra time for travel, take a breather and watch an NBA game or two :P, and most importantly, spend more time with my loved ones (something I’m sad to say I haven’t done enough of yet).

So you’ve been warned heh heh, jk. If you’re a bride/groom, bride/bride, or groom/groom (I welcome all shapes and sizes :P), and craaaaazy enough to consider having me photograph your day, don’t wait…please contact me!

Lastly, a post isn’t complete without a photo. Here’s a sneak peek from today’s e-session. I’ll be moving into my new commercial space this week and next, check back soon as I hope to have some more photos of the new place.

In the midst of moving to my new place and wedding/e-session season in full swing, it seems like the perfect remedy would be to fly away to the other side of the country for half a dozen portrait sessions :). I’ll be in the VA and DC area tomorrow through next Monday shooting a few families and couples. I sense some rain and coldness coming…mmmmm my favorite kind of weather (minus the rain part of course).

Virginia and Washington, DC will always have a special place in my photography heart, as the first/last time I visited those places was nearly three years ago in November of 2006 when I was figuring out how to use my new DSLR. Amazing how some things come full circle around. Anywho, please feel free to follow me on Twitter to find out what I’m up to. To my clients, I’ll still have phone, e-mail, and Internet access so don’t hesitate to contact me if you need anything, I just might be a bit slower than usual. Happy flying!

What is up people! I thought I take some time away from the madness of wedding season to say hello to all my blog readers (all three of you including my mom, the person that keeps spamming my comment section, and myself! Come to think of it, I’m not so sure my mom still checks out my blog and the spammer may just be an automated system, so that leaves just one person :P).

All kidding aside, I just want to thank you for checking out my site, either as a first-time visitor or someone that has to endure the pain and suffering of waiting for my photos to load on a repeated basis :D. I can’t remember the last time I just wrote about any/everything that is going on in my life and reach out to all my favorite people in the world. Thanks again for tuning in, but here are some of the random things that’s happening in the whacky world of Henry Chen Photography :).

- First some shoutouts to my (wedding) photography friends. Although we met through our business, I just want to thank you all for being a part of my life and helping me out, whether assisting, second shooting, or simply a genuine conversation over the phone or a cup of coffee. I know we’re all busy, especially throughout the summer season, but it’s always nice to know no matter how hectic things get, we’ll always be there for each other. It’s been nothing but an utmost pleasure working with you, seeing your business grow, and getting to know you as a friend than just a photographer. I’m really excited for each and everyone of you, can’t wait to see what 2010 brings…you guys know who you are :).

In the midst of getting my first commercial storefront/studio/home/loft/condo. If you’ve been following my Twitter or Facebook status, you might know that I recently bought a place my business and personal needs. I’m currenly in the midst of escrow and hope to get the final loan approval and close everything out by the end of September *crosses fingers*. It’s been a whirlwind getting all the paperwork and meeting the requirements of several different groups (broker, seller, loaner, city, HOA, etc.) but I have faith all of this will be worth it in the end.

I just want to thank my good friend and wedding planner/invitation designer Trini for letting me know of this place in Downtown Long Beach. As some of my past and current couples know, she has been more than generous enough to let me utilize her studio space for my client meetings as well as introduce me to so many wonderful people in the industry. Trini has the been the most influential person in the growth of my business so it’s only fitting that I continue to bug her by moving into the same building as her :). I can’t wait to see what we cook up together! Hope the wedding world is ready ;).

In the mean time, here are a few snapshots of the commercial storefront (about 700+ square foot):

I’m currently working with Shirry of ASD Interiors (referred by none other than Trini) on totally decking out this place for client meetings, industry gatherings, workshops/seminars/hang outs, etc. I’m beyond stoke to see what she comes up with! Rest assure we’re going to do whatever we can to totally spice up this place. All I can say is it’s not going to be your “normal” photography studio. Sell the sizzle and not just the steak right?

The unit is located in the heart of Downtown Long Beach. Having a commercial storefront right on the street allows for some foot traffic. The place is walking distance from some fabulous restaurants, hotels, lounges, clubs, and is right next to a pet store (pet photography anyone?). There’s some really neat areas to do some photo shoots and portrait sessions. I can’t really say where I’ll be living but those stairs behind the storefront should give you a clue ;). And to all my friends and colleagues, mi casa su casa! Come on down! Parking is free, lots of good food nearby, and we’ll have lots of good discussions/presentations/opportunities to grow our respective businesses together!

Some featured real weddings in recent months. My apologies to couples, planners, editors, and anyone that has been waiting on for to send wedding images to them for online and print publications. No excuses on my part :P. I still need to update the wedding details section of my blog with some fantastic details and decor from the June-August’s weddings.

In the mean time, here are some companies that featured a few of my couples’ weddings on their site in the past several months: Project Wedding (Grace and Brian), Wedding Paper Divas (Sonia and Alan), Wedding Paper Divas again (Sarah and Hanan), Para Ti Novia (Anna and Lonngren), and The Knot (Allison and Josh). Thank you all for the opportunity. I promise to get my act together asap and work on some more :). Look out for a few to be in magazines in the next month or two.

2009-2010 NBA Season aka Clippers Revenge! Don’t count out my lifelong love for the NBA :). I took a hiatus from shooting the games at Staples Center this past February. But I’m seriously considering going back this upcoming season, which starts in mid-October. And it has nothing to do with the fact that my beloved step-child team the Los Angeles Clippers got the #1 pick Blake Griffin ;). But they are due to break out of their curse and make a run at the Playoffs this season. Lakers vs. Clippers in the first round come April 2010. That’s all I want, oh make it happen NBA God!

Some in-action shots taken by my photography friends. Since no post is really complete without some photography-related photos, here are just some random photos of me pretending to know what I’m doing!

Taken by Gavin:

Taken by Frederic:

Taken by Miguel:

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Taken by Brian at two separate weddings:

Labor Day weekend madness begins in a few hours. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating it with your loved ones. If you’re in So Cal and close to the fires, please be safe and keep it cool. I’ll be heading up to San Francisco for a Sunday wedding and be back in LA Monday night. I’m really excited to meet the couple for the first time and photograph their day. I know it’s going to be memorable. Lastly, if you’re reading this, I just want to thank you beyond words for coming into my life and making me so happy, you know who you are ;).

Weeee! Okay gang, I’ll be in Seattle from Thursday until Monday night, shooting Ann and Vince‘s wedding on Friday/Saturday plus an all-day anniversary portrait session on Sunday *crossing finger there’s no light showers over the weekend*.

I’ll still have access to both phone and e-mail so if you need to contact me, please feel free to do so, but I’ll be a bit slow on responding back. In the mean time, here’s a quick sneak peek of Debbie and Brian’s wedding from this past Saturday. Look for more images after I return from Seattle. Something tells me there’s going to be A LOT. Adios!