The caterer for the wedding was very good. They are Blue Ribbon Cooking and have a location at Lake Union (Eastlake neighborhood). They currently (as of March 28) have a 40% off special for all remaining 2012 dates.

Philip Meech is the guy who runs the roaster. He’s been roasting since the 90′s and has got it down pretty good. He could carry on a conversation with me while having a sixth sense about him as to know when to flip switches and press buttons to give the beans the very best roast for optimum taste. Although he has a timer, it’s more of a rough guideline for him. He listens to the crackling and can tell where the beans are in the roasting process. It kind of reminded me of popcorn in the microwave. You know when the popcorn is just about done by the frequency of the pops.

Below, you can see the beans going into the roaster. The beans are in a funnel that sits at the top of the machine as seen in the bottom left photo.

You can see the green beans inside the roaster turning and getting heated up. It’s good that you can pull a sample of the beans during the roasting. See photo on right…

Below is what the beans look like after they come out of the roaster. They are then cooled by the rod that stirs them…

After seeing all of the coffee beans, I was excited to try some in my latte. Philip fired up the espresso machine and did an excellent job of creating my favorite latte that has orange and vanilla flavoring along with some good cinnamon.

Of course Philip had to create his own drink below…

After talking coffee and Sounders for a couple hours, I realized I couldn’t possibly leave without purchasing some of the best coffee beans in the Northwest. In order to determine which beans would best suit my needs, Philip made up some French press coffee to have a taste…

I decided on the more balanced bean blend of the two he offered for making my lattes at home. As of this writing, I still have the beans in an air-tight container in my pantry that I can’t wait to get to when my current supply of beans runs out.

A big thanks goes to Philip for sharing his coffee passion with me. I had a good time tasting and learning a lot more about coffee. If you would like to learn more about how you can get some great tasting coffee, you can check out Philip’s website at Caffe Lusso. If you need any photos for your business, you can reach me by phone at 206-818-4853 or at info@briandavidcasey.com.

It’s not everyday that I get my photo published in a national magazine. My photos have been in Seattle magazines and newspapers but never in a national magazine until now. While I do know a few people who get published nationally once in a while, it’s a brand new experience for me that I would like to share with you.

It all began while doing pro bono work for my favorite charity, Make-A-Wish, on Saturday night at the Westin in Seattle. They had their annual gala to help raise money to grant wishes to kids who could really use them due to poor health. My job was to photograph the event in a similar way I photograph weddings.

I was taking photos of some silent auction items when a woman came over to me to tell me that the finalist on ‘The Bachelor’ TV show, Lindzi, was in the room. She pointed her out to me but I didn’t recognize her.

As I walked towards her, I began doubting that this woman was one of the final two women on the TV show until I saw a guest approach her and ask her if she could get her photo taken with her. I was 99% sure it was her at that point. While this was going on, I was asked by some Make-A-Wish volunteers if I could photograph them. I obliged.

After I was done photographing the volunteers, I turned towards the woman thought to be Lindzi and saw her talking to either a friend or a guest. I then realized it was indeed Lindzi but her new brunette hair color threw me off. The striking dress she was wearing blew all of the other guests’ outfits out of the water in my opinion!

I approached Lindzi and said, “That is an amazing dress!” No, I wasn’t hitting on her. There’s no way I can compete with Ben except that I think I have a better haircut than him.

I then asked her if I could get a photo of that dress. She said, “Sure!” and put her cosmopolitan-like drink down along with some papers. I noticed that she was wearing a Make-A-Wish volunteer badge. I found out later that she was volunteering at the event as a greeter and is thought to be listed as a wish granter for the organization.

I had fun photographing her and pretending we were doing a model shoot. She was also having fun with it and striking some great poses for me. I could tell she had done this before by the way she placed her hands on her hips. I had seen this done by Luly Yang while photographing her after her fashion show. Lindzi also spread her fingers apart and turned her body like a pro. She could definitely make some money as a model! I thanked Lindzi for the fun photo shoot and resumed photographing the event.

I processed her photos on my computer the next day. I added a large watermark to them that covered most of the photo. Then I sent 3 of the best ones out to celebrity magazine editors via their email addresses I found online or through their magazine general contact info. I chose to only work with magazines I thought would portray her in a good light. I want to be a good paparazzo that shows people at their best and not their worst.

My goal was to have one of the magazines do a story about her being a volunteer for Make-A-Wish. I thought this would give good exposure to my favorite charity and allow our hometown actress to get some good PR.

To my surprise, only one magazine contacted me. The editor of Us Weekly called me early Monday morning and said he was following up to his email he had sent earlier and was wanting to see what pix I had of her. I sent the pix to him and he asked if I had any more of her at the event interacting with people or doing something and I said no. I realized at that point that my photo may not make the cut for the big publication.

I received an email about an hour later saying that he would like to run one of the photos and asked me to send him high resolution photos without the watermark on them so he could see how good they looked in high resolution. I knew this could be a ploy to get my photos for free. I told him that they looked good in high resolution and that I would only release the photos like he wanted once an agreement was signed and I agreed to the amount of money.

I asked how much money he could give me for a photo. He gave me a “normal” range but said that he could give me double that because nobody else had submitted photos of Lindzi. That’s probably because Lindzi’s hometown doesn’t have a paparazzi presence.

I checked the rate he gave me to some photo quote software I have as well as doing some research online and in a book and realized that he was giving me a dollar figure that was in the ballpark. I had the option of risking it and asking for more money or sealing the deal and getting published for the first time in a national magazine. I chose the later.

Many people think that celebrity photos can make you rich.  A few years ago, the paparazzi were paid really well but it’s not like that anymore. There are many factors involved for the price a paparazzo can get for his photo. Photos taken at events, like red carpet, pay the least. Photos that show a celebrity looking or acting their worst makes more, sadly. And it depends on how many other paparazzi got those shots. If there’s only one paparazzo that has a shot of an A-list celeb doing something crazy, it can fetch thousands. If it’s scandalous, it can fetch hundreds of thousands for an international star.

I can’t believe the quick turn-around time of Us Weekly! When the editor said he was on a deadline, he wasn’t kidding! He took my image in the late afternoon of Monday and emailed me on Wednesday to say that it was going to be on the news stands that day or Thursday!

It was a strange experience seeing my photo in a magazine I picked up at the Pike Place Market news stand Thursday. It’s even more strange knowing that I can see that photo at any news stand in grocery stores and book stores all around the country.

The unfortunate thing is that they didn’t mention Lindzi volunteering at Make-A-Wish in the magazine. But they did keep it positive for her which made this new paparazzo happy! See Lindzi’s pic on bottom left.

Best of luck to our Seattle dating legend. I hope she meets a guy that has a better haircut than ‘The Bachelor’ and likes to keep his pants on!

Notice below how I had to circle and put an arrow to my photo credit on the adjacent page! I’m perfectly fine with it that size because photo credits, contrary to popular belief, don’t do much for photographers.

If you would like some handmade and vintage fashion for you or your home, please visit here: Ms. Maude.

I had a great time talking to Andrew. He’s the type of guy that I would want to invite to my dinner party and listen to for hours on all the interesting stories he has to tell. He told me that he enjoys taking newlyweds around in the car on their special day. He’s glad that he can get good use out of the 50-year-old car and only charges couples enough to help pay for upkeep of the vehicle and a small contribution to his church.

Andrew plays the part of a chauffer very well. He has fun with it, enjoys helping others have a good time, and likes to use this as one of the ways he gives to his church. If you’re a couple looking for a good chauffer, I highly recommend Andrew to you. By riding in the back of the ’61 Rolls and having Andrew as your driver, you will feel like one of the many celebrities who have ridden there from years past. To see if Andrew is available for your wedding day,  you can call him at 206-783-5037 or email him at amgrisham@msn.com.

Below are some photos I took of Andrew, his Rolls, and the bride and groom:

I had the privilege of photographing them for their high school senior photos and now it was time to capture how they had blossomed in college. Below are the most recent photos I took of them. I look forward to photographing more stages of their lives as they continue to grow in beauty, both inward and outward.

You can see the cafe from the “Waiting for The Interurban” statues at the main intersection on the north side of the Fremont Bridge. The cafe building itself seems to blend pretty well with its surroundings and has a nice clean feel to it on the outside. The gray exterior walls are probably the best gray I’ve seen and stands out nicely even to the typical gray overcast days of Seattle. Perhaps the white trim helps give it a cheery look.

Walking inside the cafe, you realize the vast amount of negative space. It has a simple, minimalist style. I find it refreshing to see so much space as compared to other cafes I’ve been in where they are trying to cram people in but I wonder where customers will sit when the word gets out about this cafe. Andrew did mention to me how there might be a possibility of seating outside in the museum area sometime in the near future so I’m sure that would help with seating capacity. A former restaurant owner told me that the biggest mistake he made in opening his restaurant was that he didn’t have enough seating capacity for the busy days.

I’m a big fan of wood in Seattle stores. Elliott Bay Bookstore is my favorite bookstore in Seattle. I like the wood they use in their store in Capitol Hill and loved the wood in their old store in Pioneer Square. When I saw the reclaimed and refurbished wood Milstead used for the inside of the cafe, it made me appreciate the cafe even more. To me, it gives it that Northwest feel to it. Something to note – Cafe Umbria in Pioneer Square imported all of their marble they use in their cafe from Italy. Both cafes have quite a different feel to them as you can imagine.

Cameron was the barista who took my order. I was impressed with his knowledge of coffee and his friendliness. He pulled my shot of espresso while Andrew steamed the milk and made some nice latte art which I can appreciate. It’s fun to look at and is typically a good sign for a well made latte.

The latte that Andrew and Cameron helped choose for me based on my tastes was the Honduras one from Coava Coffee Roastery and Coffee Bar in Portland. The other beans they were using were from Stumptown. My favorite cafe in Portland used to be Stumptown but a bride from a wedding I photographed told me her favorite espresso place in Portland was Coava.

My latte had a sweet taste to it but I could tell there was some more acidity in it than I was used to which made it uniquely good. I look forward to trying more lattes here to find my favorite.

Andrew explained to me that the espresso drinks in the Scandinavian region are different in taste than the ones found in Italy. The Scandinavian espresso drinks have a lighter roast, less body, are sweeter and have a little more acidity to them than the ones from Italy. Apparently, Italians believe that a higher acidity level is a sign of a bad espresso drink. I think variety is good so I will be going back and forth with the Italian and Scandinavian style for my lattes.

If you like a little variety of brew methods for your coffee, Milstead won’t disappoint. They have the Clever Pour Over method as well as one of my favorites, the Aeropress, in addition to their espresso machines. I’m excited to try a Clever Pour Over coffee for my first time on my next visit to Milstead. Also on my list for future coffee breaks is a latte with their house vanilla bean infused syrup and a mocha using chocolate from my favorite chocolatier in the neighborhood – Theo’s! And of course I’ll be picking up a bag of coffee beans for my espresso machine. They have a variety of high quality beans, including some from Intelligentsia. The famous Seattle restaurant, Canlis, recently said their goodbyes to Starbucks (actually a hand-delivered note to Howard Schultz) in favor of Intelligentsia. That has to say a lot about the quality of these beans!

If you haven’t had the privilege of enjoying a high quality coffee, you need to check this place out! Maybe I’ll see you there on our next coffee break! Cheers!

Below are a few photos of Rebekah & Caleb’s wedding I photographed. These photos show an example of my style where I let them enjoy their moment with each other and also give them some direction on how to stand to make them look their best. My goal is to capture a couple’s big day and to allow them to be their natural selves in front of my camera.

Below are some dance photos I’ve taken at receptions. Enjoy!

I found out Obama was flying into Paine Field at Boeing and thought I might have a chance to see Air Force 1 in the sky. I kept my Twitter feed tuned in to the news stations seeing updates on what his ETA was so I could go outside near that time and see if I could spot anything in the sky. Since there was a no-fly window of time, I knew that any sound from the air had to be related to his crew.

Minutes before his ETA, I went outside to look for his crew and spotted his flying motorcade, consisting of only helicopters, in the sky. I thought some fighter jets would be accompanying him but none were observed in the lower elevation of the sky. Here are a few photos from his crew flying towards Boeing in the morning:

After seeing his flying motorcade go by, I wondered what happened to his Air Force 1 plane. I looked at Twitter and saw that the local news stations were tweeting that his plane had just landed. Apparently, he went another route so the plane could land into the wind. Below is a photo of Airforce 1 at Boeing. That is as close to the plane the police would allow me to get. Even a guy I talked to who was the boss of the policeman said he wasn’t allowed to go closer to the plane than me.

After his speech and tour at Boeing were finished, he flew in the Marine 1 helicopter to Kirkland. The flight path for his flying motorcade was right over my house but the Marine 1 and its twin flew very low over another part of my area where I was only able to get a glimpse of his copter through the trees. I found it odd that he flew with only one other copter close to him while the others that flew over my house were a fair distance away from him. Below is a photo of his security copter over my neighborhood. I got an uneasy feeling pointing a black object in my hand (my camera) at the helicopter while the guy in the copter was looking straight at me.

When the president was finished with the fundraisers in Bellevue and Medina, he flew back over my neighborhood to the airport…

Once Obama got back to Boeing Field in Everett, he hopped aboard Airforce 1 and headed back to D.C. Below are two photos I took of Airforce 1 as it flew above my house. It was very dark and raining and was surprised I was actually able to capture it with my camera.