Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda.
Vintage Photos
The past is catching up to me, and I like it. Sometimes our past lives drift, become vivid memories – but with Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee (maybe) running for president, mine is resurfacing. Enjoy a look back with me during the months as I post photos over 10 years old. And enjoy looking forward with me, as I post work I do in the next months as these two make a go of it.
Blast from the past – Campaign photography from the 90s
Buzzfeed is good at finding the good old days – And what a blast from the past. Hillary Clinton for the early 90s, taken by none other than me. Wow – check it out taste of the wild.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ilanbenmeir/hillary-clintons-first-campaign-song#.obQVLL7B4
Ocken Photography Wins Couples’ Choice Award
WeddingWire, the nation’s leading online wedding marketplace, named Ocken Photography as a winner of the prestigious WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards for Photography!
The WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards recognizes the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. The esteemed awards are given to the top local wedding vendors in more than 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their professional achievements from the previous year.
While many industry award winners are selected by the host organization, the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards winners are determined solely based on reviews from real newlyweds and their experiences working with Ocken Photography. Award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients.
“It’s always exciting to start the year by honoring the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Network who represent more than two million reviews on our website,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Each of the businesses recognized are committed to quality, professionalism and all around top-notch service. We applaud Ocken Photography for their impressive achievements within the wedding industry.”
As a Couples’ Choice Awards winner, Ocken Photography is highlighted within the WeddingWire Network, which is comprised of more than 200,000 wedding professionals throughout North America and abroad.
Ocken Photography is proud to be one of the top photography studios in the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding sites such as WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. We value all of our clients and truly appreciate the positive feedback that helped us earn the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards 2015.
For more information about Ocken Photography, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/ocken-photography-chicago/5e1a79ef0f12395c.html.
To learn more about the Couple’s Choice Awards, please visit www.weddingwire.com/couples-choice-awards.
Amy + Kevin at the Willis Tower on the 99th Floor
Congratulations Amy and Kevin. Married at Our Lady of Lourdes and a wonderful reception on the 99 Floor at the Wills (pronounced ‘sears’) tower.
Sarah + Josh at Ignite Glass Blowing Studio
Congratulations Sarah + Josh
Such a wonderful wedding at the Ignite Glass Blowing Studio.
Emily + Sam – Early Spring Wedding
I wonderful spring wedding in the midwest, congrats Emily and Sam.
2002 – Dallas, Texas
On September 29, 2002, Sakiko Mito married Budi Tjoenawan at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas. This was eventful from our perspective because they gave us a freedom we hadn’t experienced before. We shot mostly film, with a slight amount of digital mixed in, but we could do anything we wanted and they wanted us to push our boundaries and try very interesting and progressive (at the time) photographs. We used grain and blur to our advantage, we shot cross process and just about anything else you can think of, but mostly, we simply had a great time. The final results are something to be enjoyed by all. #experiencematters #tbt #ockenphotography
Throwback – Experiences that separate us
How long does it take to create great photographs? We say decades – and here’s way. Have you ever looked at a photo and said, wow, that’s a great pictures, but then just haven’t been able to define why? Well, that’s what takes decades, that ability to make the connections within photos that take a picture beyond just ‘good’, the ability to create a photos that are simply a joy to view. #experiencematters #ockenphoto #tbt
See more at our growing throwback gallery on Facebook.
Definition of Experience
We found this quote and feel it really captures our message:
“[Experience] is a matter of sensibility and intuition, of seeing, and hearing the significant thing, of paying attention at the right moments, of understanding and coordinating. Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.– Aldous Huxley
Perspective makes the day go smoother
Although brides and grooms plan their big day just once, those of us who have spent some time in the wedding industry have tasted more cakes, sniffed more bouquets, and photographed more crazy dancing than we care to remember.
But this is good for you and it’s good for us too. This gives us a certain perspective. We can tell you that a midnight round of vodka and Red Bull shots may not be the best plan at your reception. Or that hand-making each and every one of those 450 special party favors may not be worth the damage to your eyesight and relationships with those you roped into helping you.
And, because we’ve been around a while, we know more useful stuff! Such as what venues are up and coming in our area, what’s hot this season, and what you can do to choose the very best professionals, which will help make your day as smooth and fun as possible.
In addition to imparting our wisdom (because who can’t get enough of that?), we at Ocken Photography want to talk about what it takes to be a professional wedding photographer, why it’s important to hire someone who’s an industry pro, and what does experience have to do with it anyway.
We’ll be chatting with some of our favorite people to work with and telling you what they have to say. We’ll be sharing different perspectives, as well as our own, in a series of blog posts over the summer and fall, so plan to check back regularly for the latest in wedding trends and insights for all aspects of your blessed event.
Erin + Jay on Be U Weddings
We are very excite to have another post in Be U Weddings! We love this blog and have been working closely with them this year on their WONDERFUL bridal guide. We are so excited to show you what we have been doing. So stay tuned! We will show you as SOON as we can. In the meantime check out Erin and Jay fabulous fall fete over on Be U’s blog.