The Untermyer Gardens Conservatory in Yonkers, New York is a gorgeous park created by Samuel Untermyer who built it to mimic a paradise here on earth, similar to the great Indo-Persian gardens of antiquity. Even though I live in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, this was my first ever visit there. Imagine my surprise! Being a photographer and living near this majestic masterpiece and not knowing of its existence until very recent, my jaw just dropped! 

When my friend Tyrone told me of his idea of doing the shoot there, I never thought the location was so special. The official wedding time was 4pm, and we arrived at the park at 3.30, with only 30 minutes to spare and no photography permit, it seemed as if the gods conspired to allow us to create a very beautiful collection of images. 

At 3.30pm, even though the weather was very beautiful, the park was practically empty and no one around asking for permits! Normally, to be that lucky, you need to light up a candle and pray non-stop for weeks or go there very early and be the first one to arrive. I really enjoyed working with Tyrone and his lovely wife Mabel because as a couple, they are truly blessed. They were humble and showed genuine love and affection for each other. Oftentimes we photographers direct our couples to hug, to kiss, to look into each other's eyes and so on, but I didn't feel I needed to do that  with these two. I think this was the reason we were able to create so many beautiful and natural-looking photos under thirty minutes! The love and affection was very easy to see!  

My name is Hans Gonzalez, and I am a Wedding, Event, Portrait and Headshot Photographer based in Manhattan, New York. For Inquiries, please contact me at 917-539-9418.   

Hans Gonzalez

]]> (THE BOCA PHOTOGRAPHER) https://hansweddings.com/blog/2018/5/iphone-choices Sun, 06 May 2018 05:51:55 GMT https://hansweddings.com/blog/2018/2/working-with-two-canon-600ex-rt-at-wedding-dinner-reception

Last week I shot a Wedding Dinner at F& J Pine in the Bronx.  It is a beautiful Italian eatery with a fantastic event space that I found really spacious, elegant, and 

quite nice!  Izabella and her husband both from the city of Montenegro invited  their beautiful family and friends and it was a fun night, full of a lot of dancing, laughter and good food!  

I was lucky to take with me two Canon 600ex-rt with me.  Since I had no assistant, I mounted one on my Canon 5D Mark IV and had the other one mounted on 20' Rapid Box soft box modifier.  With both of them I was able to have enough light to capture more than a hundred beautifully-lit photographs of everyone there.  

One of the things I love about wedding photography is the gift of being  present in such an important moment.  One thing is to say and the other one is to really be there witnessing it; it forces you to be present and be awake because as a photographer, our job is to see. If you are looking for wedding photographer in the New York area,  call me at 917-539-9418.   

Six years ago I was hired by a man who wanted me to photograph him proposing to the girl of his dreams on the Brooklyn Bridge. I was thrilled at the opportunity to document such an important event and arrived an hour early on the specified date. I realized I had never been there before in my life. Having lived in New York City for twenty-five years I was shocked to realize what I had missed.  

It did not feel like a bridge at all! The place was filled with an intoxicating energy that I cannot even put into words but that seemed to infuse everyone there.  Who could have thought that a bridge itself could be a romantic destination?! There are other bridges in the city, but nothing like the Brooklyn Bridge. I pretended to be a tourist taking pictures and followed the couple close by. She did not know about my existence until the time they stopped for a brief moment when the man got down on one knee and asked his sweetheart to marry him. She said YES! A year later they tied the knot and are now the proud parents of a gorgeous little girl.  

If you are planning to propose to the love of your life in New York City, call Hans Gonzalez Photography at 917-539-9418. We offer very affordable packages to make the best experience ever! Call us today! 

(from Texas)

During the past seven or eight years, I have been lucky enough to photograph a number of couples that have come from all over the world to elope in this vibrant city called New York.  

                                                         (from Moscow)

It's not only about saving money, or avoiding to face the hundreds of people you will probably never see again. Eloping is all that and more.  It is an opportunity to be spontaneous, intimate, and adventurous. A rebellious statement that says you are not only doing it to please the family, but because you really love your partner and want to show him / her you are ready to travel to the moon and back. 

                                                                                                         (from England)

New York City offers hundreds of places where couples can easily come and elope.  I have people that have come to get married on top of the Empire State Building, the Conservatory Garden of Central Park, the Waldorf Astoria's lobby, the vault of the Grand Central Terminal, amid of a hundreds of tourists in Times Square, and many others!

(from Singapore)

(From the U.K.)

When elopers hire a photographer, most of the time they are usually interested in photographing the ceremony, but oftentimes we encourage these lovebirds to do more than that.  They come to New York to elope and spend sometime having fun in the city that never sleeps.  Why not have a professional photographer to document more of that wonderful adventure?  

(From Russia)

If you are planning to elope in this magical city of New York.  Call Hans Gonzalez at 917-539-9418 and we take care of the rest!  Happy Holidays! 

(Gramercy Park Hotel)

PHOTOGRAPHING CHILDREN

BY HANS GONZALEZ

HANS GONZALEZ PHOTOGRAPHY

Children are always a joy to photograph.  What's good about them is you need to basically observe and wait for the right moment.  You don't need to pose them, or to make them feel better so that you can take the photograph.  Just allow them time to forget you are there until they really forget you are there.  Then CLICK! 

Once you understand that you are just a witness put there by the universe and the oracle of DELPHI to just observe, then you can worry about mundane things as lighting and composition, camera angles, time of day, or how the light is falling on your subject.  I love to take pictures of babies and kids!  

(My son Christian)

Guess what?! Children are people. They are not objects.  Instead of photographing them from above as if you were a bird looking down on its prey, you have to lower yourself enough so that you can photograph them eye to eye the same way you photograph other humans.   

We at Hans Gonzalez Photography work with newborns, babies, children and teenagers.  We do birthdays, baptisms, bar / bat mitzvahs, studio work, and more!  For inquiries, please call Hans Gonzalez at 917-539-9418.