ALUMIERE STUDIOS

New Blog…

cinematictouch — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:27:04 +0000

As part of the company transition that we’ve been going through, we will be moving our blog to a new location. This will be our last blog on this site. For future entries of our latest adventures, please go here: http://alumierestudios.blogspot.com/

See you at the jump!!

Una Bella Sera II – April 5th, 2009 Merchant Exchange Building

cinematictouch — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:44:04 +0000

As you may already know, the second annual showcase of passion, artistry, talent, and all things a soon-to-be married couples should know is just around the corner…Una Bella Sera…April 5th, 2009. The creators of this magnificent event happens to be no other than our two dearest friends Nicole Ha (floral designer) and Crystal Lequang (wedding and event designer). Last years event proved to be a phenomenal extravaganza of significant proportions. I had to admit it was sensory overload but in a very good way as I meandered pass the many exhibits put on by various vendors who were invited to showcase their work. (Alumiere Studios was included in that list and was invited back for this years event as well). This year, I’ll be taking photos of the event to show you want I am talking about as words can’t describe the level of artistry that I saw…just amazing. Anyhow, here is additinal info on the upcoming event and if you are in the market to get hitched, this is the place to be, hang out, learn new things, chat, and most of all, sample awesome food and wine. Cheers! See you all there!!

Leilani + Michael | Vintage Highlights

cinematictouch — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:03:25 +0000

Ceremony and reception was at the Palm Event Center in Pleasanton, CA. Mixed in shots using 35mm lens.

Yvonne + James | Vintage Highlights

cinematictouch — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:00:09 +0000

Ceremony and Reception was at the Mountain Windery in Saratoga, CA. My favorite shots were from the vineyard using the 35mm lens.

Truc + Leo | Vintage Highlights

cinematictouch — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:52:17 +0000

Ceremony was at St. Marks Lutheran Church in San Francisco and reception was at Legendary Palace in Oakland, CA. Contains mixed clips shot with 35mm lens.

Snow Distractions

cinematictouch — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:42:40 +0000

Seeing how the weather has been like, Stephanie and I thought it would be nice to turn all this rain into something fun for our kids – so we packed up our gear (and there was lots of it!) and headed up to Bear Valley for a short getaway. I didn’t realize how much stuff we had to bring with us – we managed to bring everything but the kitchen sink! Fortunately, I managed to sneak my still camera gear into the now overly packed van and we headed to the snow. I was first reluctant to expose my “new” camera to the falling snow but kept reminding myself that these cameras were made to be water resistant. So…I took a deep breath and put the camera strap over my shoulder and off I went. Boy was I glad I did because I was able to grab some nice candid shots of the kids having fun. This was my first real world (in real weather) test of the camera and it performed beautifully. I had left my flash back at the cabin so I relied mostly on the sky as natural fill light – which was perfectly soft. Here are some of my favorites…hope you enjoy them!

Shot with 70-200mm at f2.8.

This last one is of my daughter’s friend Emma who went on the trip with us along with her parents.

A new adventure begins!!

cinematictouch — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:41:12 +0000

Hello everyone! Happy 2009! In my previous posts I’ve eluded to many exciting things happening with our company and I thought I’d share one that is very exciting. As you already can see, we are in the midst of re-branding our company from CINEMATICTOUCH to ALUMIERE STUDIOS. Why the change in name you may ask? Well, before I go down that path, I first want you all to know that in our 7 years of doing videography we’ve worked with some really talented and passionate photographers such as Chris Humphreys and Gene Higa (just to name a few). Their work, passion, and energy has left an irreversible imprint on us and started in motion a profound admiration and love for photography that we never knew existed. We’ve been bitten by the photo bug and we loved it!

It’s also kinda scary and exciting at the same time. We are are entering an industry that is fiercely competitive and the success rate is very low. The web listings are littered with photographers of all shapes and sizes and practically everyone else you see walking around is holding a digital SLR. So what makes us think we have something unique to offer? Clearly we can not and never will be a Chris Humphreys or Gene Higa. What we will be relying on mostly is our ability to shoot with intimacy and emotion. We are not afraid to be in the action and rub shoulders with our clients and make them laugh. We feel the same excitement and energy as our clients do on their wedding day and use it to capture images that connect and move. It’s like having your best and closest friend capture your wedding but she happens to be a professional videographer/photographer as well. The intimacy comes through the lens and onto the photo/video. That’s how we approached videography and we will do the same with photography.

So…we are thrilled to add photography to our list of services and look forward to working with our new clients for 2009. Thus leads me back to why we changed our name and we felt that CINEMATICTOUCH no longer captures the vision and direction of our new company…so ALUMIERE STUDIOS was born. I like the name Alumiere because it incorporates the root word “lumen” which means light. Light is the unifying element that ties videography and photography together and we enjoy using it to paint our images (regardless of the medium).

So we apologize for any confusion during this transition period and thank you our clients, family, and friends for your continued support. We are blessed to be doing something we truly love and be able to share with all of you.

All the best, Vincent.

X-ographer | The lines have been blurred…maybe.

cinematictouch — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:23:22 +0000

Whether or not you’ve been paying attention to the photography industry lately, you might have noticed that Canon released it’s “new and improved” sequel to the Canon 5D Digital SLR called the 5D Mark II. Not only is the camera that much sweeter in pixel count (from 12 megapixel to 21 megapixel), it also boasts an impressive video capturing capability in 1080p. Combine these features with Canon’s ultra fine line of professinal grade lens and, well, you’ve got a highly powerful combination with incredible possibilities.

So what does that mean for us poor ole’ videographers? Just pack up and call it quits? NO, it just means we have another tool at our fintertips…and now it comes with better lenses! So we couldn’t help but get one of our very own 5D Mark II to play with. Keep an eye out for samples in the near future from us using this camera.

Does this mean your photographer can do the job of both photographer and videographer? The answer is not quite as simple as YES or NO. It is true that the lines have been blurred a bit, but do keep in mind that mastering either craft takes time, attention to detail, and years of experience. Hitting the proverbial “Record” or “Shutter” button can only get you so far. The rest must come from personal style and technique to capture and weave together a meaningful story for each client.

But if you are curious to know what this new camera can do for your wedding video, then you should check this out HERE.

Grand Opening: Thi Makeup Studio

cinematictouch — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:44:12 +0000

Hey Ladies (and Gents too i guess). My good friends, Thi and Mimi, have started a new and exciting venture in the wedding business and have not only opened up their own uber-chic make-up studio in the swanky downtown of Palo Alto but they are also launching their very own makeup product line as well. It goes without saying that these two ladies are absolutely awesome at what they do. Please check out their new studio or call for a consultation!

Thi Makeup Studio | 522 Bryant St. Palo Alto, Ca 943001 | 650.327.8880 | www.thicosmetics.com

Happy New Definition Year!!

cinematictouch — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:28:47 +0000

Hello Everyone,
Gosh it’s been quite a treat to take a (much needed) break during the month of December. Of course that’s not entirely true since we couldn’t resist the temptation to sneak in one last awesome wedding (with Louisana and Nacho) on Dec. 20th – which was a very nice way to end our 2008 wedding season. What can we say…we just love weddings.

But, we’re also absolutely thrilled that 2009 is here!! No economic slump is going to keep us down especially when there’s so much exciting stuff happening.

First and foremost is the fact that 2009 will be the year of BluRay. I know it’s been out awhile now but it’s taken this long now to finally trickle out into most homes. And yes…we’re talkin’ beautiful intense colors and breathtaking detail. If you have watch a movie on a 50 inch HiDef LCD, you know what I mean. There’s simple no comparison to standard definition anymore. Here’s a sample snapshot of what it will look like but probably won’t do it any justice. But rest assured ladies…we’ll make sure you still look flawless!!

So…with that in mind, we’ve restructured our package offerings to include BluRay in most of our packages with the exception of our basic package. Hopefully, this will give everyone enough options to choose from.

So with that, stay tuned for my upcoming posts as I’ll be discussing about all the cools things that’s making us excited for 2009!!

See you soon!

Or check out this sample in High Def inition 720p (view):