Augie Chang Photography

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Golden Years Through my Lens

At the beginning of this year, Emily (one of my brides from 2009), whom is an executive director at one of the most established retirement community company (Aegis Living) asked if I was interested in working with her on a marketing initiative at her retirement home in Fremont. At that moment, I really didn't know what to say because I am a wedding and children photographer and I didn't know what to expect from a retirement community. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the senior citizens and perhaps have some fun in between!

The goal of this project was to change how people feel (and view) about retirement communities. In today's world, there is a stigma around retirement homes. People think about retirement homes as a "dumping ground" for old people. That's indeed NOT the case for Aegis Living communities. Their philosophy is to create a pleasant, caring and fun environment for their residents, so they can happily enjoy their golden years.

The people at Aegis Living care about their residents. They are not there to "collect a pay check" per se, but they are there because this is where their passion lies. From helping their residents with reading, to helping them walk down the hall way to get to their room, people who work there at Aegis Living are among the kindest and most genuine people I've met. They are in my eyes - angels.

This experience has opened my eyes to the world. This experience has made me appreciate life in a deeper level. This experience has given me hopes in many ways.

Listening to stories after stories from the residents made me appreciate life and understood how unpredictable life can be.

The initiative that Emily worked on in Fremont was presented to the Aegis Living corporation. The project was LOVED by all of their executive directors from Northern California. Now, Emily, Maria Chang (best make up artist in my opinion) and I are the official team to create marketing materials for all of Aegis Living Northern California! I am beyond THRILLED to be their official photographer who is going to document and help change the way people think about the retirement communities as a whole.

Today, we completed a day-long shoot for Aegis of San Francisco. Here are two pretty funny pictures that I would love to share:

He was being silly and showing me his denture when I pointed my camera at him :)



Here's a loving couple that is spending time together at Aegis. They have a long love story which I have to share at a later time (trust me, very romantic!) for now ... here is a picture of them dancing during "happy hour"!!



Monday, July 12, 2010

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Eileen and Jeremy's Wedding Teasers




Thursday, July 08, 2010

Beverly and Jason's Wedding at Cline Cellar, Sonoma

Beverly and Jason got married at the beautiful Cline Cellars in Sonoma. I forgot that I actually shot there many years ago.

This location brought back a lot of great memories for me. Cline Cellars was one of the first locations that I shot when I started my photography business. My friends Denise and Atsushi had their ceremony there and I was their photographer. I still remember how nervous I was! Nonetheless, I had a GREAT time and that contributed to my love for weddings.

8+ years later, I was back at the beautiful Cline Cellars. This time, I was there to celebrate Beverly and Jason's love for each other. I was THRILLED when I heard that Jason was incorporating his 2nd love (aka his hand-built muscle car) into the wedding. You'll see a few of the beauty below!























Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Matt - Senior Session

It is not often do I get to work with high school seniors. I am mainly a wedding and children photographer, and there are photographers out there that focus mainly on "senior portraits". I was lucky enough to work with one of the coolest high school seniors that I've met. At first, I didn't know what to expect walking into the session, but after about 10 mins, I knew Matt was a wonderful, smart and most of all, funny guy. I am not going to lie, he was a bit nervous in the beginning, but after a few jokes and laughs, Matt was like an old pro in front of my lens. I actually had no idea that I can still hang with a high school senior! I always thought I was a bit too old and un-cool for them :) Well, Matt, thanks for hanging out with an "old dude" like me *wink*