Washington DC Wedding Photographer | Leo Druker

New Zealand Photography – My Travels

Leo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:41:36 +0000

New Zealand has been on my list of places to visit for as long as I’ve known what and where New Zealand was. I finally got the chance to go last month, when I spent a week with Shanif, one of my best friends, and Irina, a friend of his from Business School, driving all around the South Island. We spent time watching the sun set over Queenstown, kayaking in Milford Sound and being flown on top of Fox Glacier and Mt. Cook in a helicopter. That doesn’t even begin to cover the incredibly nice and welcoming people I met along the way, or the pure awesomeness of the landscape, where I would go from an otherworldly blue lake to a gigantic glacier to a rainforest, complete with exotic birds, all within 4 hours of driving. To say that this was a once in a life-time experience wouldn’t even come close to how amazing it was.

I’m honestly surprised that I was able to make myself get on a plane to come back home, although I have a feeling this isn’t the last time I write about New Zealand adventures.

Elizabeth + John | Intimate Fairfax Wedding

Leo — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:00:17 +0000

Sometimes the most wonderful weddings aren’t held in amazing hotels or beautifully decorated vineyards, but in the living room of a Fairfax townhouse on a windy Saturday in November. Elizabeth & John had a very small and intimate ceremony, with their families and closest friends there to witness it. Of course, they also live streamed the entire wedding for all others who weren’t able to join them in person, so this was both the smallest and potentially biggest wedding I’ve photographed. Hope you enjoy Elizabeth & John’s celebration!

Valentina + Stanley | Frutillar, South Chile Wedding

Leo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:35:56 +0000

Last December, I had a chance to spend a week in a gorgeous town of Frutillar in the south of Chile with the amazing Kyle Hepp, shooting Valentina & Stanley’s crazy amazing wedding extravaganza. I already posted their awesome day-after bridal portrait session a couple of weeks ago, but now it’s time for the main event. From the heartfelt ceremony to the crazy dance party at the reception, including the national dance of Chile, Cueca, this wedding was tons of fun! I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story.

LIZ + KEVIN | BRISTOW MANOR VIRGINIA WEDDING

Leo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:01:44 +0000

The last time I met Liz & Kevin, I was photographing their gorgeous Great Falls engagement session, so only a couple months later, we met again, this time so I could shoot their fun-filled wedding at Bristow Manor in Virginia during the second week of January. From a choir comprising some of Liz’s choral students during the ceremony to photos on a Zamboni and a quick stop at the local bar for some drinks, capped off by an incredibly fun party during the reception. That this was my first wedding of 2012, and judging by how much fun we had, it’s going to be a great year!

Michelle + Phil | Lancaster, PA Wedding

Leo — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:08:47 +0000

Several months ago, I had the good fortune to drive up to Lancaster, PA to shoot Michelle & Phil’s wedding with the amazing Shari DeAngelo. A gorgeous autumn day, perfect weather, and a couple who were not only incredibly in love with each other, but were so much fun, which explains why half of these photos are from the awesome reception. We started the day off at The Inn At Leola Village in Leola, Pennsylvania, where the couple got ready and where the eventual rowdy reception would continue later in the day, but the actual wedding took place at in Lancaster. Start to finish, an incredible time!

Liz + Kevin | Great Falls Engagement

Leo — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:47:30 +0000

Engagement sessions are awesome for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I get to spend a bit of time with my couples before the wedding day, just getting them more comfortable with each other and in front of the camera, as well as giving me a chance to see how they interact and really make sure that we click and work well together. The last part mostly involves me making really bad jokes for the entire time (true story.)

Liz & Kevin were fantastic, not only because they agreed to wake up at a ridiculously early time and drive over to Great Falls National Park just after sunrise, and not only because they actually laughed at some of my awful jokes, but because they were just so incredibly thrilled and happy to be together, no matter how awkward being in front of the camera must have been. I even managed to get Kevin to crack a smile once or twice.

I can’t wait to shoot their wedding in just over two weeks!

2011 | Looking Back

Leo — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:57:34 +0000

Even though it’s not quite over yet, 2011 has been an incredible year. I met some fantastic couples and photographed weddings full of love and happiness. I met lots of amazing photographers both here in Washington, DC and from across the world. Milena Dekic, Luis Godinez, Dennis Pike, Brittany Staddon, Shari DeAngelo, Kyle Hepp, Matt Shumate, Dani K, Erin Lassahn, and Sam Hurd, just to name a few (Check ‘em out. Trust me – they’re all incredible!). My clients were featured in some great blogs including United With Love and the Washingtonian. Lastly, I was able to travel the world, spending time in Russia, Germany and Greece and photographing weddings in France, Canada and Chile.

Thank you to each and every one of you who trusted me to capture your special day.

Can’t wait to see what 2012 brings!

But first – here’s a look back at 2011.

Bring on 2012!

Eli | Family Session

Leo — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:07:47 +0000

Just a couple photos from a first birthday party/late Halloween/early Christmas family session I did with my good friend Sam, her husband, and her adorable son, Eli.

Valentina + Stanley | Frutillar, Chile Destination Wedding

Leo — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:57:23 +0000

There is almost nothing else I love to do more than travel. Just this year, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit several Countries, including Russia, France, Canada, and now, I just returned from spending a week with the incredible Kyle Hepp and her husband, Seba, shooting an amazing wedding in the middle of Lake (and Volcano – more on that in the next post. Stay tuned

Of course, my travel bug bit me before I was ever shooting weddings or even carried my camera with me everywhere I went. The thrill of being in a new Countries, talking to and learning from interesting people and exploring different cultures is something that I don’t ever tire of. Now, I just get to document and record all that I see and experience in a much more interesting way.

So anyway, back to Chile. Kyle, who was awesome enough to have me along to shoot a beautiful Paris wedding with her over the summer, and I met once more in a different Country so her and I could shoot Valentina & Stanley’s wedding in a tiny town of Frutillar in Southern Chile. Before I show you the entire wedding, here are a couple of photos from a quick portrait session we did the day after a wedding.

Crete + Santorini | A View of the Greek Islands.

Leo — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:21:24 +0000

I recently had an opportunity to spend two weeks in Greece, most of it on the eastern part of Crete, near the town of Hersonissos, and a brief two day excursion to the village of Imerovigli in Santorini. In my short two weeks there, I spent most of my time driving, walking and hiking up and down mountains, around lakes and winding gorges, and stopping in tiny picturesque villages for a quick bite, some with nothing more than a couple houses, a church and, of course, a taverna.

Although I spent a fair amount of time in my rental car, to the point that I managed to put roughly 900km on it in about 12 days, I still only managed to see no more than two thirds of Crete. Good thing, too, since there’s still so much I’ve yet to see. Not that I need another reason reason to come back to this incredible place or anything.