Patrick Motola Photography Blog bio picture

About Me

I grew up as an Army brat in Hawaii and Okinawa; played basketball at Cal Berkeley; have degrees from Cal, Stanford and UT in Computer Science; have been a flight instructor; and have worked for companies ranging from IBM to startups. I have 3 wonderful children and live in Austin with my wife Nancy.

I absolutely LOVE wedding photography for three reasons. People, Art and Computers.

PEOPLE
I love to delight my clients. When a bride calls me filled with emotion and tears of joy when they first see their wedding images, there is no greater feeling on earth. I also love to provide people with exceptional service while having fun at the same time. No matter how crazy the Wedding Day becomes, we put our couple at ease, we get great images, we work closely with the other vendors and we interact professionally with the family and guests. I often have guests come up to me at the end of a reception to say "You did a great job!" when they have yet to see a single image. This tells me they appreciate how I work with people.

ART
I have always had a creative streak and I am passioniate about photography as an artist. Capturing great images requires a creative eye, photographic skill, technical skills and good equipment. On the technical side, I am an insatiable self learner in addition to attending several weeks of formal training each year from some of the best photographers in the world. I am proud to be a Certified Professional Photographer by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). According to PPA, only 3% of professional photographers are certified.

COMPUTERS
The other thing I love is computers and the creative, artistic side of digital imaging. What can be done digitally is simply incredible compared with the days of film. And the photographic fine art that can be created is breathtaking. We make incredible albums that just weren't possible 10 years ago. And our Digital Oil Paintings are designed to be a legacy centerpiece in your home for a lifetime.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Taylor and Blake

What an honor it was to shoot Taylor Blackwood and Blake Cervenka’s wedding at the Thurman Mansion. Blake played Little League baseball with my son Ryan and we have known the Cervenka’s since as Taylor and Blake and my kids, Ashlee and Ryan attended Anderson High School.

We started with the rehearsal dinner at the Headliners Club on the 21^st floor of the Chase bank building. This is definitely one of my favorite places to shoot. The views of the Austin downtown skyline are stunning!

The wedding day started with shots of Blake and the groomsmen having some fun around the mansion. I love the bridal preparation room upstairs and we got some beautiful shots of Taylor getting ready before the wedding. The ceremony and group shots were wonderful with the sun setting right behind the ceremony.

I had picked out a spot with great light under some trees with the vineyards in the background for bride and groom shots. The reception was energized by the live band and of course, incomparable Salt Lick barbeque.

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