Well now here’s a post that would’ve been way more relevant six months ago! But at least the event described here happened within this calendar year. That makes it all okay. Right?

As you may remember, we (or rather, I) photographed the first annual Santa Cruz NEXT awards ceremony back in January 2010- you can see those photos here. On January 23, 2011, the NEXTies happened again, making this the second annual Santa Cruz NEXT awards ceremony, in case you were losing track. This time Patrick was there too, and he got fabulous photos, as you will see.

The 2011 NEXTies happened at the Top of the Ritt, and once again Timerie Gordon made it look space-age-awesome. This time around she included real live humans in her design, because she’s a genius like that. These living statues were brought to us by Santa Cruz Dance. At the start of the event, they posed on scaffolding in the lobby. Later they made their way around the venue and became part of the decor, sometimes holding still and sometimes moving very slowly. They started to seem like some other kind of lifeform, something oceanic. It was a little bit disconcerting, and totally cool.

Many tasty tidbits were offered by local vendors and served on wheels by several Santa Cruz Derby Girls. These tidbits included the teensiest brisket sliders I’ve ever seen (by SmoQe BBQ) and yummy stuff by Coastal Catering and others. Later on Dan P and The Bricks took the stage and got people to do some fancy dancing. The first time I ever saw Dan P and the Bricks was actually in front of that same building, right on the street, where they had a piano and a crowd of pleased tourists around them.

You can read more about the 2011 NEXTies and who was honored there in this article.

On a photographic note: one of my favorite photos that I’ve ever taken is the 12th one down in this post. There’s something so incredibly strange about it. I think I’ve had dreams that looked like that photo and the one after it. Recurring, perplexing, Lynchian dreams. Also, the final photo, the view of Pacific Avenue from the Top of the Ritt, is definitely one of my favorite photos by Patrick.

Overall, I think we did pretty well considering how dark it was in there (low lighting plus no nearby walls plus dark ceilings equals flash frustration!) And now our did-pretty-well-ness is preserved forever on this blog, which means It Officially Happened. Hooray!

This post is Part 3 of a 3-Part series. Read Part 1 – Read Part 2 – Read Part 3

This wedding reception was romantically lit by candles, and with the sound of the rain falling outside, it was quite a cosy scene. For the photographers, this meant we were shooting in near-darkness. But we were not intimidated by this. Nor were Jackie and Marcus intimidated by having to stay indoors for the reception. These two regularly host a Game Night, at which Jackie directs her friends in riotous play, enforcing the rules where necessary and ensuring that everyone gets involved. They brought their love of games to the wedding reception. Never before have I seen wedding guests dash about so madly, counting the change in their pockets and taking off articles of clothing. It was astounding. Jackie and Marcus are awesome.

Thanks again to Joye of Green Fuse Photography for getting such great shots. The one of Jackie and Marcus next to the fountain is hers, and it’s my favorite shot of the whole day.