David Wolfe Caribbean Photographer Blog - Cayman Islands

Erin & Trey – Cayman Beach Wedding

David Wolfe — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:36:37 +0000

Erin and Trey were both born and raised in Arkansas and both went to the University of Arkansas. Although they had several mutual friends they never met at school. After graduating, both went to work for Walmart Corporate Headquarters and their paths finally crossed. They’ve been together almost 4 years and now live in Seattle. Friends and family traveled from Arkansas and Texas to join them at their Grand Cayman Wedding!

They chose the Cayman Islands as their wedding venue because they felt that it had everything they needed – beautiful island feel, nice people, and a reputation for safety. They felt that, with the excellent vendors in the Cayman Islands, they had the opportunity to personalize their event more than other island destinations. Erin had also visited the island once with her family when she was younger and remembered thinking the water was the most beautiful/clear/spectacular she had ever seen.

They wanted their wedding before summer and the night of April 19th seemed perfect as it was a full moon! This fun wedding took place at Tiki Beach, Grand Cayman. The event was planned by Meg from Octopus Event and the flowers were provided by Del from The Flower Dell. CAUTION!!! Hard partying features prominently!

Too many beautiful photos to share. Click on the slideshow below to view more!

Natalie and Scott – The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman

David Wolfe — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:50:04 +0000

Originally from Maryland, Natalie graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH. Scott is a Wisconsin native and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. Natalie and Scott met through mutual friends first in September 2006 then again in July 2007. Natalie was visiting one of her college girlfriends (who is also one of her bridesmaids) in NYC who happened to be dating a friend of Scott’s. She was briefly introduced to Scott when his band played at CBGB, the original New York City hardcore and punk rock club. They reconnected a year later at their friend’s wedding and started dating right after, long distance DC – NYC for about a year. Natalie then moved briefly to NYC, then they both moved to MD in 2009 and made a home there. Scott proposed in September 2011 and not long after, they decided to get married in Grand Cayman. They took their first trip to Grand Cayman in December 2010 and loved it! They both love to travel; and with family and friends so spread out, they realized that many people would have to travel to attend their wedding. They figured why not make it somewhere that all their friends would love experiencing as well! The Cayman Islands proved the perfect destination for their wedding.

Stars in Little Cayman – Thats the Milky Way Folks!

David Wolfe — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:36:18 +0000

When a photo gets over 100 shares and almost 300 “likes” on facebook, I guess it deserves a blog post. This is a view of the night sky and the Milky Way galaxy over South Hole Sound in Little Cayman. The image was made with a single 30 second exposure and the camera on a stable platform. I say “stable platform” because I didn’t have a tripod handy; so I improvised with a fish cleaning table, a Grey Goose vodka cork, and a small piece of brain coral. Whatever it takes, right? So, the picture isn’t fake; but is it Photoshopped? Yes, but only a tiny bit. I tweaked the levels to add contrast and removed some unsightly debris from the beach. That’s not cheating, its just getting the most out of an exposure. Even Ansel Adams used to shoot for the darkroom. If he made a straight print from his negatives, his photos would have appeared flat and uninteresting. The manipulation he did in the darkroom turned his photos into the beautiful works of art we admire today. People think these photos look fake because they never see images like this appear on their own cameras. But it isn’t because I took a NASA image of the Milky Way and pasted it into my beach photo. That would be much more difficult. Its because there are a lot of other things going on during that 30 second exposure. Without giving everything away, I can tell you that I was out of breath. To be fair, most people will never have an opportunity to take a photo that shows the night sky in such detail. I live on Grand Cayman Island and can’t get star pictures like this on Grand. Little Cayman has less light pollution. so the stars are much more visible in the night sky. The orange glow you see on the right side of the image comes from the few street lights we have in Blossom Village. If there were fewer street lights, the night sky would be even more impressive and, if I had things my way, I’d remove every street light from that little island. That would sure make the turtles happy.
After making the image above we took a drive over to the north side of Little Cayman where my wife and I own a piece of paradise on Bloody Bay, home to the best scuba diving in the Caribbean. This second image (using almost no photoshop) is of a few friends standing on my cabana. By chance a 400 pound green turtle has nested right under the cabana! Turtles nest on our beach every year precisely because there are no lights nearby. We hope to keep it that way and hope to see the eggs hatch in the coming weeks.

Its nice to be appreciated

David Wolfe — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 19:04:23 +0000

There is something special about a handwritten note. Its even more special when someone takes the time to produce a card using your own photos and write a Thank You note on that card! Things like that always makes me feel great about what I do for a living. I really do feel fortunate to have found something to do in life that makes me happy and makes others happy at the same time. By the way, Ashley & James, You’re most welcome. I had a great time!

Gretchen and Chris’ Pappagallo Beach Wedding

David Wolfe — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:28:03 +0000

Its often tough enough just getting along with your neighbors so, when my next door neighbors, Gretchen and Chris, asked me to photograph their wedding, I was doubly honored. As neighbors, they are great, aside from the constant smooching on their back patio and gazing into each others eyes over a candlelit dinner on the veranda. But that’s OK. We are growing the hedge taller so we don’t have to look at that all the time As bride and groom, well, they are a poster couple. Gretchen really got into some terrific shape for her wedding and that dress looked fantastic on her. I’d like to thank my wife, Melissa, for helping with the photos on this one. It really makes a big difference having a second photographer at a wedding and there isn’t another photographer I enjoy woking with more than my wife. Melissa and I would also like to to thank the wedding couple for inviting us to stay for such a wonderful meal at Ristoranté Pappagallo. We did enjoy the evening out. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed taking them.

The images above were captured at the same moment. Having two photographers at your wedding is a great idea.

Gretchen and Chris’ Pappagallo Beach Wedding Movie

David Wolfe — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 20:54:28 +0000

Sun Salutations! – Family Portraits – Rum Point, Grand Cayman Island

David Wolfe — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:06:52 +0000

More than anything, I love doing family portraits in the Cayman Islands. Everyone is always happy and often celebrating a special occasion like milestone birthday or anniversary. Sun Salutations is the perfect spot for sunset portraits. Located on a secluded beach beyond the Rum Point Club, the light is perfect no matter what the weather is doing. On this day there were no clouds and the brilliant sunlight was almost too bright! We found some open shade on the pool deck and used the palm trees as a natural backdrop. I always try to get more than one great photo of each couple and several of close-ups of all the small children as well as a variety of shots of each family group. This is a good example of what to expect from a portrait session.

Ashley & James – Tukka! – East End, Grand Cayman Island

David Wolfe — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:29:25 +0000

Ashley and James were married at Tukka Restaurant and Bar on the East End of Grand Cayman. Tukka has a unique menu, friendly staff and is a terrific venue for small, intimate weddings. The surroundings are also perfect for pictures. With guests from as as far away as Australia, everyone had a great time. Click the video below and turn up the volume!

Grand Cayman Wedding – Private Venue – uh, that’s my back yard.

David Wolfe — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:35:37 +0000

Kim and her fiancé, lovingly known as ‘G’, wanted to have a small and simple ceremony with just their closest friends and family, but they didn’t want the “beach wedding” that has become the Cayman standard. After some discussion, I offered to let them get married in my back yard. They thought it was a great idea! So, here we have a simple “back yard” ceremony with Joy from Simply Weddings presiding, and flowers provided by Every Bloomin’ Thing. Their dog, Lucky, was the ring bearer. Welcome to my back yard!

Nancy & Wally’s Cruise Ship Destination Wedding Video – Island Beach Wedding

David Wolfe — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:02:33 +0000

If I could wake up and do this every morning for the rest of my days, that would be a pretty good life. Nancy and Wally wanted to do something simple, romantic and special on their wedding day. I offered to pick them up at the cruise ship dock and drive them to the wedding venue at a secluded beach. It just happens that cruise ships hailing from Jamaica pass right behind my house on the way to Grand Cayman. So, I woke up early, shot some video of the sunrise and the ship arriving. Then, picked them up in Georgetown and brought them back to my house to meet the minister and collect the flowers that had been dropped off earlier. After making a few photos in my yard, we headed off to the beach for the ceremony. I couldn’t have produced this video alone and want to give a big thanks to Dennie from Better Angle (http://betterangle.com/) for doing a great job with the video clips and also a huge thanks to JJ, also from Better Angle, for assisting with the edit and video production. Congratulations Nancy and Wally! Hope you enjoyed sharing the video with your friends and family at your reception party!