There was a slight breeze on the rooftop of the Four Seasons Los Angeles and I was excited to be photographing the bride and groom on the helipad. Traffic buzzed around the Beverly Hills streets and the blue sky leaked happiness. I had just readjusted my camera bag to rest on my right side (instead of the normal left) because an early morning visit to my chiropractor revealed curvature of my spine. Dr. Lee suggested rotating my camera bag to alleviate the stress on one side, so I readily agreed.

On the rooftop, I photographed the bride and groom…went to reach for my 35mm, 1.4 lens…and it tumbled out of my bag. It happened in slow motion and if I could have made a sound it would have been something like NOooOOoooOOOOoOOoooOO!!! But I couldn't say anything because the thud of the lens on the rooftop was enough to leave me stunned silent.

Six feet away, JD (who often functions as my brain in time of duress) smiles and says, Not to worry! Just like that. Not to worry, like he's freaking British. He swoops over and hands me the 24mm, 1.4 and tells the clients he'll fix my lens. And smiles. I continue to shoot and three minutes later, he triumphantly raises the lens and says, All fixed!

I know the lens isn't fixed…he knows the lens isn't fixed…but to keep the mood light/happy/weddingish, he did what my brain couldn't: CARRY ON. Where I saw my new $1,500 lens (a lens I saved two years to buy) in cracked pieces, he saw an opportunity to act like a professional. I couldn't ask for a better partner.

This photo was taken just seconds after getting the 24mm on my camera and testing it out. The look JD is giving me? I could be wrong, but it's something along the lines of, KEEP YOUR ISH TOGETHER, WOMAN!

Around 1a.m. the valet pulled up our car and we piled in after a long day and sighed. I leaned over and grabbed JD's hand and asked him what was his fee for helping me. He blinked a few times, quickly calculated, and said: $2,500. Oh, Internet, it appears I'm gonna need a new second shooter for this weekend's wedding! 😉

Happy Tuesday!