A Benefit for our friend Koti Hu

As some of you are already aware, a dear friend of ours, Koti Hu, was in a serious car accident on July 28th. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down and at this time, he has only regained limited mobility in his arms and hands. Many of you have joined us in praying for him, but now it is time for a different kind of action.

As you can imagine, the resource challenges associated with Koti Hu's accident are daunting. There are a number of people who have committed themselves to breaking the challenge into manageable pieces. One group is working on raising money to establish a trust fund that will pay for some of Koti's ongoing expenses. They are "kicking off" this effort with a benefit dinner for him and we are trying to raise money for Koti as a part of this event. We are asking you, our friends, family, current and future clients, to consider giving. No gift is too small and every single one will be greatly appreciated. If you feel called to give, please make a check out to Koti Hu Trust and mail it to us at:

Gerald Pope Photography
7058 155th Pl. NE
Redmond, WA 98052

We are brainstorming some additional ways to raise money for Koti. One idea we've had is putting some of our photographic artwork for sale in the next few weeks. Many of you just know us as wedding photographers, but we do dabble in photography of other subjects from time to time! :) Please check back soon for more details.

More about the Benefit--A Night for Koti

Extraordinary Measures for Extraordinary Needs

Saturday, October 20, 2007--6:00 PM
Westminster Chapel Gym
13646 NE 24th Street
Bellevue, WA 98005

Our evening will include:
Dinner prepared by Executive Chef Steve Cain
of the Waterfront Seafood Grill

Music performed by Koti’s friends

A special appearance by comedian Nick Thune
(recently seen on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno)

Suggested donation is $500 per plate

Our goal is to raise over $100,000 to help meet Koti’s anticipated annual financial need. We realize this is a large sum and hope that you will share our vision that Koti’s “extraordinary needs call for extraordinary measures.” Put your creativity to work and raise money for Koti, and collect that money to underwrite your ticket or a ticket for a friend. Proceeds from this event go to the Koti Hu Trust. Checks should be made payable to Koti Hu Trust. Contributions are not tax deductible.

For more information: Please visit the fundraising website kotihu.com. For information on others ways to help Koti, or information on how you can be involved in this event, please email helpkoti@kotihu.com.

We know that many of you do not personally know Koti, but he has played an important role in our lives and in thousands of lives all across the globe. We know that God has an even more amazing future planned for him, but Koti needs our help! If you're considering a gift, but would like to know more about Koti's story, please contact us at gerald@geraldpope.com or airika@geraldpope.com. We'd be happy to share more with you.

Viewing wedding photos on Pictage

We use Pictage for all of our client proofing and ordering. To view photos from a wedding you recently attended, please click on this link and follow the instructions. Note that the "event ket" is the groom's last name. Once the images are ready for viewing, you will receive an email telling you how to access them. Please email us if you have any questions and enjoy the images!

Heather & Michael's Wedding

Hi everybody! Here are a few images from the first of the two weddings we photographed this weekend. This was definitely one of our most anticipated weddings of the summer because over the past year we've gotten to spend some time hanging out with these guys and they have become valued friends of ours. They are so much fun to be around and they challenge us in so many (good) ways! It was awesome being there for their special day and getting to witness how much all of their friends and family have been blessed by them as well. We are so happy for you two!

We rented an 8mm fisheye lens for the weekend. This was our first time renting this lens, and it is a LOT of fun to play with! The lens gives a nearly 180 degree view that ends up as a circular image. It is actually tricky to use because if you are not careful, your own feet will end up in all the pictures. I got this shot by putting the camera in the timer mode, and placing the camera on the floor pointing straight up in the middle of the B & G and some of their guests doing the Hokey Pokey.

One unique aspect of this wedding was the underlying mathmatic theme. They had their wedding rings designed for them as a mobius strip--which is a one-sided object. If I try to explain it any further than that, I will only confuse myself, so I'm not going to try. They also designed their own cake as a 3-d version of the golden ratio. Sweet!

To view all of Heather & Michael's photos and order prints, click here and register with Pictage. By registering you will recieve a $10 credit toward prints, and you will be notified via email the minute the images become available. When you log in to view the images, you will be asked for an "event key"--simply enter the groom's last name. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Congratulations Heather and Michael!

Gerald & Airika

Workshop with David Beckstead

Airika and I just got back from an incredible wedding photography workshop out in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. We spent four days there hanging out with a bunch of amazing photographers, learning from some of the best in the business--David Beckstead and Sean Watson. It was really a special treat for Airika and I to spend time with other professional wedding photographers, who share our passion for creating art at the weddings we shoot.

Our week was filled with model shoots in all kinds of situations: direct sun, open shade, late at night in complete darkness, deep in the forest, out in a junkyard, in back alleys, along rocky shorelines, open fields, inside barns, and other farm related stuff. We even shot some photos with a bride with an artic wolf!

In any case, we just got back friday night and immediately began preparing for the wedding we shot Saturday. As if that weren't enough, we had yet another wedding on Sunday! Life has definitely been crazy, but we wanted to give you a little taste of some of our images from the workshop, and let you know that there will be more photos to show off soon, so stay tuned!

Gerald