In October 2010, I had the great pleasure of meeting a wonderful Mexican wedding photographer named Fer Juaristi at one of my Speedlite Workshops in Dallas. He attended the Workshop with two other photographer friends, Anahi Navarro and Rafa Ibanez, who by the way, are both stellar wedding photographers.
Little did I know, I’d be making a lifelong friend that day.
During that Workshop, Fer referred me to Vinicíus Matos, one of Brazil’s leading wedding photographers. Vinicíus invited me to present and teach a Workshop at Wedding Brasil 2011. Guess what? Fer was also going to be presenting at WB in Sáo Paulo.
Less than a month after meeting Fer, our paths crossed again while presenting at the Foundation Conference in Kansas City, MO. This was the first time that I’d seen Fer speak (alongside with the Wed Rockers) and I was instantly impressed by his body of work. He’s incredibly humble, kind and passionate about his family and photography.
It’s rare to see a photographer speak with such passion and humility.
A couple months later while presenting at a seminar in Connecticuit, I once again found myself in the presence of Fer. At the same seminar, I met the Canadian dynamic duo Davina + Daniel. Along with my lovely wife Anne, we spent a wonderful evening at The Captain Daniel Packer Inne Restaurant and Pub with our new friends Davina + Daniel and of course, who can forget the Wedrockers!
Fast forward to April 2011. Fer and I spend almost a week together at Wedding Brasil. Enjoying exquisite meals together, great conversations and street shooting around Sáo Paulo. I realized after those few short days in Brazil, that Fer is open book, ready to share and 100% real.
Just before the holidays, I found out that Fer was going to be teaching one of his Fershops in Rockville, MD at Washington Talent Agency so I quickly offered up our condo as his crash pad. His sold-out Workshop was a huge success and one thing that really stuck with me was this quote:
“There’s always an excuse to not work hard.” – Fer Juaristi
Fer is a photographer that speaks the truth, shoots from his heart and the result is incredible imagery that can’t help but inspire you.
I had a wonderful time attending his Fershop and the above images are my take from the day.
Thanks for a great week friend!
JVS
-
Tech data: All images were captured on a Hasselblad H4D-40, lit with a Canon Speedlite, tripped with RadioPopper JrX’s, on a Nasty Clamp and converted in Lightroom with VSCO film.
If you’re interested in learning more about lighting with Speedlites, please join me in Washington, DC on Tuesday March 6th for a full-day, hands-on Workshop!
For more information and to register, please 
