About Us

1000 Words Photography is husband and wife team Tom & Leona (Lee) Burke based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. We are primarily wedding photographers, but do offer all kinds of other photography as well. We've been working together since 1996 and have photographed hundreds of couples weddings. We don't think you can define our style as anything specific, we use a combination of styles to create what we hope is a uniqe perspective. To see a greater representation of our photography be sure to check out the galleries on our website.
Our personalities are loose and playful, we love photographing weddings and really want our clients to have a great time on one of the biggest days of their lives. We work very hard to come up with images that will make you say "I was there and I don't remember it being like that". Wedding photography is different than most other services at a wedding because for the images to look awesome, there needs to be a good working relationship between us and the couple. We're there all day with you so there needs to be a level of comfort and trust. Over the months leading up to a wedding we typically have developed a close relationship with our couples. We still stay in touch with most of our couples and are through the different stages of life (the wedding, children, homes, job changes..). When we book a client many times we are gaining lifelong friends and that is a pretty cool thing.
Thursday, February 24, 2011

Baby Pictures  

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Hi Everyone,
Been a while since our last post. I'm not gonna lie, the economy has been really rough on us. We have focused mainly on wedding photography over the years. When everything fell apart with the economy people started really cutting back on their wedding planning. People are having to make due with less or not at all. While we consistently get comments like "those are the best wedding pictures I've ever seen", "you guys are so professional", "I'm so happy we chose 1000 Words Photography"........our business has been hurt. We can't really complain because we know that there are so many Americans really suffering, and in the end we have been blessed with amazing family and friends. We've had several couples who have been laid off and have experienced the same troubles that so many others have.

So we have begun to branch out into other areas like corporate event photography, baby photography, real estate photography and other areas away from weddings. This post is to highlight a session with infants.
A couple of years ago we photographed this couple's wedding at the Taber Ranch in Capay Valley near Cache Creek. Well.....a couple years later they had twins! Super exciting and the babies are adorable. They were only two weeks old when we got the opportunity to photograph them. It was pretty fun. Lee was a big help with the posing and working with props. It is a whole other world compared to wedding photography. Kind of fun.....we hope you like the images we are sharing her.
Peace,
T&L






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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Round Hill Country Club  

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Hi Everyone,

Here are a few shots from Melissa & David's wedding we did this past Saturday at Round Hill Country Club in Alamo, CA. The weather has been cooler than usual in Northern California, but the forcast for yesterday was for sunny and hot....95 degrees. As a wedding photographer you always kinda worry that it could be too hot and that out brides and grooms will be too uncomfortable and that it could detract from the photography. Not the case yesterday, it was perfect....yes a little warm...but there was a nice breeze blowing and it was actually very comfortable.
The couple is kind of special to us because we had photographed Melissa's sister's wedding five years ago at the Claremont County Club in Oakland.... add to that we also did their friends Cyndi & Jeff at Poppy Ridge Golf Club in Livermore a few years ago too. It's always nice seeing past clients.....both couples have buns in the oven too....how exciting.
We met Melissa & the bridesmaids at a friends home in Round Hill. It is a magnificent home just up the street from the country club. Everybody was ready when we got there, which is huge for a wedding photographer. Many times if the wedding gets off the timeline its during the getting ready process. After we photographed Melissa & the bridesmaids we met David at his his great uncles home which is right on the third hole. We were able to take the guys out onto the course for some shots. David used to fish in the lake on the third hole as a kid and he wanted to have some pictures with the lake in it.
The ceremony went off without a hitch and was very touching. It was very clear these two really, really love each other. Brian from 21st Century Sounds was the master of ceremonies and did a great job getting the party started and keeping things moving. He's always such a pleasure to work with.
We hope you like the shots we posted here.
Peace,
T&L












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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Thomas Fogarty Winery: Wedding Photography  

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Hello All,

These images are from a wedding we did back in September. The couple is Lindsay & Fabrice and they are a super nice couple. We did their engagement session in Half Moon Bay a couple months previous to their wedding. Their wedding and reception was held at Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside. This wedding venue is kinda tucked away in the hills off Skyline Blvd and overlooks the Penninsula....you can even see San Francisco off in the distance.








Both Lindsay and Fabrice got ready at the winery, for a wedding photographer that is a relief because the more locations that are involved the more the chances of some unexpected event happening goes way up. Getting ready at the same place as the venue brings the stress level way down for everyone and things tend to go much smoother overall. When all the events are in one place its easy for us to bounce back and forth between the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. It's also very easy to get caught up in the anticipation....the countdown if you will.


This September day was especially cold, we were fortunate enough to be able to wear our jackets as the ceremony at Thomas Fogarty Winery is outside. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was kickin'. Lindsay & Fabrice left the wedding with the guests lined up holding sparklers. This is something we are seeing more and more of and for a wedding photographer is a great opportunity to capture a really cool shot.



We hope you like the wedding photographs we captured and a special thanks to Lindsay & Fabrice for choosing 1000 Words Photography to be part of your big day.



Peace,


T&L

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Garre Winery Livermore CA Wedding  

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We recently had the great opportunity to photograph a wedding at Garre Winery in Livermore. Bethany and Dustin took some time off from school to tie the knot. We met Bethany in the bridal suite and started the getting ready process. Bethany was absolutely beautiful and so calm and relaxed. We had plenty of time to work with and the pace of the day was very relaxed.
The ceremony was held outside in front of the beautiful oak tree. The tree provides a beautiful backdrop to photograph. One really touching thing about this wedding was that their first kiss was really their first kiss.....that had to be hard, but it meant a lot to them.....so sweet.
The reception was in the pavillion and we saw something that we've never seen before.....as soon as Bethany and Dustin were introduced they went immediately into the cake cutting....we thought that was awesome to get an event out of the way right off the bat. In a rare treat the music was provided by a live band East Bay Mud. This band was very right on playing songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's and kept the energy level of the reception very high. The dance floor was full the whole night...and you don't always see that.
Bethany & Dustin are a wonderful and sweet couple 1000 Words Photography wishes them a lifetime of happiness.

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Saturday, April 11, 2009

Palm Event Center  

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This was a really cool couple to work with. Nick is a police officer and Stephanie is a firefighter. We did their engagement session at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay earlier this year, and that was a lot of fun. Nick brought his motorcycle and we think we captured some pretty cool images. So we had some mojo working between us and felt very comfortable around each other....so the wedding was going to be even better.

We met Stephanie at the Rose Hotel in Pleasanton for getting ready shots. It was really relaxed and calm. Ice from Lumitone was there doing video. He's always great to work with, it's kind of cool to collaborate to come up with different creative ideas that we can both benefit from.
Stephanie and Nick were going to see each other before the wedding and get most of their pictures out of the way beforehand. That is good, but there is a very pure, wonderful moment when the groom sees his bride for the first time on the wedding day. We encouraged Nick to wait at the base of the stairs at the Palm Event Center as Stephanie arrived in the limo. His back was turned away from the limo and Steph came up from behind him. (There is a shot of this that I love on this post). When he finally did see her he was in awe....'cause she's AWESOME....it was a totally genuine and great moment.
The wedding was held outside on the lawn with the vineyards as the backdrop. It went off without a hitch. The reception was a lot of fun with a little twist. We've seen creative first dance's before, where the music starts to a nice song and then breaks off to something like Baby Got Back, but Nick and Stephanie took it to a new level. They incorporated about 10 different songs with choreography for each one. Nick has some serious moves and is freakin hillarious. When they were done the whole crowd erupted into a thunderous roar and standing ovation....it was killer. We love it when couples take the time to incorporate themselves into their wedding....and they surely did.
Nick and Stephanie thank you for letting 1000 Words Photography photograph your wedding. Their wedding pictures will be available on our website in about 3 weeks...check'em out.

Peace,

T&L

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Crow Canyon Country Club:Wedding  

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This was a fun wedding with Gina & Josh at Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville. It is definitely one of the nicer wedding venues in the San Francisco Bay Area. Gina and her bridesmaids got ready for the big wedding at the Marriott in San Ramon. Alex & Ice from Lumitone were there for video coverage and were preparing for their specialty "same day edit", where they edit about 10 minutes of coverage & put it to music and show it at the reception. It's really very cool and I think it goes from getting ready up to the first dance. Guests really like it because they get to see some behind the scenes footage that they had not experienced.

We actually met Josh for the first time on the wedding day because he had been deployed in Iraq. The poor guy only knew a handful of guests because he is orignally from Texas....but he did great.
The ceremony and reception were both at Crow Canyon, and you can't tell from the pictures....it was fffffffffreezin'. Us poor wedding photographers were crazy cold. The ceremony was relatively quick, but we felt bad for Gina, because she still had about 30 minutes or so of pictures before she could get inside and warm up.
Sharon from Crow Canyon is an outstanding wedding coordinator and is a pleasure to work with. She quietly works behind the scenes to make sure that everything goes smoothly, and it always has every time 1000 Words Phototography has worked there.










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Thursday, February 26, 2009

St Mary's College: wedding  

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This was a fun wedding for us because it was the daugther of our dental hygenist. Krista & Erick were more like friends than clients. Our day started at Krista's mom's house at the base of Mt Diablo. From the front door there is a stunning view of the mountain......we're so jealous. All the bridesmaids were there getting ready....and there was no pandamonium...really calm....and everybody was on time. It was fun watching the flower girls wait for the limo to arrive...they couldn't wait to for it to get there and get to ride in it.













From there it was off to St Mary's in Moraga where we met with Erick and the groomsmen. Everybody was loose and ready...we had a great time working with the guys. Erick had to wait in a room next to the altar by himself where he went over the vows. It was then when I think it really struck him that he was getting married.....a surreal moment for him.













The reception was at a new location for us at a place called the Bellevue Club near Lake Merrit in Oakland. This place is really cool...not much to look at from the outside, but the inside has so much character and is a wonderful place to have an event.













It was a great day for everyone involved and 1000 Words Photography is grateful to have been a part of Krista & Erick's big day. Thanks for choosing us!

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