My Story

I was born into wedding photography. My dad was the society photographer in Oklahoma City, photographing weddings for such families as Kerr, McGee, Phillips, Gaylord and the son of legendary football coach Bud Wilkinson. I was handing him flashbulbs at the age of eight. I always regretted that he wasn't a venture capitalist. In the 1960's, fed up with shooting the same old formals and family groups, he decided to add romance to his repertoire. To make a long story short, he became famous Worldwide, conducting seminars to the elite of the industry. Adding artistic techniques he singlehandedly and for all time changed the way weddings are photographed. I still receive emails from his pupils proclaiming that my dad was instrumental in changing their lives. Having no other skills and little ambition, I followed in his giant footsteps, giving my own programs at the seminars. We taught in every major city in the U.S. and Canada, England and Puerto Rico. Among photographers in the 70's and 80's Bill Stockwell was a household word in the photographic field. I moved to San Francisco in the late 70's, working as a sales rep for Faulkner Color Lab, owned by my brother in law, Don Faulkner. Anxious to resume photography I became associated with Robbi Ernst, of June Weddings Inc., photographing opulent affairs for people like Diane Feinstein and other prominent Bay Area families. In the 90's, I moved to the Napa Valley where I was on the preferred vendor lists at Auberge du Soleil, Meadowood Resort and B.V. Gardens to name a few. After photographing a magnificent wedding at Domaine Carneros, the groom, Tony Labbe, told me he was in management at the Four Seasons Wailea and if I was ever interested in moving to Maui, he would be happy to include me among their vendors. I think we put our home on the market within a week. Having experienced a gluttonous amount of extravagant events, I find great joy and fulfillment in photographing small gatherings on our pristine beaches. Living here is a dream come true. My dad told me at an early age, "I'll take the brides with the stars in their eyes and you can have the ones with the dollar signs." He was an amazing man who grew up dirt poor in the times of the Great Depression and though he became famous, he was never arrogant or filled with self-importance. That's a legacy money can't buy.