Nicole Caldwell Photo

Nicole Caldwell Photo

The shots between the shots, because that's the magic

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Author Archives: Nicole Caldwell

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On Location in LA Tommy’s 80th Anniversary Event

October 13, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

LOS ANGELES, CA… Honored to photograph the 80th anniversary event party for Original Tommy’s at the Original Location! News crews, fans, French fries and fun.

Epic to recreate this iconic image with his youngest Daughter Cindi:

Categories: events • Tags: event photography

Fringe, a Pink Jacket, and the Real Them | Portrait Session

October 10, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Pink backdrop, fluffy jacket & a fringe dress on white, and we let it move. I like when the outfit is doing something. I like it better when everyone is in the moment.

Categories: personal projects

A birthday, a beach, and the minute they stopped posing

October 6, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

We made the smiling picture first. Everyone needs that one. Then the birthday actually started. Feet in the sand, the kids moving, nobody performing. The reunion is not the posed frame. It is the minute they forgot the camera was there. That is the one worth keeping.

Categories: families • Tags: families, family

A couple embracing on a stairway inside a building with a door labeled 'MEN' in the background old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell

How a 35mm Courthouse Wedding in Black & White Feels Like 1955

September 10, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

This was a small wedding at the Old County Courthouse in Santa Ana. Just the couple, a few people, and the building. I photographed it on 35mm black and white film with an on-camera strobe beyond that, the building did most of the work. Black and white kept everything straightforward. The grain is contrast. It looks like a courthouse wedding from another decade because that’s how the place already feels. Highly recommend.

Categories: film, Weddings • Tags: 35mm film, film, wedding, weddings

Drone Work | Chateau on Sunset

August 21, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Drone work under Eric Stoner for Anthony James Studio at the Chateau Marmont On Sunset.

Categories: drone • Tags: drone

Newlywed couple walking down a garden path, holding a bouquet and champagne 235mm film nicole caldwell rancho las lomas wedding

Rancho Las Lomas wedding | 35mm film

August 18, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Rancho Las Lomas is a tropical gem in the heart of Silverado Canyon, great backdrop for the color of portra 800 35mm film.

Categories: film, personal projects, Weddings • Tags: wedding

35mm film black and white wedding photographer nicole cadlwell Couple in formal attire dancing indoors near table with flowers and cake

Cake. Film. Delish.

July 29, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Final shots of the night on 35mm film. Cake and the couple. Handprocessed in the darkroom, and processed in Rodinal for contrast grain delishness ( just like the cake). More and more couples are loving film, and so am I. Digital is beautiful and so is the physical touch of prints. Shot at Rancho Las Lomas

Categories: film, Weddings • Tags: 35mm film, film, wedding, weddings

Pascal and Sir Maldini, on Ferrania 35mm film

July 20, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Pascal and Sir Maldini, mid-stride. The posed portrait came first. Then the horse moved, and I panned with them. That is the shot between the shots. Ferrania, printed in the darkroom.

Categories: film, personal projects • Tags: film

Irvine Annual Art Exhibition

July 12, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

IRVINE, CA… Opening day at the races- Irvine Annual Art exhibit- thank you to the city for hosting a place for artists to show their work, and for the people who came to fill the seats, thank you!

Categories: film, personal projects • Tags: film

On Location with Lori Okimura for Harker Magazine

July 7, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

LOS ANGELES, CA… On location at LA84 with Lori Okimura. My job gets me to see and meet rad new places and people! I got to see the 84 olympics torch ( glorious 80’s glass)

Categories: editorial, Headshots

South Swellers | 35mm film The Wedge

June 16, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Among 1000 people, helicopters, Channel 5 news crew, 20 foot waves, 35mm film and minolta and hand here are some favorite shots from my 90’s film camera. processed in the darkroom, chemistry, grain is good.

Categories: film • Tags: 35mm film

High Contrast Skies: Aerobatics on Ferrania 35mm Film, Handprocessed in the Darkroom

May 12, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

BORREGO SPRINGS, CA… I loaded my favorite 35MM FILM Italian stock — Ferrania — and pointed it straight into the Desert sky for the Hammerhead Roundup Airshow. Shot on 35mm. Handprocessed by me in the darkroom for heavy grain and that deep, punchy contrast I love. The Propeller Bar hosts the annual International Aerobatic Club, event at the Borrego Springs Airport- viewing platform above covered, have yourself a warm glass of Chardonnay. Next show is in October- See you in […]

Categories: film • Tags: 35mm, 35mm film, desert, film

Two people standing in shallow water with a third person further behind them, under a vast sky 35mm film photographer nicole caldwell orange county

Boots in the Salton Sea, 35mm film Day at the Beach

April 25, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

A swing in the wind. A door half open. Then the boots, in the water, at Bombay Beach.
We let the place be the portrait. The desert was already strange. The 35mm just kept it that way. Grain from 1992 film stock, printed as it was shot.
The shot between the shots is the one where they stopped arranging the frame and stepped into it.

Categories: personal projects

Dominating the Wedge with my Minolta film camera

April 9, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Newport Beach, CA. Sunrise. One of the biggest swells I’ve seen at the Wedge.
I brought the Minolta and two rolls of Ferrania ISO 80.
I’m not gonna lie — I’m a little obsessed with this Italian film right now. It’s a dream. The way it renders light and shadow… it’s ridiculous.
I shot everything on the jetty as the sun came up. Then I took the film straight into the darkroom and did stand development. That grain? That contrast? I’m still drooling over the negatives.
This is what I live for — simple setup, real light, and film that actually feels like something.
Slow looking encouraged.

Categories: film • Tags: film, film 35mm film

The Moment Your Baby Bump Becomes Pure Sunset Magic | Laguna Beach

March 25, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

This maternity session was pure fun from start to finish. Chased that warm golden hour light along the coast, got in the water with her bump glowing, and everything stayed relaxed. Fun memories and immortalized in photographs.

Categories: personal projects

The Maternity Shoot Where the Dog Upstaged the Bump (And There Was Cake)

March 2, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Ever wonder how a classic black and white maternity photoshoot turns unforgettable? Add one excited dog named Scotch making a cameo on a seamless white backdrop, plus a pink cake smash for the gender reveal. Simple setup, massive charm.

Categories: maternity

Captured Spirits?

February 24, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

Haunted Bayou- ghost trails? Shutter Drag? You decide.

Categories: couples • Tags: engagements

From Charred Airbnb to Borrego Walls: Art Heist

February 18, 2026 by Nicole Caldwell

“Sorry, Dad — I accidentally burned down the Airbnb.” One of my film darkroom prints, sold to a new collector through the Borrego Art Institute before the ashes cooled. It landed in a good home. Two other pieces made it into their January–February photography exhibit: Anthophila X and In The Between — both darkroom double exposures and collages.

Categories: personal projects • Tags: exhibitions

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Kristina & Matt being Matt. Fringe. The real them. Now on the site, link in profile. #couplegoals #photoshoot

Copyright Nicole Caldwell 2026

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