I’ve already said in an earlier blog post that Matt & Di were a great couple to work with, and that I had a blast shooting their wedding.  What’s been even more fun for me for the past several days is going through the photos from their wedding, and seeing how happy they and their guests were.  Looking through photos after an event is my favorite part of this job.  I go out and use the experience I’ve gained in the past, and apply it to the shoot and hand, mix it with some new ideas, and work my butt off in the process.  As soon as I’m back in the office I download the photos and start looking through them with the same zeal I had years ago when I got my 4×6 prints back from the local Costco.  Back then, I couldn’t even make it out of the store before I was looking at prints.  Now, of course, I can chimp the back of the camera to see how things are going.  Nothing compares, however, to seeing the images on a full screen.

Working through these photos, I tried to select the ones I thought best told the story of Matt & Di’s wedding.  It’s tough, telling a story in a few images, but I think this is a pretty good selection of photos that tell the story, and are also pleasing to view.  I hope you enjoy them!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with Matt & Di at 620 Loft & Garden in midtown Manhattan.  Matt and Di, and all of their guests, were great to work with.  The love these two share was almost palpable, and so was the love their family and friends share for the two of them.  I am so glad I was able to be a present for their wedding to capture the wedding day of a great couple, and look forward to sharing the moments I captured with them and their family.

I’m sure the hymn “Old-Time Religion” has been sung in this church a time or two.  This is a little street-side house of worship in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  I took this photo on 4×5 film with a ZeroImage pinhole camera while vacationing in the area a few years ago.  The church clearly has been around, but has weathered the years well with face-lifts as needed, but you can be sure it’s seen a Sunday Morning or two.

The lyrics to the 2nd verse of “Old-Time Religion” are “It is good for the Mourner…” There are days when I come home from shooting, and I mourn quite a while.  Luckily for me, there was no mourning to do the night I processed this shot.

Yet another photo from my European vacation.  This one is also from Croatia… also from Dubrovnik… but from an island just off the mainland called Lokrum Island.  You can read more about Lokrum Island if you want to, but really all you need to know is this:  it’s beautiful.  The view back to the mainland is fantastic, and a short walk to the other side of the island and you see nothing but the sea.  Beautiful sea.  Then again, if you walk to the left when you get off of the boat docks, you might get to see more than you bargain for.  I’ll let you look that one up on your own.

I’m sure this boat has a story to tell, at least it looks like it does.  I’m glad I stumbled across it while we spent our day on Lokrum Island.

Sometimes when you’re out shooting a wedding, the posed photos become candid, and sometimes the best ones.  Karen and Conrad had just added Cody to their family, and wanted to include him in a few of their wedding photos.  I love dogs and had no intention whatsoever of saying “no,” and after I met Cody I knew he was going to be fun to work with.

Since Karen was a little concerned about her dress (read: way concerned, no dirt!) we didn’t do a whole lot with Cody.  However, after about 5 minutes of working with him, Cody still had no intention of behaving.  Conrad leaned down to have a chat with him, and Cody took his chance to reach out and lick Conrad square on the cheek.  Cody’s lightning fast tongue was too quick for me, but you can see these three were having a good time on this afternoon.

If I could spend two weeks of every year on a vacation where I took as many photos as I did during the two weeks I spent in Europe…  well, I wouldn’t have time to edit anything else.  I took over three months just to do my initial edit on the photos from Prague, Croatia, and Italy.  Looking back at the way I edited them just two years ago, I want to go through the process all over again, but time just doesn’t permit right now.  Sometime soon, when I have more free time, I’ll go back and work on those photos again.

This harbor is in Dubrovnik Croatia.  Going to Dubrovnik was a game-time decision and replaced Florence, Italy in the trip itinerary while I was on an un-planned 6 hour layover in London.  That change, in my opinion, was the decision of the trip.  Croatia, and Dubrovnik especially, is truly the “Gem of the Adriatic.”  The people were nice, and the photos were even better.  I could easily spend just two weeks in and around Dubrovnik, not to mention the rest of Croatia.

The temperature in New York City has been above 95 for four straight days, and threatens a fifth tomorrow before finally “cooling off” to a “chilly” 89 on Thursday.  Right now it’s 101 outside.  It’s so hot outside (how hot is it?) that the snow in this photo is actually melting as I type this.

When I took this photo in Coeur d’Alene, ID, the temperature was hovering just under freezing, and I was out walking around wearing a lightweight jacket, jeans, sneakers, and no gloves.  I was cold, for sure, but looking back that sounds quite heavenly.  For those of you dealing with the heat today, hopefully this photo will remind you that as sure as it’s hot out today, it will be cold again.

If you thought only Southern Baptists are against the sins of drinking alcohol, head out to Portland, OR and have a gander at the Benson Bubblers.  The bubblers were added to the city sidewalks after Simon Benson donated $10,000 to the city of Portland for their installation.  Benson, a complete non-drinker, was tired of his workers having alcoholic beverages during the middle of the workday, so decided to donate the money to the city of Portland for bubblers to be installed.  History says that alcohol consumption decreased by 25% after the initial 20 bubblers were installed.

The photo above is a single photo with a bit of post-processing to get the HDR-ish look I wanted when I took the photo originally.  I can also attest that the water that comes from these bubblers is cool, and on a hot summer day, a welcome relief after downing a couple beers.  Thanks, Simon!

“Sportraits” aren’t something I shoot much these days, but back when I did, i enjoyed it.  Each session presented its own challenge, especially when dealing with revenue sports.  A revenue coach’s time is managed about like the President’s time, varsity athletes usually come with handlers to make sure they don’t say something that shouldn’t be made public, facilities are always a commodity, and no matter when you schedule the shoot, you better be ready to start early, but plan to stay late.  Non-revenue sports are so much easier.  The athletes are giddy to be given attention, and everyone else is more laid back.

Of course, the shot above brings in two revenue sports at NC State, men’s & women’s basketball.  I arrived early for the shoot, worked with my assistant to get the lights set up and props in place, then waited… and waited… and waited…  Finally, about 25-30 minutes after the scheduled time, the athletes and their Media Relations handlers walked in.  Ilian was shocked I had gone through so much effort to get a good photo, and their handlers (one for each of them) were just ready to leave.  “You’re not going to ask them any questions they might give stupid answers to, are you?” one of the handlers asked.  “Nope.  Don’t know what to ask, don’t care what they say, I’m here to make a photo and leave.”  I guess that was good enough, we were left alone, the four of us in Reynold’s Coliseum to finish the shoot.

Once we were left alone, everything was much more relaxed.  Ilian laughed that he couldn’t palm a men’s basketball, so we used women’s basketballs to get the effect.  My assistant, Rob, adjusted lights to make sure everything was aligned right because I forgot to set the height to be taller than Rob… he’s about 5’9… not quite up to Ilian’s height.

In the end, I was happy with the photo, as was everyone else, but I would have moved the light behind Ilian higher to get more definition on his hair so he doesn’t fade to black.  I’d have also spent more time making sure the center-court line was running directly through the middle of the photo.    I won’t mention my other nit-picks, I think two is enough.

Several years ago when I took this photo, I had no idea I would ever wind up living in New York City.  If you’ve been to the city, you know that during the morning hours these breakfast carts are everywhere.  They seem to pop up from nowhere (which is my perception since they’re operating before I am out and walking) and then disappear just as quickly (which is my perception since they’re gone by the time I get back from work).  For a quick bagel, coffee, or oatmeal on the go, these vendor carts can’t be beat.