A Perfect July Wedding Day!

It's not often you have cool temps in July, but Lauren and Mike did! The cold front came in bringing almost spring-like weather to last weeks wedding. Their afternoon ceremony at Orchard Hill Church was beautiful and the reception following at Shannopin Country Club was absolutely awesome! Since the wedding I've been busily editing more than 3,300 images Ed and I made throughout the day. There are so many special moments! Thank you guys for allowing us to share your incredible day.

Western PA School for Blind Children

The most rewarding assignments I receive are those where I am allowed to just go out and find images packed with emotion. Finding special moments in daily life is what I'm all about. Yesterday I had the opportunity to explore the wonderful work done at the Western PA School for Blind Children. The staff there are simply angles doing incredible things helping God's children. I feel truly blessed their designer, Pam Peters, President of MarketSpace Communications, entrusted me to document this amazing facility for their annual report.

When I sent Pam a few images from the shoot last night she sent me this note:

"FANTASTIC!!!!!!

These are absolutely gorgeous.

You are amazing with the camera!

Pam."

Thank you, Pam, for the beautiful opportunity to witness the love and dedication of everyone at the school.

A Day in the Life of Kelly & Mike

This week I hung out with an awesome couple for a few hours making pictures and talking about their upcoming wedding.

Kelly, Mike and I met in Pittsburgh's Strip District to wander around and shoot their engagement photos. Most know by now I don't do the "typical" studio engagement session of 'lean-this-way-and-look-off-into-the-future.' BLECH! Naw, we just hang out for a while, explore a section of this great area and make pictures as things unfold. It's fun, the expressions are real and we get a series of beautiful 'Day in the Life' photos that can be made into a little picture book.

We had so much fun that morning, I can't wait for the wedding!

Pixel mania

Man, what a time it's been lately! Seems like forever since I made a new post here, but there's a good reason -- two weddings, two engagement sessions, a rehearsal dinner and a couple of commercial shoots all in the pipeline for digital processing at the same time. All totaled I've reviewed, edited, tweaked and processed more than 10,000 images in the last couple of weeks!

Adding to the craziness I recently switched picture hosting providers to provide better customer service. Once this is up and running (hopefully this week!) clients will be able to purchase prints and other items online and use a credit card for on the spot payment. When the orders are completed the items will be shipped directly to their door. This will be so much more convenient for friends and family, especially those from out of town.


Springwood

The only appointment I had this week outside the studio was with Kate at Springwood, a very cool ceremony and reception site in Verona. The place is fabulous! It's a big old mansion with lots of outdoor areas, covered areas and incredible rooms for weddings. Check out their website at Springwood.org. For more information write Kate at info@springwood.org. One word of advice -- plan far ahead -- as you might expect they get booked up fast.

Here are some of the pictures from Springwood:

The main entrance as seen from the driveway

The front room with stone fireplace

A view of the back patio with owl carving. When a tree dies they bring in an artist to carve animals in the wood. How cool is that!?

A peaceful pond graces the front lawn. There's a waterfall feeding the pond, too, that's just so sweet!

A great week!

What an amazing week this has been! Thursday was wall to wall, all in a good way. Early in the morning I shot “several hundred” photos for a magazine cover and ad campaign for one of my commercial clients then dashed off to lunch and an engagement session with Lauren and Mike -- I’ll be photographing their wedding next month. The engagement session was so much fun, thank you guys!! We went to a local park and just had a blast. The shaved ice afterward was so good.

That evening was the rehearsal and dinner for Maria and Andy (their wedding is this Saturday). The weather Saturday is going to be sunny and warm -- perfect for a springtime wedding. Check back on Monday to see some pictures!!

High on Love

Friday afternoon I met Maria and Andy at the vineyard where their reception will be held. What a beautiful backdrop for photos! With the rains we've had recently everything is so vivid green it looks fake, but it's all real. The session went fantastic thanks to Maria's enthusiasm, along with her ability to leap like Superwoman! We'll see if she does this in a full wedding dress next weekend! The photos from the session will be projected during the reception, in between Italy's World Cup match, of course!

Colleen and Kevin

Wow, what an awesome wedding Colleen and Kevin had last Saturday! The event was held at the Morning Glory Inn, a beautiful Victorian bed & breakfast on Pittsburgh's South Side. The weather was absolutely perfect, too (not always something you can brag about in Pittsburgh)!

Here it is, Wednesday, and I'm still giddy because it was such a wonderful time. Thank you guys for picking me to photograph your day! Can you believe we were able to walk in the middle of Sarah Street and nobody ran us over? Bet we couldn't do that at rush hour!! If you'd like to see the pictures, click here for a slide show album of the wedding: Colleen and Kevin's day

Tender moment

Wow, I just finished an incredible session with an awesome couple and had to share one of the photos. Verquan and Deneen came in for a very special portrait. She's expecting... like in a couple of weeks! These kids are SO in love, they both just glow. Verquan is so tender and gentle with her. It was a pleasure and an honor to photograph them at this time in their lives.

A great new book!

I'm so excited this week! I just completed a HUGE book project with master fitness expert Weston Lyon. I provided the photos, he provided the exercises to be photographed. This book is absolutely awesome! Over 300 photographs were created to show every exercise. Now this isn't your typical pumpin iron kind of book, oh no, Weston doesn't do weights, he knows there's a better, a more natural way. Weston believes your own body weight is enough weight (we all have enough of that don't we?). By doing the proper exercises you WILL lose weight. Check it out for yourself at www.westonlyon.com. And while you're at it, sign up for his free daily fitness tips, you won't be sorry, just healthier.

More seminar images

Ok, sometimes when working in the digital darkroom one thing leads to another and I never know where it will go until I get there. These photos were from the Thursday afternoon shoot with Mike Colon at The Beehive (see post below). Great models, fun images and a whole lot of experimenting in Photoshop! Not right for every shoot, but the funky colors and cross processing effect are perfect for this one! Take a look!!

Wedding Photography Seminar

What an awesome week I spent studying with the amazing wedding photography master Mike Colon! For those who don't know, Mike is this incredible photographer from California who shoots uber high end and celebrity weddings. He's also one of the greatest, most generous and caring guys you will ever meet. What a way to get pumped up for the wedding season!

Thursday was our final day of photography. To shake it up a bit we went to the South Side of Pittsburgh for the wide range of urban locations it offers. Our first great find was within ten feet of the parking lot -- a bright graffiti covered wall.





Next, we stopped for a few minutes to shoot with my friends at Bloom's Cigars. Great location, great light, a beautiful girl and wonderful cigars -- it doesn't get much better!





After a few hundred pictures around Bloom's it was time for coffee, and what better place for a cup o' joe on the South Side than The Beehive? But that joe would have to wait for a bit. As we approached the coffee house we saw two great looking young women hanging out soaking up some rays. Mike asked permission to photograph them and we were off again shooting like mad. The woman had the most enchanting eyes I've seen. We got some amazing pictures of them alone and with our bride.





But before we knew it the week was over and we were saying our goodbye. Why does time always fly when you're having fun?

Recent exhibit

Saturday evening I was invited to exhibit my fine art photographs at the 4th annual “A Wine and Chocolate Experience” fundraiser to benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America Western PA/ WVA Chapter. More than 850 people attended the event. The evening was a great success and a wonderful opportunity to meet several other local artists. If you would like to purchase any of these pieces please contact the studio. Prints are available in several sizes, framed or un-framed.

Love

I so enjoy when I get a couple in who just wants something different. Weston and Krysta are getting married in 2007. They wanted an engagement photo that celebrated their love. I wanted to express the warmth and caring I felt from them. In the end I think we all got exactly what we wanted. I know Weston did, and I'm not talking about the picture.

Honor

I first photographed Norm a few months ago when he came in with a few Boy Scouts. Norm’s passion is Scouting as evident by his chest full of medals. I seriously don’t know how he stands when wearing that jacket, it weighs a ton!

Last week I again had the opportunity to make Norm’s portrait. This time he came in with just one particular medal -- a special award he received from the President of Italy. He was dressed in his full tux and tails. Impressive sight. Impressive man. It was an honor to photograph him.



In case your wondering, Norm sells soap. Lots of soap. He was the International Vice President of a major soap company. He speaks five (or is it six?) languages fluently. Along with Scouting he also has a passion for fine automobiles, specifically Rolls Royce. He owns several. Fascinating fellow, Norm.

Paper Art

Meet Art. Art is one of those great people you just gotta love. He’s a little bit out there, but in a good way. Art sells paper. Good paper. This shot was done as a promo piece for a paper show. Paper Art. Kewl. After the shoot we all flew paper airplanes... at Art.

Recent Work

Thought it would be fun to toss out some recent work. Between October 1st and December 31st I made somewhere around 50,000 exposures. Yes, 50,000! Busy, very busy. Not much sleep. Felt like that guy from Dunkin Donuts... gotta make the pictures. Jobs ran the gamut from weddings to portraits to a smattering of commercial work. Never boring!


Justin is a Young Marine. He came in for a senior portrait, standard picture, nothing fancy. As we were talking he told me about being a Marine. I got excited! Told him to come back with his uniform and a saber. As soon as I said saber I realized that was not going to happen, real Marines EARN their saber, they don't borrow one for a picture. You can imagine how shocked I was when he came back with one. This is one great kid and he has earned the respect of his CO hence, the saber.



This was a really awesome wedding. African couple who got married in Pittsburgh. Several Priests were from Africa, including the one who made his picture from the alter. Cool moment with an unusual twist. Love that serendipity!





I've been told before if I could make pictures in my sleep I probably would. Yeah, probably would. These were made "just because." They are images literally right outside my front door... like within eight feet! I do a lot of this type of thing. Boxers shadow box to stay sharp, I look for things others pass by to exercise my eye.

Amanda

The great thing about what I do is it’s fun. On a daily basis I get to meet really cool people.

Amanda came into the studio because she needed a few pictures for a beauty contest she decided to enter on a lark. Her mom has been a big fan of my work for quite a while so I got the nod for the job. What a blast it was! We cranked up some Salsa music on the stereo and all started to dance around while I shot pictures, lots of pictures. The results were terrific and in little over an hour we got a full portfolio with many different looks and multiple clothing changes. This is but one of many selects from that shoot.

Good luck, Amanda, and thanks for the dance!

Engagement Session

Saturday my friend Andy came in with Andrea, his fiancé, for their engagement photo. Nice couple! We had a fun time making a great series of pictures. Lots of love between them.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. On here you will find news, recent work and special things happening, not to mention anything else I happen to want to post! I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do and come back often. Peace.