Relaxing Saturday

Yes, after a very busy few weeks with tons of assignments and many weddings I get a rare, relaxing, kick back Saturday to recharge my own batteries.  

Well, almost... something big is afoot.  I'm doing leg work today for that project.  Stay tuned for more details.  This is going to one of those jobs of a lifetime!

The last several weeks have been insanely busy.  As most know, I also do commercial and advertising photography.  During the week I could be found anywhere from a boardroom to a steel mill to a college campus.  I like a mix of assignments -- it keeps me fresh for everything else I photograph, including weddings!  By far the majority of my work centers around people.  I'm not much for shooting products sitting on a table.  It's hard to interact with something that can't talk back.

So, on my "slow" Saturday I thought I would post some recent "other" shoots.  Some of these projects have been completed while others are still "in progress."  There are several more projects I've been working on not pictured, but those haven't progressed enough to be shown to the public.  

Enjoy the day!  

Happy Birthday Ansel

Ansel Adams spawned a generation of photographers concerned with not only rich black and white imagery, but a deep concern for our natural environment. He was an avid conversationalist throughout his entire life.

Black and white images, along with nature photography, have always had a special place in my heart. Early in my career it was my good fortune to study under one of Ansel's printers. While Ansel printed many of his negatives himself, he also had people he trained and coached in the art of the darkroom. Learning from one who had touched the master's hand was not easy. I remember printing the same negative for weeks before I produced an acceptable print. "Again," was about the only word I heard in that time. At the end of a year my mentor gave me the greatest compliment by saying, "you now print better than I."

It was very traumatic when I said goodbye to silver based photography, leaving behind decades of tradition and craft. I love digital imagery in many ways, but I still miss the acidic smell of the darkroom and the magic seeing a print rise slowly from a blank sheet of paper.


Moonrise over Red Rock, Page, AZ


The following is from the February 20th edition of The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor:

"It's the birthday of photographer Ansel Adams, born in San Francisco (1902) and best known for his black-and-white Western landscapes, many of them shot in national parks. His nose was broken in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and never was set properly. It jutted to the left. As a boy he loved to hike around Golden Gate Park and along Lobos Creek, or out to Baker Beach - a boy who didn't care so much for school, who wanted to become a concert pianist. But when he was 14, his parents gave him a Kodak Brownie camera, and that same summer he saw Yosemite for the first time. He went back every year from then until he died at 81. He joined the Sierra Club when he was 17 and became their photographer, publishing his first pictures in the 1922 Sierra Club Bulletin. He supported himself with commercial photography, but he's remembered for his images of the Sierras and Yosemite. Ansel Adams said, "A good photograph is knowing where to stand."

Autumn-Lynn & Jonathan

This wedding could also be titled under The Best of 2007! Autumn-Lynn and Jonathan were SO much fun. We had an absolute blast shooting their wedding back in October. To help cover all the angles of the day I brought in my good buddy Kelly Crawford.

Without further ado, here's a peek at some of the thousands of shots we made...

And PS. Stay tuned for my Saturday post --
FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN 2008!

Enjoy!


Our lovely bride Autumn-Lynn


Nice relaxed portrait of our groom, Jonathan


It got so emotional saying their vows Autumn-Lynn asked for a time out to regroup


First dance


A toast with lots of tears


Jonathan and his mother dancing... so much LOVE!


A few romantic moments


And a few beautiful details

Happy New Year!

Long time no blog. Apologies. I've been working crazy insane hours trying to accomplish a crazy insane amount of stuff. Goodtimes though, everything is coming into place very nicely.

So many awesome things to show & tell I just cannot dump them all into one long blog so stay tuned, I will be power blogging the next few days in order to catch up. I will give you one tiny peek into what's coming -- FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY. Nuff said for now, gotta build that excitement ; )

Pictures, pictures, pictures. Yes, that's what I do. In the last three months of 2007 I shot like 30,000 images on various projects including weddings, commercial jobs, advertising campaigns and private individual portrait commissions. Now that the dust has more or less settled I can start showing some of the cool shots!

I want to start with one of the sweetest couples I've had the pleasure to meet, Emily & Bryon. They were married October 13th at Heinz Chapel in a beautiful late afternoon ceremony with a reception following at The Children's Museum. Helping me again as second shooter was my good friend Ed Macko. What a great time! Because their ceremony was late in in the October day they decided to see each other before the wedding and have a "First Look" session. I love those! It's a chance for the couple to see and interact with each other for the first time in the day and BE ALONE, well, except for me, but I keep my distance and just capture the emotion, which always is gushing. After they had some time to themselves then the families arrive for the traditional (and necessary) group photographs.

Here are a few of the many emotional images we captured that day...


They meet...


A quick portrait...


The first dance...


Grandfather's dance...

August 18, Meghan & Shawn

What an absolutely PERFECT day for a wedding! Can you believe it? August in Pittsburgh and temps in the low 70's!! Wow.

Meghan and Shawn are such a great couple. Earlier in the year I went to NYC for their e-session and I just knew the wedding would be a blast. I was not disappointed!

Everything was throughout the day was beautiful. Both bride and groom were relaxed and savoring every moment. Even when the trolley developed an engine problem on the way to the ceremony, Meghan took it in stride. And I must say, I was amazed how quickly another trolley was on the scene. The response time was very impressive.

The ceremony at St. Mary of the Mount Catholic Church was awesome. It's a beautiful and historic church directly across the street from one of the best views of the city.

The reception was held at the Renaissance Hotel downtown. They have one of the most grand staircases you'll find. Tony, the manager, was uber helpful with every detail. And to top off the night the Pirates were having a Skyblast event so not only were we treated to a great party but we had a spectacular fireworks show, too! How cool is that?

County Fair Time!

I love old time county fairs. You know, where the kind where kids still bring in their farm animals and 4-H rules. It's a step back to a simpler time when a stick of cotton candy was a delight. Every year I try to get out to as many as possible just to shoot for myself (and eat things I really should not).

In spite of the usual blazing colors associated with carnivals, midways and the like, I prefer to see a different way, as a memory or a dream. Color is nice, but color is today, I'm looking back, to yesterday. I hope you enjoy.

Sarah and Paul 07-21-07

I feel so blessed! I've now had two Greek Weddings back to back and I must say, there's nothing like them. Absolutely beautiful in every way, the ceremony is full of tradition and color.

Sarah and Paul are an awesome couple. We had so much fun! And, as you can see in some of these pictures, they're totally in love.


There's no way to make a bad picture of Sarah, she's just stunning!










Sometimes the moment happens in the least likely place, like a revolving door!




Sarah and her mom sang to each other as they danced. They were having a blast!

e!Session... Steeler Style!!

There are sports fans, then there are Steeler fans and then there are Uber Steeler Fans! Autumn-Lynn and Jonathan are the later. Friday afternoon we were given a rare opportunity to tour (and photograph) all around Heinz Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was awesome to see how excited Jonathan was being in the middle of it all. Can't wait for their wedding this fall!

07-07-07 slide show

I'm so amped to show you this incredible wedding slide show we created for Mao and Nicholas from their 7-7-7 wedding. Hope you enjoy!

07-07-07

They said it was the most popular day for weddings in the whole world. I don't know who "they" are but I had a bunch of inquires for 7-7-7, and I was absolutely delighted when Nicholas and Mao asked me to be a part of their special day.

When they first spoke to me about their wedding I knew right away I was meant to be their photographer. The love and respect they have for each other enveloped me. Their joy is all consuming. I knew the blending of their traditions and cultures (Nicholas is Greek while Mao is Chinese) was going to be something very special.

At the end of the day, Ed Macko, my friend and super second shooter, and I shot thousands of images. As you can imagine, editing to the best of the best was quite a chore!

Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. It was an honor and a pleasure to be a small part of your day.












photo by Ed


photo by Ed