Amanda & Brad

Saturday I was honored and blessed to photograph Amanda and Brad as they became man and wife at a beautiful, love filled ceremony at North Way Christian Community in Wexford.  I cannot fully express the joy and emotion in this service.  I was moved, quite literally, to tears.

Amanda started her day early at Spa Vivace in Gibsonia where she and her bridesmaids received awesome hair styles.

After the service, and a few traditional family pictures, we went off for some fun photos of the wedding party before retreating to Bella Sera for the reception.  Nick, chef Adam and their staff always go over the top for events but this time they outdid themselves.  Every detail was handled to perfection.

Also at the reception was Flashbox, the portable video kiosk that's becoming the new craze on the Pittsburgh wedding scene.  If you haven't experienced it yet, you undoubtedly will very soon.  It's a blast!

Accompanying me as my second shooter for the day was the incomparable Mike Purvis.  One of the things I love about Pittsburgh is the incredible community of professional wedding photographers.  Most of us are friends as well as colleagues and hence, help each other as we can.  Mike was gracious enough to come out for the day to provide different angles to my shooting and lend a helping hand with some tricky lighting situations. 

To Amanda and Brad, thank you again for putting your trust with me to document your most special day.  Hope you have a wonderful honeymoon and I can't wait to see you again.

Many blessings,

Terry

PS.  If you would like to see the photos larger jump over to my commercial blog and have a peek.  Big things blog wise will be happening soon, but for now, it takes a jump : )

A wall of windows bathed the wedding in light.  Photo by Mike

First dance

A hug after the toast.  Photo by Mike

Father - daughter dance

Checking out the ring...

Groomsmen making a Flashbox greeting

Getting ready!

I'm packing today for tomorrow's wedding and I thought it might be interesting to describe how I go about it since the question has come up now and again.

First off, I admit, I'm a bit of an equipment junkie.  I like to be prepared for EVERYTHING.  I back up my back ups and pack enough gear to make a pack mule cringe.  It basically breaks down to four bags.  And yes, I know that's a ton of stuff, especially since most of the time I cover weddings all by myself.

My first bag, a Tamarac 622 rolling case, is my primary.  In there I have my 5D 2 body and a 5D body.  For lenses I have a 15 fisheye; 16-35mm 2.8 zoom; 24-70mnm 2.8 zoom (my workhorse); 70-200 2.8 zoom; 50 mm 1.2; 85 mm 1.2; two Canon 580 flash units with external battery packs; compact flash cards (16 and 8 gig cards, about 100 gigs worth); an LED flash light I use as a spot for portraits; various filters and other small accessories.

The second bag, a Think Tank International, holds a Canon 300 mm f/2.8; 100 mm macro, another 5D body; a Nikon SB-25 with pocket wizard attached; another pocket wizard for remote camera work (with cables); and a pocket wizard transmitter.  

The third bag, another Tamarac 622 rolling case, is my back-up case and stays in the car.  In there I pack the following gear:  Two Canon 1D MK2 with 4 spare batteries; Canon 20D; 24-105 mm f/4; 24 mm 1.4; 85 mm 1.8; 135 mm f/2; 200 mm f/2.8; 24 mm and 90 mm tilt shift lenses and spare AA batteries (lots).

The fourth bag, a Think Tank Disguise 50, is my working shoulder bag.  This one I keep empty in transit and fill it as needed for the salon coverage and dressing shots.  

A fifth bag is a utility bag that holds a couple of light stands, some clamps and other things I rarely use or need, but keep dragging along, just in case.  

If I know the church is big and dark and we need to make photos inside after the ceremony I also pack a set of Dynalite Uni-400 mono-lights with Jackrabbit batter packs and white shoot thru umbrellas.  

OK, I said four and told you about six bags.  I guess I do pack a lot ; o)  But a lot of it falls into either the "just in case" or "single use" category.  Some pieces I'll use for a specific shot then not touch again, like the 300 2.8 -- ceremony and maybe some of the after wedding portraits; the 100 macro is almost exclusively for a ring shot.  Sometimes in lieu of the macro I'll pocket an short extension ring to use on the 24-70.  Since that lens already focuses close the extension brings it perfectly into the zone for a great tight "rock shot."

So there you have it, my wedding kit.  It's not unlike my corporate kit, or my commercial kit or my advertising kit.  Basically this is my "I can shoot anything, anywhere at any time kit."   

Michigan: flatlands, barns and guys wearing kilts

Traveling home is always interesting.  Things you took for granted as a kid all of a sudden make you go hummmm.  For me that is a lack of hills.  Growing up in a county where 85% of the land is involved in farming you just don't take notice.  At least I didn't.  But going home it really stands out.  Here's a typical landscape from central Michigan...

But one thing we do have an abundance of is barns.  Red ones, white ones and a few iconic Mail Pouch barns.  The later are getting fewer and fewer since they stopped painting them in 1992.  If you see one make a snap, soon they'll be gone.

For me the opportunity to go home over Memorial Day holds special meaning.  The Alma Highland Festival and Games was the first "big event" I covered as a young cub photographer for the Daily Record Leader more than 30 years ago.  Since that time I've covered the festival for two wire services (AP and UPI) as well as four other newspapers.  This year I did it for me.  Here are some favorites...

For a larger view of the images please go to my commercial photography blog

Weekend away!

Where will you be this Memorial Day Weekend?  I'm heading of to see family and photograph men in plaid skirts at the annual Alma Highland Festival and Games in Alma, Michigan.  Just a quick trip as next week is booked solid with more fun commercial shoots and a great wedding capping the week.  Stay tuned for a whole lotta plaid pics coming soon!  Follow me on Twitter for updates from the festival, too.

Enjoy the holiday everyone!

Crazy busy time

Sorry for the lack of blog postings lately, there just hasn't been enough hours in the day!  May is always a busy month for me with lots and lots of educational work plus a few sweet weddings thrown into the mix.  This year I knew would be a very heavy month for edu work so I limited the number of weddings I accepted.  My one May wedding is coming up on the 30th and it's going to be a blast!

All last week I was in Minnesota photographing at an incredible college.  The students were so engaged in the learning process in many cases the professors only had to guide them as they bounced ideas off each other in the class.  Active learning.  It made for some cool shots, too.  Here are a few of my favs from the week...

That's it for me today folks, it's time to get ready for another two day school shoot followed by a trip to Michigan to photograph guys in plaid skirts, yes it's North America's largest Scottish Highland Festival!  Five hundred pipers all blaring at once during the massed bands at the opening ceremony.  SWEET music!  I'll be back after Memorial Day with photos.

More to see

Want to see more of what I'm up to?  Check out my commercial blog!  Newest entry is about my portrait of world renown Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough.  Click on the link to read more!

Email is back!

I love technology... when it works!!  All is now well and I am receiving emails as I should.  Sorry for any inconvenience it caused.  

EMAIL IS DOWN! please resend

If you have sent me emails through my new website I humbly apologize for not answering.  This was NOT intentional whatsoever!  This morning I discovered no emails have been getting through to me sent from the site OR sent directly to info@ or terry@terryclarkweddings.com.  

For now, please direct all emails to me at -- terryclark.photo@verizon.net

As soon as the problem is corrected I will let you know through the blog. 

Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

NEW SITE ACTIVE!

My long awaited wedding photojournalism website is now up and running and I'm super excited!  This project started to feel like something that was never going to end but it was nobody's fault but my own.  About a year and a half ago I started making plans for the new site, then I got busy, real busy, so everything was pushed to the proverbial back burner.  And there it stayed until about two months ago when I finally decided busy or not this HAD to get done.  Hope you will pop on over and have a look-see then jump back and leave me your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks and enjoy!

New Website Coming!

To all who have written, thank you, but yes, I know, the website is down.  It's down for a good reason, no a GREAT reason!  Soon I will have a brand new spanking website devoted to wedding photojournalism.  The URL will be the same, only the photos, feature and, well, everything else will change.  As you read this the servers are whizzing about deleting the old and uploading the new.  Our estimated time of launch is sometime on Monday (which probably means Tuesday or Wednesday in real honest  time).  Keep checking, we'll get there as soon as possible!

And, if you have preview galleries for albums or other photos on the "old" server please be patient, it will take me a few extra days to check or reload as necessary and send out new links.  

Thank you!

iPhone pic of the day

I LOVE that it's (finally) sunny in Pittsburgh!  Enjoy the day!

Ordination of new Deacon

Saturday I had the extreme honor to photograph Kurt's ordination as a Deacon in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches at Grace Church in Edgeworth, PA.  

Kurt found me on the Internet and connected with my work.  "I knew we would be a good fit," he told me at the rehearsal on Friday.  Indeed we were.  

And at the fourth hour, on the fourth day, of the fourth month Kurt took his vows.  God's speed Kurt in your service to our Lord.  Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your day.

Lost my lease -- change of address!

I guess this falls into the category of all good things must come to an end.  Late last month my landlord decided he needed my office more than I did so... as of April 1st I am no longer in Sewickley.  If anyone needs to send me snail mail please address all correspondence to 528 Merchant Street, Ambridge, PA  15003.  My telephone numbers remain the same.  Thank you.

Meet me in the Kitchen

My good friend and Italy traveling companion Jason Capps of Bella Sera by Greco's has a most unique cooking class starting Wednesday, April 1st.  The class is a live, online event!  Check it out at Meet Me In The Kitchen.  Mangi mangiano!

New day new name!

As I ramp up for a whole new web debut I've made a minor modification to my blog.  No more "the buzz," what was I thinking anyway, beekeeping?  Nope, now it's simply "Pittsburgh 

Wedding Photographer."  Simple, clean and to the point, not to mention very easy for Google to read and therefore rank : )  As we all know today, if Google isn't happy, web owners aren't happy!

I heart

Found this on the way back from dinner.  So let's give this a caption, type yours in the comments field.  Best caption will get a surprise prize!

The Sewickley Gallery show -- Thank You!

This is big shout out of thanks to everyone who attended the Friday night opening of my exhibit, La Bella Luce Dell'Italia.  

A thousand pardons if I was unable to personally thank you that night, I simply was overwhelmed by the response with 200 + people cycling through the gallery.  

In case you missed the opening the show will remain up throughout this week.  The Sewickley Gallery is located at 549 Beaver Street, Sewickley, PA 15149.  Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM till 5 PM.  Special hours can be arranged by calling 412.491.7887.

Special thanks must go to the people who made this event so special:  

•  Rolland Marindino, U.S. Ambassador for Cecchi and Sartori wines.  I hope everyone had the opportunity to talk with this amazing gentleman.  His knowledge of wine, fine art and literature is incredible.

•  Matt Kulikowski, district manager for Banfi Wineries for the excellent pours.  The wine was out of this world.

•  Jason Capps, owner of Bella Sera by Greco's, for providing wine glasses and delicious hors d'oeuvres, and most importantly, being such a great friend to allow me to tag along for a week during his trip to Italy last October.  Without Jason this show would not have been possible.

•  Mark Rengers, owner of The Sewickley Gallery for hosting the show in his space.

I can't leave out a very special person, my significant other, Toni, who was there every step of the way, from helping pack my bags to calming my anxiety of editing the 6,000 initial images, to selecting the final 44 for the show.

I hope we can do it again soon.

Grazie!

Leaning Tower, 24x36 on fine art watercolor paper

Fun shoot

I have to admit, I LOVE what I do!  I get to meet the coolest people from all walks of life.  I laugh, joke and make people happy.  It's Goodtimes every day!

This week I had an awesome time shooting a series of ads for Robert Morris University.  I've been doing this photography since they started the campaign (maybe you've seen the billboards around town).  They're great folks and we've all become good friends -- can't ask for anything better than that!

Bringing out the personality of the subjects, most who have never stood before a photographer other than for their high school senior portrait is the challenging part.  But, with an inquisitive mind and a dash of crazy humor it doesn't take long before they open up and show themselves.  That's where the fun begins!  Finding that one moment when their guard is down and their inner self glows is priceless.  

Here's a wide outtake from our shoot showing my lighting set-up.  The main light is hand held by my assistant because I kinda move around a lot with the subject when I shoot.  Sort of my own little dance.  

Website is up!

Whew, after almost a week without either a website or an FTP site I'm finally back up and running.  My main service provided decided to move me to another server last week, which isn't a bad thing IF they would have told me their plans.  Yeesh.  Just glad it's over and I can keep cranking on other things... like albums and a line of commercial work ready for final output.  

That's about a wrap for me this week.  I'll leave you with a photo I made Wednesday night.  About 5:00PM one of my favorite clients emails with a request -- do I have / could I shoot a reflection photo for the cover of a publication she's working on?  I didn't have one on hand but was more than happy to shoot.  Pack, dash and run into town to catch the last breath of twilight (best time of day).  This isn't the frame she selected, but it's one of my favorites.

Have a great weekend everyone!

  

website down!

Apologies to anyone who has attempted to view my website the last few days.  The site went down sometime between last Friday and Sunday night and so far is still out of commission.  My web tech folks are working on the problem but can give no estimate as to how long it's going to take to restore the site.

Thanks for your patience,

Terry

03-03-09

Happy Square Root Day!  03-03-09.  

The next time we'll have a square root day is 04-04-16

Enjoy the moment, every day.

iPhone phun

Resistance is futile.

If you own an iPhone (I do) then sooner or later (usually sooner) you'll be seduced (suckered) into the world of apps.  Today I downloaded (OK, bought) a fun little ditty that allows me to emulate film (remember that stuff?) thus giving your tiny 2 megapixel (nearly useless) images the effect of being created 'old school.'  

Seriously, it's a neat program and super cool considering it on your phone, err, portable communication device (these things haven't been just a phone since we hauled them around in a bag).  Anyway, I've been playing with some phone pix while my G5 (Mac) has been grinding away, processing real photos.  

Hope you like this one.  It's suppose to look like an old Polaroid SX-70.  Does a pretty good job actually.  Although, sadly, the resolution is only good enough for the web.  I'm sure that'll be different in future iPhones, especially since Samsung already has an 8-megapixel camera phone in England.  Darn Brits get the good stuff first.

Here's the same photo in "Helga" mode.  Helga, if you don't know, is the name of a plastic camera available from various retro shops and art stores.  The original camera, the Diana, is still available (last saw it at Urban Outfitters).  The camera's claim to fame (?) is a plastic lens that distorts and a plastic body that leaks light.  It leaks so much light that you must seal the camera with black tape before use.  It's funky and very fun.  Now if they could only make it digital...  

Random thoughts on a cold morning

OK, so usually I pretty much hibernate throughout January and much of February.  I hate cold weather.  Work is normally slow this time of year so it all works in my favor to just stay inside and work on the computer.  

Not this year!  

Things have been hopping around here since January 1st and I've yet to have any slow time whatsoever.  Believe me, I'm not complaining!  I've had some really cool projects in spite of all the doom and gloom talk on the TV and across the Internet (I'm going out on another neat job in just a couple of hours).  Also I'm working on my big photo show -- The Beautiful Light of Italy -- that opens March 20th at The Sewickley Gallery in Sewickley, PA.  The images rock and are almost ready for printing!!!

Late harvest, Tuscany, Italy autumn 2008

What has struck me, however, is the strange shift in wedding bookings this year.  

In every year past my first booked date has been over Memorial Day weekend, but not this year.  In fact, I'm VERY slow in May.  That trend follows through in June and July, too.  However, August through October is crazy busy!  For example, in October, unless you're getting married on Halloween (and it better be a very creative theme wedding) I'm booked solid.  Of course if you ARE getting married on Halloween... let's talk!

Don't get me wrong, bookings overall are not down, but the majority of them are in the later part of the year.  Not sure if this is an economic indicator or just the luck of the draw.  I choose to think the later cause it's not like lots of folks aren't getting married in May!

Anyway, that's what happens when I book a morning photo shoot, my mind start working too hard too soon (ramble).  

Not enough hibernation time I guess  ; )

JUDGED ONE OF THE TOP WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE WORLD!

I normally don't go for a lot of hyperbole or self grandstanding but this is pretty cool.  

OK, no, this is absolutely, totally off the cool-o-meter hook!!  

Today I was informed that two, not one but TWO, of my images have been selected as finalists in the international "Top Knots" contest.

Huh?  So what you may ask is a "Top Knot?"  

The "Top Knot" is an annual contest to award and showcase the best wedding photography in the world.  The contest is judged by the top wedding and photo professionals working today.  Tens of thousands of entries are received from across the globe.  Only a tiny handful are selected as the best.

The next step is the announcement of the top prize in each category from among the finalists.  The winners (including finalists) will be published online and in PDN magazine later in the year.  Details and links will be provided when available.

But yeah, it's kind of a big deal.  Like winning the Oscar.  Only no red carpet.

Here are the entries that won...

Sarah kicks it up with her bridesmaids in February 08.

Little bridesmaid gets a last minute spray.  From Amie and Harvey's October wedding.

PS.  Just to make clear, this contest is not connected in any way to The Knot website, magazine or organization.