2006- In the Rear View Mirror

If I had to slap a single word on the year 2006 it would be transition. In the first days of 2006 we began buiding a house in Raleigh, sold our current house in Greensboro way sooner than we thought we would and moved to our home town of Wilmington. Our new home was ready in May, but we were too busy to move, so waited until July (still too busy) to move from Wilmington to Raleigh. Are you confused yet? We were! We are now nestled comfortably in Raleigh and the only confusion is figuring out this inner/ outer beltline thing.

Between all of that moving we managed to shoot scores of amazing weddings that took us to fantastic destinations both in the US and Mexico. We met so many great couples and their families, and worked with other extremely talented wedding professionals. It was quite a year and below we have listed some of the statistics for your amusement.

In 2006, we figured out that we created over 370,000 images for our clients between weddings, bridals, engagements, commercial shoots, magazine shoots and James’ Moving Picture Shows®.

It’s no surprise that in 2006 we had to replace the shutter mechanism in three of our five cameras due to over use.

In 2006, five – count them, five computer hard drives died. (YIKES!) This was distressing, though the number of images lost was ZERO because it’s all backed up nice and safe.

This year we were rained on once, snowed on once, and got sun burned a few times.

We also managed to destroy three flash units and beat up two lenses pretty bad (we’re getting counseling).

In 2006, we logged more miles on I-40 between Wilmington and Greensboro than we drove total in 2005.

What’s in store for 2007?

First, a vacation, I’m thinking a mountain getaway before things get going again.

The UN-bridal experience by W&W. I’m really excited about this.

Family Time- as brides and grooms become Moms and Dads (it happens) we will be offering sessions that incorporate our shooting styles to tell the family story in an unforgettable way.

Of course, more rockin’ weddings and magazine features are on the way!!

We want your suggestions

Meridith and I are pretty tough on our equipment. We shoot a lot and cameras being mechanical they tend to fail after a while. We typically get a year and a half out of a camera before it either needs some major repair or total replacement. We have one such camera and want your suggestion to help us transform it into something creative and artistic. Perhaps incorporate it into some type of sculpture, or display it in a way that will make it more interesting than the paper weight it is currently.

Here is a photo of the camera, Leave a comment below and let us know what you think would be fun to do with it.

Audrey & Justin- Charlotte, NC

What a great day to be in Charlotte.  Meridith and I started out at the Omni with the ladies and worked our way to the Chapel.  Before the ceremony, Audrey stayed hidden in the balcony while Justin stayed cool and calm at the other end of the chapel.  We all ended up on the trolley and then to the Vanlandingham Estate for a dancing good time.

When the party was done, and then when the after party was done,  Meridith and I went back to our room to find a very cool gift basket from Audrey and Justin.  It was filled with things you can only find in North and South Carolina,  There were some mighty tasty treats, (so Meridith tells me) The Barbeque sauce is amazing as were the sodas.

I love the motion in this image, it’s dreamy.

Audrey was brought in under the cloak.

This was on the DJ’s table, funny story there, apparently people like to call Justin “Jason”

More Fun in the City

Another photo shoot just for fun set up by our intern Nathan. Somehow the wardrobe and styling took a turn toward a cross between Superfly and a Kid Rock video. Sometimes it felt like I was stuck in a Tuesday night movie from 1977. I shot a Moving Picture Show that I’ll post soon. For now, here’s a shot of Nathan shooting, and a slice of wardrobe.

More from Weddings

Some of these you won’t see in Weddings Magazine, but they are some other images I really liked from the shoot.  You may notice in the group images that two of the models have twins.  Well, not really.  We blocked out a few different setups and had the models come in during multiple exposures between hair and makeup changes.  Hope that doesn’t ruin it for you, just thought it might be interesting to know.

Bigger, better blogging

We’re making a few minor tweaks to the blog this week and the result will be bigger photos! Meridith also said I had to post more from each shoot we do, so you’ll also be seeing more of what we do. We would love to hear what you think, so be sure to leave a comment below the entries that you love.

ENJOY!

Laura & Walt- Laurel Hill, NC

You may have seen the *E* session we did with Laura and Walt in Charleston back in the summer. We knew right away that we would have a great time working with them on their wedding day.

The shoes were fierce!

In 2006 I saw the return of the broach. On bows, in hair, holding veils, I like it.

I can’t explain why I really like this image, but I do.

The super cool cake setting!

Erin & J.D.- Raleigh, NC

It’s good to be in town for a local wedding every once in a while. Erin and J.D. were married in downtown Raleigh and had some of the coolest music I have ever heard during a wedding ceremony. Karen Clark with Something Borrowed, Something Blue coordinated a great reception at the Capital City Club complete with a candy bar!

Brittany, Lee and the Beccas

A very fun day of shooting with our intern Nathan who I challenged with setting up a photo shoot each week so that he could learn and I could play. Today was a lot of play, but I think he learned a few things. If not, I know he at least had fun. We headed to the vintage clothing store and had four of Nathan’s friends play dress up as we spent the afternoon shooting at several different locations.

I haven’t seen any of Nathan’s images yet because we never shot the same thing, but I’m sure they are going to be great. A big thanks to Brittany, Rebecca, Lee and Rebecca!

Hot off the Press

I have eagerly been awaiting the new issue of Weddings Magazine and I just received my copies today!  Why am I excited?  Partly because of the thirteen page fashion spread that I shot and partly because of the dozen or so other areas of the book where our photography was featured.

I have quickly scanned the first four pages to give you a taste and I will scan the rest in later.  For now it is off to another photo shoot!

The opening sections are two page spreads, enjoy!