Nancy & Will

What can I say but that Nancy, Will and their families are warm, wonderful people!  The thing I remember most about the day was Nancy’s calm, and her bright smile.  It was a beautiful day at Fearrington Village, and even though the threat of rain put us under a tent for the garden ceremony, it was an absolutely beautiful and meaningful ceremony for this great couple.

Not sure why I love this shot by Meridith, but I so do!

Nancy and Will had their favorite drinks out for guests to enjoy.  Will’s favorite was the Mountain Dew which I LOVE!

OH Yeah…..

It’s my birfday, that’s right, it’s my birfday (normally spelled birthday, but not in the song)

Hell yeah, I made it to 29 again! What an accomplishment. I’m not usually a big celebrator of birthdays, but I have deemed 2009 as the year that everything gets really good again. I am determined to celebrate everything positive and so far, I am still alive and healthy and that’s pretty good. I’m determined to keep the drama low and the energy high this year, and if anyone tries to get in the way of that it will not be pretty.

2008 was a year of intense drama around our family with two births, three deaths, two cancer diagnoses, and nearly 40 fabulous weddings. We managed to hold it all together, BUT this year….2009….you will find me throwing my hands in the air every day screaming “hell yeah!” because it’s going to be that good!

I’m Back!

So I just spent the last week in Phoenix and had a blast.  Got to see lots of old friends and make some new ones too.  Along the way I took advantage of the ability to upload photos taken with my phone to my facebook page.  That way I could keep my 5 yr old Will up to date on my travels and share some of the cool stuff I saw along the way.  It blows my mind how far technology has come and all the great stuff we can do instantly now.

Below are a few of the images from my phone.  I don’t believe in taking my fancy camera to photo conventions because it’s… well, weird to me; but I pass no judgment on others, it’s all good.

This desert is NOT a place you would want to run around blindfolded.  Nearly everything around will make you yell if you come in to contact with it.

The resort had a camp fire area where each night guests could make smores and keep warm by the fire.  The sky was perfectly clear and filled with stars.  We could also hear Coyotes howling in the distance.

Would Someone Please Explain…

…What are the benefits of  “all natural light” photography?

I want to preface the rest of what I’m about to say with the fact that I am not pointing fingers at any specific people, it’s just that I have seen this used as a marketing angle for years now and I still don’t get it.  Light is light, and it’s an absolutely essential ingredient in any and every photograph ever created.  So what would be the appeal of “natural” light, and why would a photographer label themselves as such?

Is natural light healthier?  Other businesses are touting the benefits of their products using all natural ingredients, things that are organic, or made from renewable sources.  Things that make you feel good when you buy them because a big man did not have to cut down a poor defenseless tree and it was never tested on fuzzy bunnies.  Does that apply to light?

Is natural light great because it’s ‘natural‘ and will make the subject look natural?  Would that version of natural be before or after a few rounds of photoshop?

I’m all for being an “available” light photographer.  I have been one of those for 16 years now.  That means using any and every available light source that will assist you in rocking out the type of image you are going for.  Natural, artificial, home made, whatever!  I can’t imagine limiting myself to one type or style of lighting or light source.  I can’t imagine giving up control over my final image to the whims of nature.

What are the parameters of natural light?  Is a candle flame natural, or is it just the sun we’re talking about?  What if the sun is not playing well that day?  What if your subject wants to be in a windowless office or at night, are you completely F@$%#d if that happens?

OK, I’m done.  Climbing slowly down off my box of soap and going back to work.

Back to School

Ahh, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, glue sticks and white out.  School is back in!  The students are back from internship and ready to learn a bit about advertising.

Yesterday’s assignment was quite the fire drill and got them thinking and moving right out of the gate.  We talked about models, modeling and communicating expectations to your subjects.  Also about how your level of communication must be quite different between working with professional models and all of the other non model people you will photograph such as corporate types, celebs and the ever present “normal person” like you and me.

These pics are from my phone but I thought they were kinda cool.

Weddings Magazine Fashion

One thing I can say about the publisher of Weddings Magazine is that she’s not satisfied with playing it safe with her bridal fashion.  This year, instead of taking a few models and a few dozen gowns on location we opted instead for the studio and a whimsical and irreverent take on the fairy tale wedding.

This concept also allowed us to explore some techniques in mixed media that I have not worked with in many years.  We collaborated with artist Jeanie Lovell of Quinn Art who took my printed images and literally painted right on them with acrylic paint.  I then rephotographed the result.  In other words, we did this old school.

It was a lot of fun and our make up artist Sophie was able to create her biggest hair yet. There are 14 pages total, but here are a few of my favorites.

New Year, New Goals

You know you’ve done it too.  You’ve made this big long list of ways to be better, badder, happier, hotter, calmer, more efficient, sophisticated, educated and perfecticated. At peace with yourself and the world and all is well.

One of my goals for this year is to post at least one image or more every single day.  These will be more personal images from my daily life and travels.  The thing is, I won’t be posting the images here on the blog.  This blog is all about my work life and just a little bit about my other life.  So if you are interested in keeping up with the daily images you will need to be my friend.  On facebook that is.  Just look me up and we can be friends it’s pretty easy.

This is an image taken at lunch today, and I posted two others in addition.  Even though this project will be consist of personal images, I don’t see myself posting pictures of the kids much.  It’s more likely to be an interesting design or texture, or the way the light hits an object that will spark my interest.  It’s really intended to be a year long study in visual design with a homework assignment every day.  I hope you will join in and enjoy!