Thanks LaLee’s!!

We had the last night of the Off Camera Lighting Workshop on Wednesday night. It was super rainy outside, but we had fun inside photographing all sorts of details from cakes to shoes to bouquets to people. I wanted to thank LaLee’s cakes in Greenville for lending us some cakes to photograph. If you are need of a cake for a special event or birthday, you should really check them out. They are super nice and make some awesome cakes…like the one above, I had a lot of fun photographing it this morning.

Chris + Olga…just a peak

A few weeks ago I had the privelage of photographing Chris and Olga’s wedding. What a stunning bride….just so beautiful! It was a beautiful lake setting for both the ceremony and the reception. The dj’s name was Randy Pulley. He really did a great job of keeping everybody on the dance floor. The catering was by CateringWorks. The caterers were great and were super friendly. So, more to come, but in the mean time I wanted to share just a few of the happy bride and groom:

Nick + Bethany

Nothing like a “day off” to catch up on some blogging. These pictures have been a long time coming. August and September always seems to be such crazy months. Does anyone else feel that way? Well, here are some images from Nick and Bethany’s wedding!

Kirk and Wende

I had the pleasure of photographing my friends’ wedding in Chapel Hill a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful and very colorful wedding. I think these were some of the prettiest bouquets I have photographed. There were so many wonderful details to photograph at this wedding. I loved all the colors and fun textures around both the church and the reception site. Thanks to Kirk and Wende for inviting me to share in their day.

Sometimes you can find some super fun stuff to reflect your flash off of, like a gold cross in the instance below. I had my flash turned around a bit backwards so it would not make weird flashy shadows on the ceiling and ended up reflecting the light of this shiny brass cross behind me. It reflected up onto the ceiling in an interesting way.

The reception was held at the Barn at Valhalla in Chapel Hill. The woodwork was beautiful!

Jason + Tiffany

Jason and Tiffany had a beautiful wedding in Wilson a few weeks ago. I had lots of fun things and people to photograph. I want to thank them for letting me spend this time with them from their engagement to bridal portraits to the big day.

Tyler + Jessy

Tyler and Jessy are married…yeh! Like me they are Barton College Alumni. So, I got to spend the day back on Barton’s campus for Tyler and Jessy’s wedding. I did a post a few weeks ago displaying their fine art print they will be receiving along with the rest of their goodies. Thanks guys for letting me take part in your big day.

Let me explain this fella below. I got in place before the ceremony began, sitting in the front pew of the chapel. When I looked over, this fella was sitting next to me. Needless to say, this has never happened before. I was quite curious. It’s not everyday a gnome is sitting in a wedding service with you. The groom’s Mom let me know that his name was Sanchez. So, as you will see he kind a pops up in pictures from time to time. I of course, had to do a ring shot with him too.

Art Prints: From Start to Finish

On June 20th I photographed Tyler and Jessy’s wedding in Wilson, NC. All my wedding packages include an art print. An art print is an image that I created at their wedding with the bride and groom in mind. They often times don’t look like a traditional wedding pictures, which is great, because it gives me a chance to do something unique for each bride and groom. I don’t go by a formula or anything. I do however, give it some thought before hand as to what I want to do. That way I know how to capture the image (film vs. digital, etc.). Tyler and Jessy met at Barton College, and were married in Howard Chapel on campus and had their reception on campus. So, I knew that I wanted to do something Barton-ish. So, I photographed the clock tower which is a new part of Barton’s campus but has become a big part of the campus. I arrived early to the wedding so that I could photograph the clock tower as well as other areas around campus. The cyanotype process came to mind because this process results in a blue print and if you know Barton, blue is the school color. So, it seemed fitting. Of course, I am a process person. I have so much fun just making these prints. But, sometimes it can get in the way because I tend to do too much experimenting and get lost trying to find the final image. So, I thought I would share this process. But first, the final image:

Okay, so here is where it began. This is a digital image, right out of Camera RAW:

Then, I digitally manipulated it. I kind of like this version. So, I almost stopped here, but I decided to keep on going so I could see what the cyanotype would look like:

Here is the cyanotype. It was toned in borax then tannic acid (hence the washed out look):

And of course, the final image. I scanned the toned cyanotype above and then re-introduced the digitally manipulated version. Tyler and Jessy will be getting a matted version of this one:

New Option on Proof Site!!

Just wanted to share a new option for clients on the proof site. It’s the Custom Designed Proof Box with 4×6 images. These come standard in the wedding packages, but I wanted them to be made available to all clients for any type of photo session. The advantage of this option is the price!! You get over 50% off the proof box and prints. For example, the actual value for 150 4×6 prints plus a custom designed proof box would be $645, but by ordering these products together you can get it for $300!!! You pick out which images you want. You can choose anywhere from 100-400 images (sold in 50 image increments, 100, 150, 200, etc.) This is great for parents who want to order a lot of small prints from a session or even for couples who just want more prints!! I LOVE these boxes!! Check out the Products page for more images of them!

Congrats to Jack & Rachael

Jack and Rachael are married, yeh!! It was quite a beautiful wedding. I usually take some “environment” pictures like the first two just to document the place or the season of the wedding. Thanks to Heather Sullivan for being my second shooter, as usual, she did an awesome job. The first image of the blue house is Believer’s Home Fellowship in Tabor City, NC where Rachael’s Dad pastors. I couldn’t decide between which one to post, the church or the pink blossoms, so I just posted both:

The day started at my parent’s house in Whiteville, where my Mom was helping put these boxes together for Donna and Rachael. She was sticking her yummy goodness inside. She makes these unbelievable chocolate truffles. So, if you ever need some yummy goodness for a party or event you should really check her out!

The flower girl and ring bearer were soooo cute!! 

Okay, so the image above and the image below are quite similar just different lighting techniques, the one above is natural light, and the one below, is well, you can see lit from within. I really don’t know what I think about the one below. Haven’t come to a conclusion, any thoughts?

Alright, the image below will show up in a future post I am going to do on “The Best Boom Stand Ever.” Heather, if you are reading this right now, you are probably laughing. I made a home made snoot for this shot and had a really great boom stand for the shot….details to come!

This is my self-portrait, my document that I was there. I don’t get out of behind the camera much to get my own picture taken, and really still didn’t get out from behind the camera for this one….”is for fun!”

Okay, so don’t try this at home. I couldn’t resist . I waited for a red light and Heather gave me a camera. Didn’t have too much time too compose. Don’t worry I didn’t look through the viewfinder, I kept my eye on the road. And Heather, who was in the passenger seat took some great shots too. 

Love doing the ring shots…

More from the Lomo Diana

I pulled the Lomo Diana out at Gerard and Amanda’s to make a few images to commemorate the day. The lomo diana is a great camera for rainy weather because it is made out of plastic…not too much to worry about there as far as the rain goes. I just got done working on a silver gelatin print for Gerard and Amanda..fun stuff! Here are a few: