I shot like a gazillion pictures Saturday of an amazing couple I feel honored to know. Then Sunday my daughter had an outdoor dance performance in the park. It was fun (the park thing) but I seriously can not take too much sun. After about 30 minutes I began to feel light-headed and a little dizzy. So needless to say, when we got home, I spent the evening re-hydrating and recovering. (I also watched The Good Shepherd, which was really good—a little slow at first but very interesting, I loved it!) So today I finished up all the editing of the photos from Saturday’s shoot, and now I’m beginning the processing. I’ll have some pics up later today!
August 13, 2007
August 10, 2007
Beth & Craig
Last month I had the privilege of assisting/2nd shooting with Linda Mcdonald at a wedding in Springfield, OH. The bride & groom were amazing and their families were so warm and gracious…it was a spectacular wedding…I had such a blast! I honestly felt like a guest at this grand affair…these people really know how to party! Here are a few pictures from a 2nd shooter’s point of view:
The ladies stylin’…
I loved this simple, yet elegant bouquet…
They rented this bus to take the wedding party from the ceremony, to Beth’s house for some sandwiches and cocktails, and then on to the reception. Such a great idea!
One of the Bridesmaids got a hold of Linda’s camera!
Beth & Craig having some fun!
I caught someone else’s flash on this one, but I loved the effect…
I can’t explain how amazing this reception was…before we left for the evening, we managed to snap a few photos of nearly every single guest on the dance floor all at the same time, in a circle, singing along to their favorite songs. The love in the room was overwhelming…I have to admit, I shed more than a few tears throughout this incredible day.
Thanks Beth & Craig, for allowing me to tag along with Linda and share in your special day…
And thanks Linda, for calling me! It was a pleasure to work with you!
August 9, 2007
Oh, the Agony!
Is anyone else dying of heat?? I don’t know how much more I can stand. And it’s supposed to go up to 97° today! This is getting ridiculous.
This is today’s forecast for Columbus OH:
This is what we need more of:
If anyone in a much cooler climate needs a photographer for the next week or so, please let me know!! I’m totally serious 
August 8, 2007
August 7, 2007
What It’s All About
My break from the blog world left me with more time to spend in my own head, just thinking about my own work, what my photography is about, where I want to go, photographically speaking. I can’t ignore the feeling, or even need, that I have for my work to be about something. So while trying to figure out and understand my voice, I decided to look further into the work that I am most attracted to. I am a fan of so many great photographers, but there are a few who’s work continues to stand out for me, and from whom I draw the most inspiration. They are David Hilliard, Jasmine Star, and Mark Hobson.
These three photographers couldn’t be more different either. One is a wedding photographer in sunny Southern California, the other is from the educated fine art set of Yale MFA’s and galleries galore, and the third is a commercial photographer based in the Adirondacks who I suspect is more like a mountain man with a camera. There is a common thread though, within their work…there is single common denominator that tie these three photographers together: Relationships.
One day, when I was trying to figure out my own work, where I was going, etc, I carefully looked through the photos made by these 3 photographers and tried to identify what was the single characteristic that attracted me to them. I then looked through my own work, and thought a lot about a single element that I felt strongly about….again: Relationships.
Jasmine is a super-star wedding photographer, and her work explores and celebrates the relationships shared between her clients. I strongly identify with that, especially since I am beginning my own wedding photo business and its these relationships that I want to capture. Anyone can take a picture and show what someone or an event looks like….it takes a special person with a certain gift of seeing into a moment that can show how people feel.
David Hilliard’s work is about his relationship with the people around him. It’s much more personal, and very revealing, intimate even. He exposes himself in such a beautiful and delicate way. It’s my own need to express who I am that attracts me to his work. And Mark Hobson’s photography explores man’s relationship to the environment. He’s a landscape photographer, but not in the traditional sense…his pictures remind us of how beautiful our world is, even down to the smallest or overlooked detail. And it’s these details that catch my eye most often.
In terms of my own work, I felt the need to give myself direction…purpose. I’m driven to shoot. Photography is in me, it’s part of me…a photographer is who I am. But beyond just being a photographer, I felt the need to understand what kind of photographer I am. And now that I am pursuing professional work, along with still doing my own personal work (Art), I felt the urgency to understand what it’s all about. And I wondered how I could balance the professional with the personal—or even if I could.
I find that equilibrium in relationships. Whether I am capturing the joy within the relationship between a man and a woman, a parent and child, or between friends; whether I am paying respect visually to the relationship we have with the earth and drawing attention to the mundane, the quirky, even the beautiful things in our world; or whether I am simply exploring my own relationship with my children, my family, or revealing a bit of myself by saying this is who I am, this is what and how I see; Relationships are the common denominator, it’s what my work is about.
Again…
Just trying on a few new templates….
I’m in the mood for change…so that means the blog will change looks perhaps a few more times before I settle on something good. They really shouldn’t make it so easy to change templates
