Kayleigh and Scott - Winter Wedding
Check out the video below from Kayleigh and Scott's wedding last weekend in Malone, NY. They had a winter theme and the weather did not disappoint. The bride and bridesmaids wore handmade fur covers and the reception decorations were very well done in the winter theme. While we had to brave the cold outside to make pictures, it was worthwhile and we all had a good time. Congratulations guys!
Tara and Paul - Wedding at Jay Peak Resort
August 31st was the big day for Tara and Paul. They had chosen to have their wedding at the Jay Peak Resort here in Vermont. The resort has seen a transformation over the past few years and now includes a golf course, a very stylish hotel and even a year round water park. Their ceremony in 'The Barn' included humor and a sharing of their love for their children who dressed like princesses from a story book. The reception moved into the hotel and thanks to a lively DJ and my photo booth, the guests had a fantastic time. Congratulations Tara and Paul!
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Michael and Jamiee- Wedding on The Spirit of Ethan Allen
These are images from Michael and Jamiee's wedding this past weekend. They started their day getting ready at the Courtyard Marriott in Burlington where I got to meet most of the immediate family. Their family is obviously very close and the two families seemed like one big one. We headed over to Battery Park for formals of both the Bride and Groom along with their son and nieces and nephews. We headed down to the waterfront where we got on the Spirit of Ethan Allen for the afternoon. The ceremony was quick and well done with a great meal provided after by the staff of the Spirit. Unfortunately, it rained off and on for most of the afternoon, but I am told that this brings good luck to the couple?
In Appreciation of EMS
Many people might know that my wife and I have been in public safety for a long time. My wife has been an EMT and then a Paramedic for 17 years. These folks (mostly volunteers) are there, day and night giving comfort to the sick and saving those who are near death. Being around them for a long time gave me appreciation for the work they do. So having this in mind, I had the thought to do a shoot with one of the crews at Colchester Rescue and give them some images that they probably would never have seen before and could also use for their annual Family Fun and Safety Night. I told my wife that I needed a crew that was both willing to do it, and would have fun while doing it. She gave me a choice of a few crews and I definitely think I chose the right one. (Not that all of their EMT's wouldn't have been willing and they are all a fun-loving group!)
I wanted to do some individual shots and a group set up that would both show the camaraderie they have and the seriousness of their job. We started around 6:30 PM and I knew that the group shot I envisioned would include the spectacular waterfront that Colchester has. This meant I was fighting time against the sunset and had to get some of the individuals done before moving to the park near Lake Champlain. I set up a quick shot near one of their ambulances and tried to use it as the background for my models. Using just one speedlight through an umbrella I was able to light them with some great light and a simple set-up. As you can see from the production shot, I was trying to get a fairly low angle. I also used another gelled flash on a radio trigger to throw some red light light to the rear of one of the shots to give the background some depth.
After, we moved to the waterfront and set up a shot with the sun setting behind the truck. I posed the crew in a manner that would sort of give them an action figure feeling. I know they wouldn't agree, but I think they played the part well. I used a large 43" softbox with two speedlights this time since I thought I would need the power to light a large group. I was able to make them the focal point and still include the truck that is their office by using a 24-70 lens set to 35mm. Some tweaking in Lightroom in post and I had the shot I saw in my head.
The crew moved back to the station and since it was now dark, we wanted to try to make some cool shots as if they were responding out of the garage. The image at the top was shot with ambient light only, and one flash placed on the dash, again with a red gell. The two guys played up to the idea of this shot and gave me some great poses to choose from.
Finally, I shot the annual squad photo for CRS and had a ball doing so. They have such an easy going group of folks that it's hard to not make great pics with them.
Thanks to CRS for allowing me to shoot their event and especially to Ben, Katherine, Tonia, and Peter for volunteering to be models for me! You guys are the best and your work is very much appreciated.
Photoshop World Orlando
I spent the last four days in Orlando, FL learning from the best photographers in the world. I entered a contest back in January with Kelby Training and won a full conference pass to Photoshop World 2013. This is a collaboration between Kelby Training and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). It features classes in photography, lighting, graphic design, and of course, Photoshop. The three days of classes are taught by photographers who have worked for the largest magazines such as National Geographic and Sports Illustrated, worked in commercial photography for many years and are experts in the field.
By the way, except for "Amelia", these are all iPhone snapshots.
The day before the conference, I was able to attend a day long session with Joe McNally. He has created spectacular photography for 35 years and is known as being the master of lighting with small and large strobes, having secured many covers of National Geographic. The class was called Characters on Location: Telling Stories in Light.
After a classroom discussion on how light works and what makes good and bad lighting, we were transported to a studio in downtown Orlando where Joe’s staff had set up five sets with professional models. The sets included studio strobes, small off camera flash, constant lights, and natural lighting outdoors. We were able to make our way to each set, direct the models, adjust the lighting and have fun creating great images. All the while, Joe and his staff were there to give tips, share their knowledge and help us get the most out of the class. The class was definitely worth the cost and as you might have seen in my recent Facebook post, I made some fine images.
The next three days at the conference were hectic! Two 12 hour days on Wednesday and Thursday brought some tired feet and lots of photographic knowledge. I was able to attend classes on the business side of photography such as forms and copyrights and using social media to keep in touch with clients. Classes I attended also included using Photoshop to finish images, lighting for portraits and weddings, sports photography, compositing images, and using remote cameras. The last is something I plan to do more of this year in gymkhana so look out for those images this year.
Here's one of the pictures I made during the week...
There was also an expo for shopping (yeah!) with even more free classes. I didn’t spend much here but I am sure that I’ll be looking at some of the products soon. One of the ones I plan to buy is from Image Wizards. They print on metal. That’s right...aluminum sheets. Their products are so detailed with such rich colors that it’s hard to believe they are printed with ink. The prints are just spectacular and I plan to get one soon for a spot that has been reserved in my office.
Finally, the session titled ‘The Art of Digital Photography’ was an evening of slides from eight of the best photographers including McNally, Dave Black, Moose Petersen, Jay Maisel, Julianne Kost, Joe Glyda, and Jim Divitale.
This was a night of inspiration and creativity with everything from a slide presentation on making a project out of a closet light pull chain (seriously) to climbing the tallest building in the world in Dubai just to take a photo.
I left the conference with lots of new ideas for shoots and a better knowledge of how to make your (and my) pictures better. Thanks for reading.