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▣ October Trip : Part 1
Now that things have calmed down around here and we've officially entered the wedding off-season, I can back up and do the photo-ography of the past 3 months. There are tons of weddings and portrait sessions to blog. This trip was a nice long weekend at the beginning of October in between Kara & Tom and Sami & Josh's weddings in the calm before the Fall-Christmas storm. My parents drove up friday night while Sean and I were prepping for the next day's wedding. When we got back Saturday night late after the reception we had to back up all of our images, burn CD's, recharge batteries and swap the wedding gear for the wilderness gear. The leaves were already changing in the northern elevations as I drove up to the fortress of solitude late sunday. My mum came home mid-week for work, and my sister drove in to visit from college. By thursday it was time for me to head back towards civilization and get things together for Sami & Josh's wedding. I can't wait to blog that one :-) When I go on these trips I have 4 objectives: 1. Drive around aimlessly - because any other time driving is just a frantic sprint from point A to point B and there's no time to look around. I fear that if i was ever turned loose in Alaska or Yosemite or Arizona with my camera gear and a winnebago I'd never be seen or heard from again.
These two shots above and below are below the dam. Consequently we got yelled at by the park ranger for walking on the spillway. As Sandy would say: "It's all in the name of art." :-) I love the way the leaves look against the green pine trees, at the time we were there it didn't seem all that colorful. But looking at these photos now that we've got 2 months of winter under our belt with no leaves at all on the trees, the colors were spectacular! I'm always amazed every year when the first snow always seems like magic in slow motion. Then in the spring when the leaves come out I can't believe that spring does that every year. That each year's season is somehow more fantastic than the last. We are very lucky here in PA to have 4 distinct seasons.
Objective #2 Have no schedule Why? Seriously, someday i'll post a copy of my calendar on here. Every day is scheduled, sometimes every hour of every day, and the ones that aren't scheduled I still should be doing editing or album design or post process work. When I bought my mac this fall i discovered iCal which is my new savior. Before that it took two appointment books and a palm planner to keep things straight. Self-employment can be a slippery slope. It's easy to let yourself be overwhelmed and hard to realize that even if you worked all day and then stayed up all night editing and proofing that you still would never really be finished with everything that needs done. Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to go to sleep. And have a fortress of solitude. When you have no cell service, no computer, and no internet you're left with no choices and so you don't have to feel guilty about picking something that doesn't involve a deadline. I love this spot too. A stand of white birch trees planted in the middle of an already endless forest in tribute to a woman who dedicated her life to preserving places in nature where the rest of us could go to hide years later. It's very peaceful there, I've visited in 3 seasons and I hope to make it back up this winter before the snow melts. There's a narrow winding path that starts at the monument and then kind of wanders off among the ferns and disappears into the trees. If you go far enough in that you can't see your car and you step off the trail and sit on a rock for a minute you get this wonderful sensation that you really wouldn't have to go back if you didn't want to.
We were here right before sunset when the sun was slanting in. I don't love the exposure in this shot. It bugs me - I can take a hundred pictures here and it seems like none of them come out the way I'm seeing the place when I'm there. There's like this 3rd dimension that I know bothers all photographers when we know we've done everything technically correct and captured a technically 'accurate' photo of a scene and yet it's missing it's most vital part which seems to be something that doesn't fit into a camera. I don't love this exposure but out of all the ones I shot this one seems the closest to what I feel it's meant to be.
I like this one a lot. I started wondering if maybe the whole scene was just too much "the expected shot" and started trying to break down the whole and find a subject that described the trees without being a picture of trees. This ladybug was a left over from summer crawling in under the papery bark for a cold weather nap.
Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 this week.
Comments added to this post ▣ Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all of you! We are truly blessed to have had such a wonderful year with old and new friends! We are proud to consider you all part of our extended family! We hope you have a safe and happy holiday :-)
We will be out of the office from Dec. 18th to the 29th - (with the exception of a wedding on the 27th) then we're doing portraits in the morning and afternoon on the 29th and then officially back to business as usual on friday January 2nd. Comments added to this post ▣ Holiday NEWS!
Important holiday deadline information! If you're ordering photos from your session online, the deadline for christmas delivery is Monday December 15th at 6pm. You must place your order by then and have your payment in the mail. Since the postal service is moving a little slower than normal with all the christmas cards and letters to santa in circulation, please choose Fed Ex delivery to guarantee you'll have it on time. We will be out of the office from December 18th to the 26th, shooting the Mason-Bridges wedding on the 27th and then back to business as usual on the 29th.
This is baby James - we met him last week and did some christmas photos with him and his family for his very first christmas. He makes a pretty cute santa :-)
Comments added to this post ▣ Kara & Tom 10.04.08
I know! October was so long ago! But this is the long awaited return to posting as a reward for all of your patience, this post is packed with pictures! Kara and Tom were married on October 4th and the weather was amazing. The whole day was a blast, from the wedding party to my shooting buddies, to the cake smush at the reception! Not only did I have the privilege of shooting with Sean, but also the talented Sandy Yetter! Check out her work, she is fantastic! There were so many family and friends and great locations that were part of this wedding that I knew I'd need help and Sandy came to my rescue!
I met Kara last year through another couple Stephen & Shelbey who were married in February 2008. She told me all her plans for the perfect fairy tale wedding and I couldn't wait to be a part of her big day. Like I said, the weather was not too warm and not too cold and just the right amount of sunshine. I caught up with Kara on the morning of at her house in Munhall. She was doing make-up and helping everyone get ready.
Kara's daughter Taylor wore a white dress that was just her size and matched Kara's perfectly!
Once everyone was ready they hopped in the limo to ride to the church.
Kara had a grand entrance planned from the back doors of the church, but first her father helped her sneak around the side of the building once the coast was clear. Image by Sean.
When the moment arrived, the back doors opened to the peal of tumpets and a blaze of sunshine as the bride made her way down the aisle. Sandy was the eye in the sky shooting from the balcony!
Image by Sean.
Image by Sandy.
This church allowed us the rare privilege to stand just out of sight behind the altar and get some especially intimate photos of the ceremony. Image by Sandy.
There was not a dry eye in the house when Tom asked Taylor to come up to the altar and presented her with her very own tiny ring and a promise to stand by her and be there for her always.
The wedding party was all smiles processing out. Image by Sandy.
After some formal shots at the church we headed to Grandview Golf Course for a prime photo op. The view was great! You could see the roller coasters across the river at Kennywood! Did I mention how much I LOVE to photograph long veils? Long veil + light breeze = magic :-)
Image by Sandy.
There's a story behind these groomsmen, almost all of them have all been the groomsmen at each other's weddings. In fact, we've taken this picture before when Stephen was the groom back in february! Since they are such professionals at this - they know what to do and never get nervous so they find lots of time to goof off and have a good time. Image by Sean.
I love this shot that Sandy took while I was lining up all the men! There is no substitute for having more than one photographer at your wedding - it makes the day go smoother and you get so many more beautiful photos from different points of view.
Image by Sandy
Image by Sandy
LOOK AT THAT VIEW!!
The view was great the guys were great and Kara was rocking her red shoes!
Like I said - they've all done this 2 or 3 times before together so they have a good time. Image by Sandy
Tom's brother gave a speech at the reception and was so nervous. Little did we know it wasn't the speech - he was planning a proposal to his girlfriend later that night. He asked - and she said yes!! Image by Sean.
Kara & Tom's first dance as husband and wife.
Kara's dad boogie-ing on the dance floor!
Kara's dance with her father was very emotional. The song was "You can let go" by Crystal Shawanda. I can admit that I cried.
Congratulations to Kara & Tom!! Thank you so much for having us with you!
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