For Photographers

Amber & Josh

Amber and Josh are getting married May 29th and we met in Dahlonega to shoot their engagement session on Saturday, April 17th, 2010. It was wonderful, Amber and Josh are young couple about to begin their life together and they are so much in love.

Most of our session we used the Bear on the Square festival happenings and some of the interesting and talented musicians as our backdrop. However, after listening and watching Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper play in the main pavilion we found this beautiful stone wall on the Catholic Center building and shot some images of these two love birds doing what love birds do, love.

I shot this image with a 45mm Nikkor PC-E, better known as a tilt-shift lens to get the dreamy and romantic blur on either side of their faces and the beautiful band of sharpness up the center of the image. I think Amber and Josh have a very bright future; almost as bright as Amber's smile or the love in Josh's eyes.

This next image is kind of a signature shot, well at least after one of my clients turned me on to it ;-0, thanks Jessica.  Amber and Josh against the same wall with Amber making a heart on Josh's back. This image is a custom color tone in Photoshop; for you photographers and artists out there I used Kubota's new Bor-Tex dashboard to create the sloppy border and the texture is from his earth collection; new stuff if you haven't seen it yet and I love the interface in Photoshop.

This last image is one of my personal favorites from the session. I loved the posture of Amber and Josh, they look great in the image, but I think what really makes this shot interesting is, obviously, the $160,000 Audi R8. However, what makes this shot even more interesting are the people in the background and what glues it all together is that beautiful and threatening sky. Just a lot of nice elements to me, I know I shouldn't critique my own shots, lord, am I opening myself wide for criticism - all of which will be richly deserved, but every now and then I like a shot I take and forgive me for being a little proud of this great young couple and savoring my good fortune for capturing a nice moment in time. I shot this with a Nikon D3s through a 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens for all you shooters out there.

This is an image in front of one of the shops right off the square in Dahlonega called 'High Cotton' and Josh loved the location for the shot because his last name is Cotton.

Nimberwill Creek Family Portraits

I met Chris and his family the day after Christmas for a family portrait session. They have a great piece of property on Nimberwill Creek that includes a great little waterfall. Just gorgeous. Chris built an eight flight staircase down to the bank of the creek that had me huffing and puffing on the way back up; I have got to do a lot more physical training in 2010.

Really enjoyed meeting Chris and his clan, super nice folks and we got some nice family shots. Here are a few of those images.

 

Family Portraits at Amicalola

Ceara and her family posed for some family portraits the day after Christmas at Amicalola Falls. It was a windy, chilly day and the temperature dropped and the winds increased as we progressed up to the top of the falls.

Ceara is a law student and her sister Diedre is about to complete her doctorate, two very accomplished young women and I know her parents could not be prouder of their daughters. It was a real pleasure to spend the afternoon with this very nice family. Here are a few images from our session.

Christi & Lance's Wedding Video

Mr. & Mrs. Koberg's, aka Lance and Christi, online gallery of wedding images are now available. When I began the culling process for their wedding, the image count was just shy of 4,000. Those images have been culled down to a few less than 1,300 and have been uploaded to Christi and Lance's online PickPic gallery.

I recently subscribed to a a really cool new service, it's been around for about five months, but I waited for the reviews and all I heard was raves from other photographers at a couple of recent trade shows/conferences. I am talking about ANIMOTO and I am impressed; the quality of the videos go all the way from MPEG to HD video, all of which are produced online on ANIMOTO's servers in the background freeing me to go and do other things - like photograph someone.

The video above has roughly 250 images and text slides and runs a little over 8 minutes. The beauty is that the video is streaming. It does take a little while to fill your local buffer before it is ready to run, but trust me, run the video and I bet you will enjoy it.

I would really appreciate any feedback on how this works on your computer. I just recently began using this new service and it works great on my machines, both PC and Mac, but I am curious how it runs everywhere else and about the quality of the presentation on your machine. Let me know if anyone has any problems viewing the video; thanks in advance.

My goal in the future will be to produce videos that contain, short snippets of HD video. I am on a pre-order list for a new Nikon D3s and I am planning on taking a video camera with me on all my shoots in the future in the interim. The format, maybe framework is a better choice of words here, is to produce videos that will be limited in length to around 5 minutes or less.

However, most of all, I hope that Christi and Lance, their families and their friends will enjoy this video of the wedding images. I also hope that, in viewing these images, it allows them to relive the moments that were captured from this beautiful wedding. It was an awesome event and watching this video reminded me of just how much I enjoyed being a small part of the event.

Junkyard Shoot

Recently shot with one of my favorite photographers Kristy Dickerson in Cartersville, GA at the Self Recycle junkyard. Kristy was filming a video with cinematographer Dustin Blake and Devin of Indy Productions. Dustin is extraordinarily talented, follow the link to his website and prepare to be amazed.

Kristy and I work together frequently; we shoot weddings and events together - supporting each other's studios. I have been a huge fan of her work for a long time and I think our different styles really work together, very complimentary when we put it all together. Check out her website and you will be blown away.

So here it was on a Sunday afternoon, one day after a lot of rain dumped in the Atlanta area. Sun was out and shining bright and the wind was whipping intermittently. Perfect shooting conditions? You bet!!

Kristy really did an awesome job organizing the shoot. She made it so easy, I just showed up with my gear, set up some lights and went to town with my Nikons. All her hard work paid off; we got some incredible images.

So you might be asking yourself, what the heck are they doing shooting these nice looking guys and gals in a junkyard. Well, it's kind of a photographer's secret, but the formula is to shoot beautiful people in either beautiful locations or, and this is even better, in a really gritty, nasty place with strong colors and lots of textures. The juxtaposing of these gorgeous models in front of, well, junk, makes for some dramatic images that make them really pop in the images.

So, still post processing, but here are a few quick grabs from the session last Sunday. These images are shots I took for Kristy and the models. Thanks Kristy for your kind permission to display these here on the blog.

Here are a few shots of Hans and Angela.

 

Here are a few shots of Bronson and Catlyn.

Here are a few shots of Chris and Becca.

 

 

Maureen & Scott Wedding at Frogtown Cellars

Maureen and Scott were married in a beautiful ceremony at Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega, GA on Friday, October 2nd, 2009. The handsome couple were surrounded by their friends and family when they exchanged vows and rings on the deck of Frogtown Cellars overlooking the beautiful property and the glorious vines. Frogtown Cellars is a fabulous venue with its rich wooden beams and finely crafted wooden rails, stairs and bar all set against fantastic details and stone walls; beautiful does not approximate the rich visual aesthetics.

The wine flowed and the celebration began in earnest on the covered deck. Maureen was absolutely gorgeous in her vintage wedding gown with gorgeous details and equally stunning jewelery. The bridesmaids were beautiful and Scott looked stunning in his tuxedo and white vest and his groomsmen were handsome and dashing in their tuxedos and red vests. Scott's sons Thomas and Ben were there to witness the wonderful event and as an added bonus, Scott and Maureen's wedding day coincided with Ben's birthday.

I think it safe to speak for our team when I say we had a blast! This was a fun loving group that knew how to party; it was a real privilege to document their celebration of Maureen and Scott's big day. This was a great group that made us feel welcome and the wealth of their collective spirit elevated our efforts. Thanks to everyone who attended, the fantastic staff at Frogtown Cellars and the wonderful vendors who came together and made this such a special event for Maureen and Scott. Great job by everyone, each and every detail was meticulously executed to perfection.

I also want to thank Kristy Dickerson, Steve Glass and my wife, Barbara, for their phenomenal photography and assistance; each are accomplished photographers with their own enterprises, but when we all come together at a wedding magic happens. I have been very fortunate to be a part of many great teams over the years, but this team is really special. The unique visions and personal styles we each possess are so complimentary when we combine our talents we are able to give our clients something really special. You guys are incredible - thank you so very much.

I also want to thank Amy Kelly and welcome her as the newest addition to our team. Amy is a tremendous asset to the team and she has a very bright future; we're very fortunate she has decided to add her talent to our efforts. Welcome Amy, big stuff is on the horizon for you. You have a tremendous eye for composition and

So, here are a few example images from the event. I am culling the nearly 4,500 images we shot and preparing them for uploading to Scott and Maureen's private gallery. The online galleries will be available within the next two weeks; Maureen and Scott will be sharing the password with their family and friends. I hope each of you will enjoy viewing these images and reliving their wonderful marriage. Check back often over the next few days as I upload selected images to this post.

Finally, to Maureen and Scott, thank you for your confidence, your generosity of spirit, your very kind words and for including us in your beautiful ceremony and event. It was an honor and a privilege to document your glorious event.

Jason and Heather in Piedmont Park

I love shooting in Piedmont Park, it's such a magical place for photography. I have had some great shoots there. Speaking of great shoots, this was definitely a great shoot; and a great shoot never suffers from a couple as attractive as Jason and Heather, especially when they are so comfortable with the working end of a camera.

Jason, Heather and I met at the Park Tavern, adjacent to Piedmont Park, and enjoyed some refreshments while sitting in the very nice air conditioning; ahhh! When we stepped outside we were reacquainted with a typical late summer day in the south, hot, humid and did I mention hot?

We walked to my favorite magnolia tree and took some head shots of Jason. Then we wandered over to the beautiful stone bridge that spans the small lake in the park; paused for some nice shots at the gazebo and the beautiful wrought iron foot bridge, meandered to the far end of the bridge, played on the swings in the playground, shot some nice shots amongst a bed of black-eyed susan flowers, snapped a few at a nice ivy wall, then a huge oak and finally got some killer shots of the Atlanta skyline with Jason and Heather perched atop a beautiful rock wall. Whew, when we were done I had taken more than a thousand images.

Incredible session, and one of my all time favorite shoots. There was a fantastic energy level throughout our time together and we liked and joked and had a blast in the sweltering heat. I can't wait to get Jason and Heather's reactions to the images once I post the complete session on their PickPic gallery.

I am posting a few shots of the day, still post processing their shots and several other shoots this weekend, getting everything proof ready, as always, the best is yet to come.