Bridget and Chris--Video

Bridget and Chris

When I reflect on Chris and Bridget's wedding, I can't help but smile. They are such a perfect couple who are so in love! Everyone at this wedding had to have such a great time...even the guys since they were able to watch their college football game during the reception! After the formal dinner, everyone headed to the bar area where a dance floor was set up and the guys could watch their game. The bridesmaids had so much fun dancing to "Soulja Boy" and just about everything else that was played.

I also really enjoyed working with Pam, my assistant at this wedding, as we took the bride and groom off to the golf course to get so many great shots. I will be adding a video here shortly...I can't seem to get it uploaded right now (gotta love technology), but I will fix it and revise this blog to include it. In the meantime, enjoy a few of the pictures.

Jeremy's Senior Pictures

I personally can't even believe that Jeremy is a senior already. How did that happen? Anyway, Jeremy stopped on his way home from his college visit to have these pictures taken. I think I took a few more than he planned on originally, but I still think he had some fun with it! It was great to meet Laura as well. I have a cute one of the two of them in Jeremy's gallery on my web page.

Enjoy your senior year Jeremy!

Rick and Lindsay

Rick and Lindsay had such a beautiful day for their wedding and the reception was in a great spot. I really enjoyed the chance to go outside and get some of those group shots . I think that those are by far some of my favorites. I will add some still images after I finish processing the pictures. For now, I hope the two of you enjoy this short video of a few of them.

Congratulations, Rick and Lindsay!

Tracy's Photos Part 2

Instead of just the video, I wanted to share a few of the images from Tracy's senior picture shoot. I really enjoyed taking these photos and would be willing to do more senior pictures in the future! :-)

Tracy's Senior Pictures

Another new thing for me...taking senior pictures...and I loved it! Tracy and her mom and sister along with a beautiful little baby in her Steelers gear met me at the gazebo in town and we were off. They willingly drove to a few places around town to take these shots. I used my Canon 85mm lens with my Canon 40D and loved it! Check out the blur on these portrait shots. I also decided to try this cool new site (animoto.com) that my friend Pam shared with me. I decided to give it a try with Tracy's pictures. Hit play above to check it out!

Amy and Brian's Wedding 9-22-07

Have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy taking pictures at weddings? Yes, it is a lot of running around and yet trying to stay out of the way, but wedding days are so special and I love to do my part to have pictures to help the memories last forever!

Amy and Brian's wedding was beautiful. The church had great stained glass windows and the altar area was just so pretty. The only problem was that there was no air conditioning! For September, it was HOT...mid to upper 80s...go figure! That being said, Brian and Amy, as well as their wedding party, were great to work with for the photos...just a fun group of people to be around, you know? Even though it was quite warm, we managed to get the family photos taken! My personal favorite of the wedding party pictures is the one I've attached to this blog.

The reception...fun, fun, fun...by all! So many smiling faces...and a few familiar ones for me. Lindsay, one of the bridesmaids was in a wedding I photographed last year and a cousin of the bride and his wife were in attendance and are actually a friends of mine. I always say at weddings that we do live in a small world!

This was the first wedding that I set up a slide show of some of the pictures I had taken up to the reception. I am wondering what those of you who saw it felt about it playing while people waited for their drinks. If possible, let me know via a comment to this blog or by clicking the contact me link on my SmugMug page if you liked, disliked, or were indifferent to the pictures showing during the reception!

Hey, I hope everyone got to check out that huge collection of cookies! Throughout the reception, Amy and Brian and their friends and family were all smiles. What a great couple! I so thoroughly enjoyed photographing your wedding day!

Concert Pictures

OK...so anyone who knows me, knows that I am amazed by Bill Deasy's music. I just love it. He had a full band show at Club Café in Pittsburgh last Saturday. Let me tell you that the show just rocked. This band is so good and just clicks. They fire on all cylinders (as that saying goes)! I decided to take my camera and make another attempt at getting concert pictures. Anyone who attempts to take concert pics without a flash knows that it can be a little tough. That was my goal on Saturday...good pics, no flash. Well, I think I got a few keepers. Wedding photography is one thing, but the concert thing is something else! Oh, and I need to find a way to not get so distracted by the music! ;-)

Anyway, I thought I'd put a few favorites on here as well.

Engagement Photos 9/2/07--Shawn and Ale

Wow! What fun this evening was. I will be working as a second photographer at this wedding next summer and was invited along to take a few shots during their engagement session. Shawn and Ale were so much fun and such a beautiful couple. I am really looking forward to seeing their ceremony...it will be amazing!

New Lens with a Family Photo Session

OK...last night, I got to use my new lens taking some pictures of some of my favorite people in the world...members of Leslie's family. I love them all and I loved the opportunity to test out this 85mm lens on some portrait shots of the families and the other group shots we did. I will revise this to include a photo here, but I want to ask them first if I can use one of them.

The grandchildren were all ready for some big smiles for the camera as well. When we finished with the photos, the older group of cousins, none of which are from this area, headed to the Starbucks in Target located in Monaca but ended up following the GPS down the ever scary (especially on a dark night like we had) Freedom-Crider Road to end up in Cranberry! Everyone got home safely after the adventure. Like I told Betsy, I just wanted a Chai Latte anyway! :-) This will be one of those stories that is revisited...often!

About the pictures, the overcast sky worked to our advantage and the mums around the back patio added some nice background color for the pictures. I had fun and I think the family did too! I hope they all enjoy the photos!

Photography

Photography has long been a hobby for me. I have always enjoyed snapping lots and lots of photos at family events and in nature as well as on vacations. This picture was taken at the end of July this year at Niagara Falls. I just like it. Why? I've been to the Falls a number of times now and have witnessed many things including the ice bridge that forms. However, this was the first time that I saw the fully contained rainbow that forms from the "American Falls" to the "Horseshoe Falls" on the Canadian side. This picture doesn't show the complete rainbow, but with this one, well, every time I look at it, I think I would not want to be the one to look for the leprechaun and his pot of gold where this rainbow is originating!

Anyway, the reason I am writing this initial blog is to let it be known how I have had the pleasure of expanding my interests in the area of wedding photography. It really happened quite by accident. My friend Kelley insisted that I take her wedding pictures. I didn't want to but she said that it would be my wedding present for her if I would just be willing to try it. I made her promise that if I ruined her wedding photos that she wouldn't hate me! I used my trusty Canon Rebel S and took around twelve rolls of film. She was happy with them. Then, my uncle asked me to take the pictures at his wedding the following year. Then, someone heard about me from someone at one of those weddings, and it has just taken off. The thing is...I really do love weddings. The moments captured with my digital camera now are memories for the couple and their family to cherish.

I will add blogs about some of the upcoming events as they occur and may go back and add a couple from the more recent events. So check back soon!