I had the pleasure to photograph portraits of a lovely couple in Western Pennsylvania, at Raccoon Creek State Park, Frankfort Springs Falls. It was a beautiful site, with just enough light to make it interesting. We tried shooting some photos directly inside the gorge, but it was quite harsh with the light in one spot.
I had the blessing to photograph a very young couple get married in western Pennsylvania earlier this month, and got to photograph the beautiful bride throughout the day, from getting ready to eating cake. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to take posed after-ceremony shots at a local park, which was quite photogenic.
Mr. & Mrs. had already married the week before at the Civil Court, and had a separate reception in Pittsburgh, which I was fortunate to be able to photograph. A truly beautiful couple.
I’ve been incredibly busy this month, and haven’t had the opportunity to post recently. This was a small wedding ceremony that I had the good fortune to photograph at the Hungarian Gardens in Cleveland. A beautiful bride and groom, and family too! It was a fun challenge with the lighting situations. Photographed with my trusty Nikon Z6-MkII, 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 Nikon Z lenses. Crowd control was a minor issue!
Witness the wedding of Erin and Frederick, both young doctors in Pittsburgh. The Groom’s parent watched the ceremony from India, and joined in the celebration later at the Bride’s parent’s home via Zoom. A Zoom wedding!
A well-known wedding photographer that I respect, Cliff Mautner, summed it up best: “we don’t get to choose our brides and grooms…”
I consider myself not just a photographer, but I consider myself an artist. And it is a privilege for me to photograph weddings, and beautiful brides… all of which are beautiful. It is not a matter of treating our brides as beautiful, we must believe in it, and I do. To me, all brides are beautiful. Period. It doesn't matter, fat or thin, economically wealthy or poor, PhD or no... Everyone is entitled to their moment, and a client is a client regardless... I am proud of my work and nobody can denigrate it based on my subjects... They are all beautiful.
A friend recently told me of his nephew, who’s getting married, and he and his bride recently had an engagement party photographed by another photographer. The couple was not too pleased with some of the photographs, and voiced their concern to the photographer. The photographer supposedly told them, “look what I had to work with,” meaning them as subjects. This is a terrible thing.
One item about me you can take to the bank… I love my brides, and my grooms. I love my weddings, be they in a pavilion at a public park or at an upscale winery in a fashionable neighborhood, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been hired to do a job, to create as an artist, and I give it my all. And I love it all. I love making them shine in their wedding day vulnerability… that’s art, that’s my high fashion. That’s why I do it.
I was out shopping at Barnes and Noble in Boardman the other day, and I happened upon this tres kewl van, apparently painted by the artist who calls himself “the Imagination of Robert Walker.” It was pretty cool looking, I had my trusty Z-6ii with me, so a squeezed off a few shots, shown below. You may see The Imagination of Robert Walker here. Great stuff Robert!
Every year, my city of Alliance holds what are called Carnations Days, which consist of the Rib & Food Fest and Days in the Park. There are normally several bands that play at different venues in the city, and numerous food vendors, many of which are running their big fundraiser for the year, like the Kiwanis, YWCA or various religious organizations. Much of Days in the Park was rained out this year, including the Balloon Launch. I popped down yesterday afternoon following a wedding and took a few photos, of which my favorite is below.
I had the privilege to photograph a beautiful little “elopement’ wedding this past weekend. As I was busy prepping my photo gear for tomorrow - charging batteries, taking out PocketWizards, and packing gear into my BIllingham bag - I thought back to last Saturday’s photoshoot, and thought I would share some images here. This simple, yet very tasteful, ceremony took place in Painesville, Ohio, and featured a wonderful bride and groom. I love the emotive moments, the smiles, the pranks… this was a fun day! Please keep in mind that the images below are cropped to fit the gallery grid… all images taken with Nikon.
So, one thing that I do before every job is to scout locales. Today, I scouted two venues for upcoming photography gigs, one a big gazebo for an elopement this coming Saturday, and the other, a pretty impressive winery in Aurora. The gazebo is in Painesville, the winery - Thorncreek - is in Aurora. I went to both locations and snapped a few pics, looked around for good shooting spots, and here we are. Service is of utmost importance to me, my clients’ satisfaction, and part of that is all in the preparation.
