Vermont Wedding: Rehearsal

One month ago, we traveled to Vermont for my brother-in-law's wedding. Not only was I a guest, but I was also asked to be the "unofficial" official photographer for their rehearsal and for the morning before the wedding, to document the bride and groom getting ready. I haven't done much wedding photography (with the only foray being this New Year's Eve wedding I photographed last year for a good family friend. Because this was family, I really wanted to get everything right  for them!

The wedding (and therefore, rehearsal) took place in a small but beautiful old church.

I wanted to gather some shots of the bride and groom without getting in the way during the rehearsal. It wasn't easy in the space and with the lighting, but I did my best!

The maid of honor, the bride, the groom, and the best man.

Little Miss M

My previous post was of the photos that I took of my colleague's daughter for her back-to-school photos. A former colleague of ours tagged along on the shoot with her adorable 2 year old; I couldn't help but take some photos of her, as she is a fantastic model and absolutely gorgeous!

Back-to-school High School shoot

About two months ago I had the pleasure of doing my first back-to-school shoot of the year, and my first ever of someone in high school! She is the lovely daughter of one of my colleagues, and I had a fantastic time shooting her. We headed over to Morven Park to take advantage of the beautiful setting.

Pink Sunset

The first couple of weeks of the month produced some absolutely gorgeous sunsets in our neighborhood. I've been reading about how "cliche" sunset photos are, and how hard it is to take good ones. So, I've been trying not to take too many unless they provide something visually different or interesting. When the sky turned a beautiful shade of pink a couple of weeks ago, I just couldn't resist. So, I grabbed my Powershot and quickly snapped a few to capture that color.

A day in Richmond

About a month ago I spent a couple of days in Richmond for work. I had some time one afternoon between appointments, and found myself in the downtown area, so I headed over to Maymont Park, as I hadn't been there in a very long time. I actually did not go where I had intended to, but instead found a lovely man-made lake with this beauty sitting in the middle. Time for the 70-300mm lens!

Nutcracker Audition

Last month my daughter auditioned for a local production of The Nutcracker. I wasn't sure what the situation would be in regards to taking photos during the audition, but I was able to sit in on it and use my 70-300mm zoom lens to snap a few photos. The lighting was difficult, and I of course could not use a flash, but I think I was able to make do with the situation at hand.

The role her age group tried out for is "gift bearer", so during the party each of them would come forward with a gift to the front of the stage, curtsy, and return to the back. The older girls (chosen to play the main role of Clara) helped them out with their nervousness on the first run through (they each did it 3 times).

 

National Zoo: Animal Portraits

 I posted on my family blog about our most recent trip to the National Zoo with our friends. In addition to the great posts of the kids that I got, I of course took some animal portraits as well.

We were fortunate on this trip to see the orangutan's cross on the O-line, and I captured this shot of them kissing as we walked away.

Philadelphia at night

Last month I went to Philadelphia for work. I only had one evening there, but I brought my camera in hopes that I might be able to take some photos. I was really tired after dinner, but my hotel was just down the street from the beautiful city hall, so I grabbed the camera and headed out to try some night photography.

All Dressed Up

 About two months ago, we had a neighborhood yard sale and picked up a dress for my daughter. She jumped at the chance to put it on with some makeup for an impromptu photo shoot. I jumped at the chance to have a willing model on which to practice using my external flashes and lights. I love the different looks that I can get just by moving around the lights.

NJ Grounds for Sculpture

In August, I took a trip to NJ and had time in my schedule to visit the New Jersey Grounds for Sculpture. I'd heard about this place from a fellow photographer I met on a Facebook group, and was excited to have a chance to go and shoot. Unfortunately, I did not have my DSLR with me, but good photography isn't about the gear, it's about the eye, right?

The first thing I encountered was this sculpture of American Gothic. It was about 2.5 times taller than life size