I've been on a whirlwind of travel lately and it's not stopping anytime soon! While I've got a minute to breathe, I'm spending time at home with Jeff, making dinner for friends, and playing with Acey puppy. Life is busy but sweet, and I love getting to do what I do in amazing places.
This past weekend, I went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for an amazing wedding on a ranch. I have to wait a couple of weeks to post this one, but I have to say, sometimes you just look at things and say, "Wow, I thought that was fake!"
Every time I've seen photos of Wyoming with these perfect puffy clouds and mountains, I think that they've been retouched, smoothed, clouds added, etc. to give the overall effect of the perfect day. Turns out, it really does look like that there!
I've got several weddings in the pipeline, and I'm home now for two weeks before leaving for weddings for three weeks, so there will be lots of blog posting coming up! For now, here's a little peek at Wyoming (Congratulations to Katie and Dave!):
(**PHOTOGRAPHERS NOTE: I did process this shot with a Totally Rad Action called "Greetings from Paradise" at 30%)
Doing the best I can Tue. August 31, 2010 photographers
This post is mostly about photography for photographers, so if you are a bride, a friend, or my mother, feel free to just look at the pretty picture from Holly & Joe's wedding this past weekend below and move along to the wedding posts below this! If you are a photographer, try to bear with me while I babble blindly about my camera issues!
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: My comments are just my opinion. I don't know nearly the amount of technical things others do, and my observations about color, graininess, etc are just that: observations.
So, if you follow my Facebook or Twitter, you might have seen that I've been, how shall I say, damn pissed off at my camera lately. For the record, I use the Canon 5d, and have since it came out. Not the 5d Mark 2, the 5d.
My motto for my business is that I ALWAYS try to do the absolute very best that I can. The reason I didn't switch to the Mark 2 is because that camera is great for video but I just plain hate the files for still photos. They're noisy, the color is terrible compared to the regular ol' 5d, and it's absolutely no improvement in low light autofocus mode whatsoever. I'm of the mindset that I only switch equipment when there is something BETTER out there for me--not a lateral move, or worse yet, a downgrade. Since I am not and do not plan to shoot video at least not at the same time I am shooting stills, I chose not to get the 5d Mark 2 when it came out.
(** the things I hate about the 5d mark 2 is the color and the ickiness of the files. dontcha just love technical explanations like that?)
Anyway, lately more than ever, I've been having issues with my 5d (I have three, btw). They all go to Canon regularly for calibrating as do my lenses. However, in the past few months, I've had one blow it's shutter and give me err 99 which Canon informed me would be $500 to fix. How about making a camera that costs several thousands of dollars that doesn't blow its shutter?! The other ones, although I just LOVE the color, just plain don't focus very well, which has become more annoying the pickier I get about such things.
I realize that it's my style to shoot wide open, and when shooting wide open I am going to get more misfocused photos than the average person. BUT, when I'm standing still in broad daylight 5 feet from my subject with the focus EXACTLY on the eyes, shouldn't that photo at least be close?! No? How about at 2.0? 5.0? And forget it if my subject does something stupid like MOVE!!! How dare they! And don't even get me started on what might happen if I'd like to shoot after the sun has gone down.
Now, I think that I do a great job with my weddings, and I shoot a TON, so this hasn't affected my being able to produce plenty of focused images. However, there should be more. Seriously.
So I have to consider switching to Nikon, which I'd rather not do, because of all the money invested in Canon glass lenses, and the fact that I LOVE MY LENSES SO MUCH that i just refuse to give them up. But I'm considering it because I hear that Nikon makes cameras that can focus. Even when people are moving. Wow!
Before I get all hasty though, I decided to try out Canon's bigger cameras first. This past weekend at Holly & Joe's wedding, I shot the 1d Mark 4. I found it to be quite responsive and able to focus accurately using all of the focus points, which the 5d does not. On the 5d, the center focus point is the only one that really focuses well, and not always. But the Mark 4 really was good even at the outer edge of the points.
A positive: The Mark 4 has usable ISO's waaaaay beyond the 5d. I shot this photo below at 8000 ISO and I think it looks great:
A negative: The Mark 4 has a crop factor of 1.3, so even though I am able to shoot my amazing Canon lenses, they just don't quite have the feel that they do on a full frame camera.
The weight of the camera was also an adjustment--it was almost twice as heavy as the 5d with no battery grip--I was in major pain after the wedding! It can't hurt me to get a little workout though.
This weekend, I'll be shooting the 1Ds Mark 3, which I hear good things about. I've seen the files and they're beautiful, and it is a full frame sensor. But the high ISO feature of the Mark 4 isn't there on the 3, and that's a huge bummer.
Where is this mythical 1Ds Mark IV anyway?!
A final note: My main canon lenses are the 24 1.4, the 50 1.2, and the 35 1.4. I also shoot the 100 2.8L for macro. These lenses perfectly capture how I see the world. Can Nikon lenses replace that?
Eliana & Dovid's Wedding Fri. August 27, 2010 i do
I've said this before and I'll say it again--I LOVE shooting weddings that are different, offbeat, interesting, and unique! Over the course of my career, I've had the opportunity to shoot weddings of many different kinds and religions, and I have to say, one of the most interesting is the Orthodox Jewish wedding. It's just SO different from what I see on a day to day basis that when I shoot one, I approach it as almost more of an event to document than a wedding. Of course it IS a wedding, but the schedule and traditions are so different that I don't like to try to shoot it to conform to that particular box.
A couple of weeks ago, I shot an Orthodox Jewish wedding I've been waiting a long time for: Eliana & Dovid. I first met Eliana in 2004, when I met with her older sister about her own wedding. Eliana was so effervescent and outgoing, she's the type of girl you can't help but like! She was too young at that time to be considering marriage, but she looked forward to the day it would be her turn.
I saw her again at Jazmon & Ramy's wedding, and she'd grown up so much, but was still the warm, funny, friendly girl I had met earlier. This time though, she told me that she was READY and was hoping that she'd be having her own wedding soon. She welcomed me at that wedding as a friend and part of the family, and I also hoped that her wedding would be next :)
It took a year or two more, but it was FINALLY Eliana's turn. She might tell you that she'd planned to be married earlier, but she would also tell you that nothing in the world can compare to finding the right person, which she did in Dovid. Dovid loves her in every way, all the flaws, the quirks, and is the one she's been waiting for. I am so excited to share their wedding with you!
I'm going to explain a bit about the wedding, but I really don't know everything--only from what I've been told on the job by the friends and family I've met.
Here we go!
(By the way, I have decided to process a bunch of these images in a new sepia action someone gave me! it's not available to buy yet, but I am LOVING it and as soon as it's ready to be released, I'll certainly share!)
Eliana's shoes: Eliana told me that she bought them FOUR YEARS AGO for her future wedding! That's planning!!
Before the wedding, it is customary for the bride to "Daven", which means pray. The bride's brother brought her the prayer book, which is the same one the groom will Daven from that day too:
Eliana made such a gorgeous bride--I always knew she would! The word for Bride in Yiddish is Kallah:
The Kallah had a beautiful daisy bouquet (and a beautiful smile):
Eliana is just such a superstar!
Not to mention, totally stunning:
Dovid told me that he doesn't wear cufflinks and when Eliana told him he needed them for the wedding, he wasn't super excited. His decision? Cufflinks that look like buttons!
He was so handsome. He told me that a groom's outfit for the wedding must be all new--100% unworn yet, down to the socks and underwear.
The Yiddish word for "groom" is Choson (ch pronounched like k"
Always a favorite at DuBrow family weddings, the adorable Mookie! His mom Shoshi might have planted one on him :)
What a cute little guy:
Aunt Eliana likes him, I think:
Before the Chuppah, the Kabbalas Panim take place, which are greeting of the bride and groom, which take place separately. The Kallah has a Bedeken, which is a time when the women can come up and greet her, pray, chat, etc.:
The men have a Tisch, where the terms and conditions (Tena'im) of the marriage contract are read aloud. The Choson sits between his father and father in law while the contract is reviewed:
Once that is completed, the Choson is escorted to the Kallah to place a napkin or veiling over her face, to symbolize Rebeccah doing this before her marriage to Isaac. She also receives blessings from her father, father in law, and grandfather.
The Choson goes to the Chuppah first:
The ring is placed on the bride's index finger. There are so many people under the Chuppah during this that it is a VERY difficult shot to get!
There is lots and lots of singing:
And lots of rejoicing!
One thing that is very unusual about Orthodox Jewish wedding is that the bride and groom are not to touch at all in public, even after the ceremony. I am always nervous to shoot portraits, because it's so hard to figure out how to post a couple that can't touch, but still show a connection and love between them.
I needn't have worried with Eliana & Dovid:
On the line of "touching" but not quite over :)
Might as well shoot some more portraits of Eliana while I was at it:
Eliana and Dovid have so much fun together! They are always laughing and smiling. I know they are going to have such a wonderful marriage:
Even though they didn't touch, the connection between them wasn't hard to find:
And it turns out, the portraits can be just as beautiful:
And just as adorable:
The party is where things really get crazy! The dancing is frantic and WILD! There is so much pure joy! There was also an incredible bar of the most amazing fresh fruit, the prefect thing after dancing like this for hours on end:
The men and women dance separately, and you never know what might happen:
A little playful interaction is okay :)
But honestly, I think the girls really just love spending time together:
A stolen moment towards the end during the Benching, which is a series of prayers after a meal:
I think every bride should look and feel like this on her wedding day:
One last little shadow:
Eliana & Dovid, Mazel Tov on your marriage! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lives and family, if only for a day!!
Peter & Jennifer: St. Thomas, USVI Mon. August 23, 2010 i do
Here's the thing about destination weddings--it's not really about the wedding. It's about all the pieces that make up a wedding: The relationship between a couple who has waited eight years to get married. The friends and family who have taken the time and considerable expense to be there to support the couple, traveling from Chicago, Alaska, Virginia, and more. It's the laugh that rumbles and spills over from the father of the bride as he tells stories from the childhood of his baby girl, and it's the love that a mother has for her son and the new daughter she is about to have.
Whenever I shoot a destination wedding, I'm there for more than just the wedding too. I sit at the rehearsal dinner and hear the tales that make up friendships, relationships, and love. I am there for the late-night talks, and the the offshore adventures. For one weekend, I get to be a part of their group. And all of those things make it possible for me to see more of the pieces that make up a couple that usual.
This is how it was at Pete & Jenn's wedding at the Frenchman's Reef Marriott in St. Thomas, USVI this past weekend. And it was beautiful.
A few notes about this shoot:
-I used Kevin Kubota's X Process Combo for several of the color shots and his "Z films" action for all the black and white photos
-This whole wedding was shot with the 50 1.2, 35 1.4, and 100 2.8L. I travel light for destination weddings!
Anyway, back to the wedding.
Seriously, it was beautiful:
Few things truly scare me about shooting weddings anymore. Oh, I'll get butterflies from time to time and excited of course, but not usually stomach-on-the-floor SCARED, which was how I felt as I balanced the brides' shoes on the balcony of the 8th floor hotel room for this photo:
If they'd fallen, they would have ended up at the top of one of these palm trees overlooking the ceremony site:
Jennifer is a doctor. She's the kind of doctor you would want to have when you're sick--warm, kind, and knowledgable. But the morning of the wedding, she was a BRIDE:
Jennifer has three sisters, and they are all so unique and wonderful in different ways. This is the youngest, Ariel, and Jenn's dress:
She and Pete's mom Cici helped get Jenn's dress straightened out. The purple flowers were brilliant and fresh:
Bev, Jenn's mom right after she saw her daughter in a wedding gown:
The moms and BFF Courtney putting on Jenn's finishing touches:
What to do when you're about to have a moment? Laugh about it, of course!
Jenn is absolutely stunning:
As luck would have it, while we were on the way outside with the girls to take some photos before the ceremony, Jenn's dad happened to catch us!
This was such a great group of girls!
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, this is what Pete was doing:
And this is what the boys were doing:
I don't usually post group photos, but what the heck:
Pete, looking quite smooth on his wedding day:
This is Jason. Jason has no fear, and when I mentioned that I wanted one of the guys to catch and hold one of the huge iguanas that roam the island, he went running in search of one. He got it too, but it turned out to be quite feisty, so this is about as far as it went:
Back to more beautiful things;
I love the moment right before a bride walks down the aisle:
During the walk down the aisle can be nice too :)
A prayer--an invitation for God to join the ceremony:
I love this one!
First kiss as husband and wife:
I think they were excited!
They sure were cute:
We went down to the beach to get a few photos of the new couple:
This is my favorite part of a wedding day:
Why can't the sky look like this in So. Cal?!
Just some nice, clean portraits:
Sweetness:
One of my wedding day favorites:
I figured I would shoot a few photos of Jenn alone on the beach:
This series takes my breath away:
Soft and lovely:
first dance:
How could you get a better view than this from your reception?
With smaller weddings, there isn't usually a ton of dancing, but not with this crowd! The floor was packed the WHOLE time!
But Jenn and Pete were able to steal a few moments anyway. In all, it was a wonderful day--everything a wedding should be:
The next day, we set out for the main town of Charlotte Amelie:
One of my favorite things to do is to find fun, bright colors to shoot agains!
I had no idea I'd find a staircase that looked like it belonged in Italy!
But I did :)
The town is vibrant and beautiful, so we walked around for awhile:
Where else would you go right after you get married?!
This was my favorite little spot:
This is actually the front of a beauty parlor!
I love this building so much:
This door--can it please come home with me?
I wish it would have fit in my suitcase:
Then it was back down to the beach for a little fun and sun!
After the wedding, we don't have to be so careful about the dress. I'm not really into "trashing the dress", but I love not having to worry about it!
And if it gets a little wet, so what?!
I mean, it's not like she's going to wear it again (no worries brides--salt water does not ruin dresses. rinse your dress out with plain water after and dry clean--it'll be good as new!)
If you're already mostly wet...
Might as well go for it!
I can't resist a blooper or two--this was just so funny!
Peter & Jennifer: Thank you so much for letting me capture your story, and letting me be a part of it this weekend. Congratulations!!
An Adventure in St. Thomas! Fri. August 20, 2010 my life
This week, I flew down to St. Thomas for Pete & Jenn's wonderful wedding weekend! It's SO gorgeous here, and in every direction is yet another beautiful view. This is a stitched shot of the lookout from my hotel, the Frenchmans Reef Marriott, it was actually five different photos all blended together. I'll be posting photos from the wedding Sunday or Monday, but really, how can you go wrong in a place like this?! I just love destination weddings!
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