posted September 18, 2010 in Weddings 31 Comments

Sarah & Eric: Wedding at Burning Man

For one week year, Black Rock City, in Nevada grows from almost nothing to a city with over 50,000 people. “Leave only footprints, take only pictures,” or so it goes, is a fundamental principal of life on the playa. I met Sarah & Eric while photographing couples on the playa as part of a personal art project.
Todd played the sax as Sarah walked down the isle with her Mom. They fed a grape to each other, then shared with their guests.Eric handcrafted their wedding bands and I waited for the right moment to click the shutter. The lighting conditions of the ‘chapel’ made for difficult circumstances to nail my exposure. I instilled confidence in Nikon’s matrix metering and shot RAW. I was glad I did, as most exposures where right on. In these trying conditions, a professional must rely on their equipment. Family formals can be a complete hoot with the right attitude. I love to shoot them. True story. More often that not, I take it to the next level and keep my eye focused on the moments in between the moments while tethered to my studio strobe. I call them my “lit candids.” Here, the flower girl showcased her plastic bouquet to a bridesmaid. Becky looks on, sharing in the ‘girl’ moment, creating one of my favorite images of the year.The subtitles of expression, the dramatic sense of place, and perfect timing make this one of my favorite images of 2010:
I’ve been studying lately some of the old masters of photography. With their inspiration in mind while walking around the temple (which gets memorialized by people, then burned, these few images stood out.

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Posted by R. J. on September 18, 2010