ISPWP contest results

The results are in from the International Society for Wedding Photographers (ISPWP) Fall 2010 photo contest and I’m giddy to announce two of my images placed in the international contest. In 2009, I was ranked among the top 5 in the world for the Fall contest, which I blogged about here. More recent contest results of my work posted here.

And the winners are…

3rd place in “The Bridal Party Portrait” category from Jen & Phil’s wedding in Breckenridge, Colorado in September. The image was taken shortly before the ceremony on a road near the church in Saint Mary’s church in Breckenridge. They were backlit by the sun and the exposure was metered manually by stopping 3 stops down to get shadow detail in the road. I shot the image on a Nikon D700 using at 14mm @ f2.8, 1/1500 sec, ISO 200 and processed using a my standard black and white conversion, then “Get Faded” (Winter) from the Totally Rad Actions 2 at about 15% opacity (which cools off the shadows and creates a custom split-toning effect). I rotated the image 180 degrees for presentation effect.12th place in the “Family Love” category from Michelle & Joe’s wedding near Napa Valley in August. While watching the communion procession, I noticed the bride’s mother smile as she looked at the sleeping infant. I prepared my 70-200 to zoom at 200mm, and using Aperture priority I snapped this photo at f/2.8 for 1/125 sec. I dodged what I felt were important parts of the photo to increase local contrast to the faces and VIP’s reaching arm. I then burned (made darker) the corners of the photo to draw the eye towards the center. This photo reminds me of the importance weddings serve to bring family together to celebrate life. For each wedding I book, I budget a small percentage towards entering images which I feel represent my favorite images. I will usually select one or two favorite images from a wedding per quarter to submit towards the dozen contest categories (ceremony, reception, engagement session, bride & groom, and fine art categories among my favorites). Each year the competition is getting more competitive. So many great photographers work appear in contest results. Studying their work elevates and inspires me to create my best work, unique to my eye and creative spirit. Years ago, to view such stellar work, one must flip through the pages of a magazine or book annual. Now, we can view awarded work weeks after it has been created.

Erin & Christo North Shore Oahu Wedding

When you surround yourself with awesome people, great things happen.  I lucked out to shoot this intimate little beachside wedding in Haleiwa on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The only requirement for guests was to wear flip-flops. Check out Christo’s photography HERE and videography HERE.

Event planning by Judy Bacon Flowers by Picket Fence Florist Catering and Fire entertainment by Noah Akin Beachside Venue, Hale Kimo There’s a cinematic and painterly quality I love about this portrait of Erin.My lighting equipment? A $75 flash is all I used, which took about 10 seconds to create. Exposure lingered around f/13 at 1/250 sec. No light stands, soft boxes, scrims, sandbags, lighting crew, or monkey suits, just my SFME technique. Just me, my art and clients I love to work with. When in doubt, I think to myself, “What would Annie Leibovitz do?” Every one of my brides deserves to look and feel beautiful. I felt this portrait of Erin exhibits all the great qualities of a beautiful bride, a powerful Mom-to-be, and an exotic location on an Hawaiian beach…. all blended together in my style. These two images were created to sit side-by-side in an album spread.A sharing circle, a Quaker tradition for the wedding ceremony. We saw the green flash.Click below to view the slideshow featuring more images.

Lindsay & Taylor in The Knot

I’m super excited to flip through the pages of the current issue of The Knot Colorado and see the lovely Lindsay and Taylor featured on page 128. You can see more of their wedding and slideshow here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Spinning Ideas at Midnight

When an idea hits, I run with it ASAP. And then I jump and hop. Sometimes I fall down. Inevitably, I’m left giddy after experimenting. I consider these images sketches of ideas yet to come. I’ll be sharing the technicals behind the creation of a few of these images at the upcoming Elevate workshop in Palm Spring, CA on January 10-13, 2011. Inspiration thanks to God, the Voltron of Awesomness, and creative assistance by Jessica Conroy and Matt Steaffens.

Elevate Workshop

Announcing Elevate. Mark your calendars: January 10-13, 2011. Full workshop details here. It’s gonna be epic.

Elevate workshop is designed photographers who have a solid business intact and are ready to move to the next level. The concept of the workshop is unique: learn how to Elevate yourself to another level of success to reach your full potential. You’ll be surrounded by an amazing group of people who want to see you succeed and will challenge and inspire in a supportive, positive environment.

I’m excited to be a special guest teaching at this workshop, alongside with a totally fab team including Eliesa Johnson, Matt Brue, Brandon Werth, and Jeffrey Neal. This WILL be amazing experience. The location is one of the coolest on the planet, the Ace Hotel in sunny Palm Springs, CA!

my puddle jumper

While critics revere Henri Cartier Bresson’s ”Man Juming Over Puddle” as the “decisive moment” captured,  I feel he missed the shot. I was reminded of this first hand viewing the print this week at A Gallery in New Orleans. I’d rather see the excitement of a splash frozen in time. My image, inspired by mentor John Michael Cooper, was to turn the puddle jumping movement upside down and focus on the actual splash. Nearing the end of a bridal shoot in the wet streets of New Orleans, I asked for a bride’s trust to jump into the puddle. Without haste, she agreed. The neon lights of Bourbon Street filtering through the puddle inspired my bridal detail in action. Shot with a Nikon D700 with my favorite 85mm lens wide open at f/1.4 for 1/750 sec, ISO 400.