PDN Photo Plus Expo 2009

Ok, so this is going to be a little nerdy for most of you, but screw it, I'm a nerd.  So the PDN Photo Plus Expo is a huge deal in the photography world, one of the biggest photography trade shows on the planet. Lucky for me, they hold in NYC, so this morning I jumped on the bus and headed in.  I was overwhelmed by all the toys, new gear, and great speakers, not to mention about 8,000 other photographers.  I got to check out some new products in the wedding photography world (albums and the like) some of which I was really impressed with. 

Aside from that coolness I was able to meet a couple of my heroes in the photography world.  People whome you may not be familiar with, but I was a little giddy to meet.  Zack Arias, Joe McNally, Scott Kelby, and Ryan Brenizer.  I was good though, I managed to keep my cool and not freak out like a 13 yr old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.  I'm also happy to report that all these guys were really nice, and seemed genuinly happy to meet a fan.  Anyway, that'll do it for this post.  Have a wedding tomorrow, so check back soon for some images from that.

Kara + Cory

Being a wedding photographer... I read a ton of other wedding photographer's blogs. There is one thing I hate on them. There seems to be some sort of a blog post template that way too many use.

"I shot _______ + ______'s wedding. It was an amazing day with an amazing couple at an amazing location and everyone and everything was just amazing!"

That gets old very quickly. So, onto Kara and Cory's wedding.

They got hitched at the Skylands Manor in Ringwood, NJ. It seems that everytime I shoot there it rains and is unseasonably cold. But Kara and Cory are no wusses, they sucked it up and still had there ceremony outside... to hell with the guests if there uncomfortable. Aside from that they tolerated the weather outside for us to shoot for a lot longer than they had to.

As I've mentioned before I want my wedding images to be epic and dramatic, these definitely are. Thanks for kicking ass Kara and Cory

This is my favorite image from the day. Nothing like old school dramatic stair spiral stair cases with great light

Marrisa and Anthony

I always enjoy getting a call from Brian at the Bleu Studio, asking if I want to help out and 2nd shoot a wedding for them. 2nd shooting is great because you can play around a little more and there is less responsibility.

Anyway, onto the wedding. Anthony and Marissa were married on Long Island, which is geographically close to me... but in terms of driving it's a hike, having to deal with things like the G.W. Bridge, The Bronx, and the Long Island Expressway, that being said, it was totally worth it. After the ceremony at a gorgeous old Catholic Church, we headed to The Vanderbilt Mansion (if you watch Crocodile Dundee 2, it's the crazy huge house he breaks into) for photos, then onto The Hamlet Country Club for the reception. Long day, but a good one.

Something I have been trying to do with my photography is make it Epic... make it insane... make each wedding I shoot better than the last, I think I'm getting there. Here's some of the Epicness from Marissa and Anthony's wedding.

Legend's

So, Legend's Steakhouse in Midland Park NJ, does a cool thing with the art work on their walls. They feature a different artist every month, almost like a solo show. As of yesterday (10/12/09) that featured artist is yours truly... for the 2nd time I might add. Everything that is up there is new stuff, all taken since February, shots taken everywhere from Costa Rica to VA Beach, to Fulton, NY. A lot of it has been posted here, so I'm not going to post it all again. But, if you happen to be in the North Jersey area in the next month or so, I highly recommend stopping by and checking it out. (the food there is excellent as well)

oh, and as a quick post script... everything is available for sale

VA take 2

So I recently got back from my 2nd trip down to Virginia Beach in a week and a half. 1600 miles and 24 hours spent in a car since last thursday... nice. Anyway, this time, Meg came with me. My sister's new house is rad, but aside from that, it has some insanely good locations to shoot. Meg was nice enough to let me shoot a few frames of her in a couple of the spots. I am definitely not done with shooting there. Anyway, here are some of the impromptu photos I shot. Also, as a quick side note to any photo nerds that may read this, I am a large proponent of using flashes, and mono light... lighting the crap out of things... these are all natural light. Sometimes you have to know when to shut the flash off.

Ok, so this is a random wall in VA Beach, but the rest are all inside Linnea's house