This past weekend I photographed a wedding near Charlottesville , VA in  Orange which is bordered by Albemarle County and Madison County.

The wedding was held on a beautiful farm with lots of family and friends in attendance. The couple, Victor and Amanda, were terrifically fun to work with. Their casual but zesty vibe made the event one to remember.

On the family farm the opportunities for unique photographs were numerous. From the open sky to the tranquil pond to the grassy knoll for the reception, the location just worked perfectly for the event.

The pair requested a very casual photography effort when we had our client meeting before the wedding. Neither wanted a lot of formal posed shots, just wanted the bulk of photos to be casual and candid. As a professional wedding photographer I take the desires of the couple very seriously and want to make photography a pleasurable part of the event, not a consuming element of the day.

The farm hosted the majority of guests for camping around the pond where the ceremony was held. The newlyweds spent their first night together in five-star (Scotty Sportsman) accommodations – waterfront.

Thanks Amanda and Victor for being such a pleasure to work with. Congratulations on your marriage. I look forward to sharing the collection of your wedding pictures with you soon.

As I have experience photographing various sports, I am accustomed to moving with and timing my shots. It takes a few routines to start anticipating the sweeping and incredibly athletic movements with the camera. Once the moves are connected the routines create a remarkable display of movement from the human body. Quite fascinating to experience.

I know all too well that it can be hard to be comfortable when a big camera is pointing directly at you and you are supposed to ‘just look natural’. But, keeping things comfortable and easy was not a problem when taking their engagement photos. Thanks guys!

A slight departure was made from previous years in that a larger ‘festival’ type of event was produced. With multiple bands, catered parties, and many local Mathews, VA businesses pitching in, the cycling event topped itself with the new format. The event showed that it is a very family-oriented weekend with lots of things for everyone to participate in.

The local residents, businesses, and government have always welcomed the cycling community and this year was no different. With warm, sunny weather and beautiful miles of roads taking cyclists along the Chesapeake Bay, the weekend event will certainly remain on the rider’s minds as a ‘must do’.

Photographing portraits with natural light creates unique and very desirable results – whether you plan them or not. Even so, I often I find myself – as do many photographers – working hard setting up lighting arrangements to achieve a specific look, which can also lead to desired results. However, natural light settings along with the spontaneity of children moving around and families interacting creates situations one can never think of on their own. Sure, as photographers we have a vision of what we are trying to create/capture, and I almost always go into a shoot with ideas around what I want the finished product to resemble, but many times there are spontaneous opportunities.

Natural light is amazing as you can see in these casual and candid family portraits.  It requires moving quick and being flexible as the conditions are ever changing (as the sun sets, clouds roll in, etc.) – so the outcome can often surprise even the most experienced and gifted photographer.

Capturing light is what photography is all about, and this outdoor family portrait session allowed me to delve a little further into this realm and capture some truly keepsake photographs.

Working with Lorree and Joel was a delight. They were both on a cloud and so easy going that my job was that much easier. Being their wedding photographer was a pleasure and I felt privileged to capture their special moments.

Recently the cycling team held a fund raiser to introduce the 2010 team and to highlight areas where the team will focus their philanthropic work. A very notable guest, Dwight Jones, Richmond City Mayor joined the event. The mayor was presented with a framed team cycling jersey for his support of RPC’s ongoing work with children in the Richmond area.

Craig Dodson, founder of RPC, asked if I could provide art as a donation for the silent auction at the fund raiser. I am always bouncing ideas around and this was the opportunity to let one of my photography ideas run. I attempted to capture the metallic feel of bicycle components in print media. By taking close in shots and printing on metallic paper the feel of the materials was more pronounced. I am pleased with the results and plan to use this material for other projects. The work was well-received at the fund raiser and my items sold for a handsome price. It was nice to provide the team with resources other than the commercial photography that I donate for use in print media and presentations.

Stay tuned. I will be posting more as soon as I purchase and start using the new light set.

In my quest to find the right set of lights for my work, and researching the brand I will likely go with, I ran across a music video that shows just how far some artists are pushing the use of photography lighting gear. Now, battery-powered lights are not used in the video – the set used in the vid is their top of the line AC-powered ‘pack’ – it’s just that they are made by the same company (Profoto) I am likely going with for my next lighting – that’s how I discovered the vid.

This video is shot with a digital SLR camera (the same one I use as my main body) and studio strobe lighting. Yes. A video shot with a still camera and strobe lights – NOT in video mode (this camera does not have video mode), and NOT continuos video lights.

Although I don’t use it very often, I do like the fact that my camera shoots 10 frames per second, it is fun to catch a sequence of shots from time to time. However, I never thought of using it to shoot a video. Not like this.

So check out the vid first and then the making of the vid. Amazing.

The music video:

The making of the music video:

As with the recent ‘Tank Shoot’, the run in did not provide enough speed to gain the desired heights. So extra measures were employed. Bungee measures to be exact.

A heavy, braided bungee is used to pull the riders into the quarter ramp. The bungee is anchored to a tree or other immovable object, and it takes 3 or four grown men to stretch the bungee to it’s required length. Once stretched, the rider hangs on for the ride and makes the hit.

Don’t even ask where this shoot took place.

After a bit of snow shoveling and head scratching, the session was on. Just a couple test runs, and the guys were nailing some nice jumps, jibs, and stalls.

There area  couple other ideas that I have swirling around, and some other guys are offering ideas to capture before the season is up. Stay tuned for more…