Beach Wedding in the Outer Banks

Christine and Mike’s wedding took place on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Their July wedding ceremony was at  Our Lady of the Seas and was followed by a reception on the waterfront at the Inn on Pamlico Sound. Both settings provided beautiful locations for the wedding. The couple had a youthful energy that really shines in the photographs.

Look for a separate blog post on the beach portrait session with Christine and Mike at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

A picture is worth a thousand words, here is Mike and Christine’s wedding story.

Garden Wedding Photography

Jillian and Landon’s July wedding took place on the scenic grounds of the Manor House at King’s Charter in Hanover County. Following a garden ceremony the couple and I had a few moments to capture some intimate wedding photographs before the reception began. We had fun exploring the grounds and as a result got some great photos for the couple’s album.

Beach Portrait Session: Capturing the Colors of the Sea

Subject: Mark and Beth by the sea in Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

This beach portrait is a glimpse into the casual, intimate life of the couple. Mark and Beth are avid ocean athletes and are passionate about the sea and all the life and mysteries within. The lines of the photo are clean and non-traditional and work powerfully together. The colors really capture that feeling of a great summer beach memory.

As a professional photographer, the mid-day sun can be a real challenge. Often, powerful lights are required to ‘overpower’ the sun’s bright light. More practically, a type of diffuser is used to block some of the sun’s direct light. The diffusers come in many different shapes and configurations. I have to admit this is the first time I have used a beach umbrella as a diffuser. Not only does it serve to help manage the bright sun, it also serves as a visual element adding to the photograph’s overall composition.

Wedding Photography Charlottesville, VA

This summer wedding took place 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.

Snowshoe Snowboarding Photography

Over the holidays I have been spending time at our condo at Snowshoe, WV and getting in some riding in the incredible conditions we have this season. The snowfall to date has been consistent enough that the quality of snow keeps getting better. As for today, we awoke to heavy snowfall in the morning and it snowed all day and it is still snowing as I write this at 10p.

Getting in so much riding in this short time frame, my legs are spent. So I gladly hauled my gear onto the slopes to get my friends Nick and Ryan to session a feature I have been wanting to shoot. The heavy falling snow always makes for interesting photography, so I wanted to use the lights and pick up the falling snow for effect.

Additionally, the cloud cover was heavy and low. Once the lights came on the slopes a unique ambient light was created. Being deep in the trees, we felt like it was almost daylight. Once the shoot started moving and the riders became more comfortable with the feature, I was able to grab a few shots that I was happy with. Using low light and slow shutter speeds can create some fun photographs and helps to lend to the action.

Sports, or action photography is flooded with great photographers creating incredible photography. Thinking of something that will make a shot unique is always the most important aspect of a shoot like this. Setting up lights and snapping away is the easy part. Once a photographer starts to bend the rules a little, a unique perspective can start to form and sometimes something special can occur. I enjoy looking at other photographer’s shots and trying to see how they set up the shot and what might have been going through their mind when bringing their creative ideas to life.

Tonight, I was trying to leave behind the more straight-forward methods for shooting a scene like this in hopes of grabbing a unique shot. The riders were fun and eager to keep the shoot going and this made my work much easier. I hope to return and shoot the same feature in different conditions to see what might transpire from another session.

Opening day Snowshoe, WVA

As the winter season is upon us, we are geared up for one of our most-favorite sports. Snowboarding. Ah, the season is short here on the right coast, but what excitement it brings. Out of all of the sports I participate in snowboarding is right there at the top of the list for being my favorite. If I had to name one it would have to be surfing, but snowboarding is running pretty close in second place. Mountain biking is high on the list too. Right along with road biking. Oh, and kiteboarding too. It places near the top as well. I guess it’s a good thing I sold all of my climbing gear earlier this year or that would be competing for top honors as well.

Ugh. So many hobbies, so little time.

The official opening weekend for Snowshoe resort in Snowshoe, WV kicked off the 09/10 winter season this past weekend. Originally, opening day was scheduled for last week – the week of Thanksgiving. With plans to be out of town for Thanksgiving already nailed down, I had accepted the fact that I would miss opening weekend. However, with warm temperatures the snowfall and snowmaking to date was not enough to provide suitable conditions for the resort to open as originally scheduled. So opening day was delayed until this weekend. Bummer for the resort, but not so bad for Kim and I.

I left work in Hatteras around 5:30pm this past Friday headed to Richmond to switch cars and pick up Kim along with a season’s worth of snowboarding gear.  I pulled into the drive way, unloaded one car, finished packing the other and hit the road continuing my journey westward. Up to a foot of snow was expected to fall overnight so we wanted to get to the mountain before conditions got too bad. We pulled up to our condo at 2:00am. I think we finally crawled into bed around 3:00am. Not even one flake of snow had fallen.

After waking from an all too short night’s sleep, I was like a kid on Christmas morning jumping around ready to hit the snow. It didn’t help that 8 inches of snow had fallen sometime during the night and was still coming down in buckets. There was no containing my excitement. We were getting dumped on the first day of the season!!!

The drive up the mountain on the ‘back road’ was about as we expected. Two-wheeled drive cars were spinning and careening barely able to make it halfway up the mountain. We drove by some determined kids combining every effort to get themselves up the mountain. I was impressed; they looked as if they might actually make it. If not, they were at least going to enjoy the ride as long at it lasted.

Coming back to the resort after leaving in March was a great first day on the slopes. We saw so many friends that it was like we never left. Hearing about everyone’s summer and what their upcoming plans are is always a great. Everyone was so excited to be back on the snow. Getting the legs back into shape might be a bit of a challenge though. I know it will come, but wow, they felt like noodles. Working at the beach all summer I hardly rode my bikes. My legs are usually quite a bit stronger by this point in the year, so I was feeling the result of the work they were accomplishing.

Of course, I have been brewing up photography ideas about what I want to shoot this year. I was lucky to get some nice shots on the mountain last season, and I can’t wait to start shooting again this year. Actually I have already started shooting. Always keeping my camera gear with me I am ready at a moment’s notice. In fact, I am always pestering my friends, and even strangers to shoot. I actually met a kid tonight that was eager to perform for me at our condo complex on one of the picnic tables. He lives in the Outer Banks during the summer and spends his winters here, so we had a lot to chat about.

There is nothing better than wearing yourself out doing something you love. I was glad to see some of my skills remain, but I have a little work to do before I get back to last year’s level. Also, I have some goals I would like to accomplish, so I need to do some specific training to get my butt into the physical shape required.

By the time the day was over I was ready to hit the sack. Not before a required hot tub soaking though. Ah, hot tub, an incredible dinner with great friends and some relaxing beverages – is there anything better? Uh yeah… A solid night’s sleep. Goodnight.

Photographing Strong People

While in Myrtle Beach for the Thanksgiving holiday, I was invited by friends to attend a power-lifting competition. Never having been to an event like this I figured I should jump at a chance to shoot something new. Besides, I wanted to see our friend’s brother set a new world record. Yes world record. The event is sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union and many of the athletes in attendance are competing for world records. Having a chance to photograph a new sporting event is always at the top of my list.

The event hosted competitors ranging in age from pre-teen kids to masters. The oldest competitor was aged 76 years young. Also, Special Olypmic athletes are represented at this event.

Being a competitive athlete for many of my adult years, I can appreciate the amount of effort these competitors put into reaching an event like this. It was apparent that many of these athletes are serious about their training practices and maintain a unique focus.

Photographing Flat Day on Hatteras

For the most part, our travels to Hatteras Island involve chasing after a promising wind forecast, or a hopeful swell. For us, the activities on the island mostly revolve around getting blown around by the wind or tossed around by the waves. Or, both.

Today was one of the days where you are able to catch up on work or projects or just laze around. Me, I had to go into work for a couple of hours today. After getting away from work, I made some stops by to see friends and take it easy and snap some photographs.

The beauty of the island is glaringly apparent when the elements are at rest and I actually take time to slow down and soak up the incredible scenery. I had hoped to catch the clean waves before they dropped off, but managed to get sidetracked before I could make it back home to pick up my wetsuit and surfboard.

Since I had my camera with me, I took time to capture some shots of the island in all of it’s glory.

As the sun set Kim and I went for a short paddle board session on the sound. The water is crystal clear and quite cold – we have had constant northern winds for the past two weeks.

I also managed to get a few shots for an ongoing project I am working on.

Aloha.

Richmond Night Life

With the last couple of days having been long ones on the computer and tomorrow a long wedding shoot, which means more long hours in front of the computer, Kim and I were happy to entertain her family while they are in town for the weekend. One of our favorite things to do for visiting friends/family is to take them to any one of the multitude of incredible restaurants in Richmond.

Tonight we started talking about Tapas for dinner and then could not get it off our minds. So decision made. Tapas for dinner. That left only one place to go. Europa. One of our all-time favs. This is the restaurant where I took Kim on our first date almost 10 years ago. We still love eating there and thinking about our first date.

The food has not changed much (which, is a good thing – a very good thing) even though the menu has expanded a bit. A great wine selection and even better food. Ah, the choices are almost too much. The more people that go to dinner, usually the better. Everyone orders a couple Tapas and everyone else gets to try a taste. Such varied flavors, and very satisfying.

After dinner we took a stroll around downtown to see ‘Inlight’, an annual event usually associated with First Friday’s – also known as Art Night where downtown galleries open their doors and a street festival takes shape. As usual, there was some interesting sights and entertainers out for the night. Nice material for some urban photography. We didn’t stay long, but were able to walk around enough to burn off most of our delicious dinner and wine.

Richmond certainly has it’s share of things to offer if you just look around a little. I am looking forward to another season of First Fridays this fall with new art and lots of sights on the streets.Check out some of last year’s usual entertainment – Richmond Burners.

Aloha.

Beach Wedding Bridal Portraits

So whenever I get a chance to shoot portraits on the beach I like to try many different poses as long as the bride is up to it and comfortable. Most brides are open to a photographer’s createive ideas, and working with a relaxed bride always makes my job easier. Then, if the other factors fall into place the shoot goes that much better.

With these shots, the light was just about perfect and the setting was ideal. I hardly used fill flash on these, except for a few that I was working to make the bride really stand off from the background, since the evening sunset provided a wonderful warm glow. I have been wanting to shoot in the sea oats that grow in the dunes on Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I have had ideas swirling around that I finally got to test.

I was very happy with the results after this shoot. Wedding photography can be a little stressful at times and keeping the bride (and photographer) relaxed is important. When you do get one that is at ease, the job goes much smoother.

Working on more weddings in the Outer Banks I am excited to see what opportunities I can create with the endless beauty of the area.

Aloha.