Weather Staging

When you plan a five hour road trip to take pictures and the weather forecast is for non-stop rain all weekend, the only saving hope was that I was planning to take my underwater housing with me. The plan was to get on to the Paynes Prairie and get some opportunities to photograph some wild buffalo and horses. Another idea was to get into some heavily gator populated lakes and get some long exposure night shots with the eyes of gators complementing the starry skies. Finally, we had planned to kayak down the Ichetucknee river with my underwater housing. Although one could argue and completely throw the plans out the window when the weather was taken into consideration, we decided to stick with the plan and go out regardless of weather. What we got was some pretty even lighting and some chance opportunities that seemed to be set up perfectly by the poor weather conditions. If you were in Florida this past weekend you know how rainy and miserable it was. We didn't see the sun this past weekend.

As I was talking to some co-workers prior to my road-trip we were discussing the idea of going up and coming back with nothing. I shared that I have yet to have an experience where I have come home empty handed from a photography expedition, but willing to accept the defeat of weather. Extreme weather conditions often setup great photo opportunities for both the epic landscapes and the fact that few people are willing to put themselves out in a situation of extreme weather. While I would hardly call what we experienced this weekend extreme weather, it did make for some great photo opportunities.

By chance we stumbled upon a lone Buffalo. Funny story, this guy in the picture below the buffalo was right there where the buffalo came out, and we saw him try to walk away from this buffalo unnoticed. Apparantly the buffalo was more concerned with us than it was with him, and began charging towards this guy who then began to run as fast as he could towards a raised look out on the prairie. Watching this whole scene unfold before our eyes was quite entertaining, especially since we had been walking with our heads down avoiding large piles of crap unaware of what we might encounter on our path.

The starry night plan was a complete bust because of heavy cloud cover, but the rainy day set up a completely isolated experience on the Ichetucknee river. Not another person in sight as we spent four hours kayaking a two hour river course.I absolutely loved this experience, being in the quiet solitude of nature is an experience I cherish. I rarely take the opportunities to get out in it, so each experience is so very special. This weekend was full of those opportunities to dwell in the silence and serenity of our surroundings. Its allure is addictive; it was so invigorating and refreshing.

Thanks for taking the time to look through my photos! I am excited to be sharing photos again, especially with the coming winter season and spectacular weather to look forward to be shooting in. The feeling I have about this winter is great, I am already seeing a significant increase in bird activity while it is still frequenting the 80 degree temperature range. I have some exciting trips planned for this Fall and Winter, and hope to be sharing photos frequently.

Gems of Experience

Another beautiful wedding and opportunity to share my love with photography with Jenna and Austin as they celebrated their love for each other. Destination weddings are gems in my experience as a photographer and I am grateful for every opportunity that I get to shoot a destination wedding. As my first time to the Bahamas, it was spectacular. While my focus was on capturing this beautiful and intimate weekend for Jenna and Austin, the atmosphere and excitement about being in the Bahamas allowed me to forget about any stress involved with working this wedding by myself. The small group of friends that surrounded them as they began their life-long commitment to one another complemented their completely genuine and heartfelt love for one another. It was a complete joy and blessing to be a part of such a tightly-knit group of friends and family. Thank you again, Jenna and Austin for bringing me into this circle and sharing a glimpse of your life together with me.

I have had some great opportunities in my short career as a photographer and continue to see opportunities for great growth. Photography is going through some exciting changes and it is exciting to watch things progress and move with greater strides as both technology and accessibility to photography accelerate. With so many great photographers sharing content through the web and interacting with each other it is hard not to be inspired. I love seeing other photographer's sharing their work and young photographers so eager to learn and become better. Part of this growth is increased competition, and I am strong believer in the value that competition has in any market.

Competition is saturated these days with accessibility of equipment and the economic pressures of a recession. I particularly like competition and the spur of creativity and quality that can become of a competitive market. Although the economic scenario has created pressures on the market that have pushed the quality spectrums in the other direction, even in a highly competitive market driven by downward economic pressures there are plenty of opportunities to stand out. I enjoy both aspects of the nature of things in photography today as they both lend themselves to adding value to good work.

Weddings are a great deal of work for any photographer, and a wedding photographer's work should not be taken for granted. I particularly enjoy weddings for the hard work required and the specific skill of shooting under pressure and moment constraints. I have done many weddings and have grown tremendously as a photographer by working in a wedding environment. I respect wedding photographers who have made a career of wedding photography and continue to grow and improve their artform. It has been inspirational to watch and follow great wedding photographers produce great work over and over again. Thanks for checking out my blog, and I hope that whatever your interest in photography may be that you would find value, inspiration, and quality in my photography.

This and the next post contain more images than I usually post, but the images made the cut and I believe they complete the stories of my expereiences. I recently made a trip to Gainesville, visiting the Paynes Prairie and the Ichetucknee river; I am excited to share the images from that trip, and I hope you don't mind the longer posts.

There are only a few things more spectacular than watching a full moon rise from the ocean. It is truly awesome and breath-taking. Having your wedding reception right at the center of this occurence could not have been more perfect.

Another Long Break

It's been too long. That is two in a row, looking back at the last post. I started it the same way! I hope to get the next few posts out in quick succession, just images. The truth is photography work has slowed down for me this half of the year, but it's beginning to pick up again. Thank you for all of you who continue to support and enjoy my work, sorry for the long delay between posts. Don't hesitate to ask about any interests you may have working with me or even purchasing any of my works that may be your favorite. I am still working on my online-store, and I would like to start making some long-term photography relationships with families interested in periodic portrait work for their growing families. Please contact me with interest, inquiries, and if you would like to come with me on some of my local shooting experiences, fall - winter time is prime time shooting here in South Florida. Enjoy the next few quick posts!

I like to take a little more time on photos that I define as simple pieces and apply some subtle painterly affects to further communicate the peace and tranquility of a fleeting scene. I hope you can enjoy the subtle transformations.

With the change of season, this last photo doesn't match the time taken of the previous set of images, but I took this photo last winter in South Carolina, and it reminds me of Fall with its red lit tree lines. This fall, I will be going to Tennesse and North Carolina, and I hope to capture some great Fall images!