Many a [...]]]> High dynamic range photo, it can be amazing, on the other hand it can be overdone, time to play with the balance

Many a winding turn.

More and more I grow comfortable with this action when photographing weddings. I try my [...]]]> There are times when the photography raconteur tells a story with just one shot. Sometimes it comes as a surprise, on occasion it will take a prop or two, on others you may have all the stars alligned and wham! There it is.

More and more I grow comfortable with this action when photographing weddings. I try my hardest to limit the surprise factor and opt for the anticipation and preparation, two skills that come with practice and patience.

Marla and Rob, getting married in May. What a beautiful couple.

1. The Rose by Jim Rohn

Lifestyle is style over amount. And style is an art—the art of living. You can’t buy style with money. You can’t buy good taste with money. You can only buy more with money. Lifestyle is culture—the [...]]]> I found this article and could not find a way to link direct so here goes.

1. The Rose by Jim Rohn

Lifestyle is style over amount. And style is an art—the art of living. You can’t buy style with money. You can’t buy good taste with money. You can only buy more with money. Lifestyle is culture—the appreciation of good music, dance, art, sculpture, literature, plays and the art of living well. It’s a taste for the fine, the unique, the beautiful.

Lifestyle also means rewarding excellence wherever you find it by not taking the small things of life for granted. With Valentine’s Day approaching I wanted to illustrate this with a personal anecdote:

Many years ago my lady friend and I were on a trip to Carmel, California, for some shopping and exploring. On the way we stopped at a service station. As soon as we parked our car in front of the pumps, a young man, about eighteen or nineteen, came bouncing out to the car and with a big smile said, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” I answered. “A full tank of gas, please.” I wasn’t prepared for what followed. In this day and age of self-service and deteriorating customer treatment, this young man checked every tire, washed every window—even the sunroof—singing and whistling the whole time. We couldn’t believe both the quality of service and his upbeat attitude about his work.

When he brought the bill, I said to the young man, “Hey, you really have taken good care of us. I appreciate it.”

He replied, “I really enjoy working. It’s fun for me and I get to meet nice people like you.”

This kid was really something!

I said, “We’re on our way to Carmel and we want to get some milkshakes. Can you tell us where we can find the nearest Baskin-Robbins?”

“Baskin-Robbins is just a few blocks away,” he said as he gave us exact directions. Then he added, “Don’t park out front—park around to the side so your car won’t get sideswiped.”

What a kid!

As we got to the ice cream store we ordered milkshakes, except that instead of two, we ordered three. Then we drove back to the station. Our young friend dashed out to greet us. “Hey, I see you got your milkshakes.”

“Yes, and this one is for you!”

His mouth fell open. “For me?”

“Sure. With all the fantastic service you gave us, I couldn’t leave you out of the milkshake deal.”

“Wow!” was his astonished reply.

As we drove off I could see him in my rear-view mirror just standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

Now, what did this little act of generosity cost me? Only about two dollars – you see, it’s not the money, it’s the style.

Well, I must have been feeling especially creative that day, so upon our arrival in Carmel I drove directly to a flower shop. As we walked inside I said to the florist, “I need a long-stemmed rose for my lady to carry while we go shopping in Carmel.”

The florist, a rather unromantic type, replied, “We sell them by the dozen.”

“I don’t need a dozen,” I said, “just one.”

“Well,” he replied haughtily, “it will cost you two dollars.”

“Wonderful,” I exclaimed. “There’s nothing worse than a cheap rose.”

Selecting the rose with some deliberation, I handed it to my friend. She was so impressed! And the cost? Two dollars. Just two dollars. A bit later she looked up and said, “Jim, I must be the only woman in Carmel today carrying a rose.” And I believe she probably was.

Can you imagine the opportunity to create magic with those around you, and all for the cost of a few dollars, some imagination and care. Remember, it is not the amount that matters but the thought and care that often has the greatest impact upon those you love.

An engagement session in Ann Arbor, where because of the dreary day I took the liberty of taking Noelle and Craig, a wonderful couple to a number of locations for their photographs. Why? you may ask, after all it is only an engagement session, I could have found one ideal location and [...]]]> Great week with  fun folks.

An engagement session in Ann Arbor, where because of the dreary day I took the liberty of taking Noelle and Craig, a wonderful couple to a number of locations for their photographs. Why? you may ask, after all it is only an engagement session, I could have found one ideal location and worked it. A couple of reasons come to mind, first off the cold.  Honestly no matter how many times I shoot around the freezing mark, I am still in awe of the increased effort that I have to exert to produce quality work. Simple tasks become rather major as I massage my hands to get circulation going. Butterfingers would describe my movements. Add to that the difficulty of having a conversation to put my couple at ease and concentrate on the technical side of my profession , well in a nutshell it poses quite a challenge.  As I dropped my lens hood and whatever else for the umpteenth time I hear myself wanting to tell why my couple that in the  summer and fall my life as a photographer is a breeze by comparison.  So my tip to coping in winter engagement shoots, keep my couple engaged stimulated and moving, works for me and as the results show works for the couple. Besides I get to display some of the energy I consider my trade mark in my photography. (Even if it is just to keep warm at the time!)

A funny sideline, they both had glasses, so as I would ask that they move in close for the intimate poses, I could not see one or others eyes, yes, you guessed it, when they exhaled the lenses of the other would mist up. Talk about Mc Steamy.

Please [...]]]> I came across this article and with permission I post it. It has a number of very valid points in my opinion. There are times when I would just love to tell the brides this type of stuff, I often feel it needs addressing. There is a lot to be said for the well informed bride.

Please read on…..

Wedding experts can be full of advice, but who better to offer advice for brides than brides who have been there? I interviewed more than 100 couples for Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style. None of them regretted having a small wedding. However, some brides confessed that they would have done a few things differently if they had the chance to do it all over again.

Here’s what these brides had to say about planning their weddings:

1. I would have hired someone like a coordinator for that day to help keep things on schedule. Everything went really well, I just worried too much. I guess I thought it would be simple with a small gathering. I didn’t anticipate all the distractions that you have as a bride. In the end it was hard to stay on top of things. My advice for brides is to hire a wedding coordinator to keep things running smoothly on the day of the wedding.
Linda

2. I would have hired a wedding coordinator. I am not a “planner” by nature so I found the whole process very difficult for me. I didn’t enjoy the planning one bit, which made me very resentful towards my fiancé.
Leila

3. The only thing I would change is that I would have had my then-fiancé help me more with the planning. He has this wacky idea that I was like all those girls who have had their weddings planned forever. It’s really hard to plan something when you don’t care about colors, favors, cake, food, flowers, etc. I might have had a wedding planner if we had more money.
Danielle

4. I would (have planned) it small from the beginning. When we started scouting out reception sites, we found some really one-of-a-kind places that we couldn’t even consider because our numbers were well above what they could accommodate. By the time we really launched into the smaller wedding concept we were under contract with our original reception venue.
Kerry

5. I would have lost more weight before the wedding, and I wouldn’t have stressed out so much. I also would have taken more time off of work before the wedding instead of just the day before. My intimate weddings advice is to take a few days off before the wedding so that you won’t be frazzled trying to put it all together.
Kristen

6. I would have been more careful with the guest list. There were people that didn’t show up and it wasn’t really a surprise. I should have followed my intuition and invited other people that I know would have loved to go. My advice for brides is to invite only the people you really want to invite.
Jennifer

7. I would have printed up a schedule for the day for everyone involved … Just a minor detail, but there was some very small last minute confusion. (A schedule) would have put my mind at ease.
Christine

8. The only thing I would change would be my dress. I had a big ballgown, but felt it was too much for such a small group so I went with a much simpler, understated gown. In the end, the simpler gown made more sense but I still missed the big ballgown. My intimate weddings advice is to choose the dress you really want.
Shannon

~From Intimate Weddings: www.intimateweddings.com

John Edmond – Christmas [...]]]> Click this link.

John Edmond – Christmas In Rhodesia