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Marian & Aaron
May 23, 2009
Ceremony – Emmanuel Lutheren Church, Vienna, Va.
Reception – Glenview Mansion – Rockville, Md.
Second Shooters – Charlie Archambault, Richard Ellis

We had a great time with Marian and Aaron. Their wedding was the day after the wonderful Philadelphia wedding from the preceding blog post and that same beautiful light followed us down the highway to DC.

My old friend Richard Ellis, came along and helped Charlie Archambault and I with this wedding. Richard is a former news photographer and Getty Images executive. He has relocated to Charleston, SC and intends to pursue wedding photography there. Charleston is a great place to photograph weddings!

Marian and Aaron were fantastic to work with. They were fun, playful and most of all passionate about each other. Special thanks to Marian’s mom Susan for for all her help with the details and scheduling. I really appreciated Susan’s trust because I know she thoroughly researched photographers before booking me! It’s always flattering to be chosen when you know a client has done their homework.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding:

[caption id="attachment_1842" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Marian and her brother are very close and I was glad to catch a tender moment between them."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1843" align="aligncenter" width="602" caption="Marian's high school portrait in front of her beautiful wedding dress."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1844" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Marian's mom Susan helps with the dress. The beautiful arched window gave us unbelievable light to work with."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1845" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Flower girl and RingBearer."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1846" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="This is one of my favorite images of the year. It's already on my website."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1849" align="aligncenter" width="602" caption="Richard took the balcony position for the processional and made some nice images."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1850" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Hugs for both sides of the family."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1851" align="aligncenter" width="809" caption="I always love these little stolen glances between couples during the ceremony."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1852" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Full concentration during vows."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1853" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Loved the eye contact between Marian and Aaron just before the kiss in this image by Charlie."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1855" align="aligncenter" width="602" caption="It's easy to get your eyes crossed in the midst of a large family portrait!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1857" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Having fun on the big lawn in front of Glenview Mansion."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1859" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="You can't miss with a gorgeous bride, great light and a beautiful blue sky."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1860" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Charlie's version of my previous image. What a gorgeous day for a wedding."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1862" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Marian and her dad did a fun, fast swing dance for their Father Daughter dance."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1863" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Marian's dad enjoying a dance with her friends just after the father-daughter."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1864" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="This was one of the most lavish, if not downright decadent dessert tables I've ever seen."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1865" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Marian's friends performed a special dance for her."][/caption]

Sara & Andrew
May 22, 2009
Philadelphia, Pa.
Ceremony – Colonial Dames
Reception – Park Hyatt Bellevue
Second Shooter – Benjamin Meyers

After getting slapped on the wrist by the blog police for not blogging current weddings, I figured it was time to comply.

Sara and Andrew had a beautiful Philadelphia wedding on May 22. The weather was perfect and the light was almost as beautiful as the bride.

This was a wedding I had been looking forward to for a long time. Sara booked me over a year ago to photograph the event.

Here are a few favorites.

[caption id="attachment_1798" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Getting ready in the bridal room at the Park Hyatt Belvedere."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1799" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Details."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1800" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Bustling the dress before we go out about town."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1802" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Andrew looking good."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1803" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="I always love these sequences when couples see each other before the ceremony."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1805" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Sara and Andrew rented a trolley as their wedding party transportation."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1807" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Sara loved the flowered collar Andrew had made for their dog Ty."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1832" align="aligncenter" width="610" caption="The soft colors in this room were gorgeous."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1808" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Adding the veil just before the ceremony."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1811" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="A last bit of anxiety before the processional."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1812" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="The big labrador Ty was a bit of a handful for the ringbearer."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1813" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Sara and her dad wait for the big moment."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1814" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Walking down the aisle."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1815" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="I like shooting tight faces during the vows and ring exchange to capture the range of emotions."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1817" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Beautiful light on Broad Street just outside the hotel. Historic City Hall is in the background."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1830" align="aligncenter" width="602" caption="A couple more with City Hall."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1820" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="The Bellevue has one of the most beautiful ballrooms in Philadelphia."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1821" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="A very touching family embrace after the Father-Daughter dance."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1884" align="aligncenter" width="612" caption="A nice intimate moment late in the reception."][/caption]

My 18 year-old son Zach was recognized this week on the front page of our local newspaper. Zach won a silver award in the  2009 National Scholastic Art Competition for photography.

His award was for a picture entitled “Cattle Drive” that he made during our trip to Brazil last summer.

[caption id="attachment_1761" align="alignright" width="471" caption="The Award Winning Image "Cattle Drive""][/caption]

Here’s the story from the Centreview Newspaper.

When Chantilly High senior Zach Gibson went on a trip to Brazil last summer with his father, little did he think that a photo he shot there of a cattle drive would end up receiving national acclaim. But that’s just what’s happened. Gibson, 18, won a silver medal in the 2009 National Scholastic Art Competition. He submitted eight or nine photos in a portfolio, plus three single photographs, and his winning entry was his black-and-white “Cattle Drive.”

“It was taken in the Pantanal region of Brazil in August 2008,” said Gibson. “My dad’s a professional photographer, and I was there to photograph with him. He was asked to speak there, and a National Geographic photographer asked him to come to that region. We visited three ranches and lucked out — the cattle drive was happening while we were there.”

He lives in Centreville’s Fair Lakes Forest community with his parents, Patti and Greg, and siblings, Cameron, 15, and Bret, 13. Gibson’s only been taking photos for a couple years, although he’s “been around photography forever” and plans to eventually become a photo-journalist. “I prefer photographing people, but I’m trying not to pigeonhole myself into one thing,” he said.

GIBSON LIKES taking both color and black-and-white photos and learned his craft from both his father and his photography classe at Chantilly. “I’m in Photography III now, learning harder, more-advanced techniques,” he said. “I also learned darkroom printing in class.”

He said the most difficult part is “finding something that interests me enough to dig deep and put a ton of effort into photographing it.” But he gets great satisfaction “seeing results that I’m pleased with.” He mainly uses a Canon 50D digital camera and was just accepted into the VCU Art Department, after graduation.

Gibson won a gold key for his portfolio, including “Cattle Drive,” at the district level, plus districtlevel awards for his photos, “Brazilian Cowboy” and “Shadow Skater.” Then at regionals, he won gold for his portfolio and gold and two silver medals for single entries.

In the national competition, he vied against thousands of people throughout the U.S. and, he said, “I was hoping I’d win something at regional level, but didn’t expect to win at nationals. So I was excited when I found out.”

IN JUNE, there’ll be a reception in New York where Gibson will officially receive his award, and one of those happiest about it will be Betty Simmons, his photography teacher at Chantilly.

“Zach’s sense of composition is amazing,” she said “His ability to use that sense in capturing an image — at just the decisive moment — is a trait that will serve him well in the future as a professional photographer. A lot of thought and planning went into his portfolio. Winning a Silver Key award just validates what anyone who has met Zach already knows — he’s an extremely dedicated and creative photographer.”

My friends at ShootQ have extended the application deadline for their $10,000 photography grant to May 15, 2009. This is a great opportunity for photographers to receive $10,000 in funding for outstanding personal documentary projects.

Last year’s winner,  photographer Sherrlyn Borkgren, used her grant to document the plight of young women who are victims of rape and torture by militias in the Kivu region of the Eastern Congo.

Sherrlyn produced a very powerful and moving story that far exceeded expectations.

I want to encourage anyone who has a visual story idea or project in need of funding to please go to the ShootQ Grant website and apply. It’s a great opportunity to pursue and complete your dream assignment.

ShootQ Grant site.

See Sherrlyn Borkgren’s Congo story here.

The ShootQ Grant site includes information on how to apply as well as Sherrlyn’s winning application and portfolio.

Here are a few examples from Sherrlyn’s touching story: