I am honored to have been selected as one of the Top Ten Wedding Photographers for 2011 by American Photo Magazine. The article will be in the May/June issue of the magazine which will hit the news stands on Tuesday May 10th. The downloadable version was released on Zinio last weekend, so the news has been slowly trickling out. We were first notified about a month ago and it’s been a hard secret to keep all this time!

I have always been very proud of twice being a member of Pulitzer Prize winning teams during my career as a photojournalist, but I have to say this particular honor has very special meaning for me. While my Pulitzers are shared awards, this American Photo recognition is something I can say that I have finally earned on my own.

It is very humbling to be included in such a fantastic group of photographers. It is even more gratifying to be able to share this distinction with two of my closest and very best friends, Marcus Bell and Parker Pfister – in addition to Yervant Zanazanian whom I have long admired, respected and loved, as well as Dina Douglass, another great friend.

If you had asked me ten years ago if I would ever be a wedding photographer, I would have laughed at you. Back then most photographers looked at wedding photography as the lowest rung on the career ladder. My how times have changed.

Many people mistakenly think of wedding photography as trite, clichéd and meaningless images. One thing I have learned in the past eight years is that as a wedding photographer, I can have a tremendous impact on the lives of my clients. While we may not bring about mass social change, stop wars, or put an end to starvation in Africa, wedding photography can have the same kind of impact on a smaller scale within a family just as those types of images impact society.

As a documentary photographer, I am trying to provide my clients with more than just pretty pictures. I am trying to provide them with a legacy and heirloom that will outlast their lives here and can be passed down through their family for generations. If you’ve ever received a call or note from a former client telling you how much comfort your images provided during a time of need, or following the loss of a loved one, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I am reminded of a passage in the book “PHOTOSYNTHESIS” by Bryan Moss:

John & Edna Smith - Photograph by Bryan Moss

My grandfather was an ordinary man with an ordinary name: John Smith.

He was a carpenter who built plain, solid houses for plain, solid people like himself.

When he put away his tools at age 87, he said it was the hardest thing he ever had to do. “I did it for her”, he told me, speaking of Edna, his wife of more than 60 years. “She needs me here.”

My grandfather’s hands were work-roughened and hard, but his manner was tender. I never heard him raise his voice to anyone.

He was 95 when he died quietly in his sleep, of nothing in particular, in a hospital bed in the little Indiana town he was born in.

You won’t discover any newspaper stories about John Smith…because he never did anything remotely newsworthy. He loved his wife and family, worked hard, kept the Sabbath.

There’s almost nothing left of him now. Just memories. And photographs.

These photographs are memories made visible. And tangible. I have one that I keep in a frame – of John and Edna, standing on their porch, watching us pull away in our car. They always stood there, steadying themselves on the porch railing, until we were out of sight, as if cherishing every moment spent with us.”

Perhaps this old Kodak commercial sums it up better than words:

What a privilege it is that week in, week out people that I don’t even know very well invite me into their homes and lives to share with me some of the most intense and personal moments they may ever experience. What power we have as photographers to be able to provide them with this lasting legacy of themselves, their family and these very meaningful few moments of their lives.

Thanks so much to all of my wonderful clients for the opportunities you have provided me. As my friend Cliff Mautner says, we are only as good as our clients allow us to be. That is so very true.

I also want to recognize and thank my best buddy Matt Mendelsohn. Matt is the person who encouraged me to become a wedding photographer back in 2002 when I was at a career crossroads and a low point in my life. Matt showed me the beautiful wedding work he had been producing, convinced me it was a good fit for my skill set, and nurtured me with leads and business as I was trying to get my foot in the door. Some days I want to punch him for doing that, but most days I just want to thank him profusely for being my best friend.

I certainly have to say thanks to my beautiful wife Patti who is the real backbone of our business. She takes care of our clients, gets all the behind the scenes work done, and supports me in so many ways. On July 19, we’ll celebrate our own 25th wedding anniversary!

Lastly I want to say thanks to all of those who have been a part of the GGP team over the past few years. Our production staffer Kristi Sherk makes us look good all the time by doing a fantastic job retouching our images. Kurstin Roe did a great job in that position prior to Kristi. Thanks also to my superb team of second shooters and assistants like Charlie Archambault, Benjamin Myers, Kurstin, Cliff Owen, Madeline Marshall, Maggie Starbard, Ned Bonzi, Veronica Lukasova and others who have helped out along the way. The strength of your work allows me so much room for creative freedom and I love working with you all.

This is actually the fourth time American Photo has published a Top Ten list. As you’ll read on the Editor’s page below, you can only appear in the list once. I guess perhaps this really maybe puts me in the Top 40, but truthfully I’m beyond humbled to even be in that rarified company.

Now, I just have to deal with even more constant pressure to update my blog more than once every 18 months. Okay, I’ll try!

So with that, here is the complete list of American Photo’s Top Ten Photographers for 2011 in alphabetical order:

Camille & Chadwick Bensler – Jonetsu Photography – Vancouver, BC
Dina Douglass – Andrena Photography – Los Angeles, CA
Greg Gibson – Greg Gibson Photography – Washington, DC
Jesse & Whitney Chamberlin – Our Labor of Love – Atlanta, GA
Jonas Peterson – Jonas Peterson - Brisbane, Australia
Marcus Bell – Studio Impressions, Brisbane, Australia
Jaclyn & Nate Kaiser – The Image is Found – San Diego, CA
Parker Pfister – Parker J. Pfister - Asheville, NC
Rocco Ancora – Rocco Ancora – Melbourne, Australia
Yervant Zanazanian – Yervant – Melbourne, Austrailia

Below is the cover of the magazine, the letter from the Editor page explaining the selection process and advisory panel, along with my featured pages in the article.

Opening Spread Photograph by Marcus Bell

We’ll spend a day at Izan’s ranch in Chapada dos Guimaraes. We’ll need a day to catch our breath after 24 hours of travel. Then we’ll head out into the Pantanal to visit ranches and photograph Brasilian cowboys for 5 days.

On Sunday we return to Sao Paulo where both Marcus and I will be speaking at PhotoImage Brasil on the 11th and 12th.

I’ll try to post a few pictures along the way. Here are a couple from my iPhone:

Storm clouds enroute from Washington to JFK.

Those that know Zach will notice two things - 1) He cut his hair really short and 2) being a true comedian he is wearing a fake moustache.

A mere 780 graduates file into the Patriot Center at George Mason University.

The students had fun annoying the administrators by sneaking in beach balls to bat around.

Maybe not such a good idea to actually catch one.

Tossing the caps - of course Zach forgot to remove his tassel and he tossed that too!

]]> http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=1969 0 http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?p=1943 http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?p=1943#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:02:49 +0000 greg http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?p=1943 The Roots Workshop is just around the corner and there are still a few spots available. I get email all the time from photographers asking about workshops and this is a great opportunity to come and learn with me.

Roots has a similar format to the Foundation Workshop, the Eddie Adams Barnstorm or the Mountain People’s workshop if you’re from the photojournalism world.

The idea behind workshops like Roots is to teach photographers to think like photojournalists. In the case of Roots, it is specifically to teach wedding photographers to become better documentary storytellers. While targeted towards wedding photographers, there is very little talk about wedding photography. This workshop is about becoming better overall in ways that will help you in any type of photographic situation.

Each student gets an individual editorial assignment and is placed on a team with a team leader and mentors. The students have two days to complete a picture story from their assignment. Each day the team leader critiques the shoot and offers suggestions for improvement. The mentors work with the students out in the field to help problem solve and provide onsite feedback during the actual shoot.

All of the staff have extensive experience working as news photographers.

This is the absolute best type of learning experience a photographer can have.

Plus it’s in CAPE COD and we have a lobster-bake on the final night!

Here are the details – the workshop is less than a month away so you need to register NOW.

Dates – July 19-24
Location – South Yarmouth – Cape Cod, MA
Website – www.rootsworkshop.com
Cost – $3200
Includes 5 days of personalized instruction, five nights lodging and most meals. Students must provide their own gear, travel and vehicle.

Staff
Emilie Sommer – Founder

Team Leaders
Greg Gibson – greggibson.com
Tyler Wirken – Wirken Photography
Arnold Miller (multi-media editor at Newsday)

Mentors
Jennifer Domenick – Love Life Images
Mark Adams – LaCour
Rachel LaCour Nieson – LaCour

Volunteers
J Sandifer
Eric Laurits

Erika and Aaron got married on May 16 at Veramar Vineyard in Berryville, one of my favorite outdoor wedding venues in Northern Virginia.

As has been typical in the Washington area this spring, the weather teased us all week with periods of beautiful sunny skies sandwiched between torrential downpours.

I woke up on the 16th to overcast skies and light showers, bummed at the prospect that it might rain on this gorgeous vineyard wedding I had SO been looking forward to. Sometimes things just seem work themselves out and you get an occasional break right when you really need it.

Shortly before noon the rain stopped and the sun tried valiantly to peek through the overcast sky. While the clouds  occasionally looked ominous, Erika and Aaron were able to have their wedding outside surrounded by the lush bright green backdrop of the grape vines and a moody, dramatic sky.

With precision timing mother nature finally lost her patience and let loose with heavy rain as were finishing our outdoor  portrait session. The patter of the rain on the roof created a cozy and intimate reception inside the winery. Here are a few favorites:

Aaron getting ready at the hotel in Winchester.

Winery details.

Erika's dress had a lot of detail highlighted in the window where it was hung.

Erika and her dad share a quiet moment before walking down the aisle.

Erika and her dad walked down the aisle under ominous but still beautiful skies.

Second shooter Andy Harnick did a great job complementing what I was doing by taking very different angles above and below.

Andy made this really nice image of Erika's family looking on during first dance.

Please go to the workshop blog and vote for his video. It’s video #4, “Schiz what?”.

http://josevilla.bigfolioblog.com/

Thanks! He could use a vacation.

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:

Marian and her brother are very close and I was glad to catch a tender moment between them.

Marian's high school portrait in front of her beautiful wedding dress.

Marian's mom Susan helps with the dress. The beautiful arched window gave us unbelievable light to work with.

Flower girl and RingBearer.

This is one of my favorite images of the year. It's already on my website.

Richard took the balcony position for the processional and made some nice images.

Hugs for both sides of the family.

I always love these little stolen glances between couples during the ceremony.

Full concentration during vows.

Loved the eye contact between Marian and Aaron just before the kiss in this image by Charlie.

It's easy to get your eyes crossed in the midst of a large family portrait!

Having fun on the big lawn in front of Glenview Mansion.

You can't miss with a gorgeous bride, great light and a beautiful blue sky.

Charlie's version of my previous image. What a gorgeous day for a wedding.

Marian and her dad did a fun, fast swing dance for their Father Daughter dance.

Marian's dad enjoying a dance with her friends just after the father-daughter.

This was one of the most lavish, if not downright decadent dessert tables I've ever seen.

Marian's friends performed a special dance for her.

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.

Getting ready in the bridal room at the Park Hyatt Belvedere.

Details.

Bustling the dress before we go out about town.

Andrew looking good.

I always love these sequences when couples see each other before the ceremony.

Sara and Andrew rented a trolley as their wedding party transportation.

Sara loved the flowered collar Andrew had made for their dog Ty.

The soft colors in this room were gorgeous.

Adding the veil just before the ceremony.

A last bit of anxiety before the processional.

The big labrador Ty was a bit of a handful for the ringbearer.

Sara and her dad wait for the big moment.

Walking down the aisle.

I like shooting tight faces during the vows and ring exchange to capture the range of emotions.

Beautiful light on Broad Street just outside the hotel. Historic City Hall is in the background.

A couple more with City Hall.

The Bellevue has one of the most beautiful ballrooms in Philadelphia.

A very touching family embrace after the Father-Daughter dance.

A nice intimate moment late in the reception.

]]> http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=1795 4 http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?p=1771 http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?p=1771#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 11:00:27 +0000 greg http://www.greggibsonblog.com/?p=1771 A few images from another recent album:

Lindsay and Sam
September 20, 2008
River House at Queenstown Harbor Golf Course
Queenstown, MD

Lindsay and Sam had a beautiful fall wedding on the waterfront of the Chesapeake Bay. The wedding was a fusion of cultures with both western and Hindu traditions mixed into the ceremony.

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

The Award Winning Image "Cattle Drive"

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:

Kelly & Chad
June 28, 2008
Clarendon United Methodist Church
Ronald Reagan Building

A beautiful June wedding in a typical DC setting.

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Kelly is very naturally beautiful. She doesn't need a lot of makeup.

The finished product from above.

Departing the hotel.

Chad and his dad.

Arriving at the Reagan Building near the US Capitol.

Dancing under the dome at the Reagan Building.

 

Last week I was asked to photograph a press conference for my good friends at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE). I don’t often get to work events with other media any more and it was fun to get back to my journalism roots and photograph a press conference.

SAFE is a great group of people headed by a sharp young guy named Robbie Diamond. Robbie has been very influential on energy legislation adopted over the past couple of years. FedEx CEO Fred Smith heads up SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council and is very active in all events. With over 75,000 vehicles, it’s easy to see why FedEx is concerned about energy policy and alternative fuel sources.

The purpose of this press conference was to kick off The National Energy Security Act of 2009. The bill presents a comprehensive plan to reduce our nation’s dangerous dependence on oil, primarily through the electrification of the short-haul ground transportation fleet. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), and key members of the SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council were on hand to unveil the legislation.

Senator Dorgan and Sentor Voinovich spent the most time at the podium.