Kristen & Greg were married a year ago in Vermont at the Shelburne museum. I received the best possible compliment recently when Greg’s sister Caitlin got engaged - the Connollys got in touch with me right away to make sure they scheduled the wedding when I was available. I am definitely looking forward to Caitlin & Matt’s wedding next July!
This past week I was in the Aspen, Colorado area attending a workshop at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. This is a busy time for me but I recieved a scholarship for the workshop which made it an opportunity that I could not pass up. I love taking workshops - they are a great way to learn a lot in a very short amount of time. The last workshop I took was with John Paul Caponigro at his studio in Maine. That workshop elevated my work to a new level, so I have been trying to figure out how to fit workshops in ever since. This week’s workshop was called “Medium Format Digital: Untethered” and was taught by Jim Stone, a well published and collected author, photographer and professor of photography at The University of New Mexico. The concept of the workshop was to take medium format digital cameras out of the studio to see what they can do in the real world. Dan Cuny from Leaf America brought out a few cases of Leaf Aptus 65 and 75 digital backs, and a Leaf Afi - all of which run from about $14K to $30K. I’m not really in the market for a system like this but I was eager to work with the state of the art in digital camera equipment. Dan cut us loose with these 30+ megapixel cameras and here are a few of the images I came up with:
This one really shows of the way the Leaf backs handle color - the files from these cameras are rich with color and detail and are very flexible to work with. The future of digital photography looks good - I think that cameras of this capability will be a lot more affordable in just a few years.
These cameras are much bigger than what I am accustomed to using lately, and are much better off on a tripod. I decided to shoot something other than people so that I could slow down and take more time to consider my pictures. Jim gave one of his great slide show lectures on how many great photographers used their frames to describe space and depth. I feel like I have been especially aware of this lately in many of the portraits I have been making, but seeing so many of these famous images with Jim’s insightful observations made something click for me.
One thing a large 30 megapixel sensor will do for you is make every technique error painfully obvious. Any vibration or slight focus error is magnified. This one was very sharp though, so I made a 30″x40″ print of it:
This one did not fare quite as well in the sharpness department when enlarged (although probably not apparent on the web), but I always like the way the colors play in the twilight:
I was torn between wanting to explore the technical possibilities of these cameras and wanting to find something interesting to photograph. I had a lot of great conversations with Jim about finding a subject for my personal photography work. I am still developing my vocabulary in photographs and looking for clues in those rare pictures I make that really speak to me. I did make one photograph this week like this - it has stories to tell and history behind it. The irony is that I did not have to go past the front door to get the picture - it was on the refrigerator in the house I was staying. My friend Claire’s parents were kind enough to put me up for the week and I found their family history on the refrigerator:
Michael and Ann thought I was pretty odd for photographing their refrigerator three mornings in a row but it was worth it to make this image perfect. It had a great time with Jim Stone and all of the other workshop participants. We all got to know each other very well over the course of the week from working together and eating the delicous food at the Ranch’s cafe. I would definitely recommend the Anderson Ranch workshops to anyone.
Samantha and Ian were married last Saturday at the Yampa River Botanical Park in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The ceremony was followed by an intimate reception at Samantha’s family residence. Samantha looked beautiful in her Lela Rose gown that she found at Anna Be in Denver, Colorado. Samantha and Ian were kind enough to invite me to their rehearsal dinner on friday, which gave me a chance to meet a lot of their friends and family members. It was a really friendly group of people and I had a great time getting to know many of them.
This gentleman can sketch almost as fast as I can photograph:
I had a great time coming to Colorado for this one! On Sunday I had breakfast at Winona’s, a Steamboat fixture. I got there too late for their famous (and huge!) Cinnamon buns, but I had a front row seat oustide for a cattle drive down Lincoln Avenue. I left town with a few of Colorado’s finest souvenirs. Prints will be available here in a few weeks. Click on the link below to see more of Samantha & Ian’s pictures.
When I wake up the morning of a wedding and hear a “chance of thunderstorms” forecast, I always get really excited. It might make some brides nervous with thoughts of soggy wedding guests, but Samantha is an avid photographer herself so she was on board with me on this one. To me the threat of thunderstorms means dramatic skies and gorgeous light. Samantha and Ian were married in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on Saturday and the rains never came. Look for more pictures from their wedding here soon.
Galina and Jack were married last Saturday in Park City, Utah at a friend’s home. They had a western style ceremony followed by a traditional Persian ceremony. It was a gorgeous day and I was happy to be away from the heat of Salt Lake City. A few thousand feet of elevation makes a big difference in the temperature.
Galina and Jack have family and friends from all over the world. There were guests at the wedding from nineteen countries.
Special thanks to Stacy for doing an awesome job assisting me. Play the slideshow below to see more of Galina and Jack’s wedding.
***UPDATE 7/7 - Galina and Jack’s online proofing gallery was not set up to collect email addresses - I have fixed it so that it will ask you for your email address so that you will be notified when all the pictures are available to order online. Click here to sign up. The pictures will be posted there by the end of July.
Our friends Kate and Kyle just had a baby girl, Anna. It took Anna a little while to open her eyes, but once she did she stayed awake the whole time.
Anna even modeled the hat that Leah (my wife) knit for her. Leah is thinking about quitting medicine to knit full time. What do you think?
Congratulations to Kate, Kyle and Anna! Prints are available here.
I photographed another beautiful wedding yesterday in Park City, Utah. Look for more pictures from Galina and Jack’s wedding here soon. Things are pretty busy here right now - I got up this morning with the post wedding hangover (not from drinking but from not drinking enough water!) and went over to photograph a friend’s newborn baby girl. I’m off to Steamboat Springs, Colorado later in the week for Sam and Ian’s wedding. Many of my favorite pictures from this one are verticals, which is the first time that has ever happened to me.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Whitney & Ross’ beautiful wedding in Holladay, Utah. The wedding took place at the groom’s family residence, where they have been living and gardening for over thirty years. The gardens and grounds all around the house made a spectacular setting for a wedding. Ross’ parents even made all of the florals and centerpieces themselves. It was a gorgeous day, and Whitney and Ross were able to get away without a tent. If you are having your wedding somewhere where it doesn’t rain much, go without the tent if you can get away with it. Don’t try it in Vermont though! I’m not putting down my previous home state, but the weather in Vermont tends to be a little bit more diverse.
I love the backyard weddings - they are a lot of work to put on, but they are always special once they get underway. Whitney and Ross are postponing their honeymoon for a while, but they are planning to make a trip to India soon. Congratulations Whitney and Ross! Thanks to Erin for helping me out as my second shooter. See more of the wedding in the slideshow below.
More pictures from Whitney & Ross’ beautiful wedding in Holladay, Utah coming soon.
Lauren and Greg are our next door neighbors and good friends. We couldn’t have picked better next door neighbors, and we got to know them quickly thanks to our dogs - Sage and their dog Chewey are best friends. Leah and I have had many impromptu dinners together with Lauren and Greg due to how close our 191Xs era bungalows are. If Greg has a tasty leg of lamb on the grill, I can smell it from my front porch. We’ve got each other’s keys in case either of us run out of toilet paper or eggs. I don’t think we would know them as well if we were living in the type of houses that are being built today.
Lauren and Greg needed an announcement picture so I offered to do one for them if they would be patient enough while I fiddled with some new lighting setups. I would much rather find good light than make it myself but I am always trying to add options. We took these pictures half way up Little Cottonwood Canyon at dusk. Lauren and Greg are getting married this September. I’m totally bummed that I won’t be around for their wedding, because I have another one to photograph!
The picture below is Lauren and Greg and another friend Rick skinning up the ridge to Silver Fork Bowl, in between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. This was taken on one of the rare sunny days during our winter long snowstorm. I think we left the house at about 10 AM that morning - life is tough in Salt Lake City!
