Photo Stories

Father and infant son wedding day St. Petersburg

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Wedding tuxedo going on the groom's baby - f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: SB-800 resting on bed + natural window lightI had never seen an infant baby being dressing in a tuxedo before.  While photographing a recent wedding in St. Petersburg there was a lot of time to photograph both the bride and groom getting ready, as well as their infant son.  After getting dressed himself, the groom started to dress his son.  The order he chose for getting dressed was perhaps unwise as the baby threw up onto his dad's shirt in the process.  Luckily, another suitable shirt was on hand for the groom to change into with only a small spot on the baby's shirt that no one would notice.

Babies dominate attention, and even on the couple's wedding day I felt more people were excited about seeing and holding the baby than perhaps the wedding itself.  I am of course immune to this power baby's seem to have and was drawn to photograph him more because of his unusual attire and the fact his father was dressing him and soon to be married.  That was a scene I had not witnessed before and was the source of my interest photographically.  

Sandpiper Tradewinds twilight wedding couple - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 at 1/2 power to frame rightFor a brief few minutes the couple and I after their wedding ceremony had time for a few romantic shots.  I wonder on the baby's wedding day if he will show any photographs of himself that I took at his parent's wedding during the reception slideshow?

St Jude Cathedral Wedding in St Petersburg Florida

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St. Jude Cathedral Wedding in St. Petersburg Florida - f/6.3 ISO 400 1/50th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightBrian and Kelsey had a very fun and jovial wedding.  I do not think I ever saw less nervousness in either the bride or the groom before a wedding.  The fun continued through the wedding ceremony that referenced Disney story lore at length.  I had heard from Kelsey that they were Disney fans, but I had no idea the priest would be making theme park ride metaphors during the ceremony!

Ruby Red Slippers on the St. Petersburg Florida bride - f/5.8 ISO 400 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedKelsey told me she was also a big Wizard of Oz fan.  Therefore I was not surprised to see her wearing very Dorothy-like ruby red slippers under her wedding dress.  I could find no yellow brick road to use in the foreground, unfortunately.

St. Jude Cathedral bride & groom during the ceremony - f/4 ISO 200 1/125th SB-600 Speedlight hotshoe mountedThis was a Catholic wedding which has an hour-long ceremony.  Since the bride and groom do not stand right in front of the priest all the time, there were several opportunities for clear photographs of the couple, which is rare during wedding ceremonies.  I could also not go within a large marble circle surrounding the alter area so using my trusty Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens was a must.

feeding each other cake at wedding reception - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerAlthough the above shot shoes a very animated cake feeding custom, what followed was very neat and orderly.  I have to say I am disappointed that nowadays couples do not smash cake into each other's faces.  To me there is then no reason to perform this custom if it is just a neat nibble of cake.  I liken it to find out the sex of one's baby before delivery.  Just takes the fun out of it, at least to me, though it must be said I am very fond of maintaining old customs.

garter belt surprise at St. Jude Cathedral wedding reception hall - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 hotshoe mounted at 1/4 powerThe DJ prompted the bride & groom to tell the guy who (reluctantly) caught the garter belt when to stop hiking the belt up the lucky bouquet catcher's right leg.  During this I wondered to myself, what if the woman who catches the bouquet is wearing pants?  Do all women who attend weddings wear dresses or skirts?  I will make a point of observing this at the wedding I next photograph at the end of June.

Sacred Heart Church Palma Ceia Country Club Tampa Wedding

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Sacred Heart Church Tampa Wedding Ceremony - f/8 ISO 200 0.8s on tripod with cable releaseThe wedding of Ryan and Monica was the grandest wedding I have been involved in photographing so far.  Monica's father must really, really love her!  This was also my first opportunity to not only photograph a wedding inside the spectacular Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa, but just to see inside of it after long admiring its large circular stained glass window on its front face.

The groom getting some necktie help from his father - f/8 ISO 800 1/100th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedMy day started out photographing the groom getting ready in his spacious waterfront room in the Tampa Marriott Waterside.  The NBA channel was on and causing a bit of distraction as one of the classic playoff series between the 90s Knicks and Pacers was being broken down game by game!  Everyone in the room got a bit caught up in it.  

The bride getting assistance with her floor length veil - f/5.8 ISO 800 1/200th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedI was next on my way to the Sacred Heart Church to photograph the bride as her assistant helped her put the last, tricky touches on getting her head to toe length veil just right.  The woman helping the bride seemed like an expert, but to my ears she spoke mostly only Italian!  It made me feel like I was in a movie to be inside such a architecturally rich church, seeing an enormous veil enveloping the bride, being put on by an old, petite Italian woman.

Palma Ceia Country Club Wedding Reception Ballroom - f/5.8 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedThe reception was at the Palma Ceia Country Club where I photographed a wedding last October.  I thought I knew what to expect but the reception this time was in a much different room and even the manager said he had never seen the room decorated like it had been.  The preparations started at 5:30am that morning he told me.

Wedding day hugs and congratulations - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedOne type of shot I always look for is what I refer to in my mind is the "hug & kiss" time for the bride & groom as they receive congratulations from the wedding guests.  To me the intensity of this time tells me a lot about the wedding, the newlywed couple, and the types of relationships they have with everyone at the wedding.  The hugging at this wedding, as you can see above, was as impressive as every other aspect of this lavish, emotional wedding.

Powered Paraglider Dreams St. Petersburg Commercial Photography

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Powered Paragliding across Florida sky - f/4 ISO 200 1/400th manual exposure modeA few nights ago I dreamt I was hired by The Devil for a photography shoot.  He appeared as a small wall clock with large, comical eyes that turned red with anger when I taunted him about doing the shoot the way I wanted.  I knew somehow that The Devil could not touch me, unless, as it said, I dared go to a mirror and be so bold.  Freedom on the edge of danger.  That was the feeling.  I could be bold because I knew I could not be touched, and that I could escape at will.  

When I look at this powered paraglider I imagine the feeling of Freedom on the edge of danger is what he could be feeling.  

Another note about this photograph is that I made it in the middle of photographing a beach wedding.  My photography tip for this type of shot is to of course be focused on the shooting on hand, but not so much so that one becomes unaware of the surroundings and what opportune shots may present themselves.  

Photography Tip - seeing a different reality - kapok silk-cotton tree

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The famous kapok silk-cotton tree of downtown St. Petersburg in sepiaWhy did I make this photograph?  Because of the shadows the branches were burning into the ground.  That interested me.  As it was close to mid-day the shadows were vividly dark.  They appeared to me to be separate from the tree itself, not so much shadows, but rather an alternative existence for another kapok silk-cotton tree bordering two realities.  This I saw for just a moment in between a lot of other things, like teaching a DSLR Photography Lesson and cars passing by and people jostling past on the sidewalk and the sun uncomfortably heating my skin.

The photography tip is this:  see a different reality

My favorite artist is Van Gogh because he saw a different reality, not in his imagination, but through his normal eyes, or was his mind imaging what he say and his eyes believed it to be the reality of others?  Regardless, I believe he literally saw the world as he painted it.  When he looked at a night sky, it was all swirly.  Thus, his paintings are now masterpieces and hold the interest of millions.  If he had painted the sky exactly as it appears to look for most people, he would not be an artist of any significance.  

Being able to see a different reality is an extremely valuable skill to any artist, to any photographer.  I believe these different realities are not constantly around us though, they exist only for a moment.  Take the above photo for example.  If I returned to that spot a few hours later, the alternative branch shadow reality would not be there.  

To me an interesting artist/photographer skillfully and creatively shows others the different reality he/she sees on a daily basis.

Pigeon dreams of being the black swan

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Is this pigeon dreaming of being the black swan?I often wonder what someone, something, anything animate or inanimate, might be thinking.  I believe even an inanimate object can feel, thus I would never haphazardly toss my shoes into the closet, or set something heavy on top of them, for example.  It is much easier to wonder what animals are thinking since they are sentient, but cannot speak English.  Thus, they have to be thinking something, but they have no verbal way of telling me.  So, I am left to observing their behavior and concluding from that what possibly might be going through their minds.

Such is the case with the above pigeon.  It was reaching elegantly and gracefully for its closest tail feather.  It instantly looked to me like a ballet dancer reaching for her toe over her back.  That lead me to thinking of BLACK SWAN, the 2010 movie starring Natalie Portman (my movie review).  Might this pigeon want to be the Black Swan?

Bradenton Florida Wedding Photography - Kiera & Ricardo

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Bradenton Wedding Photography in Calvary Baptist Church - the bride, KieraI photographed my first wedding in Bradenton, Florida, which was held at the Calvary Baptist Church and then on to the nearby Renaissance banquet hall for the reception.  However, I first met Kiera in her family home that she grew up in.  As I walked up the staircase to the second floor the wall was lined with childhood photos of her and her siblings.  It was really nice to get to see some of her family history before taking one photograph that day.  Hopefully I will have produced a photograph worthy of placement on that wall.

The Bradenton bride getting ready - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/100th strobist: SB-800 on light stand to frame left & SB-600 on chair to frame rightOften, just by watching people I find shots I would not have thought of myself.  The mirror was on the far side of the bedroom and was not being used.  As I was getting ready to setup for a staircase shot, I saw Kiera go over and look into it.  I always like to get a reflection shot of some kind and after working a bit on the lighting logistics was able to get my second strobe placed so that I could both back and front light Kiera without producing any glare in the mirror.

Entire wedding party in Calvary Baptist Church Bradenton FloridaThe wedding party was rather large and included four energetic kids and one very long wedding dress train.  This was perhaps the most difficult shot all day to get right as on top of the tech stuff for producing this kind of shot (off camera flash, correct exposure in a large dim room, etc) I had to make sure eighteen people all lined up without significantly blocking anyone and keep them all from trodding on the bride's beautiful, but expansive, wedding dress.

A riverfront location picked by the bride in Bradenton Florida after the wedding ceremonyThe bride had mentioned going to a riverfront location after the ceremony, which I thought sounded good.  The more environments I can photograph the bride and groom in the better.  However, after the ceremony the bride was not so sure of making the effort to go out there and perhaps we would all just head to the reception.  I highly recommended that we make the effort to go out to the riverfront because ten years from now I am sure she will be glad that we had.  This is also part of the professional wedding photographer's job.  

Bride & Groom action shot after their Bradenton Florida wedding by the limoThe above shot was my idea as I always want to try and include some action shots if possible, even during a wedding.  Kiera & Ricardo would good about following my suggestions for shot ideas despite both of them wearing far more restrictive clothing than myself.  This was a spontaneous shot I did not have preplanned, just thought we could do something on our way to the riverfront.

Wedding Bliss under the bride's veil in Bradenton Florida - natural lightThis shot, however, was preplanned as soon as I saw Kiera putting on the veil in her grandmother's bedroom.  It is always great when the bride wears a large veil.  With the wind it took a bit of finagling to get the veil as good as we could and keep it from blowing all over the place.  I think this was the time Kiera & Ricardo enjoyed the most while I was photographing them that day. 

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