"The Dip" on Treasure Island - St. Petersburg Beach Wedding Photography - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 200 1/80th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/4 power frame right & SB-600 @ 1/4 power frame left
There are always challenges photographing a wedding, but for me personally this was the most difficult due to the news I got about the oldest member of my family when I first woke up that morning. I have a strong ability to compartmentalize so I rallied and once I first put the camera up to my eye, no one all the six and a half hours I was on site at the Bilmar Hotel on Treasure Island had any idea what I was really feeling inside.
Wedding rings hung from a necklace with a cross - SETUP: Nikkor AF-S 104mm VR micro f/2.8G lens @ f/11 ISO 200 1/100th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedThe wedding rings were with the bride, Jessica, in her hotel room, which is unusual as the groom tends to keep them on hand. Looking for a good place to photograph the rings, I recalled what I did for a Christmas wedding last year, which was to hang the rings from a string type object. The bride took off a necklace she was wearing an assisted me in getting this shot. The cross was already on the necklace.
The view from the 7th floor of the Bilmar Hotel - SETUP: f/8 ISO 200 1/60th STROBIST: SB-800 @1/4 power to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame left both handheld by volunteers!The bride had a very loyal wedding dress assistant her continued her job the entire afternoon and evening. For the above shot I had two volunteer assistants hold my speedlights as there was not much space at all to setup a pair of light stands. The weather looks great outside right? Well, to the east clouds were rolling in fast and within 20-minutes it was raining right at what was to be the start of the ceremony. There was only a 30-minute delay which was actually welcome, allowing the bride more time to get ready and the guests to cool off in the reception area.
The groom is pointing at you - SETUP: f/5.6 ISO 400 1/60th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted & a room lamp providing backlightI learned a new trick for shooting in hotel rooms: use one of the room lamps as a backlight in tight quarters. I had the groom, Justin, and the other groomsmen squeeze between two beds causing them to get into a fan-like pose and also allowing the table lamp to backlight them. This is definitely a type of shot I will be doing again in the future!
Treasure Island Beach calm after the storm - SETUP: f/11 ISO 200 1/200th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - B&W processing using Silver Efex ProOnce the rainstorm passed it was kind enough to leave behind all sorts of clouds decorating the sky. I much prefer clouds to a cloudless beach sky. Not only are day time photos much better, I think sunset shots with clouds are much more dramatic as well.
The groom cries upon seeing his bride - SETUP: Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/800th using natural lightIt was an emotional moment for the bride and especially the groom once the ceremony began. For me, it is nice to see as I like to see people express genuine emotion. It also of course helps the photographs.
Tall grass sand dunes of Treasure Island - SETUP: f/11 ISO 200 1/160th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightThe bride in a quiet moment faces the Sun and the Sea. This type of shot, where the subject is not looking into the lens but rather off into the distance is my favorite type of portrait. For me, I wonder what the subject is thinking about. I hope that some years down the line when the bride looks at this image, she, herself, will also wonder what she was thinking of at that moment.
A vivid sunset falls on Treasure Island St. Petersburg - SETUP: NIKKOR AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th STROBIST: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame leftAfter I took the final photograph of Jessica & Justin at sunset time, I had a few moments alone as I packed up my strobist gear and they started to walk back to the hotel for the reception. This gave me a few seconds to send my own thoughts out to the horizon, as I do every day, but even more so that time.
Click to view 6000px version -- 10-frame panorama of Tampa Bay with morning cloud coverLast year a friend requested some photographs of clouds. I never felt I got the exact shot she imagined so in the back of my mind to this day resides that cloud photograph request. Well this morning out to the east over Tampa Bay was a whole front of large puffy clouds. I steadied myself on the upper railing on the roof of The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg and using the gridlines (I would never buy a DSLR that does not have this feature) in my Nikon D300 I lined by hand a 10-frame panorama. Of course it would have been best to use a tripod, but I did not have one with me and since I could clearly see the horizon and thus line it up with the lower-third gridline in my viewfinder, I do not think I could have done much better.
