Nicole & Ross | Married in Madison!

I gotta say, wedding days don’t get much better than this. Nicole and Ross were married on a beautiful fall day in Madison. The rich fall colors and nice warm temperatures made the day nice, but what really made the day great for me was the wonderful people I was around all day. Everyone from the wedding party to Nicole and Ross’ family and friends was welcoming and helpful and a joy to be with. Nicole said something just before the ceremony that stuck with me throughout the day. She said something like, “I can’t believe all the love we’re going to be surrounded by today.” So true!

Everybody had a great time that day – the photos speak for themselves I think. Enjoy this little preview!

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Nikole & Pete’s Wedding Preview!

Nikole and Pete were married in Madison Saturday at the Concourse Hotel. All I can say is, what a great bunch of people and what a fun day! It was just a joy to be there – enjoy this little preview! Thanks Nikole and Pete!

 

Sheila & Karri’s Wedding – Quick Favorite

Sheila and Karri had a beautiful day for their wedding at Holy Wisdom Monastery yesterday. It was wonderful to see such a loving and gracious group of people gather for their celebration and I was honored to be a part of it. This is one of my favorite shots of the day. I love this photo because, for me, it just captures so much of what the day was about. Happy Sunday!

Nicole & Adam – Married in Monticello, WI

Nicole and Adam were married last Saturday in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at a park in Monticello, WI. I had never been there before that day, and I had a great time hunting around the small town for places to photograph the wedding party. Turns out there is a fantastic old building near the Sugar River bike trail that was a perfect fit for their day.  Thanks for the great day Adam and Nicole!

 

Caught Portrait – The Wedding of Nicole and Adam

As the photographer on a wedding day one of my main goals, of course, is to create amazing posed portraits of the bride and groom. I enjoy doing that and the bride and groom have fun too. But my favorite portraits of the couple usually are created when they don’t even realize it. I call them caught portraits, or found portraits. When I’m shooting the photo, the moment is usually quite mundane, but it’s the mini-visual story or metaphor that’s created by the image that makes it transcendent. It’s better than it looks.

I’ve only had a chance to skim through the shots from Nicole and Adam’s beautiful wedding yesterday, but the image below immediately stood out. The moment isn’t anything monumental – they were just walking from the park where there ceremony was held to their waiting limo. The exposure and lighting probably leaves much to be desired for some purists – I’m shooting directly into the sun for God’s sake!

I think what really does it for me is though is the metaphor of them walking over a bridge, the sun is setting (to take the metaphor deeper, the sun could just as easily be rising), and they’re walking hand-in-hand together into the rest of their day. Yes, I realize how cheesy that all is, but hey, it’s a wedding and it’s nonetheless deeply meaningful for Nicole and Adam and their guests.

Now I could have staged this scene, lit it perfectly, and had them repeat the walk several times until I perfected the shot, but to me it matters that it’s a real moment and not contrived. It matters to Adam and Nicole too, even if they don’t realize it, because if I had staged it, every time they look at the photo they would remember it that way. To me, it’s better than it looks because it’s real.

I think they’re the kind of moments that we should all celebrate on days like today, and everyday.

Cheers!

 

Brianna & Nick – Great Moments

I was editing through Brianna and Nicks wedding today and couldn’t help but share this one. Most of the day I spend capturing moments as they happen and with no intervention by me. When it comes to the portraits of wedding party and bride and groom through, I’m in complete control.

That’s good and bad. It’s good because I can put everyone in ideal light with great backgrounds. It’s bad because I still want that natural, unposed look. In order to achieve that, often times the moment I want is the moment after the moment … if you follow.

It’s the moment when they think I’m done shooting, when they relax and give up on posing, or like with Brianna and Nick, when they can’t hold it in anymore and just start laughing. That moment is gold. That’s when they’re truly themselves.

Fifty years from now when perhaps their grandkids look at that photo they won’t think, “Wow, look at the great light.” or “What a great pose.” They’ll think, “Wow, they look so happy!”

That’s why I love what I do.

Brianna and Nick

Laura & Raza’s Wedding | Preview

You wouldn’t believe all the DIY effort that Laura put into this wedding. All the little touches and her vision for the whole day were just spot on, and then we had near perfect weather and a splendid setting at Century Barn in Mt. Horeb along with it. Just awesome!

I’ll have more to blog about this wedding later, but for now enjoy this little preview!

 

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Special thanks to Andrea and Sarah at Cherry Blossom Events. Great to work with as always!

Emily & Matt’s Wedding Preview!

Emily and Matt are enjoying their honeymoon in the Bahamas right now. Judging by their photos on Facebook it’s spectacular! I’m hoping that a little preview of their wedding photos might make it just a little nicer! Enjoy!

 

Jessica & Jason | Married at Badger Farms

When I first met with Jessica and Jason, it was clear to me that they weren’t your typical bride and groom. They weren’t into the “usual cheesy” wedding stuff. Definitely my kind of couple.

Their wedding at Badger Farms was beautiful and picturesque. Such a beautiful day. I was happy that the rain held off that evening so we could sneak out to the field to shoot some sunset portraits. Jessica and Jason were fantastic in front of the camera. Thanks so much guys for the amazing images!

 

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Fantastic Event Coordination by Sarah Sarbacker

Stunning Picturesque Venue: Badger Farms
 

Rachel & Josh | Married at Badger Farms

Last Saturday was my first time at Badger Farms, an I must say that I was very impressed. What a beautiful place! I was also impressed with the thoughtful and professional staff there that helped the day go so smoothly.

Rachel and Josh couldn’t have been a sweeter couple. Rachel was very emotional while she was getting ready for the ceremony and I commented to her that I thought it was great. I could see how much marrying Josh meant to her and I wanted to do my best to capture that.

Enjoy this little preview! Cheers!

Check out all of Rachel and Josh’s photos!

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Molly & Nate | Married June 4, 2011 in Madison

Words really aren’t necessary – simply a beautiful day in Madison for a wedding. Overture Center was rockin’ that night! Just awesome! Thanks to Molly and Nate for including me on their day!

 

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Also check out Jami from All Dressed Up Event Planning. She was spectacular to work with that day!

Erin & Jeremy | Allen Centennial Gardens Wedding

I have to admit that early that Sunday morning I was pretty worried about the weather. Rain was in the forecast and I envisioned Erin, Jeremy, and all their guests huddled beneath a tent for the ceremony. The rains cleared out though, leaving us with pleasantly cloudy skies and a great day for a wedding at Allen Centennial Gardens.

One special highlight was the officiant of the ceremony – none other than Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson. Definitely the most well known wedding officiant I’ve ever photographed!

Special thanks to Erin, Jeremy, and their family and friends for including me on their great day! Here’s a quick slideshow preview of the photos!

 

Kyla & Matt | Married at MMoCA

It could hardly have been a more picture perfect day for Kyla and Matt – beautiful weather, fantastic tulips from the Dane County Farmers Market, real bow ties,  an outdoor ceremony and reception on the rooftop of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and friends and family gathering from literally all over the world.  I thought one of the most special parts was the ceremony itself though. Like the rest of the day, it was simple and heartfelt. There wasn’t a lot of music and readings and other typical ceremonial elements. Instead Kyla and Matt simply wrote letters to one another expressing their vows and commitment to each other. The connection between these two is undeniable.

It was wonderful to be part of their day! Thanks and congratulations Kyla and Matt!

Kristin & Gavin | Wedding Photos Preview!

As a wedding photographer you don’t get many repeat clients. About the closest you come to that is photographing multiple weddings for a family. We photographed Gavin’s sister’s wedding 2008, and we had a great time with them. We were thrilled when we got an email from Gavin last year about his upcoming wedding.

Gavin and Kristin were married in Wausau at St. Marks Lutheran Church and had their reception at the Jefferson Street Inn. The weather was beautiful and Val and I once again had a great time with everyone! I want to give a special kudos to Kristin though. She conquered, or at least tamed, her fears of creepy crawly things when I asked her to step a little into the woods at the park we were shooting at. Apparently her and the wild outdoors don’t get along so well. You wouldn’t know it by the photos though!

Here’s a little slideshow preview of the days images. Cheers!

Visual Inspiration: Human Planet Trailer

Check out this amazing eye candy. Just beautiful and inspiring on so many levels.

If you’re a photographer, here’s a viewing tip: Watch it once just to take it in.

Then watch it again and again. Look at the use of:

Perspective.

Motion.

Color.

Scale.

Soak it in and be inspired.

Kevin & Tracie – Married April 30, 2011!

It was a beautiful, simple, and elegantly cool wedding last Saturday for Kevin and Tracie. The rain held off and it turned out to be a wonderful spring evening in downtown Madison! Their ceremony and reception were held at Bellini Italian Restaurant in Madison. Congratulations!

Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey photographing in Rio De Janeiro.

I think in some way all photographers are a little voyeuristic. It’s just in our nature to be watchers, especially when it comes to other photographers. You photographers reading right now, admit it. You love to watch other photographers at work. I know I do.

I found this cool short film this morning about David Alan Harvey shooting in Rio. Beautiful scenery, a photographer at work, and a little photographic philosophy. Enjoy!

Photo Rio from BryanHarveyFilms.com on Vimeo.

Mike & Mimi’s Wedding Slideshow

Check out the slideshow from Mike and Mimi’s wedding! They were married April 9th at Sacred Hearts Church in Sun Prairie, WI and their reception was at Lake Windsor Golf Club in Windsor, WI.

Mike & Mimi :: Preview

Mike and Mimi were married on April 9, 2011. This was my first wedding of the year and it was nice to brush off the dust and get back in to the swing of things. I really like the cyclical and seasonal nature of weddings because each season has it’s own feeling. Spring is cool, fresh … baseball is getting rolling.

Mike and Mimi had an awesome day, capped off with a reception and a great sunset at Lake Windsor Golf Club. Here’s a few of my favorites from the day. Cheers!

The Power of Interaction

I think that artists occasionally go through creative growth spurts. Lately I’ve grown much more introspective and even analytical about my photography than usual, so I think I must be in one of those spurts. I’ve been thinking a lot about visual storytelling – about it’s elements, their functions, and how to put it all together when the moment demands that you release the shutter. It’s a little like the chefs on Chopped right after they’ve opened their baskets to see what bizarre ingredients they’ll have to combine into a dish.

While looking through images from Mike and Mimi’s wedding that I photographed this past Saturday I was reminded how important interaction is to visual storytelling. Interactions can happen between people, objects … nearly anything. They communicate relationships, actions, and emotions, and they happen constantly throughout a wedding day. The key to being a great visual storyteller though is recognizing the right interactions to capture and using good photographic technique to help carry the message of the interaction to the viewer. And, oh yeah, do it in a few seconds before the moment is gone. It’s no easy task.

Here’s a few of the images that reminded me how important and powerful the element of interaction is. Cheers!