New Album

I just got an album from Finao for a customer and thought I'd post some quick photos of it. A 14x14 Finao ONE album with SilkTones! cover - I'm really blown away by it.



Here's the spine:


The customer chose the creased print option, so the spreads are an expansive 14" tall by 28" wide.





The leather spine in "Drifter" really compliments the "Lion's Gate" silk brocade. What a super book of memories of this couple's wedding day.

More fun from last Saturday

So if you plan your wedding for December you might want to have a pair of boots available for the formals. And while your at it check Victoria's Secret for some thermal underwear;-)

Winter Wedding

I shot my last wedding of 2008 on Saturday and I'm pretty excited about the images.

You can get four seasons in a single weekend around here and the season du jour was WINTER!!!

Allison and Jeremy were such good sports and really into the idea of being out in the cold and snow for a photo session - poor Allison was rethinking the wisdom of open-toed shoes after a few minutes! They've totally earned their honeymoon in Hawaii.



Springwood is a beautiful setting for a wedding - I've got some shots from a fall wedding in the galleries on the website - and the grounds are just as wonderful when covered in snow.



Inside is quite beautiful, too. The place is decorated for Christmas, so there were lots of strings of lights which give off a really soft quality of light - perfect for a portrait:



Check out the catchlights in their eyes - there's a thousand little dots of light!


What a great way to close out the year. Thanks Allison and Jeremy.

Joe

Hair Raising Election Night

It's been two weeks since one of the most exciting election nights I've ever covered.

In both 2000 and 2008 I was at the IBEW hall on the South Side for the Democratic party election night shindig.

What a difference in atmosphere.

2000:


2008:

You're Never Too Old for Love

Richard and Mary Ann met over the internet 3 years ago. It's a story that isn't so uncommon anymore. I personally know a few people who have met their spouses using the internet. No, I don't mean mail-order brides or anything like that;-)

The thing that's unique about Richard and Mary Ann is that they're 87 and 71-years-old. Both widowed, they met through friends and chatted online before meeting in person. Eventually, Richard asked Mary Ann to marry him. When she said "yes" he sold his home in Yorkshire, England and relocated to West Mifflin.

I'm sure if asked they'd both tell you never to take your mate for granted, and to cherish each day you have together.






I've had some fantastic weddings lately and the photos from them are just wonderful. I'll be updating my website very soon and those pictures will be featured prominently, so stay posted.

Let There Be Light

OK, so sometimes I can act like I'm jaded.

A few days ago I got the assignment to photograph the test run of Casa Magica's lighting of the Cathedral of Learning. I really wasn't expecting much, but when I arrived it was like "Hey, wow! That's cool!"




If you have the opportunity I highly recommend you go by the Cathedral between now and November 20, as part of the Pittsburgh 250 Festival of Lights.

Habitat for Humanity

There are three houses being built in a hurry during a "Home Builder's Blitz" by a group of volunteers from Habitat for Humanity in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Westwood, near my home in Crafton.

I think it's great that three families are going to have brand-new houses, but what's really cool is that they're contributing to the construction efforts. Each family is responsible for 350 hours of sweat equity in the building of the homes.

Today, officials announced who is getting which house and Theresa Jenks (right) learned that her family will be the first to move in. A few weeks later the other two houses will be complete and the rest of the families will move in.





Good news all around.

In the news

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop wrote an outstanding article for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this weekend. It deals with the process of selecting locations for wedding photos.

I'm proud to have cooperated with my friend and colleague Justin Merriman to come up with a list of tips for wedding photos.

A big thanks goes out to Liz and Marc Allemang and Jessica and Siggy Pehel for agreeing to be interviewed for the article. You can check out their pictures by following the link I posted in the first paragraph.

Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Apologies to David Bowie, but I'm very excited about the new packages I just rolled out this weekend.

I'm especially jazzed about the new books I'm offering from Asuka and Finao. I encourage you to check them out. You'll see that they offer the finest quality books in their categories.

I've been very happy with the books I've offered up to now, more importantly so have my clients. It's my responsibility to keep up with the many, many book products out there and after a lot of research I've decided to go with these two companies.

Asuka offers printed books that exceed the quality of a fine-art book you might buy at a bookstore.

The Finao books are made from flush-mounted photographs and represent a very high-end option that can be customized to create a unique keepsake - how about a hot pink leather cover with a leopard-print accent!

Or not. The point is that customers are able to create something that represents their individual vision and taste.

Whichever book you choose they are custom designed by yours truly. I don't use templates that you just plug pictures into, I design each page. As always, you'll be able to proof the pages in an online gallery. The books are printed once you approve the design.

While my new packages are built around the books, I continue to offer a package without books for those couples with simpler needs. They all, I feel, are priced competitively and offer an outstanding value.

Whatever the package you choose, I bring all the experience and skills acquired over 17 years as a professional photographer.

Whatever I'm shooting - be it news, sports, portraits, or weddings - I'm still growing and seeing things with fresh eyes. That is the most exciting thing to me.

It's all about trust

OK, so the bride wanted a picture of all the groomsmen holding her, which seemed like a benign idea:



I don't think she expected what she was setting herself up for:



In case you're wondering, they caught her. By the way, the groom was standing just off camera to swoop in and rescue his new wife.

This wedding was in St. Mary's, PA. It was nice to go somewhere new and see a new church and a different reception hall.





Check out the antler chandeliers and the log cabin walls!

"I see fireworks every time we kiss."

Give the groom Kirk credit, it had to be said. He delivered the line with a straight face, too:-)

PNC Park is far from an ordinary place to get married. But I've got to say that the staff were really helpful, the guests had a lot of fun, and there are many great places to take photos. Especially if there are fireworks!

Now, if the Pirates could only manage a winning season...

Skies

I've really been blown away by the weather and dramatic skies this summer. A few weeks ago I posted a shot at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts that featured storm clouds rolling in. This weekend it was blue skies punctuated by clouds.

I look forward to seeing what weather mother nature provides, it's definitely a source of inspiration.

Just a little bit of light

Just a little bit of light from a window coupled with some fill flash, softened with a diffuser, and this is what you get:




Of course, it helps to have a beautiful subject.

Like my guitar teacher told me when I was a kid, sometimes less is more.

From the files of unpublished images

Here's an image from a couple of weeks ago that I meant to post on the blog earlier. I got busy and forgot.


Pittsburgh Police crime unit Detective Charlotte Hughes looks at the passenger side of a mini van parked at the corner of Margaret St. and Hayes Ave. in Mt. Oliver that was involved in an earlier shooting on Mountain Ave. in Pittsburgh on Thursday, July 17, 2008.



Yet another shooting in the Mt. Oliver area. Luckily this time nobody was seriously injured.

A full photographer is a happy photographer

Mmm. This sauteed Halibut steak from Kaya looks good enough to eat. Well, it did until I ate it.

Thanks to Executive Chef Danielle Cain for putting together such a beautiful meal for me to photograph. She's a very talented young chef.

Happy Independence Day!

The 4th of July is a great time to enjoy family, friends, fireworks, and barbeque. Be safe - if you're drinking, please hand the car keys to somebody who isn't.

Stormy Weather

We've had some pretty strong storms around Pittsburgh lately, and yesterday was no exception.

I was with Vanessa and Warren, with their wedding party in tow, at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts shooting some formals during the cocktail hour of the reception as a heavy storm blew in. With one eye on the front rolling towards us I shot a couple of group photos when we decided it would be best to go indoors.

We were walking into the building when I looked up at the sky and was struck with just how dramatic it looked against the yellow of the building.

Luckily, we had time for a couple of shots before the rain came.

I'd rather light a candle (or a flash) than curse the darkness

Man was this church dark! Mt. Lebanon Methodist Church is a wonderful setting for a wedding, but the lighting leaves a lot to be desired on a dark, rainy day.

The photographer is only allowed to go as far as the balcony overhang, so I had to stay back with a long lens.

Once off of the altar the light really falls off. Something like 4 stops or so. Even at ISO 3200 I was only shooting at 1/100 at f/3.5. I put a flash on the camera and balanced the flash exposure with the ambient light behind. Focus tracked flawlessly and the image held up extremely well. Props to Nikon.

It's not all darkness, the portico on the Scott Road side is a great place for portraits.



There are a lot more great images from this wedding. I'll post some more (maybe) as I continue editing. This was a quick post, I was kind of excited about just how well the new camera performed under some really difficult circumstances and wanted to share.

Just One Guitar! Slung Way Down Low!!!!

The US Air Guitar Championships held a qualifier at Mr. Smalls Theatre on Tuesday.



These people know how to have fun.



Have a look at the video, it's a hoot:

Flying Fortress

No question about it, I've got a really cool job.

Ever since I was a kid, I've read about WWII aviation. The planes and their pilots are a source of some really fascinating stories.

On Monday I got to fly in the Liberty Belle, a restored B-17 Flying Fortress:



Of course I had to have my photo taken while in action:



But probably the best part was being able to share the experience with George Cahill, 82, who flew in a B-17 as a crew member during WWII. This was the first time since 1945 in England that Mr. Cahill had flown in a B-17, and it was a pretty special event for him.



It's pretty special to meet guys like Mr. Cahill and to hear their stories.

Check out the video that reporter Mike Cronin and I put together:

Sometimes the gods of feature photos smiles on you just when you aren't expecting it. In fact, that's usually how it happens.

I was driving to East Brady to photography biologists from the US Department of Wildlife re-stocking endangered northern riffleshell mussels into the Allegheny River after the completion of a bridge project when I saw these guys:


It reminded me of this:



It angers the feature photo gods when you're presented with an opportunity and you pass it by, so I turned the car around and took the picture. All is right in the universe.

By the way, I had fun wading in the water:

Joe Photographer and the Crystal Skull

The excitement of the newest Indiana Jones movie prompted Ellen James of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to ask the scientists in the Section of Minerals if they had a crystal skull in the collection. The answer was yes. It's not one of the rare, mystical, pre-Columbian skulls that Dr. Jones is after in the movie, but it's still pretty cool.

The skull wasn't the easiest thing to photograph. I quickly realized that the light source had to be underneath the skull. I asked the scientists to cut a hole in a black piece of paper and put the skull over a light source. As a result, you can see the fissures and faults in the 14-pound quartz crystal.



I've had some pretty great weddings over the past couple of weeks, I'll try to post some images soon.

Joe

A day of contrast

One thing about being a news photographer is that you just never know what's coming next.



I spent the first part of the evening photographing a bunch of young girls preparing for a dance recital. The PTA helps out with the cost of lessons for the after school dance program.







































Afterwards, on my way back to town I got a call that there was a shooting on the South Side Slopes. Apparently the police had shot a young man who had shot a K9. The young man's parents were there and were extremely distraught.









The scene was pretty tense between the police and the people in the neighborhood. Shootings aren't an uncommon occurrence in this part of town.

















My sympathies go out to the parents. I can't even begin to imagine how they must feel.

Event Planner Slideshow

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing and photographing event planner Allison McGeary.

From floral, to tables, to invitations, she produces some amazing designs for weddings and other events.

For me it was really cool to get to watch a very talented person do her thing. I usually only see the final results, so this gave me a deeper appreciation for the efforts that go into making an event truly memorable.

Here's Allison's website

Here's a link to the slideshow

New Website = New Blog

Moving away from the .Mac website that has served me well for the last few years to a flash site means that I no longer can have a blog directly on my site. So I decided to follow the lead of my friends Justin, Andy, Jeff, and Mike at blogspot.

I'll endeavor to post my favorite photos from weddings I shoot as well as from my daily work as a photojournalist. Endeavor is a fancy word that means to try hard to do something. Which is what I'll do. In the past I've not been the most frequent poster to my blog, mainly keeping it to wedding photos and observations from the events.

This time I'm going to try something a little bit different by adding some of the daily stuff I shoot and some photos of my nutty kids to the mix.