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: