Vacation

For those of you suffering through the cold end of February here in the north, well, I'm sorry.

My wife and I took the kids to Florida for a week, and the weather couldn't have been nicer.

Since we were on vacation I didn't take any gear besides my wife's Sony point-and-shoot. But when I saw the rainbow above my kids playing in the surf I couldn't resist:



After a couple of days at Disney, we went to Daytona Beach. The Southeast Center for Photo/Graphic Studies is where I went to school to learn photography. The school is now a part of Daytona State College.

One of my classmates, Tariq Hamid, is teaching there now. It was my privilege to be able to speak to his and my old professor Eric Breitenbach's classes. I learned my trade back in the days of film and darkrooms, and was really impressed with the ability of the students to shoot assignments and have them critiqued in real time thanks to digital technology.

Afterwards I checked out the Southeast Museum of Photography's exhibition of documentary photographer Alex Harris' photos from Cuba. Really inspirational stuff.

It's good to be back. I'm energized, but a little tired. Tomorrow night I'll be photographing the Fleetwood Mac concert. Stop back to see those photos.

www.joeappelphotography.com

DJ E-Z Lou

Unless I'm shooting a wedding, I can be found at home most Saturday nights. My nights of pub crawling and dancing in clubs are long gone. Call it a function of having kids, or maybe I'm just getting old - whatever.

A few Saturday evenings ago I was at The Smiling Moose Lounge on the South Side of Pittsburgh to photograph Lou Ortego, a.k.a. DJ E-Z Lou. Instantly I was transported back to the 1980's as Lou spun hits from The Clash, The Cure, and Depeche Mode while kids danced or hung out sipping beer and smoking clove cigarettes.












Here's a link to a slideshow with more images.

So if you're in the mood for a night of dancing and carousing 1980's-style be sure to check out DJ E-Z Lou's show on Saturday nights.

www.joeappelphotography.com

Pittsburgh Wedding Essentials

Check out the current edition magazine Pittsburgh Wedding Essentials which features a few of my photos in an article about fall weddings.

Fall in Pittsburgh is a great time to have a wedding. The trees changing colors can offer a spectacular backdrop and the temperatures are usually a lot more comfortable than the middle of the summer.

Congratulations to Allison and Brennan for having their photos chosen for the article. They did a great job planning and decorating for their wedding. The weather meant that they had to change some plans on the fly, but they handled that so well that I don't think anybody really noticed.

It was such a lovely wedding that I made my own copy of their album (look back 4 posts). Give me a call if you'd like to see it.




http://www.joeappelphotography.com

Squirrel Hill Fire

The Burton Hirsch funeral home caught fire early on Saturday morning. Nobody was inside (no, no corpses either) and by the time the fire department got on scene the fire was too involved and deep in the structure for them to safely go inside to fight it.

So they let the building burn for several hours, making sure that none of the nearby buildings caught fire.

Lots of residents of Squirrel Hill spent time watching the fire. Including these young guys. I saw the hats and the snow and knew that there was a photo. All I had to do was find the right moment and angle.



The blaze finally got to the point where firefighters were able to put it out using aerial ladder trucks.

http://www.joeappelphotography.com

Another Album

I liked the design of the last album so much that I got one as a studio sample. This is a 12x12 FinaoONE album with an Armour cover with "Suspicion" leather back and spine.

The photos don't really do the Armour justice, it's a photo printed on metal and it shimmers as you look at it. Way cool.

Give me a call if you'd like to see it and the rest of the albums I offer from Finao and Asuka. Contact info is on my website.









http://www.joeappelphotography.com

For Those About To Rock...

We salute you.

Talk about a dream assignment, I got to photograph AC/DC tonight. The band that provided the soundtrack to my misspent youth.

I was leaning on the stage while I shot these!











http://www.joeappelphotography.com

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.

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.

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.

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.