Connection!

Hagus and Banger came along for the ride!



Jessica & Chris are getting married this weekend, and these are some of our favorite images from there connection session we shot recently!

the long (distance) engagement

Gregg and Amanda both work in advertising, both are in love with one another, both love spending as much time as possible together and each live a couple thousand miles apart. Gregg lives in Brooklyn, NY and Amanda right here in the Duke city. Gregg was in town for a few days and we were able to meet up with the two of them just before Greg had to catch his flight back home. They came to the studio and we went across the street and took a short walk through Old Town. And though I walked off a couple of times without Olive, (the dog) even she seemed to have a good time...once we got back to the studio! Anyway, Congratulations you two and we are looking forward to working with you two again.

Lee & Heather

Angelique & Robert

Angelique and Robert are one of the few couples we are able to photograph in June. June 2008 has been so busy that we have turned more than two dozen couples down that wanted us to photograph their weddings during June. We do have 5 weddings in June and are looking forward to each one. One of these weddings is that of Angelique and Robert. We were able to spend an hour or so with them downtown and in the studio shooting an engagement session for them. We really enjoyed our time with them and look forward to being a part of the wedding. Angelique has a great attitude and a cute little freckle on her toe which she adores!! Anyway, freckle and all we are looking forward to their wedding.

the classics

Randy and Brittany have been together since high school. The have a great collection of images of the two of them growing up together in love. Life has now taken them to the point of joining together as one.
Just before Christmas we met this beautiful couple in the foothills of the Sandias. They pulled up in Randy's nice black manly corvette and stepped out holding their cute petite little dogs gizmo and bruiser!
We had a great time photographing them and taking the time to get to know them. We ended with a beautiful sunset that screamed "Photograph Me."
Sometimes I look at this image and I get a throw back to the 70's 80's style of photography. I laugh because it's funny how trends come around more and more. I also look at this image and see two people, in love with one another stepping out of the monotony of the day to take a few minutes to enjoy life with each other. It's a beautiful thing!

a Fall in Love

The sun rises over the tops of the mountain just as I drive past by a Los ranchos vineyard each morning on my way into work. The morning light hits the bright ochre yellow leaves of the cottonwood trees and I think what a perfect time to be outside and photographing a great couple. Last week I had that very opportunity. Will and Ebany, who are getting married next year, came over for an engagement session to capture the fall colors. It was a beautiful afternoon and we walked around the bosque for about an hour. I really enjoyed my time with the two of them and I especially enjoy looking at their images.

"Rock -and-Roll"

Tonight we asked Lisa and Michelle to give three words that described them. Michelle didn't hesitate to make the devil hands and laughingly said "Rock - and - Roll". That kind of attitude makes life worth living. To be able to say something like that without hesitation, is to be able to see the good in life and enjoy it for what it is. We then asked for some favorite songs and they gave us a list of country songs. So the three words really should have been, "Coun - try - girls".
Anyway, we had a great time walking around the school campus taking pictures and chasing run away dogs. We are looking forward to the wedding and can't wait to see how Michelle looks in her dress and cowboy boots. Lisa whatever you decide to wear, you should include your riding boots I dig 'em.

The new "friends first" wedding trend

Lately there has been an unfortunate trend in wedding photography. With the cost of nice digital cameras being well within the reach of most people, there has been a huge influx of people assuming they can photograph a wedding simply based on the fact they own a digital SLR camera.
This year our weddings have dropped off a bit. with brides having "friends with nice cameras"shoot their weddings. In addition to photographing friends there is also a crop of people advertising a cheap, photo for hire, wedding coverage that for one low price they photograph the wedding and the couple gets a copy of the full size images. After that the contact ends.
Though our number of weddings has dropped, we have been inundated with calls from disappointed to devastated brides wanting to know if we can fix their wedding images. In most cases this is impossible. Technical issues can be, in some cases, overcome through our editing. That is about where our ability to salvage wedding memories ends. There is no photoshop magic that can compensate for an untrained eye, and a lack of passion.
Wedding photography is more than just showing up to snap a few shots of things that happen. It is a photographic discipline that requires expertise in photojournalism, editorial, fashion, and portrait photography. It is an art form that works with the interpretation of human emotion.
To be able to connect with someone and capture the fleeting moments of their life and preserve the emotion that is frozen in the 250th of a second, is an ability that is not achieved with the simple purchase of a digital SLR. The cameras instruction book doesn't say anything about knowing that every time David sees his new wife smile he starts to tear up. It says nothing about knowing that as soon as Amanda looks at her self in the mirror as soon as she is ready to walk down the isle she will start fanning back the tears. And the last time I read through my cameras users manual it said nothing about Thom, the 6'5" 350 pound rancher that is as tough as raw hide and just melts into a sweet pudding whenever he sees his daughter in her beautiful white dress.
Our photography is our way to express our art and passion for life, love and personal connections. We love getting to know our couples and being able to spend the most intimate and important few hours of their new life together. Desiree is an amazing photographer and an amazing person. we have very few brides that don't make it a point to let me know how lucky
I am to have her as a co-photographer and a wife. She is able to provide brides with much more than a few snapshots of their wedding. She provides them with beautiful emotion filled images of the nerves, the excitement, and the love that they are experiencing before the wedding. She also provides them with stress reduction, an amazing knowledge of all things wedding. And the ability to fix almost anything that may come up during the wedding. This is not taught in a users manual to a new camera. It is part of who she is.
I know this is a long post, I just needed to express my thoughts on this. There are a few events in your life that can not be repeated. Once they are over there is but one way to remember them. Once the vows have been read, the minister gone home, the food eaten, the cake enjoyed, the dress preserved in a nice box in the attic or sold on ebay, the presents returned, there are two things that you will keep with you the rest of your life. You vows, and your wedding images. You vows last until death. The only thing your children, grandchildren, great great great grandchildren will have of you and your wedding, is your collection of wedding images. With this knowledge that you will be remembered by your offspring through these images, how is it even conceivable to entrust that to someone just because they are cheap and you receive all of the digital negatives.
Again I apologize for the rant but with all of the brides coming to us in desperation hoping to salvage some semblance of their wedding, I feel obligated to write this. Not that we need more weddings. We just want people to consider the true importance of the wedding photography - the only tangible object you will have and cherish from your wedding. Consider that and then try to put a value on it. If you value your memories as a few hundred dollar gamble. I have nothing more to say. If you treasure your memories and want a document of the beginning of your family's legacy. Search out a good professional photographer and spend the money on them.
Invest it what is truly important in life. If you actually took the time to read this entire thing. I sincerely thank you for the time you spent doing so. We would also enjoy hearing from you and the good or bad experiences you had with your wedding photos.

Snowy May Afternoon

Liz & Coleman are gettin' hitched in a couple of weeks. (very very short weeks, if you ask Liz) Anyway, we had a chance to shoot a session of their entire (soon to be) family. We did this at the top of Sandia Crest. It was cold and snowy but we had a great time. I had had oral surgery just an hour before the shoot and was afraid that the pain and/or numbness would alter the outcome of the shoot. Well, with all the hiking my blood started to flow and the numbness quickly went away. the cold also kept the pain down. All in all it was a great shoot. Liz and Coleman make quite a couple and Desiree and I are really looking forward to shooting their wedding.
You can't tell from the images but it really did snow and it was very cold!!

No Broken Bones

With just a week left until the wedding, Nicole and Isaac came over to the studio to do an engagement session. Isaac wanted to try something on his bike with Nicole in the picture. Because of an "equipment malfunction" we were not able to get the exact shot. We did get a few cool shots. I think that the road rash should heal before their wedding next week in Vegas!