AWP Bridal Show 2012

Hello, hello!

Once again I've let many weeks go by (more like months!) without writing a single blog post.  And I really hate when that happens.  Since it's been so long since I've last written anything, I know I'm going to find it really hard to remember exactly what I/we've been doing for the last several weeks.  BUT, I do want to have a record of what we do, how we do it and what's been important to me, my family and my business in the last several weeks, so I've created a blogging plan and I'm going to stick to it and the outline I've created.  While I work on making posts from the last several weeks (all the big things and all the little things), I want to take a minute to introduce you to one of projects that I've been working on a whole lot!

The Athens Wedding Proffessionals Bridal Show!  I am going to sound quite cheesy when I say that I'm extremely excited about this event, but I just don't care that I sound cheesy :-)  I am extremely excited and I am counting down the hours until I get to put everything together, put on my perfect dress/outfit and meet 100+ newly engaged couples.  My idea of a really good time!

The Show is this SUNDAY, January 29, 2012 at the Georgia Center on the UGA Campus.  The event is $8 per person and if you have a ticket stub from any other bridal show in January, you can save $3 if you bring it.  Doors open at 12 and close at 5.

My booth has taken a lot of different turns during the designing process.  And although it's not what I imagined when I first started planning this, it will be wonderful!  I ordered many LARGE prints to hang on the wall(s), (which come tomorrow!) and I just know it's going to be a very successful day!

One of the most exciting things about the show is that it motivated me to design my very own SWP magazine.  It's a 16 page 8.5x11 beauty that is packed full of photos, information and tips.  I ordered 100 copies and I'm a bit afraid that I won't have any left when Sunday is over!

A fun side note; I shot the cover image of this year's bridal guide!  I was just thrilled when I got to see the final product at our luncheon the other day - here's a quick iphone shot:

Anyway, send me happy thoughts that I will win the eyes and hearts of all those newly engaged couples!  I want to fill up the rest of my calender! 

clancie & dusty {wedding}

Hi Friends!

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!  My Thanksgiving was wonderful - good food, great company and happy kids :-)  I'm sure you've noticed that I've been neglecting the blog and I feel terrible about it.  I'm going to give a nice update or a 5 on Friday this week, but for now, I want to post photos from Clancie and Dusty wedding.

As I was going through the wedding photos, I kept fighting the urge to make them all B&W.  I'm sure Clancie and Dusty didn't want their entire wedding to be captured in B&W, but I thought it would be fun if I made an entire post in B&W!  B&W images are really my favorite. I've not shot film in many years, I don't get to 'shoot' a lot of B&W, as most people want their images in color.

So, what did you think about an entire b&w post?  I really like it!!

Congratulations, Clancie & Dusty!  Thank you for letting Logan and I be a part of your big day :-)

mallory & andrew {18 months}

Really, the cuteness is too much!  I had such a fantastic time chasing these two around :-)

heston {1 year}

Can you belive Heston is one? 

black rapid straps - equipment review

All day Saturday, during the very small moments that I had to think about anything other than photos, I promised myself that I would write a blog post about Black Rapid camera straps.  I know, it's weird.  I should have been using my small moments to be thinking about food (which is totally normal) or what's next on the list of things to do, but I wasn't, I was thinking about blogging.  And here's why:

Casey, you all know her, right? Well, she went to Outer Banks, NC for a week to shoot her friend's wedding.  And I let her take my Black Rapid camera strap with her.  Yes, I love her a lot :-)  I knew I had a couple of weddings to shoot while she was going to be out town, so I just told her I'd borrow our friend Amy's strap - she lives close by and has the exact same strap.  Easy, peasy.  And it was.  Amy said, sure borrow my strap, that's fine.  So I did.  

Friday, as I'm sitting in my car in the mountains of Dahlonega, getting my camera ready to go shoot a wedding with my cousin Kim, I realize that Amy didn't give me the base of the strap that secures the strap to your camera body.  I realize right then that I was going to have to use the old-fashioned-wear-around-your-neck camera strap for the rest of Friday and all of my 10 hour wedding day on Saturday.  And at that point I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  

By the end of the night, Friday, I was SO annoyed with my camera and old-fashioned camera strap get-up.  Here are my reasons:

1. I couldn't move without worrying that the camera was going to fall off my shoulder.  When you're wearing the Black Rapid strap, you can put your camera down (near your hip) and jump, or squat or quickly help the bride with her dress.

2. The strap kept getting in the way of my view finder.  I'd put the camera to my eye and there was the strap.  Agh!  So then I had to take the camera away from my eye (miss a shot), move the strap and recompose.

3. The weight of the camera gets heavy after many hours - the Black Rapid strap nicely distributes the weight of the camera, so it's not digging into your neck or your shoulder.  And you know without a shadow of a doubt that it's not going to fall off your body.  

So, end of story? I will NEVER, NOT EVER SHOOT A WEDDING WITHOUT MY BLACK RAPID STRAP EVER AGAIN!

I do have to say that I'm glad this happened.  I've been using my Black Rapid strap for several months now and I totally forgot how awesome it is!