So I havent written since the Superbowl. Sorry about that. Things have been crazy busy, and also very sad. So here's my February wrap up.

I finally got a new computer and camera and lens. I'm still not fully rebuilt, but I am able to shoot and edit so life is good. Just waiting on my Photoshop so that I can try to fix some past problems. I love Nikon, and the D700 really does make my life easier when it comes to shooting EVERYTHING!

I left for Las Vegas for WPPI (wedding and portrait photographers international) convention at the MGM Grand and experienced Vegas first hand.

A few things about Vegas that I now know.

-Vegas is good for a few things:

-Strippers

-Gambling

-drinking

-shows

However, I dont do the stripper thing, and I cant afford to Gamble. I would only go back to party and see some shows. I was also there for 4 nights. I now know 3 nights is long enough for me.

Thats ok, WPPI was freaking awesome! I learned so much, shot some photos of The David Burke to update his website, he did the same for me, and enjoyed getting out of Pittsburgh for a while.

Here are a few of the Photos of David from when we were shooting. Gotta love it. This guy is a great photographer, and an awesome guy to hang out with. He helped keep me accountable when we were in Vegas, so this was a chance to get out of the casino and grab a few hours of fresh air!

This was with my new Nikon D700 and my Sigma 70-200 2.8. 320 iso, 1/500@2.8!

iso 200 1/1250 @ 2.8

iso 200 1/320@2.8

iso 320 1/800@2.8

I came home to my Grandpa in Critical Care. He passed away last Tuesday February 24th. My Aunt Judy, Dad, and myself were there when he passed away. I love him dearly, and will most certainly miss him. I lived with him for two years while I was going to school and he played Grandpa, Dad, friend, and mentor during that time. He was 87 and a devoted man of God. He was an example of living out the actions of Jesus. My Aunt was telling me that one year he recieved 60 Fathers Day cards from people whos lives he had impacted. Thats the kind of man he was. Once he experienced the salvation of God, he started living it, started acting on it. He didn't have much to give, but he sent cards to hundreds of people for their birthdays and anniversaries, and counciled many individuals and couples.

If I can grow up to be half the positive influence that he was, I'll have made a serious difference in the world around me.

Here he is on his 85th birthday.

This past week was tough. I lost a very dear friend, someone who would just pat me on the knee after my cousin died, and give me a hug after a bad day, and give me simple, honest advice. He was a simple man with good down to earth wisdom. He will be greatly missed my his children, grandchildren, and pretty much everyone who met him as far as I can tell. When I'm finally able to gather my thoughts, I'll put a true post out about my Grandpa. For today, this will have to work.

With the past week behind me, I head to Florida on Friday for Spring Break in Panama City with a group called We Minus Me. They are a Christian group looking to influence college students through pop culture. I'm gonna be shooting photos and video for thier new website! I'm super stoked. But how couldnt I be! Beach, warm weather, SPRING BREAK! I hope I can still Skim Board. More to come soon. I promise to not let another month pass without a post, but I'm not sure if I'll have internet while I'm in Florida.

Just a moment

I love Holidays. I love the time that I get to spend with friends and family, but this year is gonna be a tough one for our family. As you may remember, my cousin Jason died this summer at the young age of 25. Just weeks after getting engaged. I miss him every day, and know that our family get together will be tough on me, but I can't even imagine how hard its going to be on his parents, brother, and sister in-law.

I bring that up cause my cousin Brian and I got together for lunch today and were talking about the family. I just want my family and friends to know how much I love you all. See ya guys tomorrow night or Wednesday morning.

Take this time to tell your family, friends, or that important person in your life, how much you love them today.

Just a random photo from a trip to Phipps Conservatory last time it was this cold, before I head to Diesel Club's Christmas Party.

GO ELF YOURSELF

Sometime I need a good laugh and today this gave it to me. My buddy Dave made this of us and a few of our drinking buddies. Check out Elf Yourself and see if it doesnt make your sides hurt.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

These make me laugh my butt off!!! Thank you Office Max for making me laugh so much

Whats happening to football?

I'm not sure whats going on here, but check out the REF taking out South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia!



Ok, now for a question if you can stop laughing: Anyone headed to NYC for PDN's Photo Plus Expo? If so let me know. I think I'm headed up Wed for a meeting Thursday morning with Film Aid, and then gonna hang out for a while and see whats new at the show.

Le me know if you're gonna be up there.

by the way, Full frame is the way to go. I just shot my first wedding and engagement session with the Nikon D700 and I am stunned. Image quality is amazing, low noise at High ISO is amazing, but the coolest thing is that I was really able to use my 50mm lens again for a LARGE portion of the day. It is taking me a while to realize that I have to move a lot closer to get the same shot as before, but its worth it. Especially considering how bright the viewfinder is.

Images will be up soon I promise.

LIfe

I am sitting in the office this beautiful monday, mundanely organizing shelves. Well, thats kind of a lie. I was doing that, until i sat down at my computer. But thats not really the point.

I was just thinking about the past couple of days, and I began to think about how blessed I am to do what I do, have wonderful clients, and great friends and family.

Ellie, the middle child, and younger sister came into visit this weekend, and I picked her up at the greyhound station. We havent seen each other since my cousins funeral back in June, and it was really good to just hangout with her and catch up.

Then I had this awesomely fun wedding on Saturday that makes me smile thinking about the photos, and the excitement that I feel knowing that the bride and groom will love looking at them when they get back from their honeymoon.

And Sunday I woke up and went to church for the first time in over a month, and it felt really good to spend time in worship and prepare for this week ahead.

I'm so excited for the next month ahead, and had such a great summer than it just hit me how blessed I really am to have the life that I have.

To all the people who bless my life with their friendship and company, I thank you all for just being there.

I know I know.

So it has been like two weeks since I really blogged consistently. I know that there is no real excuse for that, I apologize. However, this week is going to maybe only hold a few posts, primarily since I am moving, and won't have internet immediately. I do hope to have it up and running by the end of next week though.

Anyways, I havent blogged since St Patrick's Day, and WOW what a great day. I started cooking breakfast for my friend Sarah, two of her friends and myself, and then we headed down to Station Square for a long day of partying. When I say long, I mean Long. Like I drank more beers in more hours than I slept in the past two nights Long! Yeah 14 hours of hanging out with friends, dancing, singing and celebrating St Patrick's day two days early. I figured since I was staying in on monday that I needed to make up for the lack of not listening to my favorite local Irish Band "Red Hand Paddy" by "utilizing the bottle" as they say in "The Sun Also Rises".

Then I had concerts last week, as well as some other shoots that I was working on. So here are some of the photos from the concerts.

Cobra Starship:



Lez Zeppelin 

Oh, as I mentioned a little while back, about the video that I was shooting, I came across a few photos from those two days, and I could KILL Eric for posting them on the Boogie Board, but hey what can I say, I was sick that whole weekend, and I was dressed for comfort, not style.

Anyways, thanks Eric for grabbing some photos of me at work. Even if they are showing me to be a zombie when it comes to style.  

For those of you concerned, I have cut my hair (Sorry Ashley!) The good news is that I now look presentable again, and the long hair will have to wait till next winter to reappear.

I hope that Everyone had a great Easter with family or friends. For me, Easter is a time to remember that I have been washed of my sins, because "We have and advocator to the Father" 1 John 2:1. But it is also a time to spend with my sisters and my parents. I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with them, and seeing as I was sick from Friday night on, and am still sick, I want to say thank you mom. I love you so much, and I still cant believe that you take care of me when I am not feeling well. 

Girls, it was great to take a trip down to Va. to pick you up, and even though you slept the whole ride home, I still love you, and it was nice to hang out for a bit.

Trends with brides

I came across this article from the NY Times on Dane Sanders blog, and want to know what brides and photographers think of the observations that Ms. La Ferla made.

Are dresses getting sexier and more adventurous while loosing the innocent look? Or are they just moving at the same speed as the fashion around us? 

What is important to you as a bride when picking out your wedding dress? Are you going for an innocent look? or looking for a dress that shows off your curves? 

Photographers

Stop and look at art

Some times, on rare occasions, I get really interesting emails coming across my desk that make me realize how much I love being an artist. Today I received one of those emails from my friend Shana who is a dance instructor in NYC.

The Group that orchestrated this is called "Improv Everywhere". Check this video out

I'm in the money

Could the Giants really win by three points? YES THEY CAN!

No one believed me yesterday when I said that the Pats were going to loose by three. In fact, those at the Super Bowl party i attended looked rather shocked when I suggested that the Giants would take the game by three, especially with a 12 point line given to New England. 

All I have to say, is that I didn't believe that there was any way possible that the Giants were going to Let New England win, after having a perfect regular and post season.

Way to go NY! and for all those Plexico haters from Pittsburgh, he played a great game yesterday, and he helped to bring it home.

Superbowl Sunday

With all the talk that is going around today, and the Patriots being a 14 point favorite, I just want to take a moment to pray for the NY Giants. 

Father, bless the Giants as they prepare for battle today. Help them to overcome the evil that sits as the AFC Champions, and has pushed many great teams from this world wide event.

May Mannings arm be true, and Plexico's mind be sharp. May Brady forget what a football is meant for, and see his perfect season come to an end. 

In the name of the Your Son, have mercy on our conference and let us see Boston shamed on this winter eve.

Amen.

Incase you are unable to tell, I hate the Pats. I believe Tom Brady to be the best QB in the game, no holds barred, but it doesnt mean that I dont want them to loose for beating the Steelers in regular season. Regardless of what happens, it is going to be a great game. 

Lets GET IT Started!

Skiing with Friends

I sat down and slowly laced up my boots. It had been a while since I had worn them, and I forgot how hard they were to get tight. I checked my bindings to make sure they still worked, and strapped into my snowboard. It was cold, but the snow was perfect. Packed groomed powder covered the slopes. That wouldn't last, but it was still early. Soon the snow would be raped from the hills, exposing the ice beneath, but for the moment, it was perfect.

My cousins Justin, and Pete, had invited me to spend a day snowboarding and hanging out. After having skied nearly 100 times or more per year for seven years when I was instructing, and not skiing at all for the past two seasons, it was awesome to get back out. 

I started off slow. Taking my time, slowly carving down some easy trails. Getting the feel of my board once again. It's like riding a bike, you may not forget how, but you dont have quite as much confidence initially. With each run, i pushed myself harder. Making faster, tighter turns, bringing myself to the position that I knew I should be in, then transitioning my board to follow my body. The results were as I expected. The riding improved, my body will hate me.

The next day I was in quite a bit of pain. I decided to push myself harder than I probably should have, and my muscles are still seriously tight.  One of the best things about a day out on the mountain, is the fresh cold air, and the blue sky. Just being able to spend time carving down the slopes, finding fresh groomed areas even towards the end of the day, and laughing with friends, is a blessing all in its self.

Here are Justing and Pete at 7 Springs. The crazy thing is that none of us have been out for more than 2 years.

Here they are sitting at the top of North Face.

More will come soon about my adventures, and hopefully that will include more time on the slopes. It is hard to figure out why I ever stayed away for so long. 

Happy New Year. Have a great 2008

I just want to start 2008 by saying Happy New Year!

2007 was a great year for me. I graduated college finally, was able to take on photography full time, and took a trip to Uganda, with 17 hours to get ready. But more importantly, my relationships with my family are better this year, than they have ever been. My sisters and I get along better than we ever did, and my parents and I have a great friendship that I wouldn't trade for the world.

I also started going to a new church this year, and some great friendships are growing out of that as well.

For 2008 my goals are as follows:

*Get the the gym and work out on a consistent basis.

*Start rock climbing more.

*Get back to Africa, and shoot my documentary.

*Learn video editing, and buy a video camera.

*Make more true friends, and less acquaintances.

*book more weddings, and get one published. 

What is your New Years Resolution? tell me in the comments section.

I found this photo on CBS news. This is from India!

Happy Thanksgiving

I had such a great Thanksgiving with my family this year. I was home from Tuesday till Friday night, and didn't have access the internet, but aside from that, the trip was great. I was able to spend time with some friends that I only see an average of once a year, and was able to spend time with both of my sisters, which was wonderful.

Wednesday night, my sisters and I went to see Beowulf with my dad. As a former English Major, and having had to memorize the first 50 or so lines my freshman year, I was very disappointed with how far off the movie was. The cool thing was that the theatre I saw it in was showing the 3D version and it was really crazy. It is definitely not like I remember 3D being. The image was sharp, and the colors were like looking at photos. However, the characters were way to CG for my taste. I thought that 300 was much better, and if someone wants to take a stab at making Beowulf over, it would be to everyones benefit to discuss the movie with the creators of 300.

Thursday was awesome. Sleeping late, only to wake up and stuff myself is something that I never get to do on Thanksgiving. We usually have 30-40 people at my parents house, but this year we were able to pawn it on to my aunt. Our family is really close, and the night was filled with laughter, football and Wii. I was really hurt to see the NY Jets loose to Dallas after having put a beating on the Steelers. But tonight that loss will be forgotten as we destroy Miami at home. 

Friday my dad woke me up really early to go pheasant hunting with him and his friends from church. We did a father son day, and it was a great time. The coolest thing about pheasant hunting is watching the dog work the field. 

Afterwards we went inside and drank 20 year-old port, and caught up on the important things in everyones life. Here are the guys, (from left to right)Randy and his dad Steve Gooder, Rick, and my dad Ray.
We all had such a great time. The coolest thing about field sports like this is the amount of camaraderie that comes out of it. Every time a bird was flushed, we were shouting encouragement to whoever had the shot. Rick was working his puppy, (she is only 13 months old) and she was amazing to watch. She would point to birds that we couldn't see until we had walked past them and then they would fly away. 

I have so much to be thankful for this year.

1) My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "you are a new creation in Christ Jesus" and it is because of his love that I am where I am today.

2) My amazing family. Mom, Dad, Ellie and Krista, I love you all so much and thank you for your support in my life.

3) I have lived with my grandfather for the past two years. He moved into a retirement community on Tuesday, but I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend with him, and getting to know him better. He is such a good spiritual mentor, and I love him so much.

4) My friends who support me and keep me in line, even when I want to get a little crazy.

5) Having graduated college, because it was getting pretty hairy towards the end.

6) My clients that have allowed me to come into their lives and photograph the most sacred day of their new life. I am truly blessed to be able to spend time with you and your families to capture moments that you may not remember otherwise. Your kindness and friendship has been awesome.

7) All the great people in the photography world that have helped me develop my business. Some of them I haven't met yet, but their blogs and business models have been a great encouragement.

8) The ability to travel. Last year was an impromptu trip to Uganda, and this year is hopefully a trip that I have been planning for some time. 

9) All of you that read this blog and support my work. I thank you for the time you give to me, and I really appreciate it.

I hope that everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving. Remember the blessings that are in your life, and give thanks for it. 

SNOW!!!!!

I may possibly be the happiest person alive right now. Well maybe except for Mike Colon who lives in CA, and has perfect surfing weather in Newport Beach right now. But For me, here in Western PA, I am really stoked because this hopefully means the start of a GREAT ski season for Seven Springs and I am really getting antsy to start snowboarding. Now that school is done, my life will finally have time for one of my favorite past times.

The snow started as I was driving home last night. I only had a 20 minute drive but the last 5 miles or so were a blizzard. The snow was coming down so hard that I couldn't use my high beams, and there was enough on the road, that I started to fishtail as I turned onto my road.

Anyways, I hope that everyone is enjoying their respective weather, but while I hate the cold, I love the snow. Keep lovin.

1000+ views

Yep, thats right. Today I hit the over 1000 view mark. I am pretty excited, since no one really knows who I am yet. I would love to reach 1000 unique visitors, but that will come with time.

I finally was able to upload my Be The Change Uganda Video to You Tube, and here it is for the first time, for the public to view:

I am putting together a team to head back to Uganda for a month and shoot a documentary on the lack of education in Uganda. I don't believe that I can change the world, but I do know that my gifts involve showing people a problem in the world. That is one of the reasons that I studied journalism.

I am really excited to get this project underway becaSchool of Visual Arts in NYC to get equipment but that still isn't going to take care of the logistical side of the project, like getting into Uganda, or housing, transportation, and food. If you or a friend, or corporation would like to get involved with a project that is the first to examine education, please e-mail me as soon as possible. I would love to send you more information on the project.

OK, now for where I left off last time.

As I had previously posted, I was in NYC for three days, and that was about as long as I could take it there. Everything moves at warp speed, and unless I was up there for continuous work, I couldn't handle it for an extended period of time.

However, myself, and nearly 15 other photographers from around the mid-Atlantic met up in NYC to hang out with [b]ecker on his 34th birthday, or as he prefers to say, the 5th anniversary of his 29th birthday. He was traveling with Marisa Holmes. She is a great photographer that is associated with [b]ecker. He wsa also traveling with his video team for the [b] School, Vu and Lan Bui. They were a blast to hang out with and were constantly joking around and laughing.

Here is a shot of Allan Zepeda sporting the ShootSac by Jessica Claire. [b]ecker came with four bags and handed them out in a guerrilla marketing fashion.

Here is a shot of [b] and Marisa. Look at the photo and you'll get the idea.
Here is a shot of [b] with the owner of Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Brooklyn. The Pizza was unbelievable.

Here is a shoot of the Brooklyn Bridge looking over to Manhattan. It is such an amazing site, and while I hate being up there, I found some definite perks. This view was one of them.

This was just a fun abstract I took while sitting in a park on the upper east side the night I left to drive home.

New Posts

So one of the things that I am going to start doing, is trying to post a new video once or twice a week of bands that I have been listening to. If it starts to get to repetative then I will stop, but for now we're gonna try this on for size.

I first heard Flyleaf at Alive Festival back in June, and thought that they put on a great show. That said, I love the lyrics here. It shows that everyone struggles with life around them, but rather than get angry and sing music that harms, Flyleaf focuses on overcoming the problem and finding hope in life.

I think that tomorrow will probably be....well, you'll have to see.

I'm Here!

So I just got checked into my hotel for the Alive Festival and it is going to look like Woodstock out there tomorrow. I'm not sure if it is supposed to keep raining tomorrow and through the rest of the week, but right now it is pouring down rain and doesnt look like it is going to let up...

Alive Festival

I am so stoked to be heading out to Ohio for the Alive festival. I really dont know much about it, except that there are going to be some great Christian bands playing there and i am hoping to meet up with David Jay, and some other photographers while I am out there.

I am really looking forward to this time to relax for a few days, and then it is home to see my sister off to Ghana for two months. I am so jealous of her. But this is her time to shine, and my time to figure out my next move. Trips have a tendancy of popping up, and maybe one will over the course of the summer.

Until then I am looking forward to Alive and maybe a couple of days at our house on Peele Island on the beach. Who knows what will happen, but it is summer and anything can still take place.

USPSA Shooting

So I havent gone handgun shootiing in probably more than two years. I've been thinking about going out to some events to shoot some photos. Friday night a friend asked if I wanted to go out on saturday. I had a blast. This is the hardest shooting that I have ever done. Everything is scored on speed, accuracy, and shooting from the designated shooting points. Its fast and requires thinking on the fly. I love it. Some of these gus have pretty nice rigs. I guess its like cameras. you spend alot and expect to get alot.