Liesl & Corey

This couple warms my heart so much.
They met in middle school, where she developed a crush on him. He found out about it. A cruel joke was played the same year that she was leaving the school.
Fast forward a dozen years. In the era of Facebook, he sends her an apology message and wants to meet for lunch. They do. Sparks start flying.
The rest --as they say-- is history.

One of my favorite shots from the entire session, maybe that I've ever captured. A completely perfect candid moment. 

Liesl is such a city girl. Corey is such a country boy. They go so well together. 

Corey's grandmother's cocktail ring: a ring as unique and beautiful as the woman he gave it to.

These two are filled with so much love they are carefree, like children. I love that.

 A September wedding is planned, and I am so honored to be a part of their special day.
Congratulations, guys! =)

Before and After

When I edit a non-artistic, non-editorial photograph, I do not try to overwhelm the image, as it is the main source of beauty and information.

I do cropping, tonal corrections, sharpness and clarity increases, and some retouching, but for the most part, what I see in-camera is what comes out on your disc.

Take a look at this example from my recent e-session:

The image on the left is the way that it came out of the camera, and the image on the right is the way it appeared before it was (nearly) done. There is a bit of shadow-lightening work that I still have to do, but, as you can see, the image remains mostly unchanged. There was a bit of color enhancement (notice how much more vibrant her hair appears?)), a bit of retouching (on his jacket) and some sharpening, but what you see is just an enhanced version of what I shot.

Blessed

It's been over a month since I've blogged anything, but it's been a great month!

I've been in the continuing process of trying to obtain a professional (non-photographic) position with the city. I should hear one way or the other before the end of this week.

In the last month, I have shot an engagement session, a newborn session, and a set of samples for a mini session. I am going to second-shoot another camera for Juhl Photography this coming weekend, and I have another maternity session on tap before the end of this month.

There are, of course, tons more photo events going to happen this year, including my favorite: the wedding of Corey and Liesl in September! The first wedding where I will be the main camera and not a second shooter. =)

It's been a great blessing being this busy!

I will share and blog my favorites from each of these shoots as I get them done.
(I still need to blog my favorites from the first wedding of this year, from all the way back in January!)

I also plan on blogging more. As of this moment, I'm not sure what I'll be blogging about, but I want to do it more frequently, and have it be more than just a sharing of my favorite images. (Isn't that what Facebook previews are for??) At least here, I guess, I can tell the story of the images better than on Facebook. =P

So stay tuned! This is sure to be an interesting (and blessed!) year.