Alex the Photo Blog

If you are an avid reader of Alex the Photo Blog (and I know you are!), then you know Lou!  Well, back in 2010, Lou let me test out my latest lighting setup for a studio shoot for his newly launched website.  We came away with a bunch of fun photos, one of which ended up making it’s rounds at the office and on his Match.com profile.  Little known to the two of us how much one little photo can impact the rest of your life.  His lovely fiance, Erin, was searching around on the site in late 2010 and clicked on it simply because she thought it was so unique, sending him a little message that would change his life.  Now they are engaged to be married in September (and you-know-who is the photographer!).  I am so excited for the both of them, and also so glad I could be a part of how they met.  :)  Since then, I’ve actually been hired for a few online dating photo sessions and have fun doing them.  Who knows what a new photo could do for you…  here’s the one of Lou that made all the difference:

For their engagements they hired me to come hang out with them for a day.  They said they would not pose for any photos (unless they were funny).  Of course everyone needs a little guidance on how and where to do what, but these two were just naturally comfortable in front of the camera making my job much easier.  I’ll start off with the one that got such great buzz on Facebook with almost 100 “likes.”

Then our loose-take on Annie Lebovitz’ John and Yoko Rolling Stone photo (no, Lou didn’t want to get naked).

Though these probably aren’t photos to put on a postcard because they were taken at the worst part of the day for lighting, I thought I’d try my hand at some neat “waves crashing on the rocks” photos while hiking around Half Moon Bay in California.  Check out these sequence frames from a sunny afternoon and the lesson I learned.

… and then I got wet.  So naturally, I moved farther back:

… and then I got wet again.

So my lovely wife suggested:  ”maybe you should come up here and take photos.”

So I did.

The lesson learned is that you can take awesome photos close to the action and get a little wet (this is why you spend the the money on weather resistant cameras and lenses), or you can take pictures of flowers.  Both are fine, but I’m glad I got wet.  :)

In California this week for a wedding and Keri and I are spending a few days with my cousin, her hubby, and their 18 month-old daughter, Karla.  Karla is one of the most chill kids I think I’ve ever hung out with.  She’s so sweet and happy all the time and is such a pleasure to be around- even though it took her a while to warm up to me (most kids do).  Here are a few shots we got in the backyard in San Mateo playing with bubbles.  When I say playing with bubbles, I mean that Karla asked to play with them, but as soon as we started blowing them, she had almost no interest and instead found joy in climbing into and off of adirondack chairs repeatedly.  :)

My 22-year-old cousin came into town earlier this week.  He called me on Tuesday and said he was driving into town the next day to audition for an acting agency and if he could crash at our place for a night.  I told him I wouldn’t be home until 10 or so, but that he was more than welcome.  When he arrived we caught up for a few minutes and got on the topic of street art and the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.  Will told me that in his spare time away from student government, tearing up dance floors, and beginning his senior year of college, he has started getting into “street art.”  On a whim (and with permission from my awesome wife), we set out around midnight on bikes to the old Atlanta Waterworks near Mason Mill Park so I could show him some of the really awesome art there.  Plus, he may or may not have brought some paint: my only rule was they he didn’t cover up someone else’s art.  :)

This was also a good chance for me to test out my new (used) Canon 5d Mark II and it’s ISO expansion capabilities.  In retrospect, it was a terrible test idea because a lot of the shots were taken in pitch black… so the Mkii could only do so much.  Here’s what I got:

This shoot may have been put off a little long, but between bad weather and busy schedules, I was excited to finally photograph Jessica and Jeff for their engagement session… a week before their wedding.  :)

Their wedding was an incredibly fun time and I plan to have those photos up here in a couple of weeks, but for now check out their engagement photos from Mason Mill Park!