Meteor Shower at Chattooga Belle Farm

I was talking to Keri the other day about a photo contest I submitted to recently.  It wasn't so much about the contest, but about looking through my catalog from 2012 for photos to submit.  I realized that the downside to a good business year can sometimes mean the lack of personal projects.  I ended up finding something to submit, but it was a slap in the face to realize I had done very little shooting for myself this year.  This is why I was ecstatic when I spoke to Marc Del Santro about photographing the recent meteor shower.  It was about as last minute as can be when at 2pm he said "I'm heading to South Carolina in about 9 hours to shoot from midnight until dawn."  To which I replied "yes, Marc- I will invite myself along."   It was exactly that- finish up a shoot at 6pm, go to band practice until 10pm, then head to SC for shooting until dawn.  Marc also brought along the incredible Nadia D.  I can't tell you how much fun I had- not only for the photography and friendship, but for the fact that it was photography for myself.  Plus the meteor shower was pretty insane.

Light painting and general goofery provided by Marc Del Santro and Nadia D.

Cat Island, Bahamas Wedding

The blog will be pretty scarce this weekend as I'm in the Bahamas shooting a wedding.  I know, I know- I work too much.  Don't worry, I'll try to get to the beach this weekend to get a little sun.  :)

No wedding photos just yet, but maybe a teaser to come Sunday.  I just wanted to put something up to let all of my avid readers know I haven't forgotten about you!  When I get back, there will be plenty of photos to update you on.  Coming up, I have two beautiful summer weddings that somehow slipped away from the blog (so sorry!), more fall family portraits (call me soon if you want to book one!  The weather will turn cold soon!) and more real estate related work.  Have a great weekend!  Here are a couple of shots from day 1:

New Alex The Photo Guy site is LIVE!

I've owned the domain since college.  Three years ago I re-upped it's registration and I contracted my good friend Greg Vilines at Webnormous to begin work on the site.   Then a combination of producing an album, playing in a band, get married, and having his house burn down slowed Greg's progress on the site a bit.  A combination of helping with the album, buying a house, running a photo business, general laziness, and getting engaged slowed me down too.  I know my excuses aren't as valid as a house fire, but regardless of the timing, it is finally LIVE! Greg built the whole thing from scratch and he did a damn good job on it.  I know I was a difficult client at times but in the end we got it all worked out.  There will be a few tweaks made in the coming months, but since it's 99% done, we figured why not launch it?  This will be a soft opening for my six blog readers and facebook friends until I get it 100% finished.

Keep in mind the new site isn't going to be a replacement for the blog- just think of it as a "best of Alex the Photo Guy."  I'll still keep you up to date with my crazy photo antics here on the blog, so don't stop reading!

Let me know what you think!  Many thanks again to Greg who did all the hard work.  All I did was take a few photos.  If you need a website, let me know and I'll get you in contact with Webnormous.

Seattle- Mt. Rainier

See the "Camping on the Coast" post below first.

The next day Curt and I went to Mt. Rainier and hiked and camped there.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  The mountain was amazing (and intimidating), the flowers were blooming all over the place, and the views were incredible.  I can't say we even made it halfway up, though we got close.   We had views of a glacier and waterfall and came up on the most amazing bathroom I've ever seen.  Aside from a delta flight, I can't say I've been to a toilet at such a high altitude.   We camped at "Cougar Rock" campgrounds.  The name was incredibly misleading as Curt and I found no older single women looking to prey upon younger men.  Maybe it just wasn't hunting season.

These first few pictures were from a "rustic garden" on the way to the park.  It was too ridiculous not to stop and take pictures.  I'll stop and let the pictures do the rest of the talking...  fun trip.  Highly recommend it to anyone looking for some beautiful scenery and good camping.

You can actually see the next photo entered in the Strobist Boot Camp contest for indoor architecture.

And here are just a couple of shots from my hotel room in Seattle two nights later.  It's traffic from an MLS Soccer game getting out.