Monica and Bobby approached me several months ago to take some portraits of her pregnancy and then their newborn baby boy.
Since I do not have a studio, I photograph everything on site. I use what I find on location: mostly available window light, their rooms and backgrounds and their clothing/ accessories. But my creativity is endless!
These pictures were about 2 months apart. Baby Carson was born on April 17, 2012.
Congratulations Monica and Bobby!
Every first Saturday in May thousands of horse racing fans gather at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky to enjoy the magical madness we call the Kentucky Derby. But the Derby is not just a horse race. It’s an event for people to get together, drink mint juleps and wear ridiculously extravagant hats.
I was freelancing for the Courier Journal and my assignment was to photograph just exactly that: Hats. Everywhere you turned, women AND men wore hats. Not surprisingly, many hats were homemade and very creative. Most people spent less than $200 on their homemade hat, because designer hats can cost thousands of dollars.
After transmitting on deadline, I ventured into the infield to see a different side of Derby.
That was a fun Derby!! To that “I’ll Have Another“
That was really a lovely wedding!
Back in February I got a nice call from the photo desk at USA TODAY asking me to shoot a story on tourism at Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Ky. I was excited to be accepting that assignment, as the Woodford Distillery has always been on my bucket list to see.
The folks at the distillery were kind enough to let me get a peek into the bottling facility from behind the yellow line, designed to keep tourists at a distance. I was rather surprised how small their production facility was, considering they export the bourbon internationally.
Overall, it was a great experience. I’ve always enjoyed sipping good bourbon, but learning how it was made is an entirely different experience!
If you are interested in purchasing your own bourbon barrel for uses around the home, as art, furniture or other creative use check out my friends’ business, located in Louisville: Bourbon Barrel Rehab
The story was published on March 16 and looked like this:
My sister recently got a Beagle – Chihuahua puppy, who is as lively as one would expect. With today’s 3-4 inches of snow in Louisville, Ky., puppy got his first taste of cold, wet snow. I don’t think he was all too happy, but he’s cute as ever!
Sorry, I haven’t been posting in a while. No, I did not hang my photography career on a nail and jet setted off to an exotic location. Although, the tropics sound great right about now.
Currently, I’ve been busy shooting mostly newspaper assignments, while getting ready for warmer weather and wedding season. I’ll try to be better about posting, I promise. I even have a few shoots that I’d like to share. So please be patient just a little longer.
We’ve had some snow here in Louisville, Ky., which seems weird since just last Friday areas not far from us were devastated by tornadoes. People lost their homes and some their life.
My heart goes out to each and everyone affected by this tragedy.
For the past few days I’ve been following what the fine folks at the Courier-Journal have been reporting. The images are hauntingly familiar to the hurricanes I witnessed while working for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida back in 2004-2007. A period that was one of the most active hurricane years to date.
My time spent covering Hurricane Charley affected me deeply. The hurricane devastated our coverage area and damaged our newspaper bureau in Port Charlotte, Fla. I had never seen so much destruction in one place! Shortly after the hurricane the newspaper staff returned to work in two double wide trailers the paper had set up next to our damaged building. The aftermath of the hurricane, the clean-up, the community’s support and outpouring of aid from the others were stories we covered daily, at least for one entire year.
The tornado that tore through Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio may have passed, but the victims’ lives will forever be changed. I’ve donated to the RedCross through a text message and dropped off some items at the Courier-Journal. A truck of theirs will deliver the donations to the affected areas.
I just hope that no more lives will be lost.
This past summer I photographed one of my best friend’s weddings in Germany. Karin and I met in highschool, back in the early 90′s. We’ve managed to stay in touch and I was honored to be chosen as her wedding photographer.
I arrived only a few days before the wedding. In Germany weddings are legal only if you get married in a courthouse first (German word= Standesamt). So Karin and Heiko got married on Friday at Haus Kemnade, a residence to many royals over the years, built in the 13th century. Saturday was the church wedding.
Since Karin works for the police, she was surprised by many of her collegues as they held up the traditional cloth with Karin and Heiko’s initials inside a heart. Tradition in many German weddings is to cut the outline of the heart, meticulously, with nail scissors, then climb through it.
Friday: Courthouse Wedding
Saturday: Church Wedding
The ceremony was held at a small Protestant church in Hattingen, Germany. (about 1 hour drive north of Cologne) on a rainy and cool day. The clouds parted just in time as the couple exited the church as husband and wife and were greeted by well-wishers in the church’s courtyard. As clouds started billowing again, I had to quickly gather everyone for the formal pictures before the rain returned.
The wedding party and some of the guests rode in an American yellow schoolbus to the reception site at “Gastronomie Waldhaus”, a small, but upscale restaurant hidden in the woods. Dinner was fantastic, buffet style. But there was no wedding cake!
Karin and Heiko’s first dance was impressive! They were surrounded by their guests cheering them on as they danced a fast waltz. The joy and energy in that room was intoxicating! There was cheering and clapping and singing and laughing. Just beautiful!
Later that night, after DJ d.lite got the crowd dancing, the restaurant passed around portions of Currywurst, a midnight snack. Currywurst is a common dish served in my hometown: it’s Bratwurst, sliced and covered with a curry ketchup sauce. Yummy!
The party went on til late in the night. It was certainly a day I’ll never forget!
That’s me on the right, together with my two best friends, Verena and Karin. What a great time!!!
Congratulations Karin and Heiko!
I’m not sure what happened with time during Liz and Scott’s wedding….but it went by very quickly! I think, a great couple and a fun loving wedding party made my time just seem to fly!!
The ceremony was at Caldwell Chapel. I have photographed many weddings there before. Still, I tried doing something different and let my creativity run with it. I remember it being a really hot day, so I tried to do most of the photography inside.
After the ceremony a trolley drove the wedding party to the reception at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. But before, we stopped in Cherokee Park for some photography. Thankfully, I know this park inside out and we were able to finish that in no time.
Hope you enjoy the pictures. Make sure to check out the additional link to see what happened during the garter toss! It’s really fun!
DJ: DeeJayWoody Events & Entertainment Cake: Ashaliscious Cakes Wedding Attire: Bridal Suites of Louisville/ Bridal Warehouse/ Men’s Warehouse Photobooth: River City Photobooth Hair: Hello Gorgeous Floral: Blessed Winds
Click here to see what happened during the garter toss. Make sure your volume is turned on.
Congratulations Liz and Scott!!!
I first met Alicia when she came to my booth at the Old Louisville Conrad Caldwell Wedding Show back in February.
I can certainly say Alicia and Andy were fun clients. Their easy-going personalities, sense of humor and love for another came through early on. Their wedding day was exactly that: relaxed, funny, and filled with love.
The ceremony was held at Gardencourt on the campus of Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. Andy is currently a Seminary student and lives on campus with Alicia and their two beautiful daughters. Knowing that, I made sure we planned for the final picture of Andy carrying his new bride over their apartment’s threshold.
It was an intimate celebration of their love with lots of laughter and individual touches.
Congratulations Andy and Alicia!!
P.S.: No young brides or brave grooms were harmed in the making of this sword fighting portrait session
Flowers: Tammy Schmidt
Cupcakes: Cold Stone Creamery
DJ: Complete Music, DJ John Wilson
Second Shooter: Tony Matkey
Video: Greg Schmidt
I know it’s a little late to post a wedding blog entry over a month after the big day, but it’s better late than never. So, here I go.
I met Esther through Tony Matkey, a local wedding photographer, who recommended me since he wasn’t available. Tony and Esther have known each other for years.
The first two times I met with Esther she came without her fiancé, Brent. He was serving oversees in the military and didn’t arrive back home until shortly before the wedding.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Brent and all the men and women in our armed forces for their work and dedication to protect us back home. Thank YOU!
The wedding was held at Camp Carlson in Muldraugh, Kentucky. The building faces a large lake and has many nice locations surrounding the outside for portrait opportunities. It is certainly a nice location for smaller weddings. The only problem we faced that early July day was the extreme heat and humidity!! But otherwise it was a great wedding of a lovely couple.
