No other sport has the rich history of photography integrated into it like baseball. That’s why Paul and I always experience a little thrill when we get to photograph a wedding reception at PNC Park. The Lexus Club is decked out with old black and white photos of guys with nicknames like Pie and Honus. Everyone in Pittsburgh knows about Honus, but I had the privelidge of sitting next to Pie’s photo during dinner and really had a chance to study the photographic style of the nameless photographer who’s probably long gone by now. It got me thinking that someday future generations will look at wedding or family photos that Paul and I took and wonder about them. Maybe even wonder about us in a small way as well…
So the tradition is to take the couple out to the stands and shoot a few photos. That’s great, but my favorite photo of the night is this one, taken while Kristin and Philip were walking back to the reception. The hallway isn’t pretty but these two are. And that’s all that matters in the end.
And we really have the best stadium in the majors. GO BUCS!
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And boy are our arms tired! HaHa, couldn’t resist that old joke…
Paul and I just returned from our huge photographers’ convention out in Las Vegas. We go every year to stay current on the new products and trends for wedding and portrait photography. This year’s convention was fantastic! The number of new album styles is just amazing and the knowledge that the top pros share allows us to constantly learn and grow in our own photography.
Plus Vegas is just a constant source of inspiration itself. Lots of funky lighting scenarios, cool textures and backgrounds, and some really interesting characters from all over the world. Hey, showgirls aren’t the only ones sporting unusual outfits. We saw a few Elvis impersonators but the Far East tourists were more interesting to people-watch.
Of course, it wasn’t all work. We experienced a fantastic dinner at Pearl in MGM Grand. I had the Chef’s Tasting which took 1.5 hours to eat. Mmmmm…. Paul went with his old standby of Kung Pow Chicken and then lustfully watched me as I worked my way through Lobster Fried Rice as well as some asian tenderloin and a scallop dish… Oh, those were only three of the dishes out of this culinary experience!
On Wednesday evening, we had dinner at Diego’s with our good buddy David Beckstead and made a couple of new friends, including two other photographers: Grant Oaks and Everett both out of Colorado. One thing I liked about Diego’s was the tableside preparation of the guacamole. I’m not a fan of the green stuff but I am a fan of cooking. So watching the preparation was very interesting. And they had this amazing salsa that had a smoky flavor to it. Oh, drool… It was addicting!
Of course, one can’t go to Vegas and not hit a buffet. Paul and I found the best bread pudding at the Grand Buffet at MGM. They had placed it by the crab salad on the buffet and I realized that we were both passing up CRAB (we’re huge fans) in favor of bread pudding. I was thinking of sneaking a sample out to have it analyzed by a lab to discover the secret recipe.
Other items of interest… We ran into our friend Kevin Jairaj EVERYWHERE! I fully expected to open our hotel room door and find him inside setting up a dramatic lighting tableau for instructional purposes. He’s a really cool guy and I especially like him because he came from a business degree background and then went into photography (just like me). Plus he’s a Chai Tea Latte lover (again, like me). For a funny story about Kevin’s Chai Tea Latte, head over to Photo Widow’s blog.
I’ll be here all week! Try the beef. Tip your waitress.
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It’s always nice to get a pat on the back now and then! And our favorite pats come from real brides and grooms! So when we received notification in today’s email that we were chosen to receive an award from Wedding Wire for our outstanding ratings, we were high-fiving each other over coffee!
Now, that’s not the only pat… At the BridesWorld show on Saturday, our signature image won second place in the Photo Gallery contest as voted on by attending brides and grooms. Hey, second place lets us know that we’re on the right path but that we still have room to grow. It’s a really great accomplishment if you add in the fact that Paul and I only moved to Pittsburgh about 6 years ago and have been building our business and reputation during that time.
Yep, we’re high-fiving again!
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Ok, ok, as you probably realized it’s been 2 months since any new posts have appeared on the blog… Part of that is due to an extremely busy December and January wedding schedule, and as you probably have experienced, customers always come first!
Here’s a little wedding weather recap:
- December 6th was icy and traffic slowed to a snail’s pace on the Parkway East. Our lucky couple spent an extra couple of days in Las Vegas due to yet another snowstorm following them around
- December 13th was really chilly but overall clear and sunny. No problems for this couple!
- December 27th was NICE! We were able to do lots of outdoor photography with our couple since the temp was in the high 60′s
- December 31st saw a return of snow and ice but our couple was ready to brave the cold and did some posing in the snow
- January 3rd was sunny and it seemed like the worst was behind us weather-wise
- January 10th had us shoveling 18 inches of snow and ice out of the driveway but the wedding took place on time and everyone arrived at the reception safely
So who’s tired of snow?
We also attended two wedding shows in January. The first was at the Cranberry Township Sheraton. The second was at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. Both shows were great and lead to a lot of conversations with new brides and grooms. 2010 planning is in full force and we even talked to many brides who are now planning for 2011.
And then there was the Super Bowl… Ok, we’re a little biased of course and are very happy to see the Steelers pull out an end of game comeback to beat the Cards. Whew! That was close! Maybe next time it won’t be such a heart-attack inducing kind of a game…
So what are Paul and I up to now? We’re working on a home improvement project. Paul’s finishing the linen closet he’s built and I just completed painting the stairwell. Now the walls are ready for some photos that I’ve been collecting over the years. It seems strange to live in a house without having any of our personal work on the walls, but we’ve been patching, painting, and rewiring over the last few years. It’s good to see it it all pulling together now. I guess when you live in a house for almost 6 years SOMETHING has to get finished after that much time! Next project? Painting the exterior!
In addition to all that, we’ve been getting in plenty of proof selections from our past and current couples. Plenty to keep us out of trouble, which is why we weren’t down on Carson Street causing mayhem on Sunday night…
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