• Sometimes as a photographer, the first photo of the day lets you know what kind of shoot/day it’s going to be. Russ was quick to let me know through a simple gesture that this day would be a good one.
• We broke tradition and did a “first look” instead of waiting for the march down the aisle for Russ to see Elyn for the first time. I’m thankful for that. Russ is a master of keeping cool under pressure and keeping a smile on his lovely bride’s face.
• There was a “ring warming” during the ceremony. I’ve never experienced this. Guests and participants pass the rings around and think good thoughts, say prayers, and generally warm the rings for the couple. Like tempering a gong or packing a parachute – these are items you want prepared. Ring warming is a win.
• Russ missed the memo about weddings being serious business. One of his vows – a promise not to eat Elyn’s face in her sleep. No promises were made regarding the waking hours. Keep one eye opened Elyn.
• Russ hand made the Ketuba. Look at that craftsmanship. You’ll see it.
• That laptop picture? Some VIPs were unable to attend last minute. The wedding was streamed for their virtual attendance. That’s the bee’s knees.
• Of course we did the photobooth. I tried my hand of taking a perpetual picture of the photobooth taking a picture of me taking a picture of the photobooth taking a picture of me taking a picture of the photobooth help I’m trapped.
• A genius decision was made to have GCSPS for the DJ. Genius. You can’t not dance to that.
• I only hope that every wedding is as fun and warm as this one. Thanks again for choosing me to photograph and share your wedding day Elyn & Russ.

Credits

• DJ – Greater Columbia Society for the Preservation of Soul
• Caterer – Spotted Salamander
• Planner – Annette Hoover (School of Hospitality Management at USC)
• Venue: Gallery 701
• Videographer: Michael McClendon
• Desserts: My Dessert Bar

Updated 05/04/12: Edited to clarify Russ’ vow not to eat Elyn’s face in her sleep.

Occasionally, my favorite photo from a session or event is very imperfect. This is a case of that. I did a photobooth for M’s 5 year birthday party yesterday. He was making a game of the photobooth. The rules were something along the lines of “you can’t get a picture of me because I am too fast for you on my red tricycle”. My competitive nature kicked in of course. I’m not going to let some smarmy 5 year old on a tricycle beat my trigger finger. Maybe it was just that I was jealous that I can no longer cruise around indoors on a tricycle, and nothing about me is what a youthful person considers fast anymore. The jury’s still out on that one. What I’m certain of, is that I got him. I bragged. I told him “you’re too slow for my camera, grasshopper”. I was really proud of the shot. Then I got home and discovered he had won. He was just about 6 inches too far forward of where my focus had landed when I pressed the remote button that told my MacBook Pro to tell my camera to flip the mirror up and grab 1/250 of a second worth of 3 little flashes and one big strobe. The mechanics of this nimble little smiley 5 year old beat my gadgets – and my photographic know-it-all-ness. Tack sharp focus – not this time. But look at that kid. Look at that light. He’s in the frame. One of several blank white ones.

This imperfect – missed shot. These are the ones that teach me how to be sure it won’t happen again. They’re also the ones that don’t get thrown in the “delete” pile thanks to the pure fun of an expression and a moment. Yes – it’s a silly photobooth. Yes – I wish it had been in focus. Yes – it’s still a shot I’d gladly print.

No – this post has no poignancy in my point. I simply had a great time playing (and losing) a game with a great kid on his birthday.

-JG

This past Saturday, I did some volunteer photography at the triangle Walk MS event for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. People were walking dancing in spite of the rain. More to come.

-JG

I’m going to wait for Leigh to see all the pics before I blog this one. I couldn’t resist this little gif though. That little fella in the window watching the cars pass was the star of the show and the subject of Leigh Webber‘s fantastic book, The First 52 Weeks. Leigh asked me to cover the opening event for the release of the book last week, and I was happy to do so. More to come.

-JG

-JG

Creative Day Off -or- XBox With Albert

Second of all – it’s Friday which means I technically have the day off. If you work for yourself, you know that “day off” doesn’t truly exist but it’s a nice thought right? Well, my version of my Friday day off is really a day to let creativity do its thing. Creativity is in the name of my company, so at some point one would expect something creative to come from it. That’s not an easy task in a 9-5 or in my case a 10-5:30 environment. Among the accounting, troubleshooting why Facebook’s OpenGraph protocol isn’t doing what it should with a website, helping folks get their photobooth downloads, backing up files, and a million other things on the list to be done each week; there is just very little chance that something brilliantly fresh is going to roll out of my brain and onto a piece of Kodak Endura paper. I’m not complaining though (much). I actually really enjoy all those challenges the week brings. It just stinks to look at my body of work and see that it’s getting older every day. I need to make some new stuff happen. Whether that stuff is photography or marketing plans doesn’t matter to me. Creativity comes in many forms which aren’t always aesthetically pleasing ones.

So here I am on the couch on Friday. Chai tea steaming (coffee is reserved for work days and relaxing with my beautiful wife). I’ve already done some normal work that wasn’t supposed to happen on my “day off”, but soon I’ll look like the picture above. Controller in hand – blasting n00bz on MW3 – getting cussed at by 8-year-olds that should be in school – receiving head nudges from the 9 hundredy billion cats that roam our house. Why? Because creativity strikes when we least expect it. Just ask all those folks that sleep with notebooks by the bed. You can’t plan creativity, but your brain is always working hard while you get lost in whatever you get lost in. For me – I’ll spend another hour or two hammering these black squares into my MacBook Pro, then it’ll be pixelated lead hammering into my fake opponents, and hopefully…

Boom! Headshot.

-JG

I had the pleasure of photographing these beautiful pieces for Ann’s Diamond Center earlier today. The Graff Creative studio happens to be right upstairs above Ann’s, and if you’re ever cruising through Fuquay-Varina you really can’t miss this jewel of a building. <– see what I did there? Jewel? Heh…I kill me…

Anyway, photographing jewelry is always a challenge and always fun. I hope to share more with you soon.

In the meantime, you should cruise over to Ann’s and buy these beauties while they’re there!

-JG

Here’s the info from the video description on YouTube.

I put together this time lapse from the Handmade Market in Raleigh, NC. My wife assists in jewelry making with one of the artists at the market, Rosy Revolver (http://rosyrevolver.blogspot.com).

Anyway, I did this just for a little fun and self education in time lapse.

Thanks to Falling For A Square for the awesome music. Go check it:
Falling For A Square
http://www.fallingforasquare.com

Thanks to The Handmaidens of The Handmade Market for your help with the setup even though I went with a different setup in the end. The market is the bee’s knees, and I hope to sell photography there in the future.
http://www.thehandmademarket.com/

-JG

The video description is as follows…in case you don’t click over to watch it in HD on YouTube. You should though…I mean it features “Baby T”!

My wife and I moved to North Carolina in 2010 in part due to some rough spots in our marriage. My first photography clients after the move were the parents of one of the sweetest babies I’ve ever met (“T”). They soon hired my wife to keep her three days a week. I’ve seen my wife in a light I’ve never seen her in before since she started taking care of “T”. She’s a blessing.

Anyway, I made this video with some footage I’ve captured of them together as a digital Valentine’s Day card for my wife, Jessica.

It’s a bit cheesy, but it’s the truth too.

Song: Always by Djali Zwan

I hope your Valentine’s Day was a good one. Mine was great thanks to the lady in the video. :)

<3 JG

The hard part for me though, is the emotion in the photos. Look at the photo I posted above. This is one I took at a wedding in 2010. You just can’t pose that kind of emotion. It’s awesome. The photo itself is fine…in a perfect world the background would have been 2-3 stops darker and the foreground about a half stop brighter. Who cares though? Look at them. This is one of the happiest moments of their lives and it’s absolutely beautiful. As a person who captures it, it’s fun, heart-warming, and in the case of editing these kinds of photos week after week: sometimes exhausting.

I only photograph one – maybe two weddings per year max on my own. I still second shoot on occasion. I’ll admit that I get absolutely worn out by editing a wedding. Ask my wife. She gets home and I’m in a horrible mood. Why? Other than having been terrorized by kittens all day, I am what one might call a hopeless romantic. I’ve discussed it with therapists actually. For years, my expectations of love on a daily basis and the reality of love on a daily basis has left me slightly disappointed at times. Mostly my problem, not the problem of my wife or past significant others (not to say that “SO”s can’t do anything to help, but it’s mostly my expectations vs. reality problem).

I’m pretty sure that a big reason I no longer seek weddings on my own, or seek more editing clients than I currently have is because when a person spends their day sorting through the most exhilarating emotional moments of others’ lives it’s exhausting. The love, excitement and pain is almost palpable in so many of these photos from the girls laughing together to the toasts to the memories of the friends and families that cannot be at the wedding. Imagine watching really powerfully dramatic movies day after day and not feeling absolutely emotionally drained. At some point you need to watch Dumb and Dumber or something to just have a break. Then imagine that those movies are reality.

Here I am looking at a couple vowing their love and commitment to each other – tears sliding down their cheeks with the Charleston skyline silhouetted against the sun as their backdrop; and I’m supposed to be content with shutting down Lightroom, turning on the lights and cleaning the cat litter? Not a chance. It makes me want to vacation to beautiful places every day. Drop my responsibilities and live off of love. Really…if I were better looking I could have been cast in Ewan McGregor’s role in Moulin Rouge. Well – better looking and an actor.

The photobooth is my photographic Dumb and Dumber. One or two weddings a year is a privilege.

-JG