This year I’m working on some books and the first one I want to get done is a jaunt I took to Asia back in 2006. I can’t even believe that it’s been over five years since that trip so I’m thinking it’s actually time to go back and visit a few places I missed.

I’ve started this project a couple of times. The cover is designed. A lot of the images have been prepared. But, there’s still some work to be done and then I have to put it all together. In going back through the photographs it’s kind of interesting how time changes your perspective on things. You forget some things and thankfully we have photographs to pull a little bit on the memory and bring things back. Forgotten but not gone so to speak. And then there’s the photographs that really didn’t speak much to me when I first edited them shortly after returning from the trip. I’m seeing some of them in a different way and I’m actually glad I let a little time go by before I finished this project.

Anyway, here is one of my favorites from that trip. It was taken in a market area in Hanoi, but this little area was tucked away from the craziness that exists in most of these markets. It was a quiet little courtyard with beautiful light and I’m sure that the vendor enjoys this little place where they prepare their foods for sale out on the street.

I really enjoyed my talk with Michele and it became apparent during our conversations about various things as they pertain to the wedding planning process that she was very interested in making sure her clients were matched with vendors that suited them. I’ve always felt that when it comes to photography, I’m not the choice for everyone whether it be an issue of style, budget or personality so her thoughts resonated with me very much. I like it when objectivity is involved in the planning process and business relationships are put aside.

“I try to select vendors based on their experience and creativity shown in their work,  their professionalism and their personality”, Michele said. “When I select my preferred photographers, I find them strictly by their photographs on their website and blog sites. A photographer is one of the most important vendors in a wedding because they truly capture the day with each moment and event that takes place. They need to be artistic, creative, and amazing with their photography angles and ideas. If I do not like what a photographer showcases on their website, I wouldn’t make them a preferred vendor. – I absolutely have to love their photography because I know that is what my clients would like as well.”

Welcome to Roanoke, Michele. I think you will find this an awesome place for weddings and you’ll find a wedding community that is friendly and open, always willing to share.

So, mark your calendars for Saturday, April 28, 2012 at The Hotel Roanoke. Or, if you are unable to attend the event, donations to the RVSPCA can be made here.

As always, a great big THANK YOU to all the volunteers and contributors who help the RVSPCA find all those forever homes!

Here are a few from Leila and Tom’s wedding there in September.

Just a few from last week.

More to come on this wedding in a few weeks, but in the mean time I’ve got a few more that I have to get posted. Busy, busy summer with much to do! 

Uncle Bob shot her wedding.

Let me explain for any of those who may read this and don’t know who Uncle Bob is. He’s really not a “real” person. In fact, he’s not always a he. Uncle Bob is the name given long ago in professional circles to the relative or friend who well intentioned couples get to shoot their wedding. Sometimes it’s someone they know, sometimes it’s someone that a relative or friend vouches for as someone who takes “great pictures”. But, the bottom line is that in more cases than not, it’s a cost cutting move that has the potential for broken hearts when one of the most important days in a couple’s life is left in the hands of an unskilled amateur with less than adequate equipment and experience.

From all I can tell of the situation with today’s caller, that is exactly what happened. The photographs are awful, there’s very few of them, none of the details were captured, some family members are missing from the lot, and the portraits are nothing more than them standing there in nice clothes. She pleaded for me to help her out. She was even willing to recreate some of the details. rent another tux for the groom, and try to salvage her photography as best she could. She asked if I could take Uncle Bob’s photographs and make them look like mine.

I truly felt sorry for her, but frankly, there’s really not enough money that makes me want to come behind a mess that someone else created and clean it up. It’s just not fun. The day is done and you just can’t make it right.

I did offer to help by suggesting that she contact her guests and ask for all of their photos to see what she could find. I gave her the name of an album designer that may be able to work some magic and put something together that will be better than what she has. So, I emailed her a link to their contact information and that is when it became apparent that this all could have been avoided. Her email address was in my database and sure enough in June of 2010 I had received an email from her asking for my price list. I send it to her and never heard back.

I sometimes wonder what happens to those folks. Now, I know.