Interview with Professional Photographer Magazine web

Jeff Kent from Professional Photographer Magazine called me the other day for an interview about a commercial job I had done in order to tell the up and coming photographers about a real world job. In addition to wedding photography I also do some commercial work. It works well because I often learn new things on a commercial job that I can carry over to my wedding work to create better images. This was for the Comfort Inn in Sedona. They needed new images for their web site. Jeff also interviewed me for the July issue of Professional Photographer Magazine about new products that photographers can offer clients because of all the changes in digital capture. I'll share what comes form that when it comes out in July. Meanwhile here are a few from that shoot.

Email from John & Christina Last Sunday' wedding couple

Hello Bob, We had such a wonderful time with you on Sunday... There are so many weddings we go to where it is very obvious that the wedding couple are tired of having their picture taken!! We were so fortunate to have you as our photographer, you made it all so fun and our smiles jut got bigger and bigger as the day went by!! Even our guests were commenting on how much fun it was to have you around. We love the pictures on your blog and are honored that we can be the first to be aboard!! It's a perfect way to tell YOUR story while you are busy tellinig everyone elses! We are anxiously waiting to see the rest of them. Thanks again, you were really one of the highlights of the day!! We'll keep checking in on your blog and look forward to seeing more of the wonderful work that you do!! All our best, Christina & John

Uqualla

I photographed Uqualla in my studio about 2 months ago. He's a very colorful individual and the image I captured of him was very interesting I felt there was something missing so I went searching through my files for other images that might help tell the story I was looking for... rock art, a century plant, some leaves and I took those images and blended them to create this image. This is what I saw in my head as the end image. It feels extremely powerful to me. I can't wait until he has a chance to see it.

Randy

I met Randy a couple of months ago and loved the character in his face and asked if he would mind being photographed. He agreed and we did a little session the next day. Here's one of the images from that shoot. A week ago my wife saw a photo of him in the newspaper obituary column. He had been hit and killed by a car while crossing the street. I managed to track down his sister and was able to get her a copy of this photo. She called and told me how much it meant to her because they had no decent images of him. It was a reminder of how much power images have in our lives... and how fleeting life can be. I'm so thankful to be able to capture the spirit and memories of people and places around me and to be able to share them.

John & Christina's wedding images

Here are some images from Sunday's wedding. It was so great working with John and Christina. They truly are deep in love and it shows in the photos. The flowers were from Showstoppers and look like they just came out of a Martha Stewart Magazine. Tlaqapaque, a local Mexican shopping area is a great place to photograph because of all the beautiful architecture and stonework. Of course, Sedona is famous for it's red rock vistas. Many come to be married here for just that reason. Just as John and Christina kissed during the ceremony the wind picked up Christina's blusher veil and shot it into the air, which surprised everyone getting a big laugh. A great way to start a new life together! I can't wait to start their album design.

Differences between my wife and I

I just talked to my wife who is clear across the country. It was actually good to have the place to myself for a few days now, I miss seeing and hearing her around the house. She is visiting her parents because her father had a heart attack and Quadruple bypass surgery. Apparently it was touch and go for a while but it looks like he's over the hump and on the way back to health. I couldn't go back with her because I had to photograph the wedding on Sunday. It does show one of the major differences between us. Holly is pretty much left brained and I hang out on the right. It showed up when I looked in the closet after doing the laundry and noticed that all the shirts that I hung up were facing the opposite direction from the ones that she had done. Viva la different!! I guess that's why we make such a great team.

Tennis (photographers?) Elbow

I've been getting severe sharp pains in my elbow. After doing some research found out it's called tennis elbow. Thought it was unusual, but found out after attending the Wedding & Portrait Photographers convention in Las Vegas that it is becoming a regular malady among photographers these days. Between lifting your camera up 400-500 times in a day, along with the flash and any other attachments and the position of your arm when working on the computer files it strains that ligament. It's pretty amazing that once you acquire something like this you find a whole pile of people who suffer from the same thing.

Cristina & John's pre-wedding shoot

I love it when I work with couples who really show their love for each other. Christina and John are a great example... We photographed their pre-wedding images last Thursday at Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona. Here are a few photos I'd like to share. Check back in a couple of days because they got married on Sunday and the photos from there turned out pretty cool. Their wedding was a L'Auberge D Sedona. We had time to get some really nice photos from nearby Tlaqapaqe because they were willing to see each other before the wedding - something we are doing more and more of. More about this later, these are from Thursday.