Soooo - how do you feel about standing in a field of viney stuff - in that nice new wedding dress? :)

I know, I know - its been ages since I've blogged - can I still play that whole "writer's strike" card? ;) So we have to go back to April for Gerianne's bridal shoot. Gerianne is a totally calm, in control high school teacher, who, out of nowhere, is able to start pulling out some awesome poses all while having a great time. I was like "So...either you watch a LOT of Top Model, or you're just a natural!" Well, somewhere between being a natural, Starbucks at 8:30am on Sunday morning, and having a lot of fun, we had a great shoot with loads of great shots. Here are some of my favorites from that perfect Sunday morning in April. And after the break, I'll be back with some really awesome shots of their wedding in Wilson - including some great shots with a pristine 57 Tbird. As always, want to see more, just hit send and I'll get the email...

Dueling Banjos ...or Fans...either way, lets get engaged :)

After what seemed like a never end string of cold, rainy Sundays, I was finally able to get together with Adam and Jessy for what turned out to be a fantastic engagement shoot. Although it had rained quite a bit the day before, it really made the locations pop with colors and saturations that just can't be beat.

We had talked quite a bit before hand about the approach to the shoot, and the tone and mood -as well as the personalities they wanted to capture, so location and even accessories were important considerations. Definitely outdoors, and as always, something unique. Helping that along, they brought out some great accessories, including Adam's banjo, a collection of Jessy's very cool and ornate fans, as well as some scarves.

Of course, nothing is more important than bringing the love (yes, I know, that sounded corny and like something off of a hip hop video, but work with me here, lol) - which they brought, and lots of it! What we ended up with was over 2 hours of never ending kissing, with a few short break for Adam to serende his future bride with the melody of banjo springs as she fanned herself while twirling and dancing about.

We ended up with so many great photos, I had a hard time picking some favorites to blog about. If you're considering an engagement shoot and want to see more, just shoot me an email. In the meantime, enjoy these, and check back after June to see what the wedding was like - all I can say is a large farm , in a valley, ceremony at the base of the river, in the mountain of Asheville - I can't wait!

"Spotlight" on Emily & Matt

There was no better way to start 2008 than with the two coolest architects from Washington, DC - Emily & Matt! We met up last fall in Wilkesboro, NC (where the wedding took place) to check out the church and reception fall. Then, this past January, I spent the day with them photographing their very fun wedding. Everyone was so nice, and I had a great time getting in dance circle to get some great photos.

And of course, its going to be hard to top the very very cool photos from the auditorium! We had spied it back in the fall, and knew right away it was going to be really cool to get some shots in there. All we needed was lighting. Luckily, as part of the deal with the reception hall, they were allowed one hour use of a lighting tech (can you believe that luck!). Sure enough, she arrived on time and asked what we needed. After talking just a bit, she lowered a beautiful blue curtain, and went up to the deck to control the spotlight.

I found Emily and Matt, and we quietly snuck off back into the auditorium. We knew right away it was going to be awesome - the lighting was just right, the room was quiet, and they look totally perfect together - I was smiles all night seeing what was coming out of it! As we were almost finishing up, I looked behind me, and noticed that we had been found out. People were filing in the back and quietly watching, oohhing and ahhhing over what they were seeing - it was definitely a great moment and one for the books - or blogs, as the case may be.

So, put in some Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! (in honor of Emily and Matt), push play,kick back, and enjoy!

A Mainland, a Ferry and a mysterious Island - cue the music, I see the Others - I'm on LOST!

Ok, so yes, I'm refusing to watch the new LOST episodes until I have all 8 on TIVO so I can watch them back to back, and I'm distracted because it's so tempting to watch, lol. All this takes me back a few months to Dawn & Ben. You'll recall Dawn from a few blogs posts ago about an awesome bridal shoot with Dawn (scroll down a bit on the blog and you'll see) - and several people have been asking about how her wedding went, so I thought I'd let you know :) -
The wedding was fantastic. It was this past October at Bald Head Island off the coast of North Carolina. They had several really nice beach front homes rented out where everyone was staying. As the girls got ready in the morning, the guys, true to form, were playing touch football on the beach - ha! The ceremony and reception were both at the Shoal's Club, which had a beautiful deck overlooking the Atlantic with neatly placed white wooden foldout chairs, and an amazing clubhouse overlooking a gracious pool for the dinner and reception. The band playing the music was fantastic, and even Dawn's dad made a guest singer showing for a good Mustang Sally! And I can't forget the ever wonderful skills of Rachel Murno of Bridal by the Sea, who's coordinating skills pulled it all together, and more importantly, made sure to force me to sit down and eat something for dinner, lol.
If you ever get a chance to go to Bald Head, definitely do it. There are no cars, so its either rent a bike or a golf cart (I definitely recommend the cart, its a big island, even if the Others are not chasing you down!). And watch out at night - I can attest first hand to the "excitement" factor of driving a cart - well, being a passenger of a cart - being driven at full speed, in the dark (there are no lights on the island) up and down, around the curves, desperately trying to make the last call of the Ferry (the only way off the island - yes, I know, this is really sounding a lot like LOST) while avoiding random people crossing the tiny road, or other carts who have more fun driving with their lights off!

Alright people - that's a wrap!

This past fall, I had amazing experience working as the Still Photographer on the set of the new film by Ramin Bahrani. I might get a little longwinded with this blog, but as you may or may not be aware, Ramin is, in addition to being an amazing filmmaker, also my brother.

His first two films, Man Push Cart and Chop Shop have received incredible international acclaim. Man Push Cart premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and made its way through other top festivals like London, Sundance, New York's New Directors/New Films and many others. It also received amazing reviews from all the top critics, including making Roger Ebert's Top 10 of 2006 and the New York Times calling it "among the most striking independent films of 2006." You can rent the film at Netflix or get it at places like Amazon, Best Buy, etc..

Chop Shop has received as much, if not more acclaim that Man Push Cart. Chop Shop premiered at the Cannes 2007 Film Festival, where it received the only standing ovation at last year's festival in France. The famous and important French newspaper LeMonde called Chop Shop "The major revelation of Cannes", Roger Ebert called the film "Miraculous" and it has made #38 on IonCinema's 100 most anticipated films of 2008. Chop Shop has also gone on to the other two major festivals in the world, at Toronto and Berlin. The film has its theatrical debut in NYC next week at the Film Forum.

The new film is titled "Goodbye Solo" and tells the story of a friendly and humble Senegalese taxi driver named Solo and his friendship with William, a determined and ornery seventy year old Caucasian man who hires Solo to drive him, in two weeks time, on October 20th, to a mountain top where he plans to commit suicide. Solo decides to become William's friend with the hopes of changing his mind before the two weeks are up. Solo is the debut film for Souleymane Sy Savane and William is played by Red West. Some of you know Red from his TV days in Wild Wild West (among many others) or his more recent film roles like Glory Days. Or, what you may not know is that Red West was also Elvis Presley's personal bodyguard and long time friend.

Making an independent film is incredibly difficult, and so many people, more out of a labor of love than anything else, worked so hard to help make this film. People like cinematographer Micheal Simmonds (who filmed both MPC and CS) who has never ending energy, a great eye and incredible control of a camera, while on the production side Summer Shelton, Alex Moratto, Nicholas Elliott and Jason Orann all worked day and night in preproduction, filming and continue to work hard in post production.

I have seen a close to final cut of the film, and its amazing. The performances are so good, and the story and characters are so strong, it is really a going to be a great film. I had such a great experience being part of this shoot, and gained great friendships with both cast and crew, and was and still am so excited I was part of it. There is so much I learned from working on the shoot that directly will impact the photography of upcoming weddings. I was able to put a lot of this into use this past month at Matt & Emily's wedding, which I will blog about soon enough. Until then, here are a few more photos from the film. Also, tune into the AMC channel on February 23 for the Spirit Awards. Its like the Academy Awards for Independent Cinema. Ramin was nominated for several categories for MPC last year (he lost best actor to Forrest Whitaker) , but this year is nominated for "Someone to watch" award. It's live at 10pm.

Spirit Award update - The word from L.A. is that Ramin is the winner of the "Someone to Watch" award! Congratulations Ramin! Click here to watch the video...

WOOF! WOOF!

Every year there are couples who express a desire to have their favorite pet be part of the wedding somehow. Talk of dogs walking the ring down the isle, or be part of the bridal party is somewhat common, although, unfortunately, more often than not, for whatever reason, it ends up just not being possible.

A good compromise however, is to get the favorite friend in on a post ceremony shoot. Sometimes a good friend runs out to get the pet and bring them over for a few quick shots, or, as in the case of Katie and Steve, who happened to live a few minutes from the church, we go to the home of the newlywed couple. So, in honor of dogs and pets everywhere, WOOF! (along with some other shots for no other reason that I like the shots! :)

So, I was at this Irish pub....

It was a perfect Saturday this past August - I was with Nick and Jane, leaving a beautiful Catholic ceremony from the the stunning Our Lady of Grace church in Greensboro, NC. I piled in the limo with the happy couple and the bridal party and we headed downtown.

We pulled up at M'Coul's Pub and went upstairs where I discovered a very cool Irish bar. Immediately, I couldn't help but notice the very cool wall painting of old world Irishmen drinking at the bar. The only thing do to was use it as a backdrop!

We had a great time using that wall, and other parts of the bar as a backdrop for a lot of photos. The most unexpected of places can often lead to some of the best and most fun photos of the day. The Wedding Photojournalist Association seem to think so too, as the photo above made the cut of winners in the Q3 contest category "Creative Portraits"! Click the link to see the winning photo on their site and see the other great photos from around the world that won as well.

Below are some of my favorites from Nick & Jane's day -

Aaaaand ACTION! The DVD Slideshow...

Earlier this year, Nick and Jane asked if I could do a slideshow of photos. Having never done it, thought about it, or considered it, I naturally said "Oh yeah, sure, no problem!"

I knew what I didn't want, and that was just all the photos flipping through set to generic music. It should be something very cool, worth watching, and that you have a desire to show your friends. And that's what I've come up with!

I start by sifting though your final photos to find the best ones from the entire day and start setting up transitions and fades. Along the way, you send me the music from your wedding, and/or music and songs which really mean a lot to the two of you. With a mix of fast and slow songs, you get very classy and cool slideshow set to your music!

How can you watch it? Every way possible of course! Naturally you will receive the slideshow on DVD in a beautiful handmade folio cover (as seen in the photo above), which matches the "final photo box" you see in the package listing here. The DVD plays in all computers with DVD players and also on stand alone DVD players/TVs. Since the files used create the slideshow are at maximum resolution and quality, the slideshow looks amazing on HD TVs.

You will also get the slideshow as part of your online gallery homepage. There will be a small streaming quicktime movie of your slideshow so you can easily share it with friends and family.

Also on the homepage is the a link so you can download the slideshow for a video Ipod! I actually like this part the best - it looks so good on an Ipod and is such a great way to carry your wedding around and show it off! If you don't have one, Christmas is on the way!

Turns out I have liked it so much, and the reaction to it has been positive, I think everyone should have a slideshow. So, the best part is - this is a free addition to all the packages! If you would like to see the online link to a slideshow, just send me an email at info@vesic.com.

Lucky number 7!

I'm so excited to announce that Vesic Photography has come in 7th place in the first wedding photo competition BRIDES magazine has ever held! As they put it:

"Inspired by the pictures our editors have been seeing—images that remind us how poignant and precious (and funny!) every wedding is—Brides asked members of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) to enter their work in our first-ever photo contest.

Pictures were divided up into 10 categories, and after poring over hundreds of submissions, we chose the work in each category that best captured the magic and memories of this day of days.

From hipster groomsmen to precious little attendants, these photographers were able to capture the unique feeling of these couple's wedding days with an especially artistic eye."

The competition was held with the WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association), which is a great organization which supports and promotes photojournalistic and an artistic style of wedding photography; and one that I'm happy to say I am member of.

The winning photo is from last year's wedding of Rachel and Aaron, in Valle Crucis, NC (just outside of Boone, NC). They are such a great and fun couple and there was definitely a lot of love at that great little church up on top of the mountain. The photo was taken after the ceremony and before the reception, with the two of them just walking around the the open fields and gravel paths, and from time to time, the moment would strike, as it always does, the reality of the fact they just got married hits, and you see the perfect kiss, or, as is the case with here, the perfect embrace. As the judges put it:

"A powerful photo capturing a raw emotional moment between the bride and groom. Very moving photo. Bride embracing groom, very close-up, graphic and emotional - a portrait of unity, support and strength."

The top photo is the winning photo, and below are some more of my favorites from their wedding.

Direct links to the winning photo, and to see the other great photos, click here for the Brides Magazine page, and here for the WPJA page.

Wait Wait!

The past two months have been very busy with several different projects. Of course, there have been some beautiful weddings in some great locations, which I will talk about soon, but the focus of today's blog is something a bit different.A few weeks ago, Molly Davis, a friend from back in the nights when I was taking a lot photos of bands coming through The Garage (a great local Winston-Salem music venue), called me up to help cover a big event coming to Winston-Salem. Molly, who is now with local NPR affiliate WFDD 88.5 FM, informed me that "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" was coming to Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University for a live taping of the show.

Being a long time NPR/WFDD listener, and Wake alumni, I jumped at the chance to photograph what turned out to be a very fun, funny and interesting night. I was amazed at how packed Wait Chapel was, and how long the line was to get in (all the way across the quad). Once the show started, hosts Peter Sagal and Carl Kassell came out, brought a huge round of applause and did a great job with the show and the laughs. It was also interesting to learn that Carl is from Goldsboro, NC and can bring back his "southern twang" at will.

The only person able to bring a larger round of applause and cheers was special guest Chris Paul. Chris is a Lewisville, NC native, Wake Forest alumni and this years NBA Rookie of the Year. Chris did a great job as the show's first ever professional athlete getting all three of his questions right. I never figured out if he's going to get Carl Kassell's voice on his answering machine or not - then again, probably doesn't have an answering machine!

Here are some shots of the show, and give it a listen sometime. Its on Saturday mornings. You can also catch a podcast of this show on ITunes or the WWDTM web site.

A Bridal Shoot: Part 2

Its been a couple of weeks since Dawn's Bridal shoot, and the photos turned out beautifully! I am so happy with the results. I've posted several of my favorites below. As always, clicking on the photos will bring up a larger version. Click here to see full set of Dawn's final photos.

A Bridal Shoot: Part 1

This weekend I traveled to the Van Landingham Estate in Charlotte, NC for Dawn's Bridal Shoot. I had been looking forward to this shoot all summer after Dawn told me about the location and how she thought it would be a great place for the shoot. She was right, too. We had planned to go out onto Tryon St. for the second part of the shoot, but, after spending about 3 hours there, we determined we had such a great variety of shots, there was no need. There was a great mix of indoor and outdoor locations which lent themselves perfectly to creating quite a few different looks, without having to go all about town.

Unlike the manner in which we shoot wedding day photography, which is mainly photojournalistic in style, our bridal (or engagement) shoot is much more of a classic photo shoot, which has a lot of direction and interaction between myself and the bride or couple. In this series of shots, we spent about 25 minutes shooting just in this doorway. I spent the first few minutes doing light tests and framing ideas, while Dawn got used to the location, thought about and practiced poses in the area.

Once we started shooting, it was a combination of me directing and Dawn using the area we framed, coming up with the poses and looks. Her job was, by far, the most important, and the hardest. It takes time and effort to make the right poses that work with you, and your body - and Dawn did a fantastic job. She did a great job with my critiques, and blew me away with poses like this, and amazing eye contact which looks right at you and doesn't let go (click on the photos to see a larger version).

Dawn also had a great group of friends with her who did a great job of helping her look her best - and, as you can see, Dawn's best is stunning. They also acted as great art and setup assistants - coming up with good location ideas, helping with poses and making sure towels were strategically placed on the damp seats outside so the dress wouldn't get wet when she sat down.

In Part 2, I'll publish some of the best photos that came from this shoot. Thanks to Dawn and her friends for doing such a great job this past weekend, and I'm looking forward to a great weekend on Bald Head Island for the wedding. Also, thanks to the staff at Van Landingham for being so nice and supportive during the shoot.

The Music of the Night

I was chatting the other day with a couple who stopped by to talk about the photography for their upcoming wedding, when we started talking about the music for the night. Is there going to be a band? DJ? Ipod?

I always like to know this partly because I just love music and I like to know what I'm going to be listening to that night, but mainly, it offers great insight into the couple's personality. It also helps me think about the tone of day, and in planning the manner in which I will shoot the wedding so I capture the tone and mood the couple has worked so hard to create.

All of this reminded me of a great little bit I had heard on NPR about a month ago. It was a fun piece about a reporter having to put together a mix CD for his niece's wedding and the challenges of picking just the right songs. He talks about the challenges of finding just the right song, and also plays a few examples. It also reminded me of staying up with my friend John at 1am the night before his wedding as we tried to print cool covers for his mix CD at Kinkos. He ended up giving those CDs away as part of a gift basket for the guests. A very nice touch for sure.

There is a small recap in print on the link, but its well worth it to listen to and hear the report. Its only about 2 or 3 minutes. You'll see the "listen here" icon under the headline "Wedding Day Blues". Click here to get to the story

New Online Gallery and Store

After a very anxious wait, our new online gallery and shopping cart installation is complete! It is a really nice system, which loads fast and has a easy to favorites cart and shopping cart.

One of the very cool features of gallery is the ability to instantly change the format of the photo while at the gallery. For example, if you see a photograph in color, and you might prefer it black and white, but are not sure - its no problem! A simple click of the mouse converts that photos to black and white, Sepia, or a host of other print versions so you see what you get before you order!

In addition, we have our own private, dedicated SSL , Secure Sockets Layer (its what turns you address bar that cool yellowish color , and changes the http:// into https:// , which lets you know any information which is entered and transmitted is being secure and encrypted). What does all this mean? It means unlike some other shopping carts which work through places like Pictage, our gallery and cart do not redirect you away from Vesic.com - you are always on our site and our server. Also, more importantly, you're always dealing with us when it comes to your orders, your prints and any questions you might have about them. We review every order and print personally before it gets shipped to you, from our studio.


This is the same gallery and cart which is described in the package and pricing guide. Clients will have a private link to their gallery and cart which they can share with friends and family - and best of all - there are no redirects to other web sites or "login" and "passwords" which you or anyone else has to keep up with!

Clean, easy to use, and as always, you're always dealing with us direct!

The Wedding Poster

I'm really excited about the new Wedding Poster we just started offering! It has turned out to be a really great poster that looks so good when framed and on the wall. The center photo is 6x9, and is surrounded by 130 randomly placed 2x2 photos. What's really nice is that not only does it look great, but you get a lot of photos which you love, but didn't make it in the final album. And, on top of that - they're all in one place! Without having to pull out the album, friends and family can see the great day anytime. Click on the poster to see a larger version of it!

Rain on me...

Perhaps the most worrisome and unpredictable detail of an outdoor wedding is the weather. For almost everyone involved, from the Wedding Party, to the caterer to the Band/DJ - the biggest worry is the rain. No amount of weather forecast googling seems to be able to either calm the nerves or accurately predict what is going to happen on the big day. Backup plans, locations to move into, scheduling conflicts all come into play. But taken in stride, with good friends and family, and lots of love in the air, rain only seems to bring out bigger smiles and great photographs, with the newest uninvited guest playing in the foreground and background of the photos.

Traveling to a cozy wedding garden in Half Moon Bay just outside of San Francisco, Irene and John had a selected the first day of Spring to get married in this beautiful garden with waves of the Pacific crashing against the rocks just across the street. Spending the morning with Irene as she got ready, there was no doubt the ever growing and darkening clouds were a top concern as we worked our way to Half Moon Bay. As the guests arrived in, things held out until just before the ceremony was to start. As it started to rain, a debate over whether to move the ceremony inside or not was quickly discarded. Guests helped move the cake and food inside, while umbrellas opened and the ceremony went on.


It was no sooner than Irene and John exchanged the first kiss and walked into the house for the reception than the rain stopped. What it left was a beautiful shiny dew upon the perfect garden, saturating the flowers and grass with exceptional color - all of which lead to beautiful photographs.

Later this October, I'm photographing Dawn and Ben getting married in what should be a beautiful ceremony on the beach at Bald Head Island in North Carolina. I'll be sure to post on that later. For now, though, I've gotta go check the long range forecast....