Erica and Chad’s Wedding

This weekend I drove down to Little Rock to cover Erica and Chad’s wedding at the Albert Pike Hotel. The hotel is a historic building with marble floors, huge windows, and an elaborately painted ceiling. The ceremony looked good even though the very loud air condensers kicked on just as the ceremony was starting, so no one really heard the vows in the audience! It was the kind thing you can’t really plan for, you just have to laugh about it and keep going. The wedding party had five kids in it – three flower girls and two ring bearers. It is always fun to watch kids at weddings entertain themselves – during the reception they found a piece of bubble wrap and had great fun dancing and stomping on it while ringing the little bells that had been set out on the tables as favors. I wish Erica and Chad all the best in their new life together! Here are a few images from the wedding:

What a cute bride - we did this shot in front of the columns on the second floor, the ballroom is in the background.

I wanted a candid shot of the kids of the wedding party coloring upstairs before the ceremony. But anytime one of them saw the camera they would yell to the others "quick - smile - the camera!"

The ceremony in the main room at the Albert Pike Hotel.

Erica and Chad

Nicki and Brad’s Wedding

If rain on your wedding is considered lucky, than a high of 82 in the middle of July in Arkansas should be considered even luckier! Nicki and Brad were married July 17 at Blowing Spring park in Bella Vista. It was a really pretty location with the ceremony site off in a little clearing rimmed in by a low limestone bluff. This was my first time meeting the couple since Nicki planned the whole thing long distance from out of state. That can be a little awkward, but they were so friendly it wasn’t a problem at all. As usual, here are a few teaser images from the wedding:

Now that's the way to kiss a bride! (p.s. - I think this image is made even better by the expression on the ministers face)

I love this shot of the bride and groom leaving for the reception. There are no other people or objects in the image to distract from the carriage and its occupants so your eye is drawn right to the couple.

The first dance - outside at twilight.

The Groomsman caught in the act! The inside of this truck was layered in feathers, confetti and glitter! I'll bet Nicki and Brad will be brushing glitter off their clothes for years!

Steely Joe on Facebook

As I continue to come out of the social networking stone age I have now added a Page on Facebook for Steely Joe Studio Photography.  I have been giving some thought to how I will use that page. I make good use of the photo album feature to showcase recent events, and will tie the blog into the feed so you can catch up with me when you are on Facebook. Also, I think since the blog covers what is going on with me, I will use the Facebook Page to offer tips and insights on photography, image use in the digital age, things I have learned about planning events (you pick up quite a few things if you keep your eyes open), and anything else I think of that may be helpful. It will be a work in progress that I am sure will evolve over time, and hopefully you guys out there will help me steer it in the way it needs to go. If you are a Facebook user and want to see me slog my way into the modern age of social networking, I encourage you to become a fan!

Chef Jon at the Clarion

My second post about food pictures in a short span of time! This time I went to the Clarion hotel in Fayetteville to to portraits of the head chef, as well as get a few good shots of the food. It was Friday so they were setting up for the Seafood and Prime Rib buffet. They had some king crab legs out that looked so good I wanted to stuff a few in my camera bag (but I didn’t). They set this buffet up every Friday night or a very reasonable price, so go check it out sometime!

This weekend it is time to get back to shooting weddings. My next one is an outdoor wedding (in mid-July)! I might complain a little about that, but my own wedding was outdoors at the end of July so I don’t really have room to say much about that 🙂

Trip to D.C. part 1 – National Zoo

I just realized that it has been awhile since my last post. That is partly because I am busy (which is good!) and partly because I went on a trip to visit family in Washington D.C.  for a week. I know what some of you are thinking – “a trip in the middle of wedding season? Are you crazy?!” Well, yes, but I went because my sister starts a new job with the government soon and will be leaving to 4 months of training, so it was now or much later if I wanted to see her. My grandparents have lived in D.C since before my mom was born, and I think I have been to just about every attraction in town (some of them multiple times). But my husband had only been to D.C once briefly, so we decided to play tourist and let him pick out some things to see and do. I love well-run zoos, and the National Zoo is one of the best. The grounds are beautiful and the animals are very well cared for. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the zoo. I will post some images from the rest of the trip soon.

We lucked out and the Pandas were outside! They can be hard to get a good look at, especially if they are inside and the crowds are large.

napping panda

These sea lions made me sleepy just looking at them! They make that rock look really comfy...

cute little money in the small mammals house

The intense stare on this lioness' face was caused by a screaming toddler in a stroller behind us. As the family walked past the enclosure, the lioness intently followed them with her gaze until the family was out of sight! I couldn't tell if she though the baby needed saved or eaten...