June 15, 2007
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I’m Open…
For Business!!
That’s right folks, it’s really… Truly official.
June 2nd I shot another beautiful wedding this one
for my friend Ms. Sara Davis… Err, Mrs. Sara Drake.
Below you’ll find an assortment of the photos from
the day, please let me know what you think!
Also, if you have any friends getting married, or you
are yourself, contact me!
eric (at) blueshoephotography.com
If you get me a gig, I’ll be more than happy
to cut you a handsome check.
Now that that’s all behind us, on with the tale!
I flew out from South Florida early Friday morning,
set to arrive in Illinois’ corn country just before the
rehearsal. After a 3 hour layover in Atlanta, that’s
exactly what I did. As we taxied up to the Bloomington
airport, I realized that this was “My kind of place”.
No jetways, no crazed passengers (or crew) no
smoking announcements in the so-called terminal…
I loved it!
An hour++ later and after seemingly endless cornfields
we spotted the historic Chapel off in what looked to be
a sea of green.
“Sanner Chapel”
Quaint, isn’t it?
Well, after the rehearsal and a delicious Italian dinner,
I headed off to my hotel to prepare for the next days festivities.
And by prepare… I mean PRAY.
See, my Canon 350D has nearly 200,000 actuations on it now…
It’s showing me card errors, and occasionally the buttons refuse
to work as directed.
For a week and a half I’d been trying to get my back up rig
delivered with little success… I spent over 5 HOURS on the
phone with UPS trying to get things straightened out, the night
before… Then ran to the regional headquarters only to be told
that they’d had a computer error and my rig was already headed
to my house!
Sounds like a good thing, right?
Wrong.
My flight was leaving 45 minutes later, and the HQ was
30 minutes from home… No dice.
Anyway, $210+ in shipping, and a $300 emergency stop
at a camera store later, and all of my gear arrived in Illinois
just before I took off to the Chapel.
Whew!
(Next time I’m shipping DHL)
____________________________________________
The morning was filled with preening, and laughter right
up to, and through our photo shoots.
“Purity”
I have to admit… I HATE B&W shots with selective color,
ESPECIALLY at weddings, but this one didn’t communicate
the message I wanted without it… So I suppose we all have
to settle a bit
We shot the portraits before the ceremony, so the bride had
the groom stand with his back to her at the front of the aisle.
I wish you could have seen the amazement on his face when
he turned around, and the shyness on hers… SO precious!
“A Joyful Exit”
“Take A Hike”
Here Are The Ladies…
And The Gentlemen…
How incredible are the expressions in this next one?
“Hilarity Ensues”
This really was a neat wedding for me, as though I was actually
a friend of the bride, the more I learned about the groom the
more I discovered our similarities… The largest perhaps was
his multi-month motorcycle trip last summer, all over the US.
Way cool guy! (Good pick Sara)
________________________________________________
Now, rather than spoil the bride’s surprise with the shots from
inside their ceremony, I’ll jump ahead a bit further to our time
AFTER the ceremony, in a gorgeous public garden.
“Monachrome”
“Damsel”
Right after I took this shot, the groom took it upon himself to
climb the bridge…. Sans ladder.
I caught this a moment later.
“Bridge Kiss”
Flowered.
“Benched”
“I Thought I Was Allowed To Now?!?!?!”
These next few are some of my favorites from the day…
“Under The Boardwalk”
“Trellised”
“Kiss Me”
Love those… Man.
Great couple!
It started sprinkling right as we arrived, and finally picked
up to a steady raid just before we announced the wedding
party to the guests. Annoying perhaps… But it let me catch
this shot
“Blown Out”
Of course, the cake was gorgeous.
And that’s all I have time to post right now.
Let me know if you have anyone in your life that
would like me to shoot their wedding!
(And don’t let travel hold you back, I LOVE to travel
Blessings To You All,
Comments (64)
Lovely lovely lovely.
awesome, way to much kissing but hey it’s a wedding
I liked the selective color one, nicely done
Hey kissing’s half the fun, isn’t it Mr. Newly Wed?
haha lovely jumping!
“Kiss Me” is my favorite… I love the pure passion you captured. They are all beautiful really!!
Dude, I love what you did with “Purity”. Color and B&W = awesome.
that was really cute i think and you guys are a cute couple.
Can I book mine like 5 years in advance?
very nice!!
VERY NICE eric!! i want moar!!!!
Those are great. . .the kissing pictures particularly. I wish I had more kissing pictures from our wedding day (or any, for that matter). Our pics were so formal.
What amazing pics!
oh, they’re all so beautiful!! do you do families? i want so much to get good pictures taken of our family (just the 5 of us) but it’s not often you find somebody who does location shots for ultra cheap (read: we’re broke)
keep up the amazing work… you have a gorgeous eye!!
these pictures are beautiful!! to be honest i didn’t even know i had subscribed.. or maybe vice versa? regardless, amazing pictures
by the time Bri gets married I sure hope we can still afford you!!!
Eric, I had no idea you were this good
The compostions and poses are wonderful, plus they are so romantic (probably because you’re such a romantic)
I’m sure Sara will love these!
the b&w with the mirror is just perfect!
Great fun….weddings are such a joy to share…even when you don’t know the couple. I like purity, Kiss me, and benched as favorites. Having spent the afternoon with our newlyweds I can vouch for their joy in kissing
Silly Ethan.
Lots going on here….looking to the good Lord to lift up several friends…please pray for Jonah, Jeff, Todd, for healing and Joe and Alexis for the comfort that only our Lord brings. Thanks so much. Hugs! Lord bless you! Jenny
i’ve been fighting with myself, but i decided i want you to do my wedding photos. ok? that is, if i can afford you….ha.
I think I have the exact same shot of the chapel in Sedona ^^. I loved the jumping shots, but, I think I would have liked to see their faces more? Beautiful shots Eric!
Great photos and I love the new web site!
Hey you did the famous “jump” pose, I love that one!!! Wedding photos have come such a long way haven’t they? Remember all those boring poses? I ‘ve been a few weddings when I was little & I think back at how we were told to pose—–eeek! You make wedding photos look fun & enjoyable, as it should be!
sweet, ery sweet, you have a good style..I like it.
I have to get working with mine…it just takes SO LONG.
Great pictures! I love the men jumping in the street. That’s a beautiful wedding dress.
Those are really great pictures! You should be really proud. I wish my wedding photos were as original. So neat!
Those really are some great photos… I’m not even someone who.. Well.. Enjoys artistic photography on that level.. But your photos have caught my eye, Truly amazing work… You also do the editing too? (I hope) Anyway.. Nice work. <– Not sure how much this opinion actually means to you… I’m not a photographer, I can barely take a photograph!
it was good to hear from you! it’s been a while
i love love LOVE your pictures… they really are my favorite. these are gorgeous. it’ll be a while down the road before i get married… but when i do if you’re still taking pictures and still on xanga i’d love for you to be my photographer!
Hey Eric! I like your blatant referral policy! I’m going to offer nature photography prints to people who give me referrals, hopefully that will motivate any nature photography fans to mention my name when weddings are spoken of…
Okay, on to the critique! Now I’m warning you, I can be brutal…
First, what ended up happening with you and your camera situation? You didn’t shoot with the dying 350D did you? Personally I almost HAVE to have 2 cameras on me at a wedding, and one bit of advice I picked up from the world-famous Becker is to have yet ANOTHER camera body plus a bit of gear hidden in your car, just in case (heaven forbid) your entire camera bag goes missing. (That also means- keep your memory cards on you at ALL TIMES! I use one of those memory card wallets. Remember, your images are GOLD to you. If they got lost or stolen, you should be prepared to pay full-price as a reward / ransom to get them back. My policy on lost / stolen cards is to pay double or tripple the cost of the card as a reward. And all my cards have that written on them.
But most importantly, I just rent if I need a particular piece of equipment. Rent yourself a 5D sometime if you have a BIG wedding and you know the couple will want big prints. Rent yourself all of the different f/2.8 pro zooms that Canon has that you don’t already have, rent whatever f/1.2, f/1.4, or f/1.8 primes that you’d like to try, etc. etc.
Renting gear is the best way to help get professional results without paying thousands of dollars, plus you get experience with the gear so that if you end up buying it someday it won’t be as foreign to you. Or you might decide to try out a completely different system!
Second, it’s good that you realize how cliche the whole “B&W + Color” thing is. That was a trick for the 90′s lol. BUT, on the other hand, it’s also good that you are not afraid to break the rules and use the trick if it makes your point. Too many photographers get locked into do’s and don’ts and it can cramp their creativity.
Third, well, heck! All the rest of the photos are pretty good. It would be harder for me to critique these already good photos than it would be for you to just shoot more and get more experience…
The cake shot has some plastic forks in it, next time maybe compose the shot with whatever nice silverware they have to cut the cake?
The high-key shot under the umbrella is fantastic, I love it.
Monachrome is spelled monochrome, I think. And I love the concept of the photo, but where you have them standing ther heads sort of get lost in the background, I might have had them take a few steps to your left…
Take care!
-Matt-
Matthew, it’s offical… You’re the man!
It IS monochrome.
Huzzah!
I know it is, I’m an idiota… The title of the picture has it correctly, ahh well.
Edit later I suppose.
yeah, im not a fan of selective colored photos either.
come to a four day workshop and you will learn enought to demand twice as much!!! nice job.
Hi, Thank you for sharing this beautiful pictures. They show not only your talent but well the joy you have while “creating” them. What a wonderful gift you have. Take Care, Sharon now in Charleston, SC
Woww those pictures are freaking greattt…amazing camera + great photographer =…great pictures? haha that was dumb but good job.. seriously. so good
Nice job! #3 is pretty — I like the space in it. And I’m glad your equipment made it OK! Those situations are scary!
Truly some of your best work! No one can tell me photographers aren’t true artists. I always expect your photos to come to life, but none more than these. There is incredible life in these shots. The selective color one is beautifully done. I’m very impressed with your wedding photography. I’d hire you for my wedding, but there isn’t going to be one. Are you still working those killer hours?
Lonnie
Again, great pictures. I think you did awesome.
My parents were at a wedding yesterday (Dad did the ceremony) and they both said that you beat out their photographer hands down. Dad’s going to recommend you to anyone that he comes across who might need a photographer and I plan on doing the same. You were great, Eric!
My favorite so far is “Kiss me” though “Benched” is good, too.
My mom took some film pictures of the wedding and got a good one of you shooting a picture; I’ll mail that to you soon.
Sara
no problem—and you’re totally right..it’s always good to purse better things.
Moving forward eh?
–get you some shoots? I really dont get it.
Truly wonderful work Eric. How blessed the lucky couple is to have such artistic, original work.
ryc: the moon shot was a single frame… looked up and saw the contrail headed right for the moon and started shooting.
Great photos Eric. I’m glad everything worked out with the shipment. That sounded stressful. “Kiss Me”‘ is an outstanding capture. Very nice!
i like the road on the gentlemen shot. nice background. and congrats on becoming official! best of luck! =]
gorgeous wedding!! the umbrella shot is too cute!!!
SHe is so beautiful!!! I love the pictures Eric… they are great
ryc if you want to go we have another one scheduled for July 14. Contact xanga.com/eutychus22
Great shots. I agree with you RE the selective colour, 98% of the time I think it’s tacky. Every once in a rare while though (like here), it works out!
well, I just ordered a 5d, cant wait! I was looking into 1DS’s, but even used there still outrageous.
Gorgeous pictures!! I especially love the one of the groom and groomsmen jumping, fantastic! When (if) I get married, I hope I can afford to hire you!
BEAUTIFUL shots
Can I reserve you for my wedding?
Of course, I’m not engaged yet, but since my parents can’t do it I’d better check out my options now. You know where we live, just cruise by on your motorcycle again….. And would I get a discount for referring you to me? 
The guys jumping up and down deffinitely made me laugh. So awesome!
*Barbara
congrats on shooting another wedding!
These look really great
I absolutely love the groomsmen shots. Seriously love. If I had taken that shot I’m sure I would have blow out the sky, so good job on metering for that
my gosh all of those are beautiful
you’ve got talent mister
it also helps that the couple themselves are lovely together hehe
oh most certainly
=D
WOW!
Amazing!
Especially the selective color one;
but the love of the couple made it the best
dude you get more comments than queen elizabeth ii.
how do you do it?
and when are you gonna tell me what “get me some shots” means. It’s confusing. It kills me to be confused. so get it going. do tell.
So are you going to No. Calif soon?!
Thanks Eric. How are things with you and the lovely young lady?
I really need to get out more with my camera.
Wow….My son just turned sixteen, and invested in a Canon Rebel XTI and then upgraded to a Kiss….He is at a college down near the coast of Maine for photography the next two weeks. He will love your site! He is always looking for mentors, too. His photography can be seen at flickr.com/photos/jeremiahsjoberg. He is receiving college credit for the course and plans to major in color digital photography when he graduates in two years. Awesome job here! =)
ryc~ congradulations on the job! Now why do you need another camera rig?
Beautiful! I LOVE the ones with the groomsmen. Haha, tons of fun.
RYC: Thanks for the collaboration offer, Eric. I doubt that you get to northern Maine much, though. Have you ever been to the coast of Maine….and to the Rockport Photography Workshops? My son will appreciate that you viewed his site. Thank you! =)
I wish I could get married again, just so you could take our pictures.