This is Maureen and Joe’s preview video that I put together today! They were married at St Sebastians in Middletown, CT, followed by a reception at the Wadsworth Mansion. You many remember seeing them on my blog from their central park engagement session. Maureen and Joe had a beautiful winter day with plenty of time for outdoor photos. For you photographers out there wondering how this video process went for me, read what I wrote after the video!
Without further adoo… Changing my slideshows to movies, here’s Maureen and Joe:
As you know, I managed to get a 5D Mark II in my hands. With little practice using the camera I shot Maureen and Joe’s wedding last Saturday with the 5D II and my trusty 1D Mark III. What a difference between cameras! The displays are completely different showing a huge difference in what the photos look like. You almost don’t know what to believe! It took some practice using the video feature on the 5D II. Between my second shooter/asisstant and I we managed a few good clips! I recorded the ceremony and reception audio using a mic that records to a media card. The church was really echoie (is that a word?) so I did not use it. I’ll work more with audio next time.
As for editing the video, that’s another story. As most of you know I was a video editor for ABC and NBC news stations and, just for you Robert Norman I’ll mention it, I’ve won Emmy’s for my work. I was psyched to load up the HD video into Final Cut and start editing again! Once I got my settings in the right place, it was game over. My G5 Power PC Mac just couldn’t handle it. My newer Powerbook couldn’t handle it either, which I was really surprised about. So iMovie ‘09 seemed to be my only choice! I learned a lot about iMovie very quickly: my colors got toned down, editing to the music isn’t as easy, forget using verticle images unless you make a new horizontal file from it in Photoshop, working your images within a 16:9 ratio that photographers aren’t used to, and the list went on.
that video was awesome. i seriously had tears in my eyes and i dont even know those people. Beautiful work (and you said it will only get better????!!! lol
very nice RE! And you’re now the second person that I know that I just learned today was an Emmy winner… strange how I never knew that about either of you and found out about both of you today! Congrats!
Rich — this is incredible. No seriously, WOW! Just that little bit of added movement… I’m so jealous!! You’ve set the bar — I can’t wait to see this in some of your future weddings!!
RE this is KILLER! Great photos as always, and you’ve really harnessed the power of the new 5D II and taken coverage/slideshows to a new level. Awesome job.
Great job Rich!! now stop invading my field! Just kidding. seriously, you’re really good at this. what beautiful composition. can’t wait to see your future work. scary to know you’re just getting started.
[...] you haven’t checked out thier video that I posted last week, please do! It took me a little extra time to get the photos done because there was a lot of them. [...]
I briefly talked about this in my prior post from Vegas. I was awarded an Accolade of Excellence for my print “Diamond Tree.” This was my first year entering the competition and I really had no idea what I was up against, nor did I feel like I knew what I was doing. So to have one image score high enough to be awarded is awesome! Although I really wish I could do it all over again, I’m thrilled to have been noticed. I’m looking forward to next year! The details are in the official WPPI press release. I also put the image below!
Every time this year I start begging for your votes. This is for the annual New Haven Advocate – Best of New Haven! Last year I was #1, and I’m aiming for that again. But I can’t do it by myself! Click here to submit your vote: New Haven Advocate Best Of Voting Look for the wedding services section and fill in the photographer line with REPhotoDesign! You will have to vote for more than just one person in one category. It’s easy enough to look through the other sections and fill in some more. Have fun with it!
And of course, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your vote. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my clients, their family, and their friends. If first place happens again there may just be a big party, and you’ll be invited!
I’m back! In CT that is. I flew into NY this evening in the cold and windy weather. As I drove north into Connecticut I hit what was like a blizzard. At times I was barely able to see the car in front of me!
So on the plane ride home I had just enough time and battery power to edit this video together. I started working on it in Final Cut Pro (on my laptop), but I just couldn’t get the settings right. So iMovie it was. iMovie has it’s limits, but I found a few work arounds to get the edits right, or close enough. I miss working on real editing systems like Avid!
I didn’t shoot that much this year, no trade show or classes, even though I was excited to have a new 5D Mark II. In fact, all the poker stuff was mostly Kelley and a few shots by another photographer who was trying out my camera. The first thing I learned is that it’s not that wise to video record general stuff with a f/1.2 lens. Kelley ended up shooting everything at 1.2, so a very shallow depth of field was the only option. Remember, Kelley is not a photographer, she’s a physical therapist! I showed her how to use the 5D II and said have fun!
Thanks to my wife Kelley for doing such an awesome job! I didn’t have any music on me so I made a track using Garage Band. Just push play!
PS Did you noticed the big win on the Wheel of Fortune machine? That was Kelley! She got to spin the big wheel and it hit the top number, 5000, combined with a 5x bonus! She won 25,000 credits! She was all excited! Then I reminded her it was a penny slot. $250 works too!
Also I think I got the iPhone settings fixed so this video, which is also on my iTunes Podcast (REPhotoDesign), should be iPhone compatible.
Looks great I see you haven’t lost your editing skills even with the limits you had on the editing software. And Kelley still did a great job even if she is a physical therapist! And we know she is the best at that!!
It also looks like you guys had a great time, my question is did you win the tournament?
hi richard – Paul the crazy Brit who’s going to get you over here to inspire the London photographer community! great to have met you and to be inspired by your work, image presentation and your personality. see you soon.
There are SO MANY things to blog about the past 2 days. I’m going to go in order, quickly, and with some REALLY BIG news mixed in. This post is going to be really scattered because it’s late and I’m really tired.
I’ve hardly taken any photos. One reason is mentioned below, I didn’t have my camera for a bit. We honestly haven’t been outside the MGM Grand building since Friday, so I don’t have any outside photos of the Vegas Strip. There’s been rain, and there’s been no reason to leave MGM! We almost went out tonight for a party at the Palms, but I threw my back out. So instead we went back to the room (stopping for take out dessert of the previously posted about “donuts”) and Kelley fixed my back. I highly recommending going anywhere with a physical therapist.
Twittering. I got on the bandwagon and joined Twitter! If you are a Twitterer, search for me! I have it all hooked into my Facebook updates too. I do not have it on my websites anywhere, yet.
Poker. Last night was the photographers poker tourney at the Rio. See, we did leave MGM for something! Out of 65 people I placed 11th! I was one seat away from the final table and winning a cash prize. I totally slow played pocket ace’s and knocked someone out. It was awesome. Kelley and some other photographers were using my camera to take photos and video. I’ll put everything together on the plane ride back.
1 Out Of 5… So far the classes here at the convention have not treated me well. Two classes were full when I got there and they closed the rooms. Two classes I walked out of (and so did others). One I attended thinking it was going to be something new, and it wasn’t. Kelley went to one for me and it was probably the best class so far! There are a few tomorrow (or today, it’s 1:30am here) that I really want to see.
1 Out Of 5!!!!! Here’s the BIG NEWS! I wrote in the last post what I thought of the print competition and the images I submitted. I didn’t know what my other competition images had done. So Kelley and I walked the awards rooms to see what other images won. It wasn’t until we got to the third and final room that I saw one of my images!!! It was the Diamond Tree! It totally made my day. Sorry for the bad cell phone image.
Meet the speakers. We couldn’t talk to the judges during the judging days of the competition, so I went to the “Meet The Speakers” event to see if any of the judges were there. I got to talk to an amazing photographer from Australia, Rocco Ancora, about my images and the judging process. He had some great things to say, asked for my card, and said to keep in touch. I really can’t wait for next years competition.
Trade Show! I love the trade show floor. It is so huge this year that it took up both convention centers here at MGM. I looked at the layout for the trade show floor and had to make my choices as to what companies to see. There isn’t enough time to see them all! The must mentions are PickPic; my online sales system. WHCC; my lab; PRO DPI; my other lab. Memory Link; my album company that uses my work for there demo albums. Couture Book; The owner asked me to come by to see the albums and I’ll definitely be offering them soon. Triple Scoop Music; I’ll blog this later, but I will be stopping the use of copyrighted music on my web sites, etc.
Canon Fixed It! I went right to the Canon booth to see about getting the cracked glass on my camera fixed. Turned out they had repair services on site! I left the camera for the day and it got fixed for free! How awesome?!?!
2 For 1. This is how great MGM has been with the convention (despite escalator issues). We were given a card to use at almost every restaurant and bar for 2 for 1 entrées and 2 for 1 drinks! We’ve taken full advantage of this. Some of our friends did not get this card and after talking to my vendor friends, they didn’t get it either. Kelley and I only have 2 places we didn’t eat at and so far every meal has been one of the best meals we ever had.
Blues Traveler. Not only did we get into Billy Joel for free, the Blues Traveler show was only for convention attendee’s and it was also free! 2 Free concerts in Vegas!
WARNING! BAD CELL PHONE IMAGES HERE:
Billy Joel:
Blues Traveler:
HEY! We ran into so many great people. The CT crew is around. We got to see our wedding photographers, the Humphrey’s, for a little bit. There are way to many to list. I’m not even going to start to name drop, but all awesome people that I was so happy to see. I have plans to see more people tomorrow!
I’m not sure that I’ll blog before I leave. I have two days left here with a full schedule of classes, more trade show stops, and parties. Once I get back to CT I’ll have a day to catch up on my sleep before shooting my next wedding! It’s going to be busy, I’ll blog asap. Again, Twitter or Facebook me for all the little updates!
Hey, it’s Shaun! The dealer from the Rio tounament. It was a pleasure dealing to you and the group. You fought as hard as you could in that tournament. If I had ANY control over those cards, I would’ve made sure you made the final table (I think you would’ve needed to find me another job, too!) It was nice meeting everyone!
[...] briefly talked about this in my prior post from Vegas. I was awarded an Accolade of Excellence for my print “Diamond Tree.” This was my first [...]
So we made it to Vegas. It’s now Sunday 4:30pm as I type this. I really don’t have time to blog right now, but I just wanted to share a few awesome things that happened so far.
First, the drive out here from LA. When you think Mojave Desert, you don’t think snow. Guess again!
We are staying at MGM Grand, where the convention is located. This place is HUGE! So much better than the last location at Bally’s / Paris. So many more things to do and some seriously good places to eat. Here’s the view from our room:
For Valentines Day we went out with no reservations. Every place was booked solid with first come first serve at the bar. First we ate a little appetizer at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant. From there we went to FiAMMA, pictured below.
This place was phenomenal. We had their signature Short Rib Ravioli. Amazing. Then their huge diver sea scallops that were just insane. We went back later in the night for desert which was a little chocolate cake and gelato goodness and crispy amaretti doughnuts that are very similar to beignets. All I have to say about the “doughnuts” is that we are going back for them, and often.
So the craziness between dinner and desert. I Facebooked what happened, but just in case you didn’t see it, here goes. We were sitting at the bar and Kelley starting chatting with people next to us (of course). Turns out one of them was working the Billy Joel concert and had some extra tickets to give out. HELLO? Needless to say we took them! Billy Joel, MGM, one night only on Valentines Day, FOR FREE! It was awesome.
The past two days Kelley and I spent some time in the print competition judging rooms. It’s over now, but I HIGHLY recommend that if you’re coming to WPPI it is one of the best things to do. I had 5 images in the competition. I saw 2 get judged and neither one of them did that well. Honestly, they weren’t right for the competition, nor were they in the right category. I didn’t realize this until after I got to see what all the other images were that they were judging. It’s a very traditional competition with very strict judging. You know me! Not traditional! I know I’ll have better luck next year now that I’ve seen the process. In fact, it’s making me rethink some of my “best of ‘08″ images I’m about to redo my websites with.
Now I’m headed back to the convention. There seems to be a lot of people here this year. I ran into a few friends already too! I already got turned away from 2 platform classes because they filled up really quick. You snooze you lose!
Fiamma is EXCELLENT and I love that whole ‘undulating wood’ motif they have going on in there. If you have a chance (and the $$$) Delmonicos in The Venetian is outstanding too for beef.
Today Kelley and I went to one of our favorite places for breakfast, Maxwell’s, near Marina Del Ray. Due to all we ate, we went for an hour and a half walk on Venice Beach.
Then we headed to The Getty museum. Its architecture is phenomenal. We walked the photography exhibit and took the garden tour as well as learned about the architectural design and the concepts behind the buildings. I decided to just bring my 5D Mark II and my 50mm f/1.2. To make it even more interesting I only shot at f/1.2. Here’s what I came up with in our short visit.
From there we met up with one of Kelley’s friends at a LA celebrity hot spot, The Ivy, for dinner. Little did we know there was a celeb’ in the room. It wasn’t until she left did we realize it. Suddenly there were all these flashes from the paparazzi outside. It lit up the area like it was daylight. So in true photographer form, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots of the action. Kelley asked someone who it was and we were told it was Nicollette Sheridan from Desperate Housewives. She’s been in the news very recently because she announced she is leaving the show. The guy who told us who it was is the person who Nicollette had dinner with, a writer from the show. The whole thing was pretty amusing. I’ll look to see if the shots are online anywhere, I may be in the background!
I just couldn’t wait to post this!!!! I’ve been asleep by like 9pm every night since. I’m still sorta on east coast time. But not tonight! It’s now midnight, west coast time, and I just had to get Jenn and Greg’s photos and video up!
When Jenn asked if we could go to Disneyland, where they got engaged, to do their engagement photos… um… YEEEESSSS??!?!!?! Hello? Jenn looked into it and we basically found out that Disney doesn’t allow photo shoots in the park. But if you don’t look like a pro and don’t ask people to move for the picture, go for it! Jenn knows the park in and out, every nook there is. I had such an easy job because not only was it Disneyland, but Jenn and Greg are actors! They work for a non-profit theater company called Theatre Unleashed in North Hollywood. Check them out if you are in the area!
Ok, picture time… but first!!! I did a little video segment from the new 5D Mark II. This is one piece of video where I took multiple shots. It all just came out awesome so I had to share it.
I’m still working on compression settings for the video, but I think this will do for now.
And here are the photos!
Here are one of the side corridors through the castle.
And then up the staircase through the castle.
Oh the anticipation!
The next 3 are from the New Orleans area of the park.
From New Orleans to Mexico! It was a short walk.
The reflection from around the castle.
Bye Jenn and Greg!
It was a beautiful day with an amazing couple. I think I even got a little sun tan! Something I’m not used to this time of year.
Kelley and I stayed a little longer to ride a few rides and eat some ice cream before leaving for a dinner we had planned with a friend in Marina Del Ray. Tomorrow (well today really) we are going to the Getty Museum. We leave LA Friday morning to head to Las Vegas! I’m not sure when I’ll be blogging next, so stay tuned!
Hey Rich! We had a great time with you and Kelley today! Thank you both sooooo much! We’ve been waiting at the computer excitedly ever since we knew the park closed for this post! Kidding! Well, not really… Anyhow, the pictures look FANTASTIC! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! We can’t wait to see you guys again at the wedding in July and we’re so excited about seeing the rest of the session. Talk to you soon!
Thanks Jenn & Greg! We can’t wait to see you guys again!!!
Anthony… there’s some pressure change in the cabin (my ears pop constantly on flights) but it’s controlled. I don’t know why it cracked. I’m baffled.
[...] some really creative and fun couples. He just did a super fun engagement session at Disney Land, click here to check it out! Some other fun engagement sessions from Richard: Yale Baseball Field and A fun day in Newport. You [...]
[...] had so much fun with Jenn and Greg at their Disneyland engagement session, I knew the wedding was going to be awesome! How much do I love the Belding Theater at the Bushnell [...]
So I’m typing this after we left San Diego. The house we stay at doesn’t exactly have internet capabilities! I can’t post videos from the iPhone, so I had to wait until we found some free wifi. Here’s a video of the trip so far. It’s been pretty uneventful which is exactly what we were going for. 2 days of nothing to do! It was awesome.
Everything was shot with the 5D Mark II. If you follow my Facebook, you’ve seen the bad news with the 5D. Somehow on the plane, in a protected case, the “glass” covering the back display cracked! I have no clue how it happened. Everything works fine though. Hopefully Canon will fix it since it’s only a week old!
After we left San Diego I was invited to stop at the company I use for my canvas prints, Pixel2Canvas. In a great coincidence, one of my prints was being worked on when I got there!
Kelley chatting it up in their lobby.
Kelley and Roxanne.
We got some ducks!
Where the work gets done.
The drying room.
They have their wood moldings custom made and they assemble the framing themselves.
Here’s my print being done!
It was great to see CB and Roxanne, and we’ll be seeing them in Vegas next week!
It was recommended that we get some lunch at BB Kings restaurant, Lucille’s. Honestly, I’ve had amazing BBQ in Texas and that set the bar high. This was right up there with it. I ordered some brisket, pulled pork, mac and cheese, and sweet potato. I also had dessert. Amazing.
We got to LA in time to check into our hotel and get over to Venice beach for the sunset.
Here’s Kelley watching the end of the sunset.
It’s a little strange to be exhausted at 8:30pm, but it’s 11:30pm east coast time!
Tomorrows engagement session with Jenn and Greg is going to be in Disneyland!!! I can’t wait!!!
I’ve been running around like crazy today trying to get ready for the big trip. Tomorrow Kelley and I leave for San Diego! It’s going to be our little getaway for a couple of days. We’ll be staying at the house we got married at! It’s almost been a year.
We also plan on meeting up with Naomi Martinez, one of my absolute favorite makeup artists from CT. From there we are heading to LA for an engagement shoot with Jenn and Greg. We are also getting together with a bunch of friends in LA. OH! On the way to LA I got invited to stop in at Pixel 2 Canvas which is the company that does all my canvas prints! They also sponsored my workshops. I can’t wait to see the place!
Then we are off to WPPI in Las Vegas! We have so much planned while we are there. I’m sure what happened last year will happen again this year. Classes start around 8:30am, then to the trade show floor, the more classes, then one or two parties a nights, in at 3am, sleep 5 hours (if I’m lucky) up at 8 for class… and repeat. I’m already on the list for a few parties, group meetings, etc. It’s going to be a blast!
If you haven’t seen any of the videos from last year, here’s the highlight one:
Watch here for pictures and video! I’ll be testing out my new 5D Mark II along the way! This should be good…
Anyhow, the pictures look FANTASTIC! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! We can’t wait to see you guys again at the wedding in July and we’re so excited about seeing the rest of the session. Talk to you soon!
2.27.2009
This is AWESOME
2.27.2009
that video was awesome. i seriously had tears in my eyes and i dont even know those people.
Beautiful work (and you said it will only get better????!!! lol
2.27.2009
WOW!!! you make me wanna get married just for the photos & video! Your AMAZING!!!!
2.27.2009
very nice RE! And you’re now the second person that I know that I just learned today was an Emmy winner… strange how I never knew that about either of you and found out about both of you today! Congrats!
2.27.2009
Wow, This is beautiful!! Love it!
2.28.2009
Rich — this is incredible. No seriously, WOW! Just that little bit of added movement… I’m so jealous!! You’ve set the bar — I can’t wait to see this in some of your future weddings!!
2.28.2009
RE this is KILLER! Great photos as always, and you’ve really harnessed the power of the new 5D II and taken coverage/slideshows to a new level. Awesome job.
3.02.2009
Great job Rich!! now stop invading my field! Just kidding. seriously, you’re really good at this. what beautiful composition. can’t wait to see your future work. scary to know you’re just getting started.
3.02.2009
What an amazing combination! I just love how it all melts together. You did a gorgeous job! So great to catch up today.
3.05.2009
[...] you haven’t checked out thier video that I posted last week, please do! It took me a little extra time to get the photos done because there was a lot of them. [...]